VOLCANOES,IMPACTS & MASS

EXTINCTION

GeoscientistThe Fellowship magazine of The Geological Society of London | www.geolsoc.org.uk | Volume 22 No 10 | November 2012

www.twitter.com/geoscientistmagfollow us on twitter

[ ]

Cause and effect, 30 yearsafter Alvarez et al.

Now morereviews

per issue!

BOOKS & ARTS

Paul Johnson on the Map Library’s treasuresFOLDED OR FLAT?

RockWare.comEuropean Sales

++41 91 967 52 53 • F: ++41 91 967 55 50europe@rockware.com

US Sales303.278.3534 • F: 303.278.4099

sales@rockware.com

MapInfoProfessional®

Free trials for most of our products available at www.rockware.com

Follow us on:

Blog

Not Just Software. . . RockWare.For Over 29 Years.

Workshops, Custom Training and Consulting Services for the Geoscientist• Workshops held in Lugano,

Switzerland or onsite• Training and consulting

services available for RockWorks, LogPlot, Surfer, and ArcGIS

• Get individualized attention from a software AND industry expert

• Follow a standard course format, or have us design a custom syllabus tailored to your needs

• Services include map creation, volumetric estimation, database compilation, and exploration and analysis of diverse datasets

Call for pricing

RockWareTraining andConsulting3D Data Management,

Analysis and Visualization• Powerful measured-

section/borehole database for managing:

- Lithology - Stratigraphy - Hydrology - Fractures - Hydrochemistry

(e.g. Contaminants) - Geophysics - and more

• Create striplogs, cross-sections, fence diagrams, and block models

• Contour data in 2D and 3D (isosurfaces)

• Extensive on-line help and sample data sets

•Includes RockWorks Utilities

$3,000

RockWorks®

An Indispensible Collection of Modeling, Analysis, and Display Tools• Point and multivariate

mapping tools• Contour maps and three

dimensional surfaces• Section and Lease maps

(land grid data included)• Google EarthTM exports• Gridding and block

modeling tools• Volumetrics• Pit optimization• Piper and Stiff diagrams• Rose & Stereonet diagrams• Statistical tools including

histograms, scatter plots and ternary diagrams

$599

RockWorks Utilities™

Powerful, Flexible, Easy-to-Use Borehole and Well Log Software• Dozens of templates

available or design your own in the drawing-style log designer window

•Tabbed data sheets

• Import/Export data from LAS, Excel, RockWorks

• Paginated and continuous logs at any vertical scale

• Export to a variety of formats

• Free viewer can be distributed to clients

$699

LogPlot®

NOVEMBER 2012 03

CONTENTS GEOSCIENTIST

06 10

16 COVER FEATURE: FOLDED OR FLAT?Paul Johnson reflects on the cartographictreasure-house in his charge

IN THIS ISSUE

10 VOLCANOES & IMPACTS Gerta Keller and others raisethe curtain on a major conference planned for 2013

05 WELCOME Ted Nield on a changing Geoscientist

06 SOCIETY NEWS What your Society is doing at homeand abroad, in London and the regions

09 SOAPBOX Nick Rogers fears HE reforms will sell theOU’s great legacy down the river

20 BOOK & ARTS Four reviews by David Rothery, JohnHenry, Steve Rowlatt and Jason Harvey

22 LETTERS We welcome your thoughts

24 PEOPLE Geoscientists in the news and on the move

26 OBITUARY Two distinguished Fellows remembered

27 CALENDAR Society activities this month

29 CROSSWORD Win a special publication of your choice

FEATURES

REGULARS

n CURIOSITY ON MARS Jon Tennant, until recently Policy Intern at the Society and now a PhD student at the University of Leicester, reflects on the latest chapter in our exploration of the Red Planet

n VOLCANOES, IMPACTS, MASS EXTINCTION Go online for a much extended version of Keller et al.’s feature launching their forthcoming major international conference

ONLINE SPECIALS

NOVEMBER 2012

04 NOVEMBER 2012

Geoscientist is theFellowship magazine ofthe Geological Societyof London

The Geological Society,Burlington House, Piccadilly,London W1J 0BGT +44 (0)20 7434 9944F +44 (0)20 7439 8975E enquiries@geolsoc.org.uk(Not for Editorial)

Publishing HouseThe Geological SocietyPublishing House, Unit 7,Brassmill Enterprise Centre,Brassmill Lane, Bath BA1 3JNT 01225 445046F 01225 442836

Library T +44 (0)20 7432 0999F +44 (0)20 7439 3470E library@geolsoc.org.uk

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFProfessor Tony Harris FGS

EDITORDr Ted Nield NUJ FGSE ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk

EDITORIAL BOARDDr Sue Bowler FGSMr Steve Branch FGSDr Robin Cocks FGSDr Howard Falcon-Lang FGSDr Joe McCall FGSProf. Peter Styles FGSDr Jonathan Turner FGSDr Jan Zalasiewicz FGS

Trustees of the GeologicalSociety of LondonMr D T Shilston (President);Mrs N K Ala; Dr M GArmitage; Miss S Brough;Professor R A Butler;Professor N A Chapman;Mr D J Cragg; Professor JFrancis (Secretary, Science)Professor A J Fraser; Dr S A Gibson; Mrs M PHenton (Secretary,Professional Matters); Dr R A Hughes; Mr D AJones; Dr A Law(Treasurer), Professor R JLisle; Professor A R Lord(Secretary, Foreign &External Affairs); Mr PMaliphant (Vice president);Dr B R Marker OBE;Professor S B Marriott (Vicepresident); Dr G Nichols; Dr C P Summerhayes (Vicepresident); Professor J HTellam; Dr J P Turner(Secretary, Publications)

Published on behalf of theGeological Society ofLondon byCentury One Publishing Alban Row, 27–31 VerulamRoad, St Albans, Herts, AL3 4DG

T 01727 893 894F 01727 893 895E enquiries@centuryone

publishing.ltd.ukW www.centuryone

publishing.ltd.uk

CHIEF EXECUTIVENick SimpsonT 01727 893 894E nick@centuryone

publishing.ltd.uk

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVEJonathan KnightT 01727 739 193E jonathan@centuryone

publishing.ltd.uk

ART EDITORHeena Gudka

DESIGN & PRODUCTIONSarah Astington

PRINTED BY Century One Publishing Ltd.

Copyright The Geological Society ofLondon is a Registered Charity,number 210161.ISSN (print) 0961-5628 ISSN (online) 2045-1784

NOVEMBER 2012 05

DR TED NIELD EDITOR

A STORY OF BOYISHENTHUSIASM, RIVALRY, SHOWINGOFF AND A NEVER-ENDING QUESTFOR STORAGE SPACE... Front cover A geological map of England and Wales, 1835

~

~

EDITOR’S COMMENT GEOSCIENTIST

ditors should not talk about their organstoo often, I always think; it makes themseem self-absorbed. However I will break the rule on this occasion becausethe issue is an aspect of a widerphenomenon touched on in this month’ssecond feature.

The information industry in general is in a state offlux, as the implications of digital storage and deliverywork their way through the system. Removing ourreliance on printed paper for these functions will haveconsequences every bit as unforeseeable as theintroduction of word processing in the 1980s, whenfor writers and editors, ‘top copy’ tyranny finallycollapsed. However, what digitisation is forcing us todo is to be more discriminating about different typesof information, and how best to deliver them - makingthe medium fit the message, in other words.

Like Radio Times, Geoscientist (formed by theamalgamation of the Institution of Geologist’smagazine British Geologist and the Society’s monthlynewsletter) was for many years after primarily a‘listings’ service - a directory of meetings, withabstracts. This sort of information is now much better delivered online than in print, because there itcan be continually updated and disseminated, freeand on-demand. As a result, the printed Calendar hasshrunk to a vestigial page, listing only meetings in themonth of issue.

Much the same sort of transformation is nowovertaking news. Even daily newspapers now findtheir thunder regularly stolen by more immediatemedia, which now include their own online versions.Print dailies face many of the same problems thatSundays always faced; when everyone else hasshorter lead times and higher frequency, you must domore opinion, more reviews and perhaps the oddinvestigative exclusive.

We are all now bombarded with geological news, so a magazine with a lead of one calendar month at least is not the natural home for breaking stories. So, marking another stage in a transition to a lessnews-based, more reflective Geoscientist, we shallhenceforth publish two spreads of reviews in oursection ‘Books & Arts’. This will help both to cut thelead-time for reviews and broaden the range of booksand events that we cover.

This new world of information delivery is central to our second feature this month, in which MapLibrarian Paul Johnson reviews the history of theSociety’s map collection, and the digital future thatawaits it. And if you would like to review a book for Geoscientist, please visit the Geoscientist OnlineBooks & Arts page for a regularly updated list ofavailable titles.

ENEWS VS COMMENT

The Geological Society of Londonaccepts no responsibility for the viewsexpressed in any article in thispublication. All views expressed,except where explicitly statedotherwise, represent those of theauthor, and not The GeologicalSociety of London. All rights reserved.No paragraph of this publication maybe reproduced, copied or transmittedsave with written permission. Usersregistered with Copyright ClearanceCenter: the Journal is registered withCCC, 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA01970, USA. 0961-5628/02/$15.00. Every effort has been made to tracecopyright holders of material in thispublication. If any rights have been omitted, the publishers offertheir apologies.

No responsibility is assumed by thePublisher for any injury and/ordamage to persons or property as amatter of products liability,negligence or otherwise, or from anyuse or operation of any methods,products, instructions or ideascontained in the material herein.Although all advertising material isexpected to conform to ethical(medical) standards, inclusion in thispublication does not constitute aguarantee or endorsement of thequality or value of such product or ofthe claims made by its manufacturer.

Subscriptions: All correspondencerelating to non-member subscriptionsshould be addresses to the JournalsSubscription Department, GeologicalSociety Publishing House, Unit 7Brassmill Enterprise Centre, BrassmillLane, Bath, BA1 3JN, UK. Tel: 01225445046. Fax: 01225 442836. Email:sales@geolsoc.org.uk. Thesubscription price for Volume 22,2012 (11 issues) to institutions andnon-members is £108 (UK) or £124 /US$247 (Rest of World).

© 2012 The Geological Society of London

06 NOVEMBER 2012

GEOSCIENTIST SOCIETY NEWS

n CHRISTMAS AND NEWYEAR CLOSUREThe Society (London and Bath) willbe closed from 24 - 31 Decemberinclusive, re-opening on Wednesday2 January 2013.

Plate Tectonics will appear on the Society’s new website, being made ready forlaunch at time of going to press. Once this has happened (but not before), the URLwill be www.geolsoc.org.uk/plate-tectonics. Editor

Plate Tectonics onlineJudi Lakin (Education Officer) reports on a new online teaching andlearning module on the unifying theory of terrestrial geology

We are pleased to announce that our latest on-line resource - Plate Tectonics- should be live on the Society’s website by the time you read this. Althoughaimed at a target audience of 14 to 16 year-old students, the module shouldalso appeal to a wider range of students and non-geologists. Learning from ourexperience with The Rock Cycle, the module uses seven localities as casestudies that can be ‘drilled down into’ for full explanations of their tectonicsetting. Each locality is identified on an interactive ‘hub’ map and the Platemargins are illustrated with additional maps and animations. A final sectionlooks at evidence found in the UK for past tectonic events.

As for The Rock Cycle, a ‘Test your knowledge’ section for students now hasquizzes and ‘drag and drop’ questions; while new extension material in the‘Teachers’ zone’ includes useful links, and a glossary.

The Society is grateful to Centrica for the generous sponsorship of thisproject; and to the team of senior teachers and academics who have workedwith the Society staff in making the Plate Tectonics module a reality: namely,Pete Loader, Ian Kenyon, Nick Rogers, Gordon Neighbour, Alan Smith andStuart Smallwood.

ELECTION – FELLOWSThe following names are put forward for election toFellowship at the OGM on 28 November:

ADEKILE Adedotun; ADVAKAAT Eldert Lieven; AGBEJOBI OlawaleOlutayo; ANASTASSIADES A Eraclis; BACKSTROM Lars Gosta Erik;BAINES Christopher Joseph; BALE Sean Michael; BARKER, MichaelIan; BARRON Christopher James; BATCHALI Siva Soumya; BEDFORDSteven; BERNAU Robin James; BISHTON Scott; BOYCE Craig Alan;BRYDON Christopher Leslie; BUMSTEAD Martyn Leslie;CAPPELLETTI Flavia; CARWITHEN Leah Elizabeth; CASSIDY Sean;CAVEN Sarah; CHAMBERLAIN Matthew Davis; CHAN Vincent YuKwan; CHAPAGAIN Binod; CHEVRIER Philippe; CHIK Yu Sum;CHUGG Gareth; CLARK Lloyd; CONVERY Marie Elizabeth; COOPERJames; COUVES Colette Rose; CURTIS Thomas; DALE TabethaElspeth; DAVIES Paul; DEMUTH Frances Carol; DEWHURST Thomas;DOYLE Brendan; DRUMMOND Daniel Nicholas; EDMUNDS HuwRichard Llewelyn; EYERS Shirley; FAROQY Anna; FOSTER Michael;GANN Susan Elaine Russell; GILCHRIST Stephen James; GILFILLANLaura Joyce; GRAYSON Emma; GUEDEZ Maria Carolina; HENRYSamuel William Richard; HIGGS Stephanie; HIPKINS Emma Victoria;HO Cho Man; HO Chun Ning; HODGINS Jonathan; HOPKINS Daniel;HULL David Michael; IMIOLCZYK Stefan David; INGLIS Catherine;INGRAM David John Ralston; JAKUC Mikolaj Hubert; JOHNSONSimon William Lloyd; JOHNSON Sean Christopher; JOHNSTONAndrew Ian; JOYCE Angela Theresa; KIRK Fraser Andrew; KIRKBYRachael Helena Leigh; KIRKWOOD Charles William; KNEVITT Oliver;KOCHER Thomas; KOJI Hirai; LAM Wing Yuen; LARWOOD JonathanGilbert; LAW Andrew David John; LEE Chen Wah; LEITCH Susan;LEVISON Alan; LEWIS Emily; LOFTHOUSE Christopher; LOURENCOSergio Duarte Nunes; LUI Jade Victoria; LYGKAS Georgios;MACALLISTER Donald John; MAK Yiu Man; MANKIEWICZ William;MATTHEWS Thomas; MAUSCH Wojciech; MCGILLYCUDDY Yvonne;MORETTI Helena; MORRISON Donald; MUIRHEAD David K;MUKHERJEE Abhishek; NAIR Dinesh; NORTH James; O'HARA PeterJoseph; PATEL Nehal; PAUL Yee Yu; PENGILLY Oliver; POWLINGThomas; PURVIS Jonathan William Thomas; RAWCLIFFE HeatherJoanne; RICHARDS Lachlan John; RITCHIE Sarah; ROBERTS Gareth;RODWAY Kristopher; ROSE Alexis Victoria; ROWELL ChristopherDavid; SANDERSON Marcus James; SELL William Harrold;SHELLNUTT John Gregory; SMALE Lara; SMITH Graham Paul;SPRING John Stuart; STEWART Matthew; SWEENY Kirsty Helen;TAYLOR Claire; THOMAS Hugh Mario; THOMAS Daniel Mark;THOMPSON Andrew; TSE Sin Fung (Elmer); TURNER Oakley; TYERSPaul; VAN DER WIELEN Simon Eduard; VENKATESAN Jayyarama;VILES Heather; WALLIS Joanna Louise; WELLS Kevin; WHEELERSimon Darren; WILKS Dominic John; WILSON Augustus O'Hara;WILSON James Alexander; WORMALD Sarah; YEUNG Kai Wing; YIPShing Lam; YIU Wai Cam; YOUNG Kateline

Candidates upgrading to Fellowship:

ANDERSON Ross Peter; AL-NUAIMI Alexander Nicholas; BROUGH Amber Louise; COUSINS Ben Lewis; GJERTSEN James;HENRY Peter; LACEY Jack; MAIR Kathryn Elizabeth; PACEY Adam;XERRI Rodney

SOCIETYNEWS

FUTURE MEETINGSDates for meetings of Council and OrdinaryGeneral Meetings until June 2013 shall be as follows:n 2012: 28 Novembern 2013: 6 February (1500); 10 April

lectures][

Moving to a lower carbon energy system and, overtime, displacing fossil fuels with renewable energy willinvolve new challenges for geologists. Below groundgeothermal energy is an obvious example.Underground energy storage may be a more effectiveand flexible solution than batteries to the challenges ofmatching renewables' intermittent supply to demand.

The siting of renewable energy projects, onshore and offshore, is based fundamentally on conditionscreated by geology. The new resources required tomanufacture the energy-conversion equipment for renewable energy are placing new demands for resources from all across the periodic Table of the elements.

n Programme – Afternoon talk: 1430 Tea & Coffee:1500 Lecture begins: 1600 Event ends.n Programme – Evening talk: 1730 Tea & Coffee:1800 Lecture begins: 1900 Reception.

FURTHER INFORMATIONPlease visit www.geolsoc.org.uk/shelllondonlectures12. Entry to each lecture is by ticket only. To obtain a ticket please contact the Society aroundfour weeks before the talk. Due to the popularity of thislecture series, tickets are allocated in a monthly ballotand cannot be guaranteed.

Geological Aspects of Renewable EnergySpeaker – Bruce Levell (Vice President ofEmerging Technologies, Shell; 2009Petroleum Group Silver Medallist)14 November 2012

Shell LondonLecture Series

Contact: Naomi Newbold, The Geological Society, BurlingtonHouse, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG, T: +44 (0) 20 7432 0981E: Naomi.newbold@geolsoc.org.uk

NOVEMBER 2012 07

SOCIETY NEWS GEOSCIENTIST

Fermor Fund anniversary

Research Funds open for bids

Early in 1991 the Society received asignificant bequest from Lady FrancesMary Fermor to establish the FermorFund as a memorial to her latehusband, Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor KTOBE FRS (1880- 1954), for the“furtherance of research into thosebranches of geology that deal withthe study of the principles governingore deposition the occurrence ofminerals and of mineral bearing rocksand fundamental research into theorigins of Precambrian rocks,including extraterrestrial occurrences.”

To commemorate the Fund’s 20thanniversary the Society invited bidsfor small research grants, travelawards to support attendance at amajor conference in the UK or

The 2013 round of Society ResearchFunds is now open for applications.Applications for support from any ofthe Society funds must be made onthe form which can be downloadedfrom the Society Awards and ResearchGrants page on the websitewww.geolsoc.org.uk/grants.

The form must be completed in fulland accompanied by two letters ofsupport from Fellows of the Society.Please send to the Awards Secretary

at the Geological Society. In order tobe considered at the next availablecommittee meeting, applications andsupporting documents should reachthe Society no later than 1 February2013. The average award has beenabout £1000.

Novas are again generouslyproviding bursaries for undergraduatefield mapping and supervisors areasked to encourage their students tosubmit their applications.

overseas and funds for researchworkshops designed to promotenetworking. Bids were also invited for a ‘Fermor Prize’ to be awarded tothe best, second and thirdundergraduate independent projects,on the basis of nomination by thestudent’s supervisor.

A committee, chaired by ProfessorPhilip Allen, and including ProfessorDavid Vaughan (Manchester) and DrRichard Herrington (NHM), met inSeptember to review 12 applications.Seven awards were made, details ofwhich can be found online. Thewinner of the Fermor Prize, RossAnderson of Harvard University, alsowon a research grant that enabled himto attend the 2012 Fermor Meeting.

Image: m

ajeczka / Shutterstock.com

Photo: Ted N

ield

Ross Anderson (left) pictured with supervisorProf Andy Knoll, 2007 Wollaston Medallist

08 NOVEMBER 2012

GEOSCIENTIST SOCIETY NEWS

The Geological Society ClubThe Geological Society Club,successor to the body that gave birthto the Society in 1807, meetsmonthly (except over the fieldseason!) at 18.30 for 19.00 in theAthenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Once ayear there is also a special dinner atBurlington House. New diners arealways welcome, especially fromamong younger Fellows.

Dinner costs £52 for a four-coursemeal, including coffee and port. (The Founders' Dinner, in November,has its own price structure.) There is

a cash bar for the purchase of aperitifs and wine. n 2013: 16 January; 20 February; 13March; 10 April (Burlington House); 15 May.

Offsite access – more journals!Several additional e-journals, includingLethaia and Journal of PetroleumGeology, are now available to Fellowsof the Society. Fill in an Offsite AccessApplication Form (if you don’t already

SOCIETYNEWS...

Fellows of the Society wishing to dineshould send cheques, payable to‘Geological Society Club’, to: CallyOldershaw, c/o Shashu Lalji,Department of Earth Sciences, NaturalHistory Museum, Cromwell Road,London SW7 5BD. E: cally.oldershaw@btopenworld.com DR

FROM THE LIBRARYThe library is open to visitorsMonday-Friday 0930-1730.

For a list of new acquisitions clickthe appropriate link fromhttp://www.geolsoc.org.uk/info

n VIRTUAL ‘HELP YOURSELF BOX’The Library has a selection of journal issues which arenot required due to duplication, defect or damage. A list of these can be found on our website in thesection on Library Collections - Serials, under theheading 'Surplus Journals' www.geolsoc.org.uk/page3358.html.

Here you will find information on how to requestthem. They are available to both individuals andlibraries. Please note that there may be a chargedepending on the type of material and the weight, if posted.

n DOCUMENT DELIVERY Don't forget that the Geological Society Library canusually supply photocopies more cheaply than otherproviders e.g. British Library & the publishers.Remember - our journals have been bought with yourmoney, and are here to be used!

n POSTAL LOANSWe use Royal Mail's Special Delivery to send all loansto borrowers, in order to guarantee next-day deliveryand more particularly, so that the packages are insuredin case of loss. Many books are now very expensiveand if lost are difficult to replace. Please will borrowersensure that all loans are returned to the Library by thismeans, or by a reputable courier who can guaranteethe same protection.

n WIFI ACCESS WiFi (wireless fidelity) access to the Internet is nowavailable to all readers. If you are visiting the Libraryand have a WiFi-enabled laptop you can ask the stafffor a password to give you free Internet access.

have an Athens account) from theLibrary. Visit the Virtual Library,www.geolsoc.org.uk/virtuallibrary,for a full list of journals and volumes available.

Image: inacio pires / Shutterstock.com

NOVEMBER 2012 09

SOAPBOX CALLING!

Nick Rogers* laments the coming of a philistine utilitarianview of education that is now threatening to destroyeverything the OU has worked for since its foundation

BY NICK ROGERS

The Open University’s Department ofEarth Sciences has punched well aboveweight for 40 years, building an enviablereputation. It is now under threat from theBrown Review and changes in HE fundingaffecting the whole Open University.

A few years ago the Labour governmentintroduced an ‘equivalent or lowerqualification’ (ELQ) policy, whereby if youalready had a degree then the governmentwould not pay its share of the fees towardsa second. This had a minimal effectelsewhere in HE but caused a 10-20%reduction in OU core funding from 2007-11.

BROWN REVIEWELQ was but a prelude to the BrownReview. Now, from October 2012 the OUwill have to charge £5000 for theequivalent of a year’s tuition. This meansthat the popular Level Two Geologymodule, currently a snip at £350, will cost£1250. Students can get loans for this ifthey are registered for a qualification andstudying at a rate of 30 credits per year.Currently OU students can build up creditfor a qualification that they do not need todeclare at the outset. This newrequirement requires a completeturnaround in OU operations and studentbehaviour. Result? The OU is now indirect competition with the rest of thesector.

The funding changesreflect a more generalshift towards a‘utilitarian’ view ofeducation inwhich its purposebecomes to createa skilled andqualifiedworkforce ableto contributeto theknowledge-basedeconomy. Theseviews havebeen

progressively espoused in variousutterances from ministers, officials andadvisers of almost every political hue overthe past decade.

UTILITARIANISMEducation is not just vocational training;but politicians seem to have forgotten that.Where, in today’s cutthroat HE market, issocial wellbeing, developing an informedsociety regardless of income or status? TheOpen University has played a pre-eminentrole in achieving these for over 40 years,but its position at the epicentre of adulthigher education is now vitally threatenedby educational utilitarianism.

The OU showed how part-time distanceeducation could produce graduates withdegree-level knowledge and skills. Byintroducing university education to thosesectors of society who had been denied it,the OU made a major contribution towards‘life-long learning’. It gave adults thechance to interact with their fellowstudents, tutors and academics, allpassionate about their subject, and not forthe sake of getting a better job, but becauseit helped sate their hunger for knowledge.Such broader benefits are now beingignored. Sadly, they cannot be reduced toa simple metric.

The OU’s original purpose was toincrease social mobility and well-beingthrough higher education. No doubt partof the motivation was utilitarian, but thiswas not at the forefront among 69’ers whopioneered the OU from temporary hutson the outskirts of Bletchley. Ian Gass,our first Professor, said that their aimwas not to train Earth scientists but to

provide an education in Earth sciences.The question remains as to whether it willbe in a position to make that claim forfuture generations.

Soapbox is open tocontributions from all Fellows.You can always write a letter tothe Editor, of course: butperhaps you feel you needmore space?

If you can write it entertainingly in500 words, the Editor would liketo hear from you.

Email your piece, and a self-portrait, to ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk. Copy can only beaccepted electronically. Nodiagrams, tables or otherillustrations please.

Pictures should be of print quality – as a rule of thumb,anything over a few hundredkilobytes should do.

Precedence will always be givento more topical contributions.Any one contributor may notappear more often than once pervolume (once every 12 months).

THE OPENUNIVERSITY’SDEPARTMENT OFEARTH SCIENCES HASPUNCHED WELL ABOVEWEIGHT FOR 40 YEARS,BUILDING AN ENVIABLEREPUTATION. IT ISNOW UNDER THREATFROM THE BROWNREVIEW AND CHANGESIN HE FUNDING Nick Rogers

~

~* Nick Rogers is Chair of the EducationCommittee, The Geological Society, and isAssociate Dean and Science Programme Director,

The Open University.

Open University under threat

SOAPBOX GEOSCIENTIST

he nature and causes of massextinctions in the geologicalpast have remained topics ofintense scientific debate for thepast three decades. Central tothis debate is the question of

whether one, or several large bolideimpacts, the eruption of large igneousprovinces (LIPs), or a combination of thetwo were the primary mechanism(s)driving the environmental and habitatchanges that are universally regarded asthe proximate causes for four of the fivemajor Phanerozoic extinction events.

Recent years have seen a revolution inour understanding of both interplanetaryenvironments and LIP eruptions and theirenvironmental effects, so that a simple‘impact-kill’ scenario no longer seems anadequate explanation for the end-Cretaceous mass extinction - or any other.Instead, combinations of massivesequential volcanic eruptions and thebreakup of giant comets, leading to rapidclimate change and environmentalcatastrophe, have emerged as the leadingcauses of such events.

MATUREDConsiderable recent research efforts havefocused on understanding the context andnature of the environmental changes thatsurrounded the five major massextinctions. Significant new analyticaldata and observations have resulted - fromfields as diverse as geochronology,geochemistry, palaeontology,sedimentology, stratigraphy,palaeomagnetism, volcanology andgeophysics. The body of scientificevidence based on these new data hasmatured to a point that requires us toreview hypotheses about the cause(s) ofthese eco-evolutionary events.

To this end, the Natural HistoryMuseum, London, will host aninternational conference on March 27-29next year (see advertisement, page 4) tobring together researchers from manydisciplines to assess the current records onvolcanism, impacts and mass extinctions,and the stratigraphic and geochemicalrecords of environmental change acrossmajor mass extinction episodes.

The conference will try to assess thepresent status of the historic ‘gap’ betweenproponents of different mass extinctionscause scenarios and hypotheses, byintegrating evidence from differentdisciplines. The intention will be toidentify mutual interests andcomplimentary expertise, and so foster anew, collaborative, interdisciplinarycommunity-wide approach to resolvingthe field’s outstanding problems. Data andconcepts presented and discussed willhave broad implications extendingthrough and beyond the geosciencecommunity, because they will summarisethe type of important baseline datanecessary for understanding ancient andmodern species extinctions.

The two main culprits proposed in theearly 1980s as potential causes for majormass extinctions are asteroid impacts andlarge volcanic eruptions. The mostpopular case remains that of theCretaceous-Tertiary Paleogene (KPg or KT)mass extinction, which is associated withboth an impact (Chicxulub, Yucatan) andflood basalt (Deccan Traps, India).

VOLCANISMDeccan volcanic flows probably occurredas "pulses", some flows being trulygigantic with calculated original volumes>10,000 km3 and erupted in < 100 years(possibly only a decade). For comparison,

T

Professor Gerta Keller et al.* survey the stateof mass extinction studies, over 30 years sinceWalter and Luis Alvarez, Frank Asaro andHelen Michel discovered the KT impact

EXTINCTIONSVOLCANISM, IMPACTS & MASS

GEOSCIENTIST FEATURE

▼

Deccan Traps in India show layered lava flowsforming high (3000m) mountains and coveringan area the size of France. Their original extent

was about three times the size of France

12 NOVEMBER 2012

GEOSCIENTIST FEATURE

the largest historical basaltic eruption (1783,Laki, Iceland) erupted some 15 km3 of lavain about a year. So a single huge Deccanflow could have amounted to at least 667‘Lakis’ in less than 100 years! The vastamount of carbon and sulphur dioxidesinjected in the atmosphere from just one ofthese massive eruptions would have beenon the same order of magnitude as thoseestimated to have been ejected by theYucatan asteroid impact.

Debates over the proximate mechanismsof the KT extinction continue, but they arelikely linked to these enormous pulsedinjections of gases into the atmosphere,generating alternating episodes of coolingand warming, acid rain (leading to amarine calcification crisis), increasedweathering and terrestrial runoff (leadingto large nutrient influx into oceans andcausing oxygen-depleted oceanicconditions hostile to marine life). In thecase of the KT extinction, the impact wouldhave exacerbated an already heavilystressed environment, due to Deccanvolcanism, injecting gases in the sameamounts and time scales as the individualhuge, short volcanic pulses.

Using palaeontology, palaeomagnetismand high-precision dating, we now knowthat the Deccan Trap eruptions occurred inthree phases, with the main phase-2 nearthe end of the Cretaceous being closelyassociated with the KT mass extinction, andoccurring within the same timeframe as theChicxulub impact.

IMPACTSThat the mass extinction of species at theKT boundary was caused by the impact ofa 10km asteroid has been a mainstay ofboth popular journalism and muchprofessional literature since the discoveryof a thin layer of iridium at the KTboundary in 1980. As understood at thattime, the main reservoir for impactors wasthe asteroid belt, with a small contributionfrom comets.

Recent years have seen a revolution inour understanding of the interplanetaryenvironment and this simple picture is nolonger adequate. Asteroids of 10kmdiameter straying from the main asteroidbelt are exceedingly rare. At the level ofmass extinction, the 10km solitary asteroidis the least likely of several possible impactscenarios. In contrast, large populations ofcomets have been discovered, held in deepfreeze on the fringes of the planetarysystem. Many are large, such as 250kmdiameter Chiron, which may enter anEarth-crossing orbit strongly influenced byJupiter within 0.2 million years.

A Chiron-sized comet may have a mass

Laki volcaniceruptions(Iceland) of 1783lasted nearly ayear, extrudedabout 15km3 oflava and causedmajor famineand climatechanges overseveral years.Such eruptionsare an examplein miniature ofjust one of aseries of giganticDeccan flowsthat amounted to667 Lakieruptions

Inset: A 2006Hubble telescopeimage of CometP/73Schwassmann-Wachmann, asmall Jupiterfamily cometwhich began todisintegrate in1995. A Chiron-sized object inthis situation,which mighthave 1 to 10million times themass, wouldconstitute adangerous andprolongedterrestrial hazard

Massextinctions,impacts andlarge igneousprovinces duringthe Phanerozoic.Stratigraphicsubdivisions andnumerical agesfrom the 2004InternationalStratigraphyChart (ICS).Generacompilationfrom Sepkoski(l996), Hallamand Wignall(1997) andMacLeod (2003)

▼

Image: R

udolf Tepfenhart / Shutterstock.com

NOVEMBER 2012 13

FEATURE GEOSCIENTIST

equivalent to 10,000-15,000 Chixculub-sized impactors, and its progressiveJupiter-influenced disintegration wouldyield a highly enhanced impact hazard atall scales with a prodigious dust influx intothe stratosphere for the duration of itsbreakup. The duration of this enhancedhazard is difficult to predict, and could beanywhere from a few thousand to a fewhundred thousand years.

In that situation, the terrestrial impactrate will increase by a factor severalhundred during the half million years or soof the breakup, with an expectation of, say,a 10km body impact somewhere along theroute accompanied by many smaller ones -as evidenced by the terrestrial record.Fireball storms over the duration of thebreakup are liable to destroy stratosphericozone and intermittently reduce incidentsunlight. Such events, as much as impacts,may mean major biological trauma.

MASS EXTINCTIONSEvidence from palaeontology,sedimentology, geochemistry andgeochronology reveals that none of the ‘bigfive’ mass extinctions was brought aboutby a single, instantaneous event causingsudden environmental collapse. All arecharacterised by prolonged periods of highstress before and after mass extinctions andthree (end-Permian, end-Devonian, end-Ordovician) show multiple extinctionphases, sometimes separated by hundredsof thousands of years. Extinction patternsare varied, sometimes affecting marine lifemore than terrestrial, but they areinvariably selective and predominantlytarget shelly creatures that depend on thesecretion of calcium carbonate. Despitethese common patterns, no single cause hasemerged, suggesting that multiple causesmay produce the same catastrophicenvironmental effects.

The KT mass extinction is primarilyknown for the demise of the dinosaurs, theChicxulub impact as the presumed solecause - and a rancorous 30 year-oldcontroversy. However, among the fivemajor mass extinctions, only the KT showsclose correspondence between the massextinction, an iridium anomaly, a largeimpact crater (Chicxulub) plus one smallcrater (Boltysh), one of the largestcontinental flood basalt eruptions (DeccanTraps) and major climate and sea levelchanges. Given the revolution inunderstanding of these events over the pastdecade a simple impact-kill scenario nowseems inadequate.

The KT mass extinction affectedprimarily non-avian dinosaurs and marineorganisms with calcareous shells. Many ▼

KT outcrop atthe Brazos River,Texas showstwo (yellow-green) impactspherule layersin beddedclaystones oflatestMaastrichtianage nearly 2mbelow the KTmass extinction.Gerta Keller for scale

Fieldwork inIndiainvestigatingintertrappeansediments forclues to the rateand nature ofthe KT massextinction.Curious localstry to be helpful

Deccan fieldteam: Ann Jay,Anne-LiseChenet, VincentCourtillot

14 NOVEMBER 2012

groups died out gradually or decreased indiversity and abundance well before theboundary, including dinosaurs, ammonites,inoceramids, rudists and plankticforaminifera. Only the latter, and to someextent nannofossils, show major,apparently sudden species extinctionscoincident with the KT boundary and Iranomaly, but even in this group a gradual decline in abundance anddiversity of specialised species began with the rapid climate warming about150,000 years before the KT boundary,followed by cooling.

A recent study of planktic foraminiferain sediments between the massive Deccanlava flows of phase-2 documents theirextinction in the lead-up up to the KT massextinction. Accumulated evidence basedon Chicxulub impact spherules throughoutthe Caribbean Central and North Americaalso suggests that this impact may predatethe mass extinction. This meeting willexplore the links between the massextinction, Deccan volcanism and theChicxulub impact.

TRIASSIC-JURASSICThe TJ mass extinction affected both themarine and terrestrial ecosystems severelyand synchronously, coinciding with globalgreenhouse warming and majorperturbations in the carbon cycle. It snuffed out the conodonts, nearlyextinguished ammonoids, and led to thedisappearance of reef communities formillions of years. Dinosaurs were thewinners, benefiting from the ecologicopportunity granted by the high extinctionrate of the dominant crurotarsan reptiles.

The cause for these environmental andbiotic calamities has long been puzzling.Recently, a viable scenario emerged withU-Pb dating of the Central AtlanticMagmatic Province (CAMP) at ~200 Ma,synchronous with the TJ boundary. CAMPis now widely thought to have triggeredthe cascade of linked biotic andenvironmental catastrophes in the Earthsystem, including the observed extremeglobal warming and cooling.

Many scientists hold extreme globalwarming to have been directly responsiblefor the mass extinction, whereas othersargue that short pulses of cooling, inducedby volcanically derived sulphate aerosols,may have been equally detrimental to theecosystem. Although kill-mechanisms anddetails of the chain of events continue to bedebated, new data linking CAMPvolcanism to environmental and bioticchange at the TJ boundary is now well-founded on multiple lines of stratigraphic,geochronologic, geochemical and

paleontological evidence. These need to bereviewed and integrated into one or morepredictive models that can be testedagainst existing observations.

PERMIAN-TRIASSIC This mass extinction event (252Ma) marksthe most severe crisis of the fossil record,culminating in a spectacular coup de grâceat the end of the Permian. In the oceans,extinction losses were devastating - andremarkably unselective - while on land,extinctions were equally catastrophic -plant communities suffering the worstcrisis in Earth history.

Attempts at linking this mass extinctionto a meteorite strike have beenunsuccessful. The Siberian Traps, a vastarea of flood basalts that erupted atprecisely the time of the crisis, appear to bethe most likely cause. However, it is onething to highlight a coincidence andanother to link these two very differentphenomena. The killing mechanism couldhave been the combined effect of sulphurdioxide (causing short-term cooling) andthe longer-term global warming effect ofcarbon dioxide. Both gases were releasedfrom Siberian Trap eruptions, in additionto those released from coal and evaporitesbaked by the lava. However, it is stillunclear how these emissions causedenvironmental damage sufficiently severeto trigger a catastrophe of such scale.

END FRASNIANThe Late Devonian mass extinction(Frasnian-Famennian (FF) 376.1 ± 3.6 Ma)occurred over several million years with aseries of extinction pulses in the latestFrasnian. Most severely affected weremajor reef builders (corals andstromatoporoids) causing the near-disappearance of reefs, along withdecimation of marine invertebrates.Terrestrial environments were relativelylittle affected.

Impacts, volcanism, oceanographic andclimatic changes have all been proposed,and continue to be debated, as causes forthis mass extinction. The 65-75km SiljanRing crater (Sweden ~377 Ma) has beenproposed as one cause, although it isrelatively small and no evidence exists formultiple impacts that might explain theseries of extinction pulses. Anotherpotential cause are the Viluy Traps inEastern Siberia; but preliminary datingsuggests a younger age (370Ma).

Changes in the oceanographic andclimatic systems are relatively welldocumented for this critical interval. Mostprominent are the black shale facies thatdeveloped in the world’s ocean during the

Late Frasnianblackcarbonates(Kellwasserfacies -Antiatlas/Morocco) indicatingoxygen-poorconditions inshelf watersduring the FF crisis

Pillow lavas fromCuraçao, part ofthe lateCretaceousCaribbeanOceanic Plateau,which has beenimplicated as thecause of oceanicanoxia andenvironmentalcrisis at TheCenomanian-Turonianboundary

Vincent Courtillotsampling Deccanbasalt forpalaeomagneticstudies

▼

GEOSCIENTIST FEATURE

NOVEMBER 2012 15

FEATURE GEOSCIENTIST

latest Frasnian, denoting anoxic to euxinicconditions. These probably resulted fromhigher primary productivity triggered byincreased nutrient input from enhancedweathering. A goal of our meeting will beto integrate current data into one or morepredictive models that can be testedagainst existing observations. Currentknowledge suggests that recurrenteutrophication, anoxia, perturbation of theglobal carbon cycle and climate changemay all have contributed to the end-Devonian mass extinction.

END ORDOVICIANThe end-Ordovician saw a rapid rise inextinction (in two pulses) concomitantwith a rise in originations. The extinctionremoved a few entire clades but causedminimal disruption to marine ecosystems.The first pulse targeted benthic organismsin deep and shallow-water environmentsas well as graptolites and nektic groups.Suggested killing mechanisms includeglacially induced cooling, falling sea leveland reduction of habitable shelf-space andchemical recycling in the oceans.

The second extinction pulse isassociated with a strong sea-level rise andocean anoxia, marking a brief warm event.Extinctions were less selective, wiping outfaunas across a range of depths and killingoff, mainly, the survivors of the firstextinction pulse. To date there is noimpact or volcanic evidence associatedwith these extinctions. Although there isno consensus about how climate changedirectly influenced global biodiversity, inthe absence of volcanism or impacts at theend of the Ordovician, a few alternativespresent themselves. Another goal of thismeeting is to explore causal mechanismsof mass extinctions other than volcanismand impact.

SMALLER EVENTSAlthough the ‘big-five’ extinction eventshave received most research attention,realisation is growing that smaller (‘secondorder’) extinction events have also playeda significant role in shaping life on ourplanet. Over the last 200 million yearssuch second-order (predominantly marine)extinction events (e.g., Tithonian, Aptian-Albian, and Cenomanian-Turonian) areinvariably associated with the globaldeposition of black shales - signifyingwidespread oceanic anoxia and severeenvironmental perturbation. Theseperiods are all marked by the eruption ofvast oceanic plateaus (oceanic LIPs), and acausal link between these voluminousundersea eruptions and the associatedextinction events/environmental crises is

now accepted by many researchers. Among the ‘kill-mechanisms’ are: the

release of carbon dioxide and associatedwarming; trace metal poisoning; nutrientupwelling due to disturbed circulation, andoceanic acidification from sulphur dioxiderelease. The meeting will explore thesebiotic stresses that may lead to massextinctions.

CONCLUSIONCurrent data suggest that the leadingcauses of mass extinction events are eithermassive (LIP) volcanism (four out of the bigfive), or impacts - particularly the breakupof large comets. Should the two coincide,as during the KT mass extinction, thiswould almost certainly cause a massextinction as one would exacerbate theother. Some or all of these effects areobserved or speculated to have occurredduring all five mass extinctions. However,at least one (end-Ordovician) cannot beassociated with either impacts orvolcanism.

We intend, at this conference, to bringtogether many disciplines and proponentsof all the different scenarios, to assess andintegrate the current records of volcanism,impacts and mass extinctions, as well as thestratigraphic and geochemical record ofenvironmental change across major massextinction events. We trust that it willidentify mutual interests andcomplimentary expertise and above allfoster a new, collaborative interdisciplinaryand community-wide approach to resolvingthe outstanding problems in this field. n

* Gerta Keller Department of Geosciences, PrincetonUniversity; Howard Armstrong and David HarperDepartment of Earth Sciences, Durham University;Vincent Courtillot Equipe de Paléomagnétisme,Institut de Physique du Globe, et Science de la Terrede l’Environment et des Planètes, Université ParisDiderot; Michael Joachimski GeoZentrumNordbayern, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg;Andrew Kerr School of Earth and Ocean Sciences,Cardiff University; Norman MacLeod Earth SciencesDepartment, The Natural History Museum; WilliamNapier Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, Universityof Buckingham; József Palfy Dept. of Physical andApplied Geology, Eötvös University; Paul WignallSchool of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFor more information, references and contacts,readers are referred to Geoscientist online, where alonger version of this feature is also available. For registration details see advert on p.4 or visitwww.massextinction.princeton.edu.html forinformation and www.minersoc.org/mass-extinctions.html

16 NOVEMBER 2012

he story of theGeological Society’smap collection is oneof boyish enthusiasm,occasional rivalry, abit of showing off, and

a never-ending quest foradditional storage space. Overtime, the Society has gonethrough phases of voracious mapacquisition through to disdainand neglect of them. It has neverreally quite known what to doabout these cumbersome sheets,but it finds them both beautifuland incredibly useful. In the twocenturies of the Society’sexistence, they have given apantheon of geologists a God’s-eye view of field, formation andfault-line.

UNABASHEDFrom the outset, The GeologicalSociety has had an unabashedlove of maps. The firstCommittee of Maps wascreated in 1809, barely twoyears after thefoundation,demonstratingan earlyeagerness forcommitteesand maps, bothof whichcontinue to this day.Even before that date,several sheets hadbeen presented to theSociety - includingworks by Sir JosephBanks and George

Bellas Greenough. In these early years the interest

was in discovery. New mapsbrought new realms and new

evidence to the meeting-roomtable for the gentlemen of the

Society to debate. Years goby, thecartographiccollection

expands, theneeds of Empire

develop. There arerailways to be drivenand coal to be mined.

The same maps thatwere drawn foracademic inquirybecome tools for

industry. Wheneverschisms have developed

FOLDED OR FLAT? Paul Johnson * tells thestory of the Society’s maps

Above: A map of theprincipal features ofthe geology ofYorkshire, 1853T

There it joined Greenough’s1820 map of England andWales which had enjoyed sole occupancy of themeeting room’s wall for theprevious year.

DISTANCEAt the time there wassomething of a distancebetween William Smithand the Society. The maps, publishedfive years apart, were aparticularly sore spot.It has been claimedthat Greenough’s mapowes more than something ofa debt to Smith’s earlier work, adebt acknowledged on theposthumously published 3rdedition of Greenough’s work.Within the society of 1828, theprimacy of Greenough’s map, inits lofty position at the Society’snew Somerset House, apartmentsdemonstrates how things stood atthat date.

Of the two maps, only Smith’shas had books and TVprogrammes devoted to it. Withits celebrity came public demandfor viewings. Currently there isnothing behind the curtain thatprotects the map from the sun.The map is presently enjoying thecompany of a J M W Turner and aBarbara Hepworth at the front ofthe summer exhibition in theDuveen Galleries of Tate Britain.Attending the exhibition allowsthe viewer to get closer to themap than usual and instead ofgazing up from below, it iscurrently possible to examine it infiner detail than is usually thecase. Nor is this the first occasionon which Smith’s map hasenjoyed a holiday by the Thames.During the Festival of Britain, theSociety took the chance to showoff its cartographic wonder andthe map took its place in ‘TheEarth’ section of the Dome ofDiscovery on the South Bank.

LARGE BOMBTen years prior to the Festival, themap collection was being put tofar more practical usage. TheSociety remained open during thewar despite all of its windowshaving been blown out by a largebomb that detonated in St.

James’s churchyard.Buffeted by the blitz, our mapswere being studied in the searchfor new oil supplies within theUK. Other subjects for the menfrom the military were thesuitability of sites for airfields andlatterly (the window glass still notreplaced), terrain in Normandywas investigated in the search forsuitable beachheads.

These wartime geologistswould have relied on the work ofThomas Sheppard FGS, whoensconced himself in the libraryand systematically recordedeverything he could find. Whenthe Society was in its infancy,annual lists of the libraryholdings were published, andmade available by subscription tousers. This practice fell intodisuse as the list became longer,the number of subscriptionsdiminished and it becameburdensome to the Society’scoffers. Subsequently, thecataloguing of the collection fellinto relative neglect.

Mr Sheppard’s comprehensivelist was compiled from the 1910sand used within the library forsome time afterwards. Only theUK portion of that list nowsurvives. Post-war, thecataloguing of the map collectionwas again left unattended. Theredoubtable Mrs Nutt, ChiefLibrarian, had a brave stab atremedying the situation, before -in the 1980s - Wendy Cawthornetook up the reins and startedindexing the maps properly.

NOVEMBER 2012 17

FEATURE GEOSCIENTIST

between the academic andcommercial, throughout thehistory of the Society, maps haveunited them.

On occasion maps have playeda part in rivalries betweenmembers of the Society. Perhapsthe Society’s most prized map(and dare I say possession?) isWilliam’s Smith 1815 ‘ADelineation of the Strata ofEngland and Wales…’ TheSociety first received a copy ofSmith’s map on 2 June 1815, twomonths ahead of its publicationdate. In 1828, the sootythumbprints of the fellowshipwere too numerous, so theCouncil ordered it to bevarnished, framed and displayedon the wall of the meeting room. ▼

Above: Geologicalmap of Anglesea byHenslow, JohnStevens, 1796-18611822

Far left: Oneinch to the milemap of ArranSpecial Sheet1910

Left: Geologicalsketch map ofNew Zealandconstructedfrom officialsurveys and theexplorations ofDr F vanHochstetter, Dr Julius Hastand others.1873

‘Geognostischekarte Sicilien’by ProfFriedrichHoffmann 1839

NOVEMBER 2012 19

FEATURE GEOSCIENTIST

Meanwhile, Mrs Nutt’s successorSheila Meredith lobbied for adedicated Map Librarian to putthe maps into a state of orderonce and for all. I am the fourthperson to have held that positionand the entire map collection isnow searchable via the catalogueon our website.

SPACECataloguing an unruly mapcollection is one thing. Housingit is quite another. From thebeginnings of the Society the mapcollection has pressed for moreand more space. Maps demandcabinets, demanding room andexpenditure. Often, used mapswere dissected and mounted onlinen to be stored folded in ranksof green boxes upon the Libraryshelves. Rarer, more delicateworks lay un-creased in drawers.When the Society expanded intorooms vacated by chemists in1971, a Map Room was created.Rather intimidating vertical map

Below: One inch tothe mile map ofEngland & WalesSheet 102SEBrough underStainmore 1893

▼

* Paul Johnson is the Society’s Map Librarian.Contact: paul.johnson@geolsoc.org.uk.

presses were purchased (and onlyscrewed to the floor 20 years later,after several near missesinvolving the combined weight ofseveral hundred maps toppling tothe floor). Together with variouscupboards and storerooms in thebasement, the Society’s entire mapcollection is still housed in theMap Room. Although it is gettingrather full…

One area of map librarianshipthat hasn’t been given muchthought by the Society, is that ofpreservation. The varnish thatwas applied to Smith’s map in1828 did not preserve it well, andmay even have damaged it. Itwas replaced in the 1930s withanother copy. The same is true ofits wall-mate. When maps of thecollection became too badlydamaged, they were disposed ofrather unceremoniously - andwere in some cases destroyed.Despite this, the map collectionnow has more than 40,000 sheets,nearly all on paper.

If these maps are to remainuseful in an era of digitalcartography and GIS systems,they need to be scanned topreserve them. Some of thehistoric maps in the collectionhave already been scanned andare available as prints from ourwebsite. Please see advert, page 30 and go towww.geolsoc.org.uk/mapsale.The Society is currently drawingup plans for the rather grandertask of digitising all of its maps, toensure the longevity of thistreasure for years to come. n

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIn compiling this piece I am indebtedto Wendy Cawthorne for herassistance, and to Gordon HerriesDavies’s book ‘Whatever is Under the

Earth: The Geological Society of

London 1807-2007’.

Igneous Rocks andProcesses

This guide seeks to describe the geologyand scenery of Barcelona and amplysucceeds. The authors, both residents ofthe city, accomplish the difficult task ofcombining a general landscape appraisalwith sufficient technical detail, at pointsvisited, to satisfy both the keen amateurand professional geologist.

Following a brief touristicintroduction to the main websites forgeology, travel and hotels in theCatalonian capital, the regionalgeological setting is explained succinctlywith clear schematic maps and a section.An overview of the literature sets thehistorical context of geological research,

which is also covered by an extensivebibliography. Most of the literature is inSpanish and Catalan until the lastdecade. This literature summaryinterrupts the flow from the geologicalintroduction to the lengthier (seven-page) stratigraphic and paleogeographicoverview; it would have been betterlocated with the bibliography.

Excursions are the key to the successof this book. Three field trips, each acomfortable day’s walk, start on thehigh ground with an overview of thelandscape, and in descending,encounter all the major geological unitsfrom oldest to youngest and conclude inthe city’s Mediaeval and Roman heart.Each excursion combines a welldesigned schematic map thatincorporates geology, viewpoints,stopping points that link tophotographs, and essential Metro andfunicular access information. Directionsand descriptions in the text and photocaptions link clearly with the maps.Mineral and structural details are wellexplained with good annotatedphotographs. The captions aresubstantial and complement the text.

Excursion one begins by funicular tothe Collserola Hills, high aboveBarcelona. This seven to eight kilometretraverse of Palaeozoic metamorphic andPermian granitic terrains has panoramicviews of the geological structure andBarcelona. Excursion two, sixkilometres in length, picks up where thefirst ends, crossing a thrust zone withcomplex faulting, well illustrated inphotographs and sections. Excursionthree covers the Pleistocene coastal stripand Barcelona’s core. As in situ geologyis obscured, this ramble focuses onlocally quarried masonry, historicseismicity and fluvial geomorphology.

This book carries a useful glossary;its production design and quality areexcellent, its layout clear, the textefficiently proofed. Its authors havesuccessfully balanced local detail withina general overview. Through itsdescriptions, maps and photographs,this guide provides informativeexcursions for the mind’s eye and is astrong enticement to visit - or revisit –this beautiful city.

Reviewed by John Henry

The Geology ofBarcelona

THE GEOLOGY OF BARCELONA: AN URBANEXCURSION GUIDEWES GIBBONS & TERESA MORENO, GA Guide No 70,Geologists’ Association, 2012. ISBN 978 0900717 56 7 List price: £12.00, www.geologistsassociation.org.uk/GAGuideSales.html

It’s a tough call to produce an igneouspetrology book that engages the readersand draws them on, but it’s hard toimagine a better attempt than this byRobin Gill. Although the cover blurbsuggests use for “introductory orintermediate-level courses in igneouspetrology” I reckon first-year studentswould find much of it hard going,whereas third and fourth-yearundergraduates would find it aninvaluable source of support.

This is avowedly not a book on fieldrelations, though there is a physicalvolcanology chapter that covers eruptionstyles comprehensively enough.Another digression is an early chaptercovering experimental petrology thatalso teaches the use of binary andternary phase diagrams.

Apart from those and a highly-readable introductory chapter, the textworks its way systematically througheach broad class of igneous rocks(basalts and related; gabbroic; ultramaficand ultrabasic; andesite-dacite-rhyolite;granitic; alkali) with the emphasis onidentifying each by normative andmodal mineralogy, texture, andgeochemical fingerprinting. Competingmodels of magmagenesis andfractionation are met head on anddiscussed, with multiple references tothe recent literature. The tangled web ofigneous rock names is negotiatedsympathetically, distinguishing between categories that seem to havegenuine petrogenetic significance, andthose that are arbitrary divisions withina continuum.

The tectonic settings where rocks ofeach type may be found are discussed,but (rightly) not treated as an aspect ofthe diagnostic process. Appendicesdescribe various means of identifyingigneous minerals with a petrologicalmicroscope, and how to do petrographiccalculations. The text is supported byboxes, and exercises (with answers) sothat conscientious students can

IGNEOUS ROCKS AND PROCESSES: A PRACTICAL GUIDEROBIN GILL, Published by Wiley-Blackwell 2010ISBN 978-1444330656 hbk 440ppList price: £90.00, http://eu.wiley.com

consolidate their learning.It’s a shame to find a book of this

quality illustrated in black and white,apart from a colour plate section.However, most of the photographs areavailable in colour on the associatedwebsite. The appendices are supportedonline too, although the worksheet forcalculating normative mineralogywould have been more useful as afunctioning spreadsheet rather than as apdf template.

If I wanted to nit-pick I would pointout that, contrary to an assertion onpage 24, there are places where a’a lavareverts (downflow) to pahoehoe. Butthat would be too churlish; so instead Iwill end by complementing Robin Gillon his fine treatment of carbonatites, afascinating suite of volcanic rocks thateven Sigurdsson’s much-vauntedEncyclopedia of Volcanoes (2000) managedto overlook.

Reviewed by David A Rothery,

20 NOVEMBER 2012

GEOSCIENTIST BOOKS & ARTS

NOVEMBER 2012 21

Understanding Earth’sDeep Past

Death, taxes and - if you have ever been ageology undergraduate - a mappingdissertation, are unavoidable trials wehave all faced. What saved me in thefield years ago was an earlier edition ofthis book, and I was heartened to see thatthe same logical layout and clear, no-nonsense text has been adopted for thisfifth edition.

This invaluable volume is a idealaccompaniment to planning andexecuting an undergraduate mappingproject and the subsequent production offair-copy maps. Comprehensive lists ofmatériel for all likely climates, advice oncompass clinometers, hammers andchisels are all there, as would beexpected. Especially useful though arethe suggestions on how to construct fieldnotes that will actually mean somethingwhen you return! If these are read beforeembarking on a mapping project, yourchances of success (of producing a mapthat makes geological sense) can only beimproved. The level of assumed priorknowledge is reassuringly low, asdemonstrated by comprehensivedescriptions of how to take basic fieldmeasurements, and even instructions for(when that moment of blind panic sets in)how to use your compass - Silva,prismatic or otherwise.

Illustrated with scores of clear figuresand photos, with informative captions, anundergraduate mapper (or a rusty one,

returning to the field) would be hardpressed to find a more user-friendlyguide to the craft. The section ontechnological aids is somewhatredundant for most undergraduatemapping projects and, for me, does notadd enormously to its value. Howeveras the nature of mapping changes Isuspect this section will become moreand more relevant and will grow insubsequent editions; though hopefullynot at the expense of the lavishly detailedclassical techniques.

Although this handy pocket volumewill never wholly substitute for a courseof lectures and practicals, and will notgive the same reassurance as havingone’s own dissertation supervisor onhand in the field, it is probably the nextbest thing. Mine got me out of a fewuncertain moments in the field, and I’msure this edition will do likewise fortoday’s budding geologists. As a pallid geochemist now, it almost makesme want to dust off my compassclinometer. Almost.

Reviewed by Jason HarveyBasic GeologicalMapping

BASIC GEOLOGICAL MAPPING (5TH EDN.) RICHARD LISLE, PETER BRABHAM AND JOHN BARNES,Published by Wiley-Blackwell 2011ISBN 978-0-470-68634-8 217pp. List price: £22.50, www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

In the last few years there has been a lotof talk about global warming caused byanthropogenic CO2 and so it is refreshingto read a book considering the warmingevents that have occurred naturally in thedeep geological past, and how long theyhave lasted. As well as warming,increase in CO2 has had a number ofother effects on Earth’s systems.

We are in a generally cool (‘icehouse’)condition at present; but most of Earth’shistory has been spent in its warmer(‘greenhouse’) condition. Understandingthe transitions between these two states isimportant and is given prominence inthis discussion.

The book is an excellent survey ofresearch in this field, and of what furtherwork needs to be done. However, muchof the modelling described andpredictions made are based on 20th and21st Century data, and are thereforesomewhat limited. Much of the book is aplea for further computational resources,although it does acknowledge thelimitations of such work. It looks at whatneeds to be known and uses proxies, (forCO2 concentration, for example) in anattempt to achieve more.

It talks not only of the research agendabut the strategies and tools required toimplement it. It discusses the resourcerequirement; the education and outreachneeded to the general public, who arepresently barraged with informationabout global warming but who at presenthave limited understanding. Alsodiscussed are the policymakers and theirunderstanding of the data on which theybase their policies.

The greenhouse/icehouse fluctuationin Earth climate remains one of the leastunderstood aspects of Earth history. Thisbook gives an excellent overview ofthinking on climate change, both past andpresent and it is a very usefulintroduction to the subject. It issurprisingly well written, in aninteresting and easy-reading style withmany clear and informative diagrams

INTRODUCTION TO NUMERICAL GEODYNAMICMODELLINGNATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, Published by NationalAcademies Press 2011ISBN: 978-0-309-20915-1 pbk 194ppList price: £23.00, www.nap.edu

BOOKS & ARTS GEOSCIENTIST

that support the text well. With a finebinding and blessed with highproduction values it constitutesoutstanding value at £23.00.

Reviewed by Steve Rowlatt

n NEW! Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems(2nd ed) by Paul Selden and John Nudds(Manson) 287pp

n NEW! Lost Antarctica - adventures ina disappearing land - James McClintock.October 2012 Palgrave-Macmillan 231pp hbk

n Disaster Deferred - a new view ofEarthquake Hazards in the New MadridSeismic Zone. (2012) by Seth Stein.Columbia University Press pbk, 282pp

n Continuum Mechanics in the EarthSciences by William I Newman CambridgeUniversity Press

n Theory of Reflectance and EmittanceSpectroscopy (2nd Edn) by Bruce Hapke.Cambridge University Press.

REVIEWS: COPIES AVAILABLEWe have received the following books.Please contact ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk

if you would like to supply a review. Youwill be invited to keep the review copy.See Geoscientist Online for an up-to-date version of this list.

22 NOVEMBER 2012

READERS’LETTERS

Sir, I have just read, with great interest,Bryan Lovell's review of a new bookClean Energy, Climate and Carbon byPeter Cook. Our former President is verymuch a climate change realist.Nevertheless, he would appear to agreewith Cook that Carbon Capture andStorage (CCS) must now be an essentialpart of human strategy for avoidingexcessive climate change. This wouldappear to make my hope that CCS not be relied upon as an excuse forperpetuating "business as usual" lookhopelessly optimistic.

I would be extremely interested to knowhow Professor Lovell thinks we can avoidtracking inevitably towards at least fourCelsius increase in global averagetemperatures if we make no attempt tophase-out fossil fuel use and leave somein the ground?Martin Lack

Bryan Lovell replies: Sir, Martin Lackreassuringly describes me as a climatechange realist. He and I agree that,realistically, it is unwise to continue toburn fossil fuels and to dump the carbondirectly into the atmosphere once we’vehad the use of it. We can also agree that,realistically, coal and gas will continue to

CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE

Geoscientist welcomes readers’ letters. These are published aspromptly as possible in Geoscientist Online and a selectionprinted each month. Please submit your letter (300 words orfewer, by email only please) to ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk.Letters will be edited. For references cited in these letters,please see the full versions at www.geolsoc.org.uk/letters

be burned in large quantities for many yearsto come, to provide the electricity so eagerlyconsumed around the world. The carbonproduced by burning that coal and gascannot with impunity be dumped into theatmosphere. So we need to capture andstore that carbon, by developing a 21stCentury CCS industry on a scalecomparable to that of the 20th Century oil industry.

This prospective CCS industry is nothing

like ‘business as usual’. Its developmentwill require adopting an attitude that thefossil-fuel industry is no more simply ‘theproblem’ than we, the consumers of itsproducts, are. Carbon is the problem.Managing the transition we now have tomake to a low-carbon economy is going tobe even trickier without CCS. CCS isgoing to be even trickier without the skillsof the fossil fuel industry, new business andnew thinking.

Sir, At present the main thrust ofthe renewable resources lobbyis to maximise the use of windpower whether on oroffshore. Use of thistechnology requires theconstruction of a largenumber of gas-firedfast reaction powerstations to supplythe power whenthere is low orindeed very strongwind, when the turbines cannot supplypower. Without new sources of Britishgas either large imports from Russia or

SHALE GAS

(equally bad) large imports ofliquefied gas from the Middle

East, Australia or similar arerequired. In both cases

substantial leakage and useof transport power is

required exacerbatingthe greenhouse gas

problem.Fracking provides

the opportunity forsubstantial British

employment, savingsin imports, lower greenhouse gas liberationand lower costs for all.Michael Martineau

Image: Vera K

ailova / Shutterstock.com

FRONTIERS MEETING 2012

Nanogeoscience: a new frontier inscience and technology for Earth

and environmental systems

Call for papers

T F E W

The Geological Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London

Frontiers Meetings are 1-day meetings focused on short presentations and discussion to exploredevelopments in emerging geoscience areas, followed by an open access discussion forum

ConvenorsVicky Coker (Manchester), Éva Valsami-Jones (Birmingham), David Vaughan (Manchester)

Registration for this meeting is free, but you must pre-register your interest in attending(Please email Steve Whalley at the address below)

10 December 2012

012rebmeceD01

201

a

P

hereht,sedacedtnecerrevO

(

teemsiishtthroffonoittiarrattrsiisgeegR

)retsehcnaM(rekoCykciV

s

d

tnempolevedcitamardneebeva

daehttayellahWevetSliameesaelP

-erptsuusmuoytub,ee,erffrsiisgniint

hgnimriB(senoJ-imaslaVVaavÉ,)

o

)

nangniydutsrofseuqinhcetni

wolebsserd

nettaniintseretniinruuroyretsiisger-

ehcnaM(nahguaVVadivaD,)mah

-

g

retemo

niinddin

)rets

atimbusesaelPrtsbA

acinagrootseicepsevitcaoidar

ahyehtesuacebtsaeltonselcitrap-onaN.tnemnorivnefoegdelwonkdetimilehtfo

onaN.enicidemotygolonhcetstnelaviuqelanoitisopmocmonaN.elacslairtsudnihtslairetametalucitrapdezis

,

vetstayellahWevetSotstcartsbS82:enildaeDnoissimbuStcar

gonanfostcepsallanodetivnieratullopcinagronidnastnatullopctpuehtrofaeraecafrusegralevaarutanehtnieloryekayalposlaebslairetamonanlairtsudniwohfroppohtobstneserpygolonhceto

fo,sesacemosni,erahcihwdnaahcihwseitreporpevahslairetamebnactahtro,yy,llarutanruccotah

p

yu.gro.cosloeg@yellahw.e2102rebmetpeS

.ecneicsoegtneserplarO.cinesrasahcusstnaorfgnignarslairetamcixotfoekameleehtfognilcyclacimehcoegla

anehtotnidesaelernehwevahebrettaleht,staerhtdnaseitinutrfgnignarsdleifnieulavlacitcarpdezisregralriehtmorftcnitsiderroyrotarobalehtnidesisehtnyse

gyq

snoitatmo

,stnemlarut

esuacemorf

dnano

GehT,yy,ellahWevetSitamrofnirehtrufroF

atimbusesaelP

E ahw.evets:

uoHnotgnilruB,yy,teicoSlacigoloembusotro,gniteemehttuobano

vetstayellahWevetSotstcartsb

T 44994347020: F 4947020:ku.gro.cosloeg@yella W eg.ww.ww:

GB0J1WnodnoL,yy,llidacciP,esu:tcatnocesaelp,tcartsbanatim

yu.gro.cosloeg@yellahw.e

97504sreitnorf/ku.gro.cosloe

IN MEMORIAM WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/OBITUARIES

THE SOCIETY NOTES WITH SADNESS THE PASSING OF:

In the interests of recording its Fellows' work for posterity, the Societypublishes obituaries online, and in Geoscientist. The most recentadditions to the list are shown in bold. Fellows for whom noobituarist has yet been commissioned are marked with an asterisk (*).The symbol § indicates that biographical material has been lodgedwith the Society.

If you would like to contribute an obituary, please emailted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk to be commissioned. You can read theguidance for authors at www.geolsoc.org.uk/obituaries. To saveyourself unnecessary work, please do not write anything until youhave received a commissioning letter.

Deceased Fellows for whom no obituary is forthcoming have theirnames and dates recorded in a Roll of Honour atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/obituaries.

GEOSCIENTIST PEOPLE

n DAVID VAUGHANDavid Vaughan, Professor of Mineralogy and Director Emeritus ofthe Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Scienceat the University of Manchester and a recent member of Council,has been elected President of the Mineralogical Society of America.This is only the second time in the Society’s 93-year history that itsPresident has been chosen from outside North America.

PEOPLE Geoscientists in the newsand on the move in the UK,Europe and worldwide

CAROUSEL

All fellows of the Society are entitled to entires in this column.Please email ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk, quoting yourFellowship number.

Bowler, Christopher Michael Lance *Chappell, Bruce *Chapman, W T *Chesterman, Jonathan PatrickHutchison, Charles Strachan

King, Bruce *Lumsden, George InnesMiddleton, John *MacLean, Ronald G *Williams, Colin L *

24 NOVEMBER 2012

NOVEMBER 2012 25

PEOPLE GEOSCIENTIST

As geologist and science writer Nina Morgan discovers, geology of a sort has already provided clues to life on Mars

DISTANT THUNDER Is anybody there?

In his search for life on Mars, the19th Century astronomer Percival Lowell is oftenconsidered to be a figure of funtoday. But perhaps we onlyscorn his ideas now becausethey were actually ahead of theirtime. The Mars Rover Curiosity(see Online Special) carriesinstruments like the Mars HandLens Imager, as well as a rangeof spectrometers to study themineralogy of rocks on thesurface and high resolutioncameras to photographlandforms. His conclusions maybe different, but like NASAscientists today, Lowell relied ongeological evidence as hesearched for life on Mars.

Lowell believed that a networkof canals which he mapped onthe surface of Mars representedirrigation canals, demonstratingthat water and intelligent beingsonce existed there. In his bookMars (1895), Lowell comparedthe general geologicalcharacteristics of Mars withthose of Earth.

“Now, in the special case ofMars, we have before us thespectacle of a world relativelywell on in years, a world mucholder than the Earth …Advancing planetary years haveleft their mark legible there. Hiscontinents are all smootheddown; his oceanshave all dried up.Teres atquerotundus, he isa steady-going bodynow… Butfrom the factthat our owndevelopment

has been comparatively a recentthing, and that a long time wouldbe needed to bring even Mars tohis present geological condition,we may judge any life he maysupport to be not only relatively,but really older than our own.From the little we can see, suchappears to be the case.”

So far, so reasonable. But then he goes on to note that:

“The evidence of handicraft[i.e. the building of the canals], ifsuch it be, points to a highlyintelligent mind behind it.Irrigation, unscientificallyconducted would not give us

such truly wonderfulmathematical fitness in the

several parts to the wholeas we there behold. Amind of no mean orderwould seem to havepresided over thesystem we see – a mindcertainly of considerably

more comprehensivenessthan that which presides

over the various departments of our own public works. Party politics, at all events, havehad no part in them; for thesystem is planet wide. Quitepossibly, such Martian folk arepossessed of inventions of whichwe have not dreamed …Certainly what we see hints atthe existence of beings who arein advance of, not behind us, inthe journey of life. “

Although his comments onpublic works and party politicsmay still ring true, his ideas aboutintelligent beings are perhaps alittle strange. A case of ‘logic –but not as we know it’!

HELP YOUR OBITUARISTThe Society operates a scheme for Fellows to depositbiographical material. The object is to assist obituaristsby providing contacts, dates and other information, andthus ensure that Fellows’ lives are accorded appropriateand accurate commemoration. Please send your CVand a photograph to Ted Nield at the Society.

If the past is the key to yourpresent interests, why not jointhe History of Geology Group(HOGG)? For more informationand to read the latest HOGGnewsletter, visit:www.geolsoc.org.uk/hogg,where the programme andabstracts from the Conferenceon Geological Collectors andCollecting are available as a pdffile free to download.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThis vignette was inspired bynews about the Curiosity landingreported in articles including:There’s life on Mars, bygeologist and journalist MichaelHanlon, on www.telegraph.co.uk on 6 August 2012; theblog feature, Life on Mars?

* Nina Morgan is a geologist andscience writer based near Oxford

Curiosity drops in to find out byStephen Harris, atwww.theengineer.co.uk (3August 2012) as well aspictures and captions atmars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/ . Other sourcesinclude Mars by Percival Lowell,Houghton, Mifflin and Company.An html version of Mars isavailable at www.wanderer.org/references/lowell/Mars/.

Right: PercivalLowell

Mars Rover Curiosity

Image: N

AS

A/JP

L-Caltech

26 NOVEMBER 2012

GEOSCIENTIST OBITUARY

Distinguished and colourful structural geologist of Liverpool University who specialised in the geology of Shetland

DEREK FLINN 1922-2012

OBITUARY

erek Flinn wasborn in Harrowand educated atDr Challoner’sGrammar School,

Amersham. He had adistinguished wartimecareer, serving between1941 and 1946 as a sergeant(refusing a commission) inthe Royal Marines (SpecialBoat Service, Ceylon). The story goes that he anda senior officer who was ageologist became strandedbehind Japanese lines andspent their time looking atthe rocks. It was thisexperience that attractedDerek to geology.

Now whenever studentsfrom Liverpool gettogether, it is not longbefore we begin toexchange Flinn stories:how he overturned aLandrover in Shetland, or

how he awarded 160% to astudent who had fullyunderstood that ‘How doyou measure birefringence’involved a discussion ofdifferent indicatrices withdifferent symmetries.

PRIZESIn1947 he began to studygeology at Imperial College,London, graduating in 1950with first class honours andthree prestigiousundergraduate prizes.Professor Janet Watson FRSonce remarked that Derek

Delting area for his PhD. His aim since that time wasto determine the geologicalhistory of the highlycomplex Shetland IslandGroup using allappropriate Earth sciencemethods. The excellence ofhis geological mapping wasreflected in the award ofcontracts from BGS to maplarge areas of Shetland.

In 1986 Derek wasappointed EmeritusProfessor and HonorarySenior Research Fellow atLiverpool, where hecontinued to research thegeology of Shetland untilshortly before his death.He developed a greatinterest in Shetland localhistory and wrote a bookTravellers in a bygoneShetland (1989). He was anoutstanding teacher in thefield, and in the laboratorywhere he taughtmineralogy, using bothoptical and reflected-lightmicroscopy.

In 1974 Derek Flinnobtained a DSc (Universityof London) and in 1982 wasawarded the MurchisonMedal of the GeologicalSociety of London,followed (in 1996) by theClough Medal (GeologicalSociety of Edinburgh).

Derek married GlenysWilliams, the UniversityLibrarian in 1956. He issurvived by their twodaughters, Nesta and Janet,and five grandchildren.

was one of the brighteststudents of his generation. In1952 he completed his PhDbefore spending a year as an Imperial CollegeExchange Student at ETH, Zurich.

In 1953 Derek wasappointed lecturer at theUniversity of Liverpool,where he spent the rest of hiscareer. He was promoted toReader in 1965 and awarded apersonal chair in 1975, actingas Head of Departmentbetween 1978 and 1983.Derek was a brilliantstructural geologist and it wassaid that in the 1950s and1960s, John Ramsay andDerek Flinn were the onlypeople who could understandeach other’s papers. Hiswork was recognisedinternationally, and in 1957 hewas awarded a fellowship atthe University of Chicago andin 1960 spent a year as aRoyal Society ExchangeFellow at the Institute ofGeology and MineralDeposits in Moscow. In 1962he toured Norway andSweden at the expense of theKing of Sweden and between1964 and 1979 deliveredseveral lectures in Americasponsored by USGS. In the1980s he did fieldwork andlectured in Libya.

SHETLANDDerek’s work always centredon his beloved Shetland. As part of his final-yeardissertation at ImperialCollege he had spent twomonths mapping in Unstunder the direction of H HRead. He went on to map the

‘

By Jane PlantA longer version of this obituary

may be read on the website.

DHE WAS AN

OUTSTANDINGTEACHER IN THEFIELD, AND IN THELABORATORY

~

~

NOVEMBER 2012 27

CALENDAR GEOSCIENTISTCan’t find your meeting? VISIT

www.geolsoc.org.uk/listings

full, accurate, up-to-date[ ]ENDORSED TRAINING/CPD

Course Date Venue and details

Health & Hydrogeology Conference

Soil & Rock Description and SiteInvestigation

Structural Modelling and AnalysisUsing Move

Clastic Exploration & ReservoirSedimentology Training Course

Cone Penetration Testing

Deepwater Turbidites

Lapworth’s Logs

7 November

12-16 November

13-15 November

19-23 November

23 November

26-27 November

n/a

Geological Society, Burlington House. Fees apply. Jointly organised with the RSC. See website for details and registration

University of Sussex. Instruction: Prof. David Norbury. Fees apply. See website for details and registration.

Midland Valley HQ, Glasgow. Fees apply – 10% discoubnt for Fellows. See website for details andregistration.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fugro Robertson Limited. Fees apply. See website for details and registration.

Exeter. Fugro Robertson Ltd. Free. See website for details and registration.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fugro Robertson Ltd. Fees apply. See website for details and registration.

‘Lapworth’s Logs’ are a series of e-courses involving practical exercises of increasing complexity. Contact:info@lapworthslogs.com. Lapworth’s Logs is produced by Michael de Freitas and Andrew Thompson.

DIARY OF MEETINGS NOVEMBER 2012

Meeting Date Venue and details

Hong Kong Regional Group Founders’ Day Dinner

Carbonate talk, Central Scotland Regional

Geological Society Careers Day 2012

Lunar Science EventRoyal Astronomical Society, Geological Society

Geology & GeotechnicsSouth East Regional, Engineering Group

Portland Gas Storage FacilitiesSolent Regional Group

Geological Aspects of Renewable EnergyGeological Society, Shell UK

Geoscience, environmental & engineering careersevening, Southern Wales Regional

Founders' Day Lecture and Dinner 2012Geological Society

Chartership Workshop, East Midlands Regional

Fred Sherrell Award Evening & AGM 2012South West regional

Glossop Lecture and Award 2012Engineering Group

PG Research Collaboration ShowcasePetroleum Group, AAPG, PESGB

Hertfordshire PuddingstoneFriends of Forster Country

Groundwater Modellers' Forum 2012Hydrogeological Group

Industrial Structural Geology: Principles,Techniques and IntegrationPetroleum Group

2 November

6 November

7 November

9 November

13 November

14 November

14 November

15 November

15 November

TBC

21 November

21 November

21-22November

24 November

27 November

28-30November

Hong Kong Football Club, Happy Valley, 1900 - 2300. Speaker: Dr Rod Sewell . See website forfees and registration.

BGS Common Room, Edinburgh, 17:45 for 1800, Rachel Wood speaker. Contact: LesleyMcLellan E: Lesley.McLellan@ls.glasgow.gov.uk

BGS, Keyworth. See poster advert, p.31 and passim.

Burlington House, 1030-1530. Free (RAS and GSL members). Non members £15, Students £5.Payment at door with ID. Contact: Ian Crawford E: i.crawford@bbk.ac.uk

Gatwick Manor Hotel, Crawley, 1800 for 1830. Speaker: M Cooper. Contact: Ron Williams E: rew182@btinternet.com

NOC, So’ton. Evening. Speaker: Dr Andrew Hindle (Infrastrata). Contact: Karen Allso (Secretary)E: karen.allso@ramboll.co.uk

A Shell London Lecture. See p.7

Cardiff University Viriamu James Gallery. 1730. See website for flyer. Contact: Karl LlewelynE: kllewelyn@srk.co.uk

Burlington House & Le Méridien, Piccadilly. Speaker: Prof. Jane Francis. See advert p.32 (back cover) and passim.

Venue TBC Contact: David Boon E: dboon@bgs.ac.uk

Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey. 1830 for 1900. Contact: Danielle Pullen E: swrg@geolsoc.org.uk

RGS, Kensington. Speaker: Ruth Allington. Glossop Award: Thomas Clifford (AggregateIndustries Ltd.) See website for contact, details & registration.

Earls Court 2, London. See website for details and registration. Contact: Steve Whalley T: +44 (0)20 7432 0980; F: +44 (0)20 7494 0579; E: steve.whalley@geolsoc.org.uk

Stevenage Council Chamber, 1400 Speaker: John Catt. Tickets £3.00 Contact: T: 01438 351462, or 01438 361470.

Priory Rooms, Birmingham. Fees apply. See website for details and registration. Contact: Corinna Abesser E: cabe@bgs.ac.uk

Burlington House. For details and registration see website. Contact: Steve Whalley T: +44 (0)20 7432 0980; F: +44 (0)20 7494 0579; E: steve.whalley@geolsoc.org.uk

28 NOVEMBER 2012

GEOSCIENTIST OBITUARY

Oil industry geologist who discovered the missing US warplane Lady be Good, wrecked in the Libyan Desert

RONALD GEORGE MACLEAN 1925-2012

OBITUARY

G (Ronnie)MacLean wasborn in Southseaon 23 August1925, and his first

four years were spent inIndia where his father waswith the Indian AgricultureService. On returning to thefamily home at Tobermoryon the Isle of Mull he wentfirst to the local primaryschool and then boarded(happily) at GeorgeWatson’s College,Edinburgh and, from 1939,at Glenalmond inPerthshire.

He went up to TrinityCollege, Oxford in 1943 toread Mathematics andPhysics; but the followingyear he was called up toundertake flying training inCanada for the Fleet AirArm. Returning to Oxfordin 1946, but switching toChemistry, he was againcalled upon for more flyingtraining only four monthslater. Finally demobilised in1947 he taught for a while atGlenalmond, but thenresumed his education atOxford, studying Geologybefore graduating in 1949.

ANGLO-IRANIANRonnie joined the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company thatyear and was posted toPersia. Field surveys inremote areas, often formonths on end, were muchto his liking. In 1952 hemarried Bette, also fromTobermory, and the first sixmonths of their married lifewere spent in Sicily whereAnglo-Iranian were

exploring. There thenfollowed a three-year spell inEast Africa (based inMombasa and Dar-es-Salaam) before being postedto Libya in the mid-1950s.(The company changed itsname to British Petroleum in 1954.)

His role as SeniorGeologist, based in Tripoli,was to supervise a team ofsome half-dozen geologists,including the present writer -and he is remembered as akind and generous boss. His and Bette’s first child,Carol, was born in the British Army hospital inTripoli in 1958.

In the same year, Ronniewas conducting an aerialreconnaissance over theCalanscio Sand-sea when hespotted what appeared to bea near-intact US bomberlying on the desert floor.Later, two BP geologistslocated the Liberator on theground; it had crash-landedin 1943 and remainedundiscovered for 15 years.Its name was ‘Lady be Good’and a tragic story laterunfolded, involving thediscovery of the crew’sskeletons and a poignantdiary of their final days.

with Bette in Edinburgh.Retirement interests

included researching thehistory of Clan MacLean,occasional games of golf,their summer cottage onTiree, and keeping in touchwith his old BP colleagues.Bette died in 2005 andRonnie had been a devotedhusband. He died inEdinburgh on 5 April 2012,aged 86, and is survived bydaughter Carol, son John,and five grandchildren.

CLAN MACLEANA posting to Greece followedin 1960, followed by threeyears at BP’s headquarters inLondon (1962-65). Ronnie’sfinal posting with BP was toTrinidad, but then in 1967 hedecided on a career change.He was appointed by the UNas Director of a project inPoland to exploit potashdeposits, based in Warsaw(1968-1970). Another, longer,UN project followed, inSantiago, Chile (1970-76).Then followed a period ofconsulting, based in Londonbefore he retired and settled

By Michael Ridd with assistancefrom Carol Foster (née MacLean)

R

‘

FIELDSURVEYS IN REMOTEAREAS, OFTEN FOR MONTHS ONEND, WERE MUCHTO HIS LIKING

~

~

NOVEMBER 2012 29

CROSSWORD GEOSCIENTIST

All correct solutions will be placed in thedraw, and the winner’s name printed inthe February 2013 issue. The Editor’sdecision is final and no correspondencewill be entered into. Closing date -November 26.

The competition is open to all Fellows,Candidate Fellows and Friends of theGeological Society who are not currentSociety employees, officers or trustees.This exclusion does not apply to officersof joint associations, specialist or regional groups.

Please return your completed crosswordto Burlington House, marking yourenvelope “Crossword”. Do not encloseany other matter with your solution.Overseas Fellows are encouraged toscan the signed form and email it as aPDF to ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk

Name ....................................................

...............................................................

Membership number ...........................

Address for correspondence ..............

...............................................................

...............................................................

...............................................................

...............................................................

...............................................................

...............................................................

...............................................................

Postcode ..............................................

SOLUTIONS SEPTEMBER

ACROSS: 1 Geoid 4 Ephemeral 9 Nullified 10 Rebut11 Cryoturbation 14 Late 15 Utterances18 Troglodyte 19 Beef 21 Embryological24 Axial 25 Criticize 27 Press Gang 28 Evens

DOWN: 1 Geniculate 2 Oil 3 Drifts 4 Emigrated 5 Hydra6 Marginal 7 Ribonucleic 8 Lute 12 Yttrocerite13 Usefulness 16 Extolling 17 Globules 20 Ignite 22 Yucca 23 Lamp 26 Ice

WIN A SPECIAL PUBLICATION

The winner of the September Crosswordpuzzle prize draw was Stephen Flux ofGunn, Northern Territory, Australia.

CROSSWORD NO. 163 SET BY PLATYPUS

1 Aquamarine is a blue orturquoise variety of this mineral(5)

4 Any mineral whose presence - orabsence - determines the nameof a rock (9)

9 Calcium magnesium sulfidemineral first described from theBustee Meteorite (9)

10 Unhappy (or overturned) bunny(5)

11 French art movement, named bya critic seeking to insult it (13)

14 Ecclesiastical screen (4)

15 Of similar shape and size (10)

18 Climbing sideways (10)

19 Sicilian volcano (4)

21 Described by peculiar qualities(13)

24 Indian capital (5)

25 Artificial copy (9)

27 Rameses, Hatshepsut and co (9)

28 Water jugs. What's - fancy adrink? (5)

1 Fine-grained carbonate rock withshelly material (10)

2 Mars colour (3)

3 Letting contracts eg for exploration (6)

4 Wastes, sich as CO2, released intothe environment (9)

5 17th Century Danish bishop andpioneer of palaeontology (5)

6 Pearly king of the deep (8)

7 Plants seed, metaphorically (11)

8 Drawn straws (4)

12 Unpoetically (11)

13 Without care for the consequences(10)

16 Genetic makeup of a cell, organismor individual (9)

17 Gong winner (8)

20 Bearlike (6)

22 Largest artery (5)

23 Water in a saturated reservoir rock,surrounding an oil pool (4)

26 Brown, Scotch, Burton, Pale andBelgian for example (3)

ACROSS DOWN

30 NOVEMBER 2012

RECR

UITM

ENT

Care

ers

Day

2012

The Geological SocietyBritish Geological Survey, Nottingham

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Contact Information

Tel

Email

Web

Careers Day is the essential meeting place for geosciencestudents and the geoscience industry, where university

undergraduates and postgraduates will have the chance to findout about the latest career options and talk to industry leaders

about how they might gain entry into that sector.

The day will run from 10am – 4pm and will includepresentations on careers, a CV writing workshop, an interview

techniques workshop and an exhibition fair. The day will endwith a beer reception.

Registration

This event is free to attend and covers all delegate material,lunch and a beer at the reception, but you must register for the

event and the workshops must be pre-booked.

Phot

ogra

ph: P

. Buc

ktro

ut (B

ritis

h A

ntar

ctic

Sur

vey)

2

2

2102

ehT

2102

goloeG

vruSlacigoloeGhsitirB

oSlacig

voN7yadsendeW

mahgnittoN,yy,ev

yteico

1202rebmev

2ya

D

2ya

D

yaDsreeraC

nosnoitatneserpdehT

uobaetalehttuobatuonasetaudargrednuastneduts

alpgniteemlaitnesseehtsi

krowgnitirwVCa,sreeracp4–ma01morfnurlliwya

tneniagthgimyehtwohtutklatdnasnoitporeeractse

evahlliwsetaudargtsopdnyrtsudniecneicsoegehtdna

ecneicsoegrofeca

weivretnina,pohskedulcnilliwdnamp

.rr.otcestahtotniyrsredaelyrtsudniotdnifotecnahcehtytisrevinuerehw,yy,

Dsre

Dsre

erfsitnevesihT

rowseuqinhcetnosnoitatneserp

llasrevocdnadnettaotee

htiwafnoitibihxenadnapohskkrowgnitirwVCa,sreerac

,lairetametageled

noitartsigeR

.noitpecerreebahdnelliwyadehT.rr.iweivretnina,pohsk