Glencoe and Ballachulish
2023-07-22 08:00 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Scotland
Leader: Dr Simon Cuthbert
Set in the spectacular mountain scenery around Glencoe and Ballachulish are some beautifully exposed igneous complexes that allow us to explore the “plumbing” of volcanoes and magma chambers that were active during a huge “flare-up” in the final stage of the closure of the Iapetus Ocean. In this one-day trip we explore the great volcanic caldera of Glencoe in panoramic views and exposures in the glen, then take a 5 km moderately strenuous walk on forest trails above Glenachulish to see how a granitic pluton was constructed. Good boots and waterproofs and a packed lunch needed.
Leaving Molema Building at 8:00, returning at 20:00, travelling by coach; stopping at Tyndrum for a bar snack on the way home.

Fossil Grove Open Afternoon
2023-08-20 12:00 - 16:00, 2023-09-17 12:00 - 16:00, 2023-10-15 12:00 - 16:00 | Fossil Grove, 51 Victorial Park Drive South, Glasgow, G14 9QR, United Kingdom
This event will consist of tours of the Fossil House and the quarry and activities for children.

Ballantrae Complex
2023-08-26 09:00 - 18:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Con Gillen
The excursion will cover some important aspects of the early Ordovician Ballantrae Ophiolite Complex (pillow lavas, gabbro, serpentinite, chert and melange), late Ordovician and early Silurian greywacke and conglomerate; late Ordovician reef limestone and Caledonian folding. Walking will be along the shore, sometimes rocky and potentially slippery. We will attempt to get to Downan Point for the famous pillow lavas (though this is not strictly part of the Ballantrae Complex).
Leaving Molema Building at 9:00, returning at 18:00, travelling by coach.

Scottish Geology Festival
2023-09-01 19:00 - 2023-10-08 19:00 | Online and various venues
Scotland’s unique character and cultures are rooted, quite literally, in the rocks that lie beneath our feet and under the sea. These rocks have directly influenced our landscapes, built heritage and industry, and are intrinsically linked with our sense of place. The Scottish Geology Festival gives you the opportunity to learn about these incredible stories hidden within Scotland’s rocks – with events across the country, including guided walks, online talks, boat trips and geological exhibitions – there’s something for everyone to enjoy!
Further details, including a full list of events, can be found on the Scottish Geology Trust website.

Balmaha
2023-09-02 09:00 - 19:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Iain Allison
Joint excursion with the Edinburgh Geological Society
The objectives of this excursion are to examine the rocks around the Highland Boundary Fault, which separates the Palaeozoic rocks of the Midland Valley from the late Proterozoic rocks of the Grampian Highlands and cuts across mainland Scotland from Helensburgh to Stonehaven, and to gain some understanding of why there has been considerable controversy over the geological history of this zone.
The units we will examine are:
Devonian: Upper Old Red Sandstone, Lower Old Red Sandstone;
Ordovician: Highland Border Complex, Arrochymore Sandstone, black shale, limestone with serpentinite pebbles, serpentinite;
Proterozoic: Dalradian (Southern Highland Group).
Following the excursion, we will have a bar meal with our EGS colleagues.
Leaving Molema Building at 9:00, returning at 19:00, travelling by coach.
The numbers on this joint excursion are limited to 15 from each society. Therefore early booking is advisable if you wish to make sure of a place.

Rock Doctors
2023-09-02 12:00 - 16:00 | Hunterian Museum, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Come along and join the fun!

Get your rocks/fossils identified by an expert.
Make your own ammonite.
Take part in a dinosaur quiz.
Make a fossil rubbing.
See the famous Bearsden Shark.
Come early and take home a real fossil!

This event is part of the Scottish Geology Festival.

Geo-natter
2023-09-06 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-09-20 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-10-04 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-10-18 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-11-01 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-11-15 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-11-29 13:30 - 15:00, 2023-12-13 13:30 - 15:00 and 5 more dates | Kelvin Hall, 1445 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AW, United Kingdom
These informal meetings are the perfect opportunity to meet like-minded rock enthusiasts and chat about all things geological and palaeontological!
A chance to look at rocks and fossils, get your own specimens identified, ask questions about geology and find out what’s happening locally. Tea and coffee provided.

Linn Park and Rouken Glen
2023-09-13 10:00 - 16:00 | Scotland
Leader: Dr Simon Cuthbert
A chance to see some interesting geology on our doorstep: sandstone and other sedimentary rocks laid down in river deltas, swamps and sea in the Carboniferous period, around 325 million years ago, and evidence of the Quaternary glaciation, about 11,000 years ago.
Linn Park in the morning, a spot of lunch, then Rouken Glen in the afternoon. There will be no charge for this excursion.
Meet at the main entrance to Linn Park at 10:00.

A boatload of Vikings: isotope evidence from a mass execution in Weymouth
2023-10-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Professor Jane Evans, British Geological Survey
Much infrastructure work was undertaken in the run up to the 2012 Olympics. This included improving the access route ( A354 ) to Weymouth. A burial pit containing over 50 skeletons was uncovered during this work; the skeletons had all been beheaded. This talk follows the isotope work undertaken to determine who these individuals might have been, where they came from and why they came to this gruesome end.
Further reading
JA Evans, J Montgomery, G Wildman, N Boulton 2010. Spatial variations in biosphere 87Sr/86Sr in Britain. Journal of the Geological Society 167 (1), 1-4.
JA Evans, CA Chenery, J Montgomery 2012. A summary of strontium and oxygen isotope variation in archaeological human tooth enamel excavated from Britain. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 27 (5), 754-764.
JA Evans, V Pashley, CA Chenery, L Loe, SR Chenery 2017. Lead isotope analysis of tooth enamel from a Viking Age mass grave in southern Britain and the constraints it places on the origin of the individuals. Archaeometry 60 (4), 859-869.
Jane studied geology and geochemistry at London (BSc) and Oxford (MSc) Universities. She started working at the British Geological Survey in London in the early 1980s and during that time she focused on isotope analysis of rocks, mostly to determine the age of geological events. She concurrently did a PhD, part time, at London University.
When the BGS laboratory moved to Nottingham around 1990 and its remit changed, this resulted in archaeologists being able to apply to undertake collaborative work with the laboratory. Jane then focused on archaeological projects, using isotopes to look at the geographic origins of people, artifacts, and animals. The laboratory has had many fascinating projects come its way, including Richard III.
She has been involved in the development of isotope maps as a reference source for archaeology studies and is currently very interested in looking at what lead isotopes can tell us about past environments.

Birth of the Dalradian Supergroup and its path through Neoproterozoic Earth history
2023-11-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Professor Tony Prave, University of St Andrews
The most enduring concept of the Dalradian Supergroup is that it formed during a prolonged phase of extensional tectonism, starting with breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia and ending with the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. This evening Tony will revise and refine that concept, integrating the Dalradian’s rock record into the geological and environmental conditions recognised currently as those that define the latter half of Neoproterozoic time worldwide.
Tony’s research uses field-based observations and isotope geochemistry to create, test and constrain ideas about the processes that shaped Earth’s surface environments. He is particularly interested in those pivotal times of geological history during which wholesale Earth system change occurred. Tony has been awarded the Edinburgh Geological Society’s Clough Medal for 2023-2024.

Special general meeting and AGM
2023-12-07 19:00 - 19:30 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
A special general meeting to vote on the proposed new constitution followed by the society’s annual general meeting

The onset of modern plate tectonics
2023-12-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Professor Craig Storey, University of Portsmouth
Since the 1960s we have accepted the plate tectonic paradigm as being central to how our planet operates at the present day. However, there is much ongoing debate as to when plate tectonics began and how similar it was to the current observable mode. Hypotheses range from the Hadean to the Neoproterozoic and therefore span across profound changes in the Earth system, including atmospheric oxygenation and the proliferation of life. In this talk Craig will review (some of) the “hallmarks” of plate tectonics, their first appearance and secular evolution, and speculate on when it all began and how it evolved.
Further reading
Dhuime, B. et al (2012). A change in the geodynamics of continental growth 3 billion years ago. Science, 335, 1334-1336.
Palin, R.M. et al (2020). Secular change and the onset of plate tectonics on Earth. Earth Science Reviews, 207, 103172.
Stern, R.J. (2005). Evidence from Ophiolites, Blueschists and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic terranes that the modern episode of subduction tectonics began in Neoproterozoic time. Geology, 33, 557-560.
Craig studied geology at Oxford Brookes University and was awarded a PhD by the University of Leicester in 2003 for his research on eclogites in the Glenelg-Attadale Inlier in NW Scotland. Between 2003 and 2009 he carried out research at the Natural History Museum, the University of Brighton, the Open University and Bristol University. In 2009 he became a senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth and has been professor of geology there since 2017.
Please note that this lecture will start at 19:30 rather than the usual 19:00. It will be preceded by two general meetings: a special general meeting to vote on the proposed new constitution and the society’s annual general meeting. These will start at 19:00.

Closing the Iapetus Ocean: late arc and ophiolite formation in the Grampian Orogeny and implications for UK mineral potential and metal security
2024-01-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Scotland
Dr Steven Hollis, University of Edinburgh
The Grampian Orogeny marks the first phase of the closure of the Iapetus Ocean in the British and Irish Caledonides during the Late Cambrian to Middle Ordovician. Widespread metamorphism and deformation of passive margin sequences resulted from the accretion of several arc and ophiolite complexes (and outriding microcontinental blocks) to the continental margin of Laurentia. These remnants of that now closed ocean extend across Scotland and Ireland, into Newfoundland and Quebec. The Tyrone Igneous Complex of Northern Ireland represents a young, structurally dissected c. 484-480 Ma ophiolite and c. 473-464 Ma volcanic arc. Extensive fieldwork, geochemistry, isotope analysis (Sr-Nd), and U-Pb zircon geochronology have provided us with a detailed understanding of its tectonic-magmatic evolution, and potential metal endowment. Equivalent sequences in the Newfoundland Appalachians contain some of the most metal-rich massive sulphide deposits globally. Exploration efforts in Co. Tyrone have revealed numerous encouraging occurrences of base (Cu-Zn-Pb) and precious (Au-Ag) metals crucial for the energy transition, and also occurrences of energy-critical metals (e.g. Co, Bi, Te). Parallels between the Tyrone Igneous Complex and the Ballantrae Ophiolite Complex will also be discussed in this presentation, highlighting the possible mineral potential of western Scotland.
Steven is lecturer in ore systems at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham in 2007, before completing an MSc in Geochemistry at the University of Leeds in 2008. His PhD at the University of Southampton focused on the evolution and mineralization of the Tyrone Igneous Complex of Northern Ireland. He then undertook postdoctoral positions at CSIRO in Western Australia on developing new exploration techniques for VMS deposits in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, and at University College Dublin, Ireland, on the applications of clumped C-O and Pb isotopes to carbonate-hosted Zn-Pb deposits of the Irish Midlands.

Using hotspring systems as analogues to conditions on early Mars
2024-02-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Online event
Toni Galloway, University of St Andrews
My PhD research currently focuses on studying biogeochemical cycling of essential elements within Mars analogue sites. I work primarily on modern hot spring systems on Earth as analogues to Noachian Mars. This period, dating from 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago, was during the interval known as the Late Heavy Bombardment and when first life forms likely arose on Earth. Examining hot spring conditions while using geochemical and bioinformatic analyses aids in understanding how those extremophilic organisms associated with the springs use carbon and nitrogen, and the biosignatures which these reactions leave behind in the geological record.
Toni has a background in both biology and geology thanks to her joint bachelor’s degree at the University of St Andrews. She was one of the few locals at the University, moving from only 30 minutes away in comparison to her mostly international cohort. During her undergraduate degree, she was introduced to the field of astrobiology and the study of analogue environments by her supervisor Dr Claire Cousins. This area of research fascinated her so much that she returned to St Andrews to work with Dr Cousins for her PhD, and she is currently spending part of her time in Manchester learning bioinformatic analyses from her secondary supervisor Professor Sophie Nixon.
Please note that, because of circumstances beyond our control, this lecture will now be a Zoom only event, with no gathering in the lecture theatre. Society members for whom we have email addresses have been sent a Zoom invitation. If you are a member but are not on our email list, or a non-member who would like to join the meeting, please email the society’s secretary to request an invitation.

What lies beneath: the geology of Strathkelvin
2024-03-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Dr Murray Reid
Strathkelvin covers the valleys of the Kelvin and Allander Waters north of Glasgow and extends from Milngavie and Bearsden in the west to Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth in the east. The presentation will describe the geology of the area, concentrating on outcrops where the strata can be clearly seen and looking at evidence for what lies beneath the surface in areas where rock is not exposed. In the north, the lavas and ancient volcanoes of the Campsie Fells are well exposed but most of the built-up areas are underlain by sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age which are largely covered by thick layers of glacial and alluvial materials. Coal, sandstone and limestone have been exploited and traces of the workings remain. The Kelvin Valley forms a major east-west transport corridor across Central Scotland and has played a significant role in the history of Scotland.
Murray is a retired engineering geologist who lives in Kirkintilloch. He was born in 1954 in Giffnock on the south side of Glasgow and grew up there. He went to St. Andrews University in 1972, graduating with a BSc in Geology in 1976, then to Aberdeen University, where he carried out a PhD on the weathering of soils in a moorland area, graduating in December 1979. In January 1980 he started work as an engineering geologist with a small site investigation company in Cumbernauld, which led to him moving to Kirkintilloch in 1981. After five years, he moved to Babtie Geotechnical in Glasgow, working on a number of large infrastructure projects in the transport and water supply and treatment sectors. In 1995, he moved to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in Crowthorne, near Reading in the Thames Valley, where he worked principally in the recycling and sustainability sectors. He retired from TRL in 2017 and moved back to Kirkintilloch. He joined the Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries and became Secretary in 2021. He is a keen hill walker, having climbed all the munros, though these days he concentrates more on the HUGHS (Hills Under Graham Height, i.e. < 2,000ft.) and low-level walks on the excellent network of footpaths in East Dunbartonshire.

Finding dinosaurs in the Judith River Formation, Late Cretaceous, Montana
2024-03-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Online event
Dr Denver Fowler, Curator, Dickinson Museum Center, North Dakota
Dr Fowler will describe his research into the Judith River Formation in Montana. This formation, dating from the late Cretaceous period between 79 and 75.3 million years ago, has yielded a wide range of fossils of fish, amphibians, crocodilians, lizards, turtles and of course dinosaurs. It was explored by early American palaeontologists as early as 1876, the same year as Custer’s ill-fated last stand at the Little Big Horn, also in Montana.
Further Reading
Denver is credited with the authorship or co-authorship of 68 publications since 2003. A selection is given below.
Warshaw EA & Fowler DW (2022). A transitional species of Daspletosaurus Russell, 1970 from the Judith River Formation of eastern Montana, PeerJ. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14461 (Publication scheduled online 7am GMT Nov 25th 2022, free access) (Summary / Press Links / Images)
Fowler DW (2020). The Hell Creek Formation, Montana: A Stratigraphic Review and Revision Based on a Sequence Stratigraphic Approach. Geosciences 2020, 10(11), 435. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10110435
Fowler DW, Wilson JP, Freedman Fowler EA, Noto CR, Anduza DA, & Horner JR (2020). Trierarchuncus prairiensis gen. et sp. nov., the last alvarezsaurid: Hell Creek Formation (uppermost Maastrichtian), Montana. Cretaceous Research 116, December 2020, 104560. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104560. (Published online July 10th 2020) (Summary / Press Links / Images)
Fowler DW & Freedman Fowler EA (2020). Transitional evolutionary forms in chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs: evidence from the Campanian of New Mexico, PeerJ 8:e9251. DOI 10.7717/peerj.9251 (Published online June 5th 2020) (Summary / Press Links / Images)
Fowler DW (2017) Revised geochronology, correlation, and dinosaur stratigraphic ranges of the Santonian-Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) formations of the Western Interior of North America. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0188426. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188426
Scannella JB, Fowler DW, Goodwin MB, Horner JR (2014). Evolutionary trends in Triceratops from the Hell Creek Formation, Montana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(28), p. 10245-10250.
Fowler DW, Freedman EA, Scannella JB, & Kambic RE (2011). The predatory ecology of Deinonychus and the origin of flapping in birds. PLoS One 6(12): e28964. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028964.
Fowler DW, & Sullivan RM (2011). The first giant titanosaurian sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of North America. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56(4): 685-690.
Fowler DW, Woodward HN, Freedman EA, Larson PL, & Horner JR (2011). Reanalysis of “Raptorex kriegsteini”: a juvenile tyrannosaurid dinosaur from Mongolia. PLoS One 6(6): e21376. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021376.
Fowler DW, & Hall LE (2011). Scratch-digging sauropods, revisited, Historical Biology 23(1): 27-40.
Fowler DW, Freedman EA, & Scannella JB (2009). Predatory functional morphology in raptors: Interdigital variation in talon size is related to prey restraint and immobilisation technique. PLoS One 4(11): e7999. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007999.
Denver was born in the north of England. His lifelong interest in palaeontology was prompted by family holidays to the Jurassic Coast and the Isle of Wight (Britain’s “Dinosaur Island”). Here, Denver collected Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils, including many dinosaur bones, and later worked at “Dinosaur Farm”, a hands-on museum where visitors watch and interact with volunteers preparing the latest dinosaur finds.
Since 1996, Denver has worked in a number of palaeontology museums and university departments, and also in science media: as a dig site leader for the BBC’s “Live from Dinosaur Island” (2001), a specialist researcher (2005-6) for Impossible Pictures (London), and scientific consultant for many other television, film, exhibition, and media projects.
Denver’s interest in palaeontology has a strong emphasis on fieldwork and he has extensive experience from working in the UK, Mongolia, China, Canada and the US. He currently conducts fieldwork in Late Cretaceous rocks of the northern US, focusing on rare species, growth stages, or direct evidence of dinosaur behaviour. In the Judith River Formation his finds have included rare ceratopsians, a new ankylosaur, the oldest most complete hedgehog teeth and the smallest known T. rex, “Chopper”. His research concentrates on how dinosaurs lived and their evolution.
Please note that this lecture is in addition to our normal monthly series of lectures and will be an online Zoom event. Society members for whom we have email addresses will be sent a Zoom invitation. If you are a member but are not on our email list, or a non-member who would like to join the meeting, please email the society’s secretary to request an invitation.
