York (PG Dip) BGS Visit to York 24th July 2017

On the 24th of July, an eager and enthusiastic group of students on the University of York’s postgraduate diploma in ‘The Geology of Yorkshire and Northern England’ visited the National Geological Repository (NGR), at the British Geological Survey headquarters in Keyworth, Nottingham with their tutor Dr Annette McGrath. During the postgraduate diploma (PG Dip) programme, and as part of their second year residential week course, students visit the NGR for a full-day workshop every October, in order to examine key rock cores from several sub-surface boreholes of northern England. During the last workshop in 2016, Simon Harris, a professional Conservator at the BGS, kindly offered the students and myself the opportunity to revisit the BGS for a full tour plus the chance to view the fabulous resources at the NGR – and as you can imagine, we all jumped at the prospect! 

 
But as you read this blog, you may be wondering ‘what exactly is the PG Dip in ‘The Geology of Yorkshire and northern England?’ and why did students on this programme want to visit the BGS? The PG Dip is an exciting and unique part-time course, which was launched by The University of York in 2015, and it is conducted entirely online via distance learning over the period of two years. The programme introduces students to the spectacular regional geology of Yorkshire and northern England and its exceptional diversity of landscapes and classic geological sites. Through their examination and understanding of the region, students explore the main principles of geology and acquire the knowledge and tools required with which to interpret larger-scale Earth processes and structures. Students also assess the role of the area’s importance with respect to current controversies in the Earth sciences, whilst also reflecting upon the region's vital role in the history of Geology.



Figure 1: The Lower and Middle Jurassic
sequence near Saltwick Bay, Whitby,
as visited during the first year residential week course



The programme is aimed at anyone with an interest in geology and appeals to a wide range of geological audiences. Students engage with the course for a number of reasons, be they vocational or in order to gain a strong foundation for additional geological study or progression on to Masters or PhD level. However others engage purely out of personal interest, just for the sheer fun of it, as the programme offers students the opportunity to delve into, research and learn more about areas of their own holistic, personal geological interest. Whatever their reason for taking the course, on completion graduates are well-placed to pursue geological careers within academia or industry, if they so desire, or to utilise their knowledge to appreciate and interpret the rocks over which they walk. The programme begins every September with a residential week course at the University of York, during which time students take part in fieldtrips to classic, and in some cases world-famous geological sites in Yorkshire and then conduct lab-work on campus. An additional residential week course also takes place in October of the second year, as mentioned above, when students are provided with the opportunity to visit yet more fascinating geological sites in Yorkshire, as well as the core workshop at the BGS, as mentioned above. Which neatly leads me back to our visit to the BGS this July….

Figure 2: Enjoying the BGS immersive 3D visualisation facility.

We all arrived at the BGS during the morning of the 24th of July in order to spend some time drooling over and browsing the fantastic resources in the large onsite shop, where a vast selection of geological specimens, books, equipment and maps are on sale. Simon Harris then met us in reception, after we had had our fill of the shop, and he very kindly provided us with a fascinating and comprehensive tour of the BGS and its facilities. The tour began with an introduction to, and demonstration of the superb BGS immersive 3D visualisation facility.

After donning our glasses, we were treated to an interactive 3D flyover of the bedrock geology of northern England, which helped us to easily visualise how geology influences and controls the topography of the region. Simon then provided us with a very interesting and thorough presentation relating to the services that are available to academics and bona-fide researchers for free by the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC). This also included an onscreen demonstration from Simon of how the students could access the NGDC records online, which constitutes an enormous amount of crucial information and resources. From the fossil collections of Palaeosaurus and the GB3D Type Fossils database, to onshore borehole scans, the Geology of Britain Viewer, the NERC Open Research Archive and the iGeology App (to name just a few!), the NGDC offers a wealth of indispensable online information that underpins and is truly invaluable to an online distance learning programme like the PG Dip at The University of York. 

But that wasn’t all. We then visited the well-stocked BGS reference library en route to the NGR, which holds a vast collection of contemporary geological texts, maps, journals, technical reports and archival material, plus a range of fascinating historical tomes and seminal texts. Simon then kindly escorted us to the NGR itself, where we examined a wonderful variety of carefully selected geological specimens that he had located and displayed for us from northern England. Students were encouraged to search the online database in advance of the visit, so they could request to view specific specimens of particular interest on the day. Needless to say, we didn’t need much encouragement and grasped this fantastic offer with both hands, sending poor Simon a list as long as his arm! This provided both the students and myself with the rare opportunity to view and handle type fossils and key rock and mineral specimens from northern England, which was an invaluable occasion for students taking part in an online distance-learning course. We voraciously examined the samples on display, which included beautiful mineral specimens from the Pennine Orefield, an enigmatic trace fossil within ash deposits of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, and a selection of elusive trilobite and graptoloid specimens from the Skiddaw Group of the northern Lake District – to name but a few.



Figure 3: PG Dip students in the NGR core store.

We then moved on to see the immense NGR core stores, where borehole cores, cuttings and samples from both the UK landmass and offshore continental shelf are in storage. Whilst there, we were treated to a demonstration of the amazing electronic sliding racks by Scott Renshaw, a truly fascinating and innovative way to move huge amounts of core material around! Next came a tour of the NGR records collection itself, where we admired the vast palaeontological collection, all carefully and accurately catalogued and usefully stored according to geological time period, plus a wealth of thin sections. Simon also impressed us with his ability to locate specimens when he accurately and deftly tracked down a sample of Cornish ‘luxullianite’, a beautiful and rare type of granite, for one especially interested student that had just returned from a trip to Cornwall.

Figure 4: A beautiful specimen of ‘luxullianite’ a rare Cornish granite.

At the end of a most informative day, the students enjoyed investigating the onsite BGS ‘Geological Walk’ where they cemented their knowledge of the regional geology of Britain further, by walking through three billion years of geological time, from the Precambrian rocks of the Scottish Highlands to more recent Quaternary glacial deposits. I think I can safely speak for everyone on the course when I say that a fantastic day was had by all, that everyone appreciated this fascinating and unique opportunity to view world-class resources in the flesh, and I for one can’t wait to return to the BGS again soon, for the second year residential week core workshop this October!

If you are interested to know more about the PG Dip in ‘The Geology of Yorkshire and northern England’ at the University of York, please visit the website: https://www.york.ac.uk/lifelonglearning/geology/ or email lifelonglearning@york.ac.uk or call 01904 328482 for further details.

Blog by Annette McGrath

Frank Ince - Charnwood Rocks

Charnwood Rocks: Our Geological Heritage

In collaboration with Charnwood Museum (Victoria Park, Loughborough), the Central Branch of the Russell Society organised an exhibition that was open to the public during April and May 2017 (see photo).

The exhibition coincided with the 60th anniversary of the first scientific discovery of a Precambrian fossil in Charnwood Forest: in April 1957 by a Leicester schoolboy (Roger Mason). The fossil was subsequently named Charnia masoni. This discovery was an important milestone in the development of Precambrian geology in the UK and had a major impact on the progress of Precambrian geology and palaeontology worldwide. The exhibition brought together a variety of exhibits and information panels that put the fossils that occur in the Charnwood area into the context of the local geology. The exhibition also highlighted the rich mineralogical diversity of this part of Leicestershire (the combined area covered by Charnwood Borough Council and the proposed Charnwood Forest Regional Park).


‘Charnwood Rocks: Our Geological Heritage’: an exhibition of fossils, rocks and minerals at Charnwood Museum in the Changing Room Gallery (the building now occupied by the museum was previously the town’s swimming baths).

Exhibits

Seven cases contained a variety of fossils (three cases), rocks (one case) and minerals (three cases):

• Plaster replicas of Late Precambrian fossils that showed the diversity of the organisms that were alive about 560 million years ago. These casts were on loan from the BGS, Keyworth.

• A variety of fossils and trace fossils from the Late Precambrian, Cambrian, Carboniferous, Triassic, Jurassic and Quaternary periods. These specimens were on loan from various collections: New Walk Museum, Leicester; Geology Department, Leicester University; Dennis Gamble, Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society; BGS, Keyworth.

• A selection of specimens that showcased the remarkable array of minerals and rocks occur in the Charnwood area. These specimens were on loan from the collections of Neil Hubbard, John Jones and Frank Ince.

Information Panels

Ten professionally-printed information panels were produced and they provided details of the following topics:

• An introductory panel describing the scope of the exhibition.

• A panel containing a geological map and a brief description of the diverse geology of the Charnwood area.

• Six panels containing more information about the variety of rocks, fossils and minerals that occur in the Charnwood area.

• A panel containing a summary of the quarrying and mining industries; their locations were shown on the geological map of the Charnwood area.

• A panel describing the history and activities of the Russell Society; together with acknowledgements to the people and organisations who had contributed to the exhibition.

The printing of these panels was made possible by a project grant from Russell Society funds.

The staff at Charnwood Museum indicated that the exhibition had been very popular, with about 3000 members of the public visiting the gallery. During the period of the exhibition a few ‘crafty days’ for children were organised by Margaret (Ince) in the museum’s Education Room. John Jones accompanied members of a local U3A group during their visit to the exhibition. Members of the East Midland Geological Society included the exhibition in their programme of summer field trips; during their afternoon visit, I gave them a talk that covered the background to the exhibition and various aspects of the geology, mineralogy, etc. An evening talk was incorporated into the spring programme of the Friends of Charnwood Museum; in this presentation I included a more general description of the geology, rocks, fossils and minerals of the Charnwood area.

Frank Ince,

Chairman, Russell Society Central Branch.

Comments:

The exhibition was organised to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the first scientific discovery of a Precambrian fossil in Charnwood Forest; consequently, it was important that our displays included a replica of the original fossil and examples of the subsequently-recognised diversity of the Charnian biotia. Whilst two notable Charnian fossils were made availably by the Geology Department at Leicester University, the plaster casts of five different fossils on loan from the BGS Collections were an important component of the exhibition. One of the information panels was dedicated to the discovery and description of the Precambrian fossils that occur in the Charnwood area and put them into the context of the local geology.

The display that included Carboniferous fossils contained an excellent example of a Coal Measures fossil on loan from the BGS Collections.

Molly Kirven Work Experience at the BGS

My name is Molly Kirven and I have just finished my first year studying Geology at University of Derby. I undertook one month of work experience at BGS and was able to explore different departments throughout the organisation.

At the beginning of the month after having a tour of the site, I compiled spatial datasets of paleontological data on varying chalk pits throughout the UK using ArcGIS and Excel to do so. This was followed by curating palaeontology collections as well as scanning and 3D printing a fossil from the BGS museum.

I then observed Sherwood Sandstone boreholes producing a core log. Throughout my time at BGS I also attended lunchtime lectures and met many members of staff who took the time to give me extra work, discuss their geological careers and show me aspects of BGS I was unaware of.

Overall, my experience was incredible and I truly loved every second of it. The staff were very welcoming and personable and made my experience as amazing as it could be which is why I hope to be returning in the next year to complete more work experience. 

 

Thank you for everything
Molly

Molly’s work compiling Chalk stratigraphy information into a spatial database builds on current BGS work that underpins a new physical property model of the Chalk Group, as well as providing pathways to detailed BGS site-specific report data that is currently ‘hidden’ in our archives.

Environment Agency Staff Open Day

By having samples of the geology on display the Environment Agency hope to provide a learning opportunity for staff who don’t work in the area of geoscience to better understand the impact geology has on our area.

The samples we borrow from the BGS will help those attending the engagement day to visualise the geology of the East Midlands and to provide a geological and geographical context to the industries we regulate and the impact that geology has on groundwater vulnerability.”

Here are some EA staff using the rock samples to understand more about oil and gas work at our engagement day of 5th July 2017.

Here the folks are sniffing an oil rich sandstone which smells strongly of oil  to better understand how oil is stored in rock and how we can understand geology and the nature of different rock types by handling and interacting with rock samples.