CHINA DINOUnique one-digit dinosaur discovered

MOON DATAOld data revisited showMoon’s soft centre

INTERNATIONALRESCUEPalaeobotanists reopen “lost” fossil locality

GeoscientistThe Fellowship magazine of The Geological Society of London | www.geolsoc.org.uk | Volume 21 No 2 | March 2011

Election Special![ ]

MARCH 2011 03

CONTENTS GEOSCIENTIST

08 16

07 COVER STORY: LYNHENYKUSScientists discover unique one-digitdinosaur, reports Sarah Day

IN THIS ISSUEMARCH 2011

16 GRUBBER OF SUBURBIA Rescuing a rare localitythought to be forever lost to science

05 WELCOME Corruption kills, especially whenearthquakes hit, says Ted Nield

06 SOAPBOX Cynthia Burek demands rock eco-labels

07 GEONEWS What’s new in the world of geoscientific research

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

22 LETTERS We welcome your thoughts

23 BOOK & ARTS Two reviews of new popular geologybooks, by Sarah Day and Pete Loader

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

n THE WORTH OF GEOLOGY Prof. David Manning (Secretary, Professional Matters) works out our subject’s true value to UK plc

n FAQS Bill Gaskarth answers some frequently asked questions about becoming Chartered

n CPD Why bother? Prof. David Manning sets out the advantages of recording your Continuing Professional Development activities

FEATURES

ONLINE SPECIALS

REGULARS

MARCH 2011 05

DR TED NIELD EDITOR

Geoscientist is theFellowship magazine ofthe Geological Societyof London

ContactThe Geological Society,Burlington House, Piccadilly,London W1J 0BGT +44 (0)20 7434 9944F +44 (0)20 7439 8975E enquiries@geolsoc.org.ukW www.geolsoc.org.uk

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEFProfessor Tony Harris FGS

EDITORDr Ted Nield NUJ FGS

EDITORIAL BOARDDr Sue Bowler FGSDr Robin Cocks FGSDr Martin Degg FGSDr Joe McCall FGSDr Jonathan Turner FGSDr Jan Zalasiewicz FGS

Trustees of the GeologicalSociety of LondonDr J P B Lovell OBE(President); Professor P AAllen (Secretary, Science);Miss S Brough; Mr MBrown; Professor R Butler;Dr M Daly; Professor A JFleet (Treasurer); Dr S AGibson; Dr R Herrington;Dr R A Hughes; Dr A Law;Professor A R Lord(Secretary, Foreign &External Affairs); ProfessorJ Ludden; Mr P Maliphant;Professor D A C Manning(Secretary, ProfessionalMatters); Professor SMarriott (Vice President);Professor S Monro OBE; DrC P Summerhayes (VicePresident); Professor J HTellam; Dr G W Tuckwell(Vice President); Dr J PTurner (Secretary,Publications); Professor DJ Vaughan; Mr N R GWalton.

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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

he number of people killed inearthquakes has soared in recent years.True, global populations are also rising,and the flight to megacities worldwidecontinues. But, as Dr Nick Ambraseys(Imperial College) and Prof. RogerBilham (University of Colorado) have

revealed in a stunning analysis published in Nature inJanuary1, that is only part of the explanation.

Most of society’s evils – ill health, premature death,ignorance, prejudice etc. - boil down to poverty, so itcomes as no surprise to learn that most of the 18,300people who, on average, die each year for lack ofadequately earthquake-engineered building, are poor.But even that isn’t the whole story.

By and large, the poorer a country is, the morecorrupt it is too. How do we know? Because anorganisation called Transparency Internationalestimates it in the Corruption Perception Index. This,plotted against national average income, producessome strikingly high positive correlations.

The data do not plot on a nice neat regression line,however. Some countries are more, some less corruptthan might be expected, given their average incomes.And if you mark those countries that have recently lostcitizens in buildings that collapsed in earthquakes, youfind that 83% of all such deaths over the last 30 yearshave occurred in anomalously corrupt states – such asAfghanistan, Turkey, Greece, Taiwan, Haiti, Italy,Mexico, and Iran.

All buildings are, by their very nature, huge,expensive cover-ups. Therefore, any lack of moralintegrity in builders spreads easily, like anexceptionally aggressive cancer, into the structuralintegrity of whatever they erect. From bribes tounderpaid officials to the use of substandard materials,abundant motive and opportunity conspire with lowdetection and prosecution rates to make theconstruction industry the most corrupt segment of theglobal economy, according to Oxford Economics2. Andit is killing people.

Curing the cause won’t cure the disease however.Historic corruption has become fossilized in thebuilding stock of a host of earthquake-prone countries.In Taiwan in 1999, some tower blocks collapsedbecause industrial margarine drums had been used topack out their concrete walls. Deathtrap buildingslinger on for decades. There is only one answer:namely, strong, adequately funded governmentregulators. But what price future safety in a verypresent global recession?

TA MATTER OF INTEGRITY

THE ONE-DIGIT NON-AVIANTHEROPOD DINOSAUR LINHENYKUSMONODACTYLUS, NEWLY DESCRIBEDFROM INNER MONGOLIA, CHINAFront cover image © Julius T. Csotonyi(www.csotonyi.com).

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EDITOR’S COMMENT GEOSCIENTIST

The Geological Society of Londonaccepts no responsibility for theviews expressed 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 hasbeen made to trace copyright holdersof material in this publication. If anyrights have been omitted, thepublishers offer their 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 21,2011 (11 issues) to institutions andnon-members is £108 (UK) or £124 /US$247 (Rest of World).

© 2011 The Geological Society ofLondon

1 Corruption Kills, By Nicolas Ambraseys and Roger Bilham Nature 13 January 2011 v469, pp153-155

2 Global Construction 2010: A Global Forecast for theConstruction Industry over the Next Decade to 2010. (Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics, 2010)

REFERENCES

GEOSCIENTIST SOAPBOX

Cynthia Burek* thinks that a simple labelling concept, commonlyapplied to foodstuffs to enable environmentally responsible andethical consumer choice, should also be applied to rocks

BY CYNTHIA BUREK

Rock miles and fair trade

Everyone has heard of food miles - thedistance from field to plate – used to raiseawareness of how far our food travels, andits carbon footprint. Indeed, it seems thisscheme is due to be extended soon. So itmight be timely to ask whether anyone hasanyone considered introducing “rockmiles” - the distance rock travels fromquarry or mine to its final use?

GRAVEYARD WALKRecently, leading a local “graveyard walk”around Rossett village cemetery in NorthEast Wales for the “Sacred SpacesInitiative” of Wrexham Maelor BoroughCouncil, I was asked “where has this rockcome from?” I am sure anyone who hasled urban walks has also been asked thisquestion. People seem to be fascinatedabout original locations, as well as rocktypes. This can vary of course from theLarvikite (selected in 2008 as theNorwegian National Rock, in celebrationof the 34th IGC meeting in Oslo) to thefronts of McDonalds restaurants with theirtravertine (originally all from Tivoli, Italy).

However in a graveyard, we tend tofind an enormous variety of rock in a smallspace in (usually) rural areas - especially inthe case of more recent cemeteries. The

variety of rocks used isastounding,

ranging fromdifferentgranites from

all over theworld

tothe

uniformedmilitary

graves allmade

from

Portland Limestone. Local stone seemsonly to be found in the older graveyards,or close to older churches.

On our walk we then had a debateabout the true cost of transport and thecarbon footprint involved. I have raisedthis subject over several years with mystudents dealing with EnvironmentalImpact Statement (EIS) case studies. Part of the cost of environmental impact isthe “not in my back yard” (NIMBY)syndrome – the effect of which of course ismerely to transfer it to someone else's.Much of the exotic-looking rock comesfrom India and China, where workingconditions are very different andproduction cost is much reduced.However herein lies the corundum.

FAIR TRADEOften, for many families, quarrying is theonly work available; and by highlightingthe true cost of the stone to people overhere, perhaps we might in future bedenying these families the chance to earneven a meagre income. Thus, repeating thefood analogy: should we also take onboard the concept of “Fairtrade” in ourstone products, just as we do with foodproduction? Should stone masons andfuneral directors as well as builders’merchants need to give us an idea of where our headstones, roof slates, pavingstone have come from, how much carbonhas been used on the way, and anassurance about the rewards and working conditions under which they were produced?

I certainly ask but rarely get an answer,as often the students really do not knowand sometimes have never even thoughtabout it. But surely, even if stone tends totravel its large distances by sea rather thanby air (as fresh produce does), surely whatis sauce for the goose must also be saucefor the gabbro?

* Cynthia Burek is Professor of Geoconservation at theUniversity of Chester, UK. E: c.burek@chester.ac.uk.

SOAPBOX

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

If you can write it entertaininglyin 500 words, the Editor wouldlike to hear from you.

Email your piece, and a self-portrait, to ted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk. Copy can only beaccepted electrinically. 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 begiven to more topicalcontributions. Any onecontributor may not appearmore often than once pervolume (once every 12 months).

EVEN IFSTONE TRAVELSLARGE DISTANCESBY SEA RATHERTHAN BY AIR,SURELY WHAT ISSAUCE FOR THEGOOSE MUST ALSOBE SAUCE FOR THEGABBRO? Cynthia Burek

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~06 MARCH 2011

MARCH 2011 07

NEWS GEOSCIENTIST

Creationism gets the finger

A team of international scientists, ledby GSL Honorary Fellow Professor XuXing, have discovered a new speciesof parrot-sized dinosaur with only onefinger on each hand – the firstexample of a dinosaur with only asingle-digit left from the originalpentadactyl limb precursor commonto all vertebrates.

The find was made during aresearch trip in Inner Mongolia, China,and provides an important insight intothe evolution of non-avian theropods.Named Linhenykus monodactylus(Alvarezsauroidea, a branch ofcarnivorous Theropoda), the newdinosaur is relatively small, capable ofgrowing to about 60cm and weighingabout the same as a large parrot.

“Alvarezsaurs like Linhenykususually have three fingers, with the firstfinger (our index finger) beingconsiderably larger than the othertwo” says Michael Pittman(Department of Earth Sciences, UCL),co-author and discoverer of thespecimen. “The presence of only onefinger suggests that the other two mayhave become less useful for theseanimals so Linhenykus could afford tolack them.”

The evolution of non-aviantheropods is thought to have begunwith standard pentadactyl (five-fingered) limbs, which evolved to threefingers in later forms. The mostfamous theropod, Tyrannosaurus, isunusual in having just two fingers.“One-fingered Linhenykus now showshow extensive and complex theropodhand modifications really were”, saysPittman.

The fossil was found preserved in

rocks of the Upper CretaceousWulansuhai Formation, dated tobetween 84 and 75 million years ago.“I found the specimen with my friendDr Jonah Choiniere who helpfullypointed out that I was about to stepon most of the fragments as we werewalking on a plain of sandstone in theGobi desert”.

Considering the dinosaur’s smallsize, this is perhaps unsurprising.“Alvarezsaurs are very small” explainsPittman. “They could have been veryfashionable to carry in large shoulderbags if they were still around today.”It is thought that they were digginginsectivores, based on thecomparison of their delicate skull,small teeth and strong arm boneswith modern animals, as well as thepresence of fossil wood with termiteborings near to the specimen.

“Linhenykus was living alongsideother theropod dinosaurs such as theVelociraptor-relative Linheraptorexquisitus (Geoscientist 20.3 March2010). Linhenykus beingconsiderably smaller but in relativeterms having longer legs thanLinheraptor was probably more agile

and faster. This was definitely usefulfor avoiding being on the dinnermenu”.

Pittman was involved in thediscovery of both dinosaurs during aresearch trip to Inner Mongolia led byProfessor Xu Xing of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences, and partlyfunded by the Geological Society. Thetrip formed part of the Inner MongoliaResearch project, which aims to betterunderstand the late Cretaceousecosystem of Inner Mongolia.

Above: The one-digit non-aviantheropod dinosaurLinhenykusmonodactylus,newly describedfrom InnerMongolia, China

PALAEONTOLOGY

A team of international scientists led by Honorary Fellow Professor Xu Xing has discoveredthe first example of a dinosaur with only a single-digit on each fore-limb, reports Sarah Day

1 Xing Xu, et al. 2011. Amonodactyl nonavian dinosaurand the complex evolution of thealvarezsauroid hand. Proceedingsof the National Academy ofSciences. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1011052108

REFERENCES

Read GeoNews first in

Geoscientist Online

www.geolsoc.org.uk/

geoscientist[ ]

Image ©

Julius T. Csotonyi (w

ww

.csotonyi.com)

ONE-FINGEREDLINHENYKUS NOW SHOWS HOW EXTENSIVEAND COMPLEX THEROPODHAND MODIFICATIONSREALLY WEREMichael Pittman

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You can hear Michael Pittman talkingabout his discovery on six of theGeological Society podcast. Xu Xingand Michael Pittman discuss the InnerMongolia Research Project on episode seven.

08 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST GEONEWS

1 Renee C. Weber, Pei-Ying Lin,Edward J. Garnero, QuentinWilliams, and PhilippeLognonne Science 1199375Published online 6 January 2011[DOI:10.1126/science.1199375]

REFERENCES

Above: Dr HarrisonSchmitt Hon FGS.The first and onlyFellow of theSociety to visit oursatellite.Left: Cutaway Moon,showing proposedstructure

Cheese, Gromit – but softer...

Modern computing and analyticaltechniques have been used to squeezethe last drops of interpretation fromdata gathered 40 years ago by Apolloastronauts. Researchers say itbolsters the lately rather shaky-looking“Giant Impact Theory”, which holdsthat the Moon formed in a collisionbetween the early Earth and anotherbody – and was not captured by theEarth’s gravitational field.

In the final Apollo mission, HarrisonSchmitt (the first and - so far - onlyFGS to have visited the moon),collected a pristine and beautiful moonrock sample, Troctolite 7653. Analysisof this sample in 1999 showedevidence of magnetic alignment, andthe possibility of a liquid Moon coreand magnetic dynamo. It can now becompared with seismic signalscollected between 1962 -1977 afterApollo 17 deployed four seismometersonto the lunar surface.However, the rarityof moonquakesmeant datawas sparse,while thecracked andbrokensurfacemeant signalswere maskedby noise.

Computers of the seventies were asa result unable to decode the signalsthey received.

Today’s advanced equipment, andnew analytical techniques, mean thisdata can now be reanalysed. DrRenee Weber, a NASA scientist, usedarray processing as well as applyinga stacking sequence to the 40 year-old data to remove the noise andpick out the strongest signals from38 deep moonquakes. They foundthe Moon has a solid inner, iron-rich

core 240km in diameter, and aliquid iron outer core, which is

still fluid after 4.5 billion years.However our satellite alsocontains a partially meltedsection that our own planet ismissing, comprising largelumps of solid rock and

magma.Weber says this new discovery

is an integral piece in the jigsaw oflunar origin. He told Geoscientist: "Ifwe have any hope of determiningonce and for all how the moonformed then we need to understandits structure completely". This newinsight proves that the internal moonstructure is more Earthlike thanpreviously appreciated, and that themoon originally had a magnetic fieldof its own. Out of four currenthypotheses of Moon creation, thisnew evidence gives more support tothe GIT, which holds that a Mars-sized object collided with the earlyEarth.

IF WE HAVE ANYHOPE OF DETERMININGONCE AND FOR ALL HOWTHE MOON FORMED THENWE NEED TO UNDERSTANDITS STRUCTURECOMPLETELYRenee Weber

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PLANETARY GEOLOGY

More like Camembert than Wensleydale, the Earth’sMoon appears to have a runny liquid centre. HarrietJarlett reports on an intriguing new use of old data

Gordon Beattie writes on the importanceof preserving old data in Letters, p 22.

MARCH 2011 09

GEONEWS GEOSCIENTIST

Weather eye open for climate week!

March 21 – 27 is Climate Week(www.climateweek.com). As partof a national programme of eventsbeing organised by businesses,charities, schools and others, theGeological Society is hosting a talkentitled ‘Rocks, carbon and climate’.Dr Anthony Cohen (Open University),will explore how Earth’s climate hasbeen controlled by a wide range ofnatural environmental processes,

focusing on key episodes in the last200 million years.

The American Geological Institute(AGI) has initiated three newprogrammes to further relationshipswith Earth science organisationsoutside the USA, building on thestrong partnership already enjoyedwith The Geological Society. A newmembership category for InternationalAssociates, allows groups with few ifany American members to shareinformation, news, programs andsuccesses with the AGI federation.AGI’s first International Associate isthe Young Earth-Scientists (YES)Network. BGS and the GeologicalSociety of America (GSA) have

recently joined forces to create theGlobal Geoscience Initiative(www.agiweb.org). AGI alsoprovided support for theteacher trainingsessions held inLondon (August2010). Andrea Martin(CommunicationsManager, AGI) said: “It is only throughcreating thesepartnerships … that wecan move forward on issues …common to all regions and people:such as environment, climate, natural hazards, and resource development”.

CLIMATOLOGY

Society hosts talk by Open University climate expert as part ofnational programme, reports Judi Lakin (Education Officer)

American Institute goes global

n DEARMAN APPEALNewcastleUniversitygraduatesand staff whowere taughtby, orworked with,

Prof. Bill Dearman are beingasked to contribute to abursary fund in his memory -by the closing date of 30 April2011. Bill Dearman(Newcastle 1956 – 86) tookthe UK’s first Chair inEngineering Geology in 1972,and died in January 2009. Heinspired hundreds ofstudents, including BillRankin, who initiated theappeal for the bursary fund.The fund will support apostgraduate student in theSchool of Civil Engineeringand Geosciences (disciplinesDearman combined in hisown career) at NewcastleUniversity. Anyone interestedin contributing is asked tocontact Anne Burton,Development Manager. T: +44 (0)191 222 8804 E: anne.burton@ncl.ac.uk. David Manning

n TAR SAND LINKOil production fromAthabasca Tar Sands (Alberta,Canada) are releasing toxicmetals into rivers imperillingaquatic life, researchers say.According to reports in Natureand PNAS, 13 elementsclassified as ‘prioritypollutants’ have beenrecognised, includingmercury, arsenic and lead, ina nearby river and itswatershed. Seven metalswere present in high enoughconcentrations to threatenaquatic life. This is a seriousenvironmental problem inAlberta where an estimated172 million barrels are held inthe tar sands, and productionis scheduled to increase from1.3 million barrels per day to 3million by 2018. Joe McCall

IN BRIEF

Full details and abstract atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/rocksandclimate

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Above: Ice-cappednow: but for howmuch longer?

Event DetailsDate: Wednesday 23 March, Time: 1500 and 1800. Attendance free. To reserve a place,contact Donna Fitzgerald E: donna.fitzgerald@geolsoc.org.uk T: 020 7432 0944

AGI, of which the Society was the first non-US member, to furtherlinks outside the United States, reports Dawne Riddle

10 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST SOCIETY NEWS

FUTUREMEETINGSn OGMs: 13 April 2011n Council:13 April 2011.

SOCI

ETY

REM

INDE

RS

n MAARTEN DE WITMaarten de Wit is one of Africa’smost distinguished Earth scientistswhose research interests spangeodynamics, tectonics andstratigraphy, early Earth processesand the evolution of the Gondwanasupercontinent. Despite his

European birth, he has become an ambassador for theentire continent. His promotion of the ‘Africa AliveCorridors’ programme is inspirational, as it embracesscience, culture, landscape in a positive, educational,pan-African context and is a genuine attempt toembrace all African society. He is Philipson StowProfessor of Mineralogy and Geology, University of CapeTown, 1989-present and was Founder and first Director,Centre for Interactive Graphical Computing of EarthSystems (CIGCES), University of Cape Town. He is alsoDirector, Africa Earth Observatory Network (AEON).Professor de Wit has numerous long-term contacts withboth the Society and the UK.

n MEAVE LEAKEYDr Meave Leakey is an outstandingfigure in the rarefied, and male-dominated, world of fossil monkeyand early hominid evolution research.She is particularly distinguished byher many years of dedicated fieldwork, backed by a substantial body

of high quality publications. She has been ResearchProfessor, Department of Anthropology, Stony BrookUniversity, New York since 1996 and since 1989 hasprovided distinguished leadership of field expeditions inKenya, focusing on deposits from 8 to 3Ma, leading tomajor discoveries of earliest hominids, includingAustralopithecus anamensis and the human ancestorKenyanthropus platyops. Her UCL 2004 DSc citationread: “Dr Leakey is well known for her pioneering workwith the Turkana Basin Research Project in Kenya,discovering evidence of our earliest human ancestors.She is a research associate in the Palaeontology Divisionof the National Museums of Kenya, and has contributedmore to the world’s understanding of the early phases ofhuman evolution in eastern Africa than any otherindividual.”

HONORARY FELLOWS

Edmund Nickless writes: The following Earthscientists have been awarded Honorary Fellowshipof the Society. Fellows are reminded that they maynominate candidates for Honorary Fellowship at anytime. To find out how to do this, please go towww.geolsoc.org.uk/ honoraryfellowship.

SOCIETYNEWS

The Division of Professional Affairs ofAAPG and the Professional Committeeof the GSL would like to draw theattention of Certified PetroleumGeologists, who are also Fellows of theGSL, and to Chartered Geologists whoare also Active Members of the AAPG,to the reciprocal arrangements that existfor them to become certified orchartered in the other organisation,through a fast-track system. AAPGmembers should contact Vicki Beighle,Membership Manager, E: vicki.beighle@aapg.org. GSL fellows should contact MohammedJahangir, Fellowship Services Manager,E: mohammed.jahangir@geolsoc.org.

Mutual recognition

The Geological Society is joining with the Biochemical Society to build links withinstitutions in developing countries, engage Fellows in sharing knowledge andexperience with young scientists at the beginning of their careers, and to helpgrow links with the international science community, writes Nic Bilham. In thescheme’s first year, we expect to work with PhD students at just one universityin Ghana, which specialises in mining and technology – but we hope to growthis in future years.

Mentors will receive training, and will be matched with a student with whomthey will be asked to maintain email contact for at least a year. If you have aPhD and/or are Chartered, with at least three years’ subsequent experience inacademia or industry, and are interested in finding out more, please emailpolicy@geolsoc.org.uk.

International mentoring

MARCH 2011 11

SOCIETY NEWS GEOSCIENTIST

Rare book of the month!Title:[Unknown],Author:[Unknown],Date:[Unknown]

Thismonth, a mystery. Recently found inthe Library’s collection is a fragment ofa larger work, written in German,describing the landforms of a numberof European regions, ranging fromGermany and Switzerland to England,alongside a series of colourfully drawnviews and sections of mountains. Yetwe have been unable to identify it,since there is no title page and it haslost its spine.

There are certain clues. We canconfirm that it is pre-1874 as it has theLibrary’s stamp from when the Societywas housed in Somerset House; but itcould actually be much earlier - thelatest date of the citations noted on thefirst page of the section we hold is1825. And we know that a distinctivewatermark, that of J. Whatman, anEnglish printer who designed a newtype of paper favoured by Audubon,Napoleon and Queen Victoria, among

others, is in fact a forgery (evidentfrom a thick downward cross-bar onthe letter A). Such dropped cross-bars, however, were in fact prevalentin German watermarks in the 19th Century.

And so we are none the wiser.One thought was that it could berelated to Heinrich von Dechen’s1839 map GeognostischeÜbersichts-karte von Deutschland,Frankreich, England und denangrenzenden Laendern from therelatively unusual combination ofEuropean and English geology, butthere is no more solid suggestion of alink. It is rare for books to concealtheir true identities in this way: if anyGeoscientist readers can aid us in itsunmasking, we would love to hearyour suggestions. Samples of textand further pictures can be providedon request.

The Library operates a sponsorshipscheme to help preserve and restore itsrare books. For more information, contact Michael McKimm in the library, or see the Sponsor A Book page on theSociety’s website:www.geolsoc.org.uk/sponsorabook

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/gsl/info

How geologists constructground models fromboreholes and geophysics tohelp engineers decide on thealignment and constructionmethods for London tunnelsand to identify potential risks

to a project’s successful completion. Tunnels in theChalk beneath London for the Channel Tunnel RailLink, Crossrail, and the Thames Water Lee andThames tunnels build on the experience gained fromChalk tunnels in the North and South Downs and theinvestigations for the Stonehenge Tunnels.

Rory Mortimore is Emeritus Professor of EngineeringGeology at the University of Brighton, Visiting Professorof Engineering Geology at the University of Leeds andDirector of ChalkRock Ltd., a registered companyspecialising in research, development and appliedgeology of the Chalk in Europe.

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

FURTHER INFORMATIONPlease visit www.geolsoc.org.uk/shelllondonlectures11. Entry to each lecture is byticket only. To obtain a ticket please contact Leila Talebaround four weeks before the talk. Due to thepopularity of this lecture series, tickets are allocated ina monthly ballot and cannot be guaranteed.

A mole in London:tunnellingbeneath the City16 March 2011

Shell LondonLecture Series

lectures[

Contact: Leila Taleb, Event Manager, The GeologicalSociety, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG, T: +44 (0) 20 7432 0981 E: leila.taleb@geolsoc.org.uk

]

The Geological Society Club, the successor to the body that gave birth to theSociety in 1807, meets monthly (except over the field season!) at 18.30 for 19.00 inthe Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Once a year there is also a special dinner atBurlington House. New diners are always welcome, especially from among youngerFellows. Dinner costs £45 for a four-course meal, including coffee and port. (The Founders' Dinner, in November, has its own price structure.) There is a cashbar for the purchase of aperitifs and wine.

Please note – you should keep checking dates hereas they may be subject to change without notice.

2011: 16 March; 13 April 2011 (Burlington House -prov.); 18 May

Any Fellow of the Society wishing to dine shouldcontact Dr Andy Fleet, Secretary to the GeologicalSociety Dining Club, Department of Mineralogy, TheNatural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD.Email: a.fleet@ nhm.ac.uk - from whom further details may be obtained. DR

Geological Society Club

ELECTIONS TO COUNCIL 2011-2012The October 2010 issue of Geoscientist invited Fellows tonominate new members of Council. There are six vacancies.There are two nominations for the post of President-designate and 10 for the remaining five places. Onenomination, namely Tricia Henton (who if elected has agreedto serve as Secretary, Professional Matters) is endorsed byCouncil. A preliminary ballot will be conducted, the results ofwhich will determine the list for the formal vote at the AnnualGeneral Meeting on 8 June 2011.

Andy Fleet, Treasurer, is retiring from Council. Councilproposes that Adam Law, an existing member of Councilwho has been acting as ‘Treasurer-designate’ during the pastyear, go forward for election to the role of Treasurer at theAnnual General Meeting.

David Manning, Secretary, Professional Matters, is retiring

from Council. Subject to her being elected by the Fellows,Council proposes that Tricia Henton, a current member of theProfessional Committee, should succeed David in thatonerous role.

George Tuckwell, Vice President, chairs the ChartershipCommittee and is retiring from Council. Council proposesthat Paul Maliphant, an existing member of Council who alsosits on the Professional Committee, be elected to the office ofVice President at the Annual General Meeting and take overthe chair of the Chartership Committee.

Below are the biographies of the candidates standing forelection, together with a table showing the expertise of thepresent Council (full biographies of continuing members ofCouncil are available online atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/vote2011).

12 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST SOCIETY NEWS

COUNCIL MEMBERS

Present Council (2010-2011) Nominees for new Council (2011-2012)

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENTS

SECRETARIES

TREASURER

OTHER MEMBERSOF COUNCIL

Dr J P B Lovell

Professor S MarriottDr C P SummerhayesDr G W Tuckwell

Professor P A Allen (Science)Professor A R Lord (Foreign & External Affairs)Professor D A C Manning (Professional)Dr J P Turner (Publications)

Professor A J Fleet

Miss S BroughMr M BrownProfessor R W H ButlerDr M C DalyDr S A GibsonDr R HerringtonDr R A HughesDr A LawProfessor J LuddenMr P MaliphantProfessor S K MonroProfessor J H TellamProfessor D J Vaughan Mr N R G Walton

Retiring members of Council:Dr M C DalyProfessor A J FleetDr R HerringtonProfessor J N LuddenProfessor D A C ManningDr G W Tuckwell

Dr J P B Lovell

Mr P MaliphantProfessor S MarriottDr C P Summerhayes

Professor P A Allen (Science)Professor A R Lord (Foreign & External Affairs)Dr J P Turner (Publications)Mrs M P Henton (Secretary, Professional Matters)*

Dr A Law

Miss S BroughMr M BrownProfessor R W H ButlerDr S A GibsonDr R A HughesProfessor S K MonroProfessor J H TellamProfessor D J VaughanMr N R G Walton

Nominations for President-designate:Professor I J FairchildMr D T Shilston

Nominations for Council:Dr R E BevinsMr D J CraggProfessor J FrancisProfessor A J FraserDr M O HarrisMrs M P Henton*Dr A S HowardProfessor R J LisleMiss H E NattrassDr S C Sherlock

n IAN FAIRCHILDI am a University-basedgeoscientist with broadinterests based aroundgeochemical processes,Earth history and climatescience. I collaborate widely

with scientists in other disciplines and alsohave significant management experience.My former research students are employedin the petroleum and civil engineeringindustries, the environmental sector, and inacademia. My own external engagementhas been primarily with the publicunderstanding of science: theinterconnectedness of Earth environmentsand the lessons from geological legacies forour future prospects.

Over the past 35 years, I have seen theSociety grow into a progressively wider rolein its service of science and society, whilemanaging its affairs in a professional andincreasingly adroit manner. The Presidentoversees a complex portfolio of workincluding facilitating the communication ofresearch results and professional expertiseto all relevant parties including government,and upholding and developing standards ofgeoscience education and career-longtraining. If elected, I would like to use theopportunity to explore the externalinterfaces of the Society building on thecurrent science-led communicationstrategy. No geologist will need remindingthat there also needs to be time set aside todeal with ‘events’!

My own involvement with the Societyincludes service as Chief Editor of theJournal of the Geological Society from1995-2000. I convened the joint meetingwith the GSA on Earth System Processes in2001 and also worked at different times onthe Publications, Science, and Awardscommittees. I became a CharteredGeologist in 2001 and am a Scrutineer forchartership.

My formal geological education was atthe University of Nottingham, and I also hada spell as University Demonstrator inCambridge before being appointed as asedimentology lecturer at Birmingham in1980. From 1996-2003, I held a chair inEarth Surface Processes at Keele Universitywhere I spent two years on the University’ssenior management team as Dean ofNatural Sciences. I returned to Birminghamin 2003 where I am now Director ofResearch in the School of Geography, Earthand Environmental Sciences and relish thebreadth of this role. Historically, myresearch on ancient carbonates and glacialdeposits led me to seek modern analoguesand an intellectual journey via glacialhydrochemistry to speleothems and theiruse in determining past environments andclimates, on which subject a book and an

(* Nomination endorsed by Council)

BALL

OTIN

G

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS FORPRESIDENT-DESIGNATE NOMINEES

VOTING ONLINEFellows are encouraged to vote online by logging ontothe Fellows-only part of the websitewww.geolsoc.org.uk/vote2011 to register their vote.Please follow the instructions.

VOTING BY POSTEnclosed with this issue of Geoscientist are a ballotpaper and an envelope for returning it, for those unableto vote online. Fellows should vote for one of thecandidates for President-designate. Fellows shouldalso enter a mark against the name of each candidatethey are voting for to serve as ordinary members ofCouncil (up to five). Papers with marks against more

than five names will be invalid.The balloting paper should be placed in the

envelope provided (marked “Balloting Paper Only”),which should be sealed and returned to BurlingtonHouse. The envelope must bear the name of theFellow written legibly on the back, and must reach theSociety not later than 31 March 2011. Envelopeswithout the name of the Fellow will not be opened andthe vote will be invalid. No other communication of anykind should be included in the envelope. NOTE: Fellows may only vote once, either byregistering their vote on the electronic ballot papercontained on the Web site or by returning thepostal ballot

MARCH 2011 13

SOCIETY NEWS GEOSCIENTIST

international conference are in the pipelinefor next year. My work is highlighted in theScience Museum’s new display on ClimateChange. I have chaired various NERCcommittees and am currently an investigatoron several NERC grants related tospeleothems, climate and hydrochemistry. Ilead a multi-institution NERC project on thegeological record of extreme glaciation,based on the extraordinary exposures inSvalbard, and am planning the Society’sFermor meeting on the Neoproterozoic in2012. Proposer: P Styles Supporters:

C Hawkesworth, J D Scourse

n DAVID SHILSTONI am Technical Director forEngineering Geology at AtkinsLimited, a major employer ofgeologists and geoscientists,and would bring over 30 yearsof UK and international geo-

consultancy, managerial and contractingexperience to the role of President. I am aChartered Geologist and have a BSc ingeology (Nottingham University), an MSc inengineering geology (Imperial College), and aPostgraduate Certificate in archaeology(Cambridge University). My particulargeological interests lie not only in theprofessional engineering geology andapplied geohazards work that I do at Atkins,but also in the wide range of pure andapplied subjects that together comprisegeology - from geomorphology to tectonics,and from geological materials topalaeoecology. Outside work, I have givelectures to MSc and undergraduate courses,make presentations at conferences andtechnical meetings, and participate incareers days at local schools. Geology andthe geosciences are fascinating subjects – Iendeavour to pass my fascination on toothers, both at work and play.

My involvement with the GeologicalSociety commenced with service as amember of the Engineering GroupCommittee (where I chaired the MeetingsSubcommittee) and on the former Fellowship& Validation Committee. I was elected toCouncil in 2004 and subsequently becameProfessional Secretary. The recentlyintroduced changes to the Chartershipprocess and arrangements were developedand agreed with Council during my time asProfessional Secretary. I am an activescrutineer of chartership candidates and amcurrently a member of the ChartershipCommittee and Accreditation Panel.

In seeking election as President-designate, my general objectives are: (i) tohelp ensure that the various academic andindustrial/ business ‘constituencies’ withinthe Society continue to move closer togetherto mutual benefit; (ii) to broaden the reach ofChartership within the Society into sectorsand disciplines where it does not yet have astrong presence; (iii) to develop further theSociety’s outward facing and outreachactivities (to the general public, students,teachers, government, industry and fellow

learned and professional institutions); and (iv)to help the Society and its Council plan andmanage its affairs in a period of rapideconomic change, that will touch us all, fromacademe to industry and from seasonedpractitioner to undergraduate. Proposer:

R E Allington Supporters: P Fookes, J S Griffiths

n RICHARD BEVINSI am especially keen to serveon the Council of theGeological Society because Ibelieve that I am ideally placedto facilitate the promotion ofkey geoscience-related

societal issues to the general public. Inaddition, I would want to work to raiseawareness among policy makers of theenormous contribution that our geologicalbase makes to the well-being and prosperityof society, especially in the context ofecosystem services. My current position asKeeper of Geology at the National Museumof Wales, where I have been employed formore than 30 years, provides me withexperience both as an academic geologistand in the communication and interpretationof geological science to a wide variety ofaudiences.

I have a PhD from Keele in igneouspetrology and geochemistry. I have been aFellow of the Society since 1980, a CharteredGeologist since 1991, and have acted asSecretary of the Volcanic & Magmatic StudiesGroup and also served on the JGS EditorialBoard. Between 1989 and 1993 I wasProject Co-Leader for IGCP 294 ‘Very low-grade metamorphism’. I have published over90 papers in peer-reviewed journals andbooks. In addition to my geologicalcommitments for the National Museum ofWales I was Project Leader (1998-2006) forthe new £35m National Waterfront Museumdevelopment in Swansea, which opened in2005 - to date attracting more than 1.25million visitors. Proposer: J C W Cope Supporters:

P C Maliphant, J M Horak

n DAVID CRAGGI am an Associate Director withURS/Scott Wilson Ltd, workingin the fields of engineeringgeology, geotechnics and theremediation of contaminatedland and groundwater. I hold

the degrees of BSc (Hons) PhysicalGeography and Geology (Liverpool, 1978),MSc Engineering Geology (Leeds, 1979) andMSc Contaminated Land Management(Nottingham Trent, 2001). A Fellow of theSociety since 1979, I became a CorporateMember of the Institution of Geologists in1987. With the unification of IG and theSociety I became a Chartered Geologist in1990. I am also a Chartered Engineer withIMMM and a Specialist in Land Condition

with IEMA. I have been a scrutineer ofapplications for chartered status since 2000and I am currently a member of the Society’sChartership Committee.

The majority of our professional work goeson unnoticed by the general public and manygeologists are given to lamenting ourperceived lack of professional status in thewider world. This is not helped by the way inwhich, while adverse global events and naturaldisasters such as volcanic ash clouds,tsunamis and earthquakes merit explanationsin the media by eminent geologists, thebenefits of the application of professionalgeological expertise to the challenges of, forexample, civil engineering, security of energysupply, renewable energy, waste disposal andenvironmental regulation are only rarelypromoted to society at large. We need tochange public perception.

I would like to help to promote the role ofthe members of the Society, in academia andindustry, in benefiting society at large and tohelp to promote the value of an education ingeology both for its own sake and for thecrucial contribution that our professionals canmake in addressing the issues of the day andinto the future. I believe the Society needs tocoax and cajole the UK’s university-basedacademics to become Fellows in far largernumbers; and to promote to them, as well asto industrial practitioners, the benefits ofbecoming Chartered Geologists. The Societyalso needs to consider what professionalattributes are likely to be required of practisinggeologists in future, and to promote itself asthe main forum for developing the necessaryacademic and professional excellence. Theseare the issues I would like to focus upon as amember of Council. Proposer: D Lerner Supporters:

I Hodgson, M Czerewko

n JANE FRANCISI am Professor ofPalaeoclimatology at theUniversity of Leeds andcurrently Dean of the Faculty ofEnvironment. I have a BSc inGeology and PhD in

Geology/Biology from the University ofSouthampton, held a NERC postdocFellowship at the University of London andwas a postdoc Research Fellow at theUniversity of Adelaide in Australia for fiveyears. I have also worked for the BritishAntarctic Survey. My current research focuseson ancient environments of the polar regions,particularly using fossil plants as indicators ofpast climates. I have been awarded the PolarMedal for my contribution to polar researchand have given public lectures about my polarwork in the Geological Society Shell lectureseries. I am also currently a member ofNERC’s Science Innovation and StrategyBoard (SISB), President of thePalaeontological Association and representAntarctic science on various committees.

In the challenging times ahead the Earthscience community will no doubt look to theGeological Society as its professional body tosupport and represent the discipline as

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS FORCOUNCIL NOMINEES

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14 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST SOCIETY NEWS

geological activities are threatened. Forexample, vocational training in masterscourses are no longer supported by NERCand cuts to university funding may make suchspecialised courses unsustainable. Only withthe enhanced support from industry, bothpractically and financially, will the supply ofwell-trained graduates continue in future, andthe Geological Society is well placed to helpencourage such partnerships. In addition,much of Earth science research currently relieson responsive mode funding whereasresearch councils are now focusing on specificstrategic priorities, which at present excludemany areas of Earth science. The GeologicalSociety therefore has an even more importantrole to play these days in helping to ensure thehealth of the discipline in future. Proposer:

C P Summerhayes Supporters: B M Wilson, B Yardley

n ALASTAIR FRASERI have had the good fortune tobe actively involved with theSociety since graduating fromEdinburgh University andjoining BP as a youngPetroleum Geologist in 1977. I

clearly recall my first formal talk in BurlingtonHouse was at a careers day back in the late1970s. Many presentations, committees andnumerous conferences later, I seek to continuemy involvement with the Society throughelection to Council.

After over 30 years with BP as a PetroleumGeologist/Exploration Manager working inmany of the world’s great petroleum basins, Ihave recently taken up the position of EGIChair in Petroleum Geoscience at ImperialCollege in London. A natural progression, Ibelieve, as throughout my industry career Ihave sought to build and maintain strongacademic links. I have always found theGeological Society a place where I couldreconnect with my geological roots andrecharge the technical batteries throughparticipation in the many excellent meetingsand active membership of the PetroleumGroup and Barbican Conference committees.I have long held that a combination of bestindustry practice and technology, coupled withacademic science and innovation, is the mosteffective way to efficiently find and produce oiland gas. The Society has been an excellentvehicle for promoting this collaborativerelationship and I will be looking for new waysto reinforce this fundamental role for theSociety in the future.

Our science has never been more relevantto society, particularly in the energy sector,where an insatiable global demand for energyis seriously challenging our ability asgeoscientists to find and produce newresources and provide longer term,sustainable solutions. A key motivation inmoving to Imperial College was to helpencourage, develop and train a newgeneration of geoscience professionals whowill play a major role in delivering the world’sfuture energy needs. Should I be fortunateenough to be elected to Council, one of mymain drivers will be to actively champion

greater student involvementin the Society and itsmeetings and indoing so, hopefullyinspire new studentstowards a futurecareer in geology.Proposer: M C Daly

Supporters: P A Allen,

H D Johnson

n MICHAEL HARRISMineral production is regainingan importance in world affairs notseen since the industrialrevolution. The Society has aplace as a leading contributor tothe debate on the Earth’s

resources as well as providing direction for itsmembers looking for careers as importantcontributors to delivering the minerals needed inthe future.

Success in the mining exploration industrydepends heavily on having explorers andmanagers who use geology insightfully, have anacute passion for discovery and areknowledgeable and caring about the externalfactors affected by mining development. Themining industry needs to attract people withthese characteristics and the Society sits in aposition to provide encouragement anddirection to its younger members on this.

If elected, I would try to further understandingwithin the Society on the role of the modernmining industry and to encourage participationin the debate on the use of the world’s mineralresources. I would also try to increaseengagement by the Society with the UK’sgeology departments to heighten theawareness of mining and mineral exploration asimportant and worthwhile career options.

Education: BSc, Geology, Tulane University;MSc, Ore Deposits, Stanford University; PhD,Mining Geology, Royal School of Mines (ImperialCollege). Current position: Director, ResourceAssessment, Rio Tinto plc. Employed by RioTinto and related group companies for 29 years.Proposer: A Mackenzie Supporters: J Davidson,

R Herrington

n TRICIA HENTONI have been a CharteredGeologist since 1990 havingserved on the HydrogeologicalCommittee of the GeologicalSociety and on the Council ofthe Institution of Geologists from

1975 to the early 1980s. I also helped establishthe Regional Group in East Scotland.

I have recently retired as Director ofEnvironment and Business at the EnvironmentAgency but continue to be involved inenvironmental and geological matters throughmy non-executive positions on the CoalAuthority and British Geological Survey boards.I have spent most of my professional life inenvironmental management; initially in technicalroles as a hydrogeologist working on minewater rebound, waste management and landfillsbefore moving into senior management. I spent13 years with Aspinwall & Co building their

consultancybusiness in

Scotland through the 1980s and 1990s beforejoining Scottish Environment ProtectionAgency as the Environmental Strategy andthen Chief Executive. I returned briefly toconsultancy with Enviros before joining the EA.

I would bring to Council an extensive seniorlevel record in strategic thinking; knowledgeand experience of how government and theprivate sector work; wide trustee experience inprofessional bodies (including GSL and IG)and NGOs; over three decades ofenvironmental management, much of itaddressing geological issues, all allied with apassionate belief that geological sciencematters.

I believe there is a need to promote therelevance of geological science and the crucialcontribution geologists will make to solving thebig challenges that face society. In doing this,the role and standing of the professionalgeologist in whatever organisation theyoperate is extremely important. I amcommitted to promoting the importance of thepublic being able to rely on competent,professional standards. I think we need awider range of applicants to come forward forGSL membership, as well as helpingapplicants choose the correct route throughthe plethora of different qualifications available.Finally, I would wish to encourage morementoring of candidates in order to helpachieve this.Proposer: J D Mather Supporters:

S K Monro, M G Culshaw

n ANDREW HOWARDAs Director of ScienceProgrammes at the BritishGeological Survey I amresponsible for delivery of ourdiverse programme ofgeoscience, addressing key

societal challenges of natural hazards,environmental change and resource security.A graduate of Sheffield University, I completeda PhD at Queen Mary College London in1984, specialising in Jurassic sedimentology,palaeobiology and palaeoenvionments. Aftera brief period providing sedimentologicaladvice for Norsk Hydro on their Troll andOseberg fields I joined BGS as asedimentological specialist working on theHydrocarbons Research programme, thenmoved on to the BGS geological mappingteams focusing on urban environmentalgeology and coalfields. More recently, I haveled the implementation of new digitalgeological mapping and modelling methods inBGS, before taking on my current role as amember of the BGS Senior Leadership Team.

Meeting the global challenges ofenvironmental change will requireunprecedented levels of cross-disciplinary

Above: Fellowsare encouraged tovote online atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/vote2011

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MARCH 2011 15

SOCIETY NEWS GEOSCIENTIST

collaboration across and beyond theenvironmental sciences. Geology must playa prominent role in that collaboration andlead where appropriate, while enhancing itsindividual identity and visibility to attract thebest new intellects and communicators intothe profession. As a field geologist at heart Istrongly believe that objective observationand analytical skills are the essence ofgeology as a science; also as a professionwe must nurture and encourage talentedcommunicators who can recognise commongoals, exchange knowledge and lead aprominent geological contribution to cross-disciplinary science. Encouraging thisengagement is a daily challenge in my role atBGS and, if elected, an ambition I will bring toCouncil. Proposer: P Styles Supporters: P Bide,

D Peach

n RICHARD LISLEI am a structural geologist,trained at Birmingham (BSc1969; DSc 2006) and ImperialCollege (MSc 1970; PhD1974), and with a career inlecturing and research at the

universities in Leiden, Utrecht and Wales(Swansea). I am currently Professor ofStructural Geology at Cardiff University.

My teaching has been focused on trainingin basic geological skills; interpreting andmaking of geological maps, fieldwork,structural geology and engineering geology.This has led to publication of textbooks;Geological Structures and Maps,Stereographic Projection Techniques inStructural Geology and Basic GeologicalMapping (in prep). Regardless of newpriority directions in research, I believe it isimportant not to neglect these fundamentalskills in undergraduate Earth sciencecurricula. A major challenge will be thecontinued provision of real fieldwork traininggiven the current financial constraints.

My research includes the development ofinnovative techniques in structural analysiswhich have found application tohydrocarbon reservoirs. I am the author ofover 100 research publications andtextbooks including Geological StrainAnalysis and Techniques of ModernStructural Geology (with J G Ramsay FRS)and received, jointly with S H Treagus, theBest Paper Award of the Geological Societyof America (1999).

I have served as Chair of the TectonicsStudies Group and as a past editor of theJournal of Structural Geology where myservices were acknowledged by TopReviewer Award in 2007 and 2008. Proposer:

J G Ramsay Supporters: J Dewey, S H Treagus

n HELEN NATTRASSI am a graduate of ImperialCollege London, where Istudied Geology, taking thefinal year undergraduateoption in EngineeringGeology, as one could then.

My subsequent career led me through a

number of major tunnelling projects wheremy academic knowledge and increasinglyuseful experience could be put to work. Iam currently employed by Sir RobertMcAlpine as a Tunnel & SubstructureEngineer.

I have been a Fellow of the Society forsome 25 years and a Chartered Geologistfor much of that time. I am also a CEng andFICE; active in the British Tunnelling Societyand the British Geotechnical Association. Iam an experienced parliamentary lobbyist. Ihave built up knowledge about what theGeological Society stands for and how itgoes about its work over many yearsthrough attendance at a wide spectrum ofmeetings and courses and also throughhands-on work, by acting as a scrutineer forthe chartership process and being amember of the Chartership Committee.

As a member of Council, I would seek topromote the value of professionalism withinthe Society and the status of CharteredGeologist and Chartered Scientist externally.I would represent those working in the fieldof Engineering Geology. I would put myparliamentary lobbying skills at the service ofthe Society to ensure that the science ofgeology and its applications continue to berecognised and valued in the highest circles.Proposer: R Mortimore Supporters: M H de Freitas,

R Allington

n SARAH SHERLOCKSince completing my PhD atThe Open University in 1999 Ihave worked as ageochronologist at TheGeological Survey of Norwaybefore returning to The Open

University some two years later. I now leadthe Ar/Ar Research group and laboratory asa Senior Research Fellow, a role thatprovides me with wide-ranging opportunitiesto work with colleagues in academe,industry and government, and to mentorearly career researchers. To date in myresearch career I have secured extensivefunds from NERC and industry and focus onthe technical side of Ar/Ar geochronology –what can we do better, and how can we dowhat we’ve not been able to do before?This approach has led me through therealms of understanding the Ar/Ar datingsystem in complex metamorphic rocks, inmudrocks and slate, silicic and basalticvolcanic rocks, meteorite impacts, clasticsediments and authigenic minerals to namebut a few areas that I have or am currentlypublishing on. I am currently theGeochronology Editor for the Journal of theGeological Society and have recently servedfor three years as a member of the NERCPeer Review College. In terms of theSociety, the provision of professionalsupport to such a wide range ofgeoscientists is an invaluable aim. I ammotivated to contribute to the leadershipand promotion of the geosciences throughmeeting the overall aims of the Society.Proposer: N W Rogers Supporters: S Kelley, A L Coe

BACKGROUND OF CONTINUING MEMBERS OF COUNCIL

Name Expertise Sector

Philip Allen

Samantha Brough

Malcolm Brown

Rob Butler

Sally Gibson

Richard Hughes

Adam Law

Alan Lord

Bryan Lovell

Paul Maliphant

Susan Marriott

Stuart Monro

Colin Summerhayes

John Tellam

Jonathan Turner

David Vaughan

Nick Walton

Sedimentology

Environmental Geoscience

Petroleum Geology

Structural Geology

Igneous Petrology

Information Management

Petroleum Geology

Micropalaeontology

Petroleum Geology

Engineering Geology

Sedimentology

Sedimentology

Marine Geology/Geochemistry

Hydrogeology

Structural/PetroleumGeology

Mineralogy

Hydrogeology

Academe

Industry

Industry

Academe

Academe

Government

Industry

Museum

Academe

Industry

Academe

Museum

Academe/Government/Industry

Academe

Industry

Academe

Academe

The following names are put forward for election to Fellowship at theOGM on 13 April 2011.

ABERNETHY, Sam Robert; ADAMS, Roy Donald; AKPOKODJE, Michael; ALSUWAIDI, Hamed Bin Mohamed; AMOSE, Rotimi Omoboriowo; ANDERSON,Roy William Hyde; ANDREWS, Ross James; ANGUILANO, Lorna; ARIS,Ahmad Zaharin; BACON, Laura Jane; BAKER, Alexander John; BALL,Christopher; BARBER, Samuel Edward; BARKER, Daniel Stuart Charles;BARRETT, Brian Edward; BARTLETT, Thomas Samuel; BEKMASHEVA,Natalya; BENDY, Catherine Ann; BLACKSTOCK, Carl Robert; BOGUE,Samuel Barrie; BREEN, Rachel Therese; BROOKS, Daniel James;BROWNLESS, Mark Allen; BUCKLEY, Rebecca Claire; BUCKLEY, ChristopherPatrick; BURCHETTE, Trevor; BUREAU, Denis Hugues; BUTCHER, AntonyChristopher; BUTLAND, Jonathan David; CAGE, David Jonothan;CARRUTHERS, Robert Alan; CASSELS, John James; CHAN, Hoi Ki;CHAVEZ-MARTINEZ, Rodrigo Lorenzo; CHAYTOR, Elizabeth Amy; CHENG,Tsz Kiu; CHEW, Kenneth John; CLAY, Sarah Elizabeth; COFFEY, AmandaJane; COLLINGS, Edward John; COOPER, Gareth; COPSON, Nina Amelinda;DALLWIG, Richard; DAVIDSON, Scott Ian Ross; DAVIES, Brian; DAVIES,Gareth; DAVIS, Sarah; DECOU, Audrey; DENT, Julia; DHILLON, Anil; DOE,Louise Frances; DRUMMOND, Johann; DUFTON, David Richard Lloyd;DUNCAN, Colin; DUNNING, Stuart; DYOTT, William; DYSON, David John;EDMONDS, Marie; EMMS, Grant George; ERHADT, Sebastian; ERIKSSON,Martin; FABUEL PEREZ, Ivan; FACONA, Busayo; FALLAS, Andrew David;FAULKNER, Daniel Roy; FORSYTH, Iain David; FORTUNE, Joanna Caroline;GABRIEL, Hugh Ralph; GARWOOD, Thomas Edward; GEDHILL, TobyMichael Reginald; GEORGE, Aaron Karl; GHALAYINI, Ramadan; GONZALEZ-QUIJANU, Manuel; GRAY, Daniel Thomas; GREAVES, William John; GREEN,Andrew David; GREEN, Timothy James; GREEN, Alistair David; GREGORY,Frances Angela; GROCOTT, Paul Allen; HANNON, David Andrew;HARRISON, Andrew Ian; HASHEELA, Israel Mekonjo Hatfunidi; HEGEWALD,Sara Louise; HERBST, Nora; HEY, Richard James; HINDSON, Thomas;HODGE, Daniel Gyles; HOLLAND, Richard Peter; HOLT, William JamesEdward; HOUSELEY, Christine Marjorie; HOWELL, Alice; HOYE, NormanGeorge; HUNG, Sui Pan; IFEDERU, Babajide Ayodeji; JACKSON, PeterThomas; JACOBS, Matthew; JANMAN, Adam; JOHNSON, Gareth Owen;JOHNSTON, Paul; JONES, Samantha; JONES, Philippa Anne; JONES, Scott;KAPPENSCHNEIDER, Klaus; KAPUR, Vivesh Vir; KEEGANS-WOOD, MatthewDavid; KING, Nicholas Seymour; KNIGHT, Alison; KNOX, Matthew Liam;KOHLER, Cornelia Maria; KOLLIGRI, Evangelia; LAMBERTH, Paul Owen;LAMBERT-SMITH, James Simon; LANGAN, Phoebe; LARSEN, Odd Arne;LEES, Jason; LEYLAND, John Woodruff; LOWREY, Caroline Jane; MAIA, AnaRaquel; MCMILLAN, Lyndsay Antonia; MISTRY, Miteshkumar Muljibhai;MORLEY, Christopher Keith; MORTLEY, Alexander Charles Derry; MORTON,Justin David; MOXON, Ian Roy; O’CALLAGHAN, Stephen James; PARTON,Neil James; PATERSON, Richard James; PATTERSON, Simon; PICKERING,Matthew Paul; PRATT, Samuel Alton Ekundayo; READER, Joanne; REED,Steven John; RENAUD, jean Philippe; REYNOLDS, Emily Louise; RIBBANDS,Mark; RICHARDSON, Morwenna Keren; ROBERTSON, Andrew Gilbert;ROEDER, Dietrich Hans; ROEMMEL, Janet; RUKEZO, Gift; RYAN, MichaelPatrick; RYDER, Katherine Christabel; SCHLEDER, Zsolt; SINCLAIR, KimLouise; SMITH, Stephen Gregory; SPENCER, Ellen Louise; STEELE, Simon;STEPHENS, Sarah Madeline; STILTON, Gavin John; STRONG, TimothyJames; TARZIA, Maurizio; TAYLOR, Phillip Robert; THEOPHILUS, SamuelAubrey; THOMPSON, Matthew John; TILL, George Earnest; TITCHELL,Samantha; TORREGROSA MORALES, Higinia; TURNER, Michael John; VANHULTEN, Fokko F N; VAN STAVEREM, Johan Walther; WAI, Kin Ming;WALDRON, John William Henry; WEATHERILL, John James; WHITELEY,James Scott; WHITAKER, Fiona Francis; WILLIAMS, Charles TimothyPolleyfen; WILSON, Alan Glen; WINDER, David Richard; WOOD, Nicholas;WREN, Matthew Clifford.

ELECTION – FELLOWS

f you should ever try to imagine alate Palaeozoic ecosystem onland, what would it look like? Isit the “typical” Carboniferouscoal-swamp setting, a humidsubtropical mire-forest with huge

odd looking plants (and possibly giantinsects)? Our knowledge of coal-swamp flora and fauna from this timeis quite extensive; but as apalaeobotanist I would like to knowwhat other types of ecosystem haddeveloped by this time, and, as thecoal-swamps of Euramerica declinedinto the early Permian, what otherplants might have been growing? Onepossible insight into a hithertounknown Late Palaeozoic terrestrialecosystem comes from the fossillagerstätte of Chemnitz.

The area around Chemnitz, Saxony,East Germany is justly famous for itsPetrified Forest (Versteinerter Wald).The first finds occurred in the firstthree decades of the 18th Century. In1752 a huge silicified trunk wasuncovered with its roots still attached.Great numbers of large and often verycolourful plant fossils from thisPetrified Forest were unearthed whenresidential areas were constructed atHilbersdorf and Sonnenberg aroundChemnitz at the end of the 19thCentury. The fossil stems, branches ofdifferent orders (main or side branches,offshoots) and roots were collected asprettily-coloured objects in their ownright; but far more interesting is thefact that the original three-dimensionalshape of these fossils has beenpreserved – a very unusual thing inplant fossils.

Within these often complicatedstructures we see exceptionalpreservation of the plant organs, asnoted by the German palaeobotanistJohann Traugott Sterzel (1841-1914),who re-started the study of thismaterial after initial work by theGerman geologist Bernhard vonCotta (1808-1879) in 1832. Theamazing detail of the individual cellsof the plant tissues of each organ,along with their external morphology,is why Chemnitz became the typeregion for many silicified fossil planttaxa, and forms the basis for ourunderstanding of Permian plants withanatomical preservation.

Other Permian localities in Europemore commonly yield flattenedimpression/compression materials,instead of this three-dimensionalanatomical assemblage. Nowadays,however, many historically importantformer quarry sites are no longerworked as the city of Chemnitz(population c. 254,000, twinned withManchester, among other places) hasswallowed them up. For this reasonthe remains of this classic deposit weredeemed “inaccessible”. Hilbersdorfand Sonnenberg are both suburbs ofChemnitz now. However, a newopportunity recently presented itselfand Chemnitz has once again providedus with the only collectible EarlyPermian silicified plant assemblage.

REUNIFICATIONStraight after the reunification ofGermany there was a rush to developthe city’s of out-of-town shoppingfacilities, leaving the heart of the city

I

Leyla Seyfullah (University of Göttingen), withfinancial help from the Society’s Garwood Fund, hasjust returned from rescuing precious fossil plantremains from a building site in suburban Chemnitz

GRUBBEROF SUBURBIA

GEOSCIENTIST FEATURE

▼

18 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST FEATURE

somewhat neglected. However, since1999, there has been a period ofinvestment and reconstruction, withnew building developments in the city centre. This development meantthat formerly inaccessible localitiesmight be reopened and, potentially,yield new finds.

So Dr Ronnie Rößler, director of theMuseum für Naturkunde inChemnitz, decided to lead the city’sapplication to have the Petrified Forestrecognised as a World Heritage Site byUNESCO. To help convince UNESCOhe, with help from the city planners,organised an “emergency excavation”on a site scheduled for redevelopmentin the residential suburb ofHilbersdorf. This site was deemedsufficiently local to be a good choicefor an attempted “rescue” dig for anyPetrified Forest before reconstructioneither destroyed it or rendered itinaccessible. An area of 18m × 24mwas set aside, just a few metres fromthe road. This was eventuallyexcavated to a depth of 5.5m.

I had been lucky enough to meetRonnie at a conference where he hadpresented beautifully preservedsilicified specimens with amazinganatomical detail. We got talkingabout the material, and I was invitedto have a look at the materials housedin the Chemnitz museum once I hadfinished my PhD. Ronnie is interestedin the evolution of sporing plants,such as tree ferns and the giant extincthorsetails. He works on these plantsas preserved in volcanogenicsediments across the world, using theincredible anatomical detail todetermine how the plants worked interms of the mechanics of their tissues.He has worked mostly on Permianplants from Chemnitz and SouthAmerica that have been preserved in asimilar way. My interest lies in theevolution of plants that have seedsrather than spores (like today’sconifers and their ancestors) and inunderstanding how these plants wereorganised anatomically. So, afterfinishing my PhD, I contacted Ronnieand found out about this uniqueopportunity to access the historicallocality and its potential finds.

APPLICATIONBeing rather excited about thisopportunity, but unfunded at the time,I wrote a desperate application to theGeological Society for fieldwork assistance. I asked the Society to help

Overview offield site,

Chemnitz,Germany

Base of a fossiltree trunk, andits entombing

sediments

Apical crown ofa medullosanpteridosperm

tree, preservedupside down!

▼

FEATURE GEOSCIENTIST

me get to Chemnitz, so I could getinto the excavation to be able toobserve the in situ materials and soget to understand the depositionalenvironment; to be able actually tocollect, myself, from this historic areaand then work on the seed-plantsbeing discovered there. The Societydecided to award me the GarwoodFund for the Petrified Forest rescueattempt. This paid for 20 days’ fieldwork to uncover the petrified fossilforest, as one of a team led by Ronnyand Ralph Kretzschmar (ChemnitzMuseum für Naturkunde) withvolunteers and students fromdifferent universities, mainly fromthe Freiberg University of Mining and Technology. The fieldworktook place in June 2010.

The Chemnitz Petrified Forestoriginates from rhyolitic explosivevolcanism that occurred around 290million years ago. A recentlyobtained SHRIMP age put thisepisode at 290.6 (+/- 1.8) Ma. At thistime, a series of volcanic eruptionsnortheast of Chemnitz resulted in theformation of a pyroclastic sequencenow referred to as the Zeisigwald TuffHorizon, which is part of theLeukersdorf Formation -approximately 800m of sedimentaryand volcanic deposits. The wholesuccession consists of threedepositional cycles, which start attheir erosive base with alluvial coarseclastics and develop, fining upwardinto fine-grained palustrine orlacustrine cycle tops.

The stratigraphic position of theLeukersdorf Formation correspondsto the Upper Asselian/LowerSakmarian, indicated from thepalustrine Rottluff Coal microflorasituated within the lower part of theLeukersdorf Formation. TheZeisigwald Tuff Horizon resultedfrom a multi-storey caldera eruption -a depositional sequence of severaldevastating glowing-cloud eruptionsand repeated pyroclastic flowdeposits. One giant lateral surgeassociated with the hot, dense andunsorted flows is thought to havebeen the key process in creating theChemnitz Petrified Forest.Descending ashes buried andconserved a unique ecosystem, andthis rapidity and intensity haveresulted in some of the most completeand perfectly preserved fossil plantassemblages known, providinginsights in to both the well-preserved

Fossilizedtree trunks,still in situ

The field site isin a residentialarea ofChemnitz ▼

MARCH 2011 19

20 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST FEATURES

Permian floral elements and thepermineralisation process itself. A modern analogue to this mode ofpreservation is found in the eruptionof Mount St Helens (1980), when manytrees were found snapped off, strippedof their branches and bark, anddropped in alignment with the blastdirection, whereas other treesremained upright and were lessdamaged.

HIGH DENSITYSo far we have uncovered 48 in situplants from this new localitymeasuring 24m x18m x 5.5m, giving ahigh density; although additionaltrunks and branches were clearly notin situ and had been brought in as partof air-fall tuffs or pyroclastic flows,which were shown to have flowedwestward. The in situ plants arerooted in the underlying sedimentarylayer and protrude through into thepyroclastic sediments that have a basalfine-grained, horizontally-beddedlayer, followed by a thin, stronglylithified ash with obviousaccrectionary lapilli, containing rarethree-dimensional fossil moulds, andfinally, a massive blocky tuff layer.This uppermost flow deposit of theZeisigwald Tuff Horizon is purple-redin colour and massively blocky. It isalso where the best anatomically-preserved fossil plant materials arefound trapped.

The plants themselves consist ofplants from several different groups,there are sporing plants: ferns,Arthropitys (tree-like horsetails) andPsaronius (tree ferns) preserved in situ,along with various seed plants:Cordaites (extinct conifer ancestor),conifers and pteridosperms (seedplant ancestors). The medullosanpteridosperms show a large amount ofanatomical variation, which we hadthought was just down to ontogenetic(developmental, age related) variationwithin the same species; but it is clearfrom examining neighbouring in situtrunks that differingsubspecies/species grew side by side, so further work to fully delimit anddescribe each species is now needed.It is interesting that some of the treesappear de-barked on one side,mirroring the surge direction Also thefloral understorey appears to beimpoverished, so there few smallershrubby and no herbaceous plantspresent in the assemblage. We suspectthis to be a taphonomic effect –

an effect of preservation – with the hotsurge destroying more delicate plantslike ferns, whereas the wood andouter bark of the tree-forms couldwithstand the heat and inertial energyof the surge so close to the originalvolcano. The team believes theoriginal volcano to have been locatedjust over one kilometre away.

As the large blocks from the (partlysilicified) tuff were removed, attentionthen focused on the detrital layerpreserved in the first ash-fall deposit,as this proved to be unusual. This isthe level at the base of the site.Normally, this layer would containfallen and shed materials (seeds,leaves, branches, animals) in variousstates of decay, on the original soillevel - making this layer a usefulindicator of the general ecology. Thedetrital layer can preserve organs andspecies not seen in the overlyinglayers of a surge event. It appears thatthe majority of this detrital layer hadbeen “boiled” or scoured away by thisextremely devastating flow, due to theproximity of the source volcano.However, there were some traces ofthe detrital layer (about 1000compression/impression specimens),preserved as a fine mud with fragileplant fragments, several tetrapodremains (three reptiles, twoamphibians and isolated bones) anddifferent arthropod remains (anArthropleura leg, two diplopodes(millipedes), one aphantomartidarachnid) found predominantlyaround the bases of the in situ tree-trunks. The detrital layer contains ahigher frequency of leafy remains anda greater diversity of species than thatof the overlying tuff, includingdelicate pteridosperm reproductiveorgans, although these fossils are notpermineralised, they either appeareither as infillings of the slightlycompressed three-dimensional mouldswith either iron or manganese oxides,or preserved as calcium phosphatetraces on the mud layer.

EXCITINGFor the team, the scientifically mostvaluable find was found lyinghorizontally, embedded in the tuff. Itis the more than 10m diameter multi-branched terminal portion of a woodyhorsetail-tree (Arthropitys bistriata). Ithas been named German "Fossil of theYear 2010", the first time a fossil planthas won this accolade, as it shows forthe first time that these giant sporing

Chemnitz wasformerly known

as Karl-MarxStadt until

re-unification

Longitudinalpolished

section thoughta 60mm long

piece ofDadoxylon

wood showinganatomical

preservation

▼

FEATURE GEOSCIENTIST

plants from the Permian could bebranched, and challenges theassumption that the Permian formswere never branched.

For me, however, the most excitingfind was something that wasoriginally thought to have been arooting system of one of the large seedplants (which in itself would havesettled many questions about how thestems were really rooted). This, infact, turned out to be the broken-offcrown of a medullosan pteridospermtree, with the branches still attached,preserved upside-down! Painstakingexcavation with fine chisels and paintbrushes revealed that the very long,flattened branches of the inverted tree-crown had pinnules of the fern-likefoliage attached, and although notfertile, this specimen represents thefirst known example of how suchlarge branches (with foliage) wereactually borne by the medullosanpteridosperm trees on comparativelyslender trunks.

This glimpse into the world of theSakmarian is extremely valuable; thereis a notable decrease in the fossil plantrecord (when compared with theCarboniferous) as the terrestrialPermian record is often represented byhiatuses or unfossiliferous strata. Thisrare parautochthonous flora also bearsevidence of a drying environment thatwould have had little preservationpotential, had it not been for this luckyvolcanism. Some intriguing questionsremain, particularly around thetaphonomy. What processesled to many of thesepetrifactions beingpreserved by purplecalcium fluoride,rather than beingsilicified, forexample?

For me,the mostunexpected partof the fieldworkwas theinterest thatlocal peopletook in ourexcavation,and the plantswe uncovered.The site itselfwas less than twometres from a roadand was overlookedby multi-storeyapartment blocks.

For safety reasons, the site was walledoff; but numerous visits were made bymany different groups, (6000 visitorsfrom Germany during a fewweekends when the excavation wasopened to the public, as well as 80scientists from more than 20 countrieswho also came to see the site). Manyvolunteers laboured long and hardin the hot sun, breaking up the tuffand clearing it by hand, vigilant forany interesting structures, whileothers (including me) sat with smallchisels and brushes cleaning thedelicate structures before noting their measurements and directions,then photographing and removing the fossils.

We also digitally mapped eachfossil so that a complete picture ofthe finds in the site has beenaccurately recorded in 3D. Thecombined effort of so many genuinelyinterested people was great to be apart of (even for a short time). Due tothe unexpected interest in recoveringthe Petrified Forest, the city ofChemnitz has granted a new site forexcavation, in the Sonnenberg area ofthe city, next year.

Meanwhile, we are getting on with preparing the specimens andcomparing them to existing collectionsin Berlin and publishing the results –all the time looking forward eagerly togrubbing around in suburbia onceagain, in 2011. n

A piece of conifer wood,polished and cut ready for

study showing thecolourful fluorite

mineralisation

MARCH 2011 21

To apply for a Society grant

www.geolsoc.org.uk/grants[ ]

22 MARCH 2011

READERS’LETTERS

Sir, Harriet Jarlett’s piece on the structure ofthe Moon (this issue, page 8), which has beenderived using old data collected duringmanned lunar missions, raises the issue ofprotecting less expensively obtained, butnonetheless still scientifically precious,information collected years ago in strange andnow obsolete formats. What is to stop thesedata sets – from which modern techniquesmight be able to extract so much moreadditional information that was beyond thereach of technologies available at the time -going the way of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

During the “Oil Boom” (1975-82) a greatdeal of energy exploration was carried out inmany diverse locations. The sheer scale ofwork done (rig count peaked at nearly 6000against a background of less than 3000), influxof personnel and rapid evolution of technologymeant that vast volumes of records weretaken into storage. This material may, infuture, prove to be of considerable value asenergy crises occur.

Among the traditional forms of rig data wereGeolograph charts, IADC reports, well diaries,chromatograph charts, mud reports, lithologs,cuttings, etc. These were in hard format, andeasily accessed, but the influx of novicepersonnel meant that some of the results werenot as rigorously checked as would be the

normal case. Added to this was arrival ofcomputers in field and operationsdepartments. This material was storedin an assortment of the then currentcomputer formats.

These formats employed many differenttypes of physical data storage: HP Cartridges,cassettes, large floppy discs, small floppydiscs, etc. Each had their benefits: HPCartridges were robust in construction,cassettes were readily available, large floppydiscs lived fast, died young and may have leftinteresting corpses, and small floppy discs arenow becoming scarce, historic items! Many ofthese formats are no longer in either use, orfashion, and access is rapidly becomingdifficult as the march of progress leads tomemory sticks and “The Cloud”.

In addition, the personnel who collected thisinformation are now many years older andpersonal recollections, which could be helpful,are becoming misty. Finally, while the majorityof exploration was undertaken by wellestablished, experienced companies, somework was done by a group of smallindependent operators, of short existence.

What, if anything, is being done about all ofthis? Am I alone in finding this potential loss ofgeoscientific information worrying? Gordon Beattie

PRESERVING OLD DATA A NAME TOO FAR!Sir, “Geo-engineering at Durhamincorporates GeotechnicalEngineering, Geo-EnvironmentalEngineering and Engineering Geology.”(University of Durham, School ofEngineering website). “The'International Journal ofGeoengineering Case Histories'

It is intensely irritating to manyengineering geologists andgeotechnical engineers that the RoyalSociety and the NERC, too, have'hijacked' the term 'Geo-engineering'(or 'Geoengineering') for the field ofresearch seeking to find ways ofartificially controlling climate change.At least they could have done what allresearchers are taught to do andcarried out a literature search.

Of course, it's too late now tochange things but, perhaps, thisdemonstrates the contempt in whichthese researchers hold some of theirsupposed colleagues. Pity that PeterHurrell (the NERC's StakeholderLiaison Officer – Geoscientist 20,12,16-17) didn't liaise a bit more withstakeholders at the Geological Societybefore joining the 'hijackers'.Martin Culshaw

JOURNAL EMAIL ALERTS Sir, It's a year now since I opted not toreceive a paper journal, and I realise inthat time I haven't looked at QJEGH!The thud of the paper version throughthe letterbox at least provoked me tolook at the contents page, to see ifthere was something I should read.Without this reminder, I don't getaround to logging in to see whetherthe next issue has been published andwhat is in it. I'm a commercialgeologist rather than an academic, andkeeping up with the literature is not myday job. Would it be possible to emailout the contents list to subscribers?This would provide a reminder, hasnegligible cost, and is also quickerthan “logging in”.John HeathcoteNeil Marriott replies: This is very easilydone via the Lyell Collection, and you canreceive updates by either email orRSS. For email alerts:1. go to the QJEGHhome pagehttp://qjegh.lyellcollection.org 2.click on “email alerts”.3. login and click“add/edit/deleteTOCs” 4. check thebox which says “Tableof Contents (Full)”.

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

MARCH 2011 23

n Hertfordshire Geology andLandscape, Catt, J. (2010),Hertfordshire NHS.

n Plates vs Plumes: A GeologicalControversy, Foulger, G.R. (2010),Foulger, G.R. (2010), Wiley-Blackwell.

n Between Rocks and Hard Places:Discovering Ireland’s NorthernLandscapes, Lyle, P. (2010), GSNI.

n Rudolph Glossop and the Rise ofGeotechnology, Williams, R.E. (2011),Whittles.

REVIEWS: COPIES AVAILABLE

Interested parties should contact theReviews Editor, Dr. Martin Degg 01244513173; m.degg@chester.ac.uk, only.Reviewers are invited to keep texts.Review titles are not available to orgerfrom the Geological Society PublishingHouse unless otherwise stated.

Science WithoutThe Boring Bits

The title of Michael Leddra’s book mayhave seemed an incongruous choice ofholiday reading during a time, lastsummer, when for me, time really didn’tmatter! But I was far from disappointed.Time Matters takes the reader through acomprehensive synopsis of the topic;through rock dating and time scales,plutonism and neptunism,uniformitarianism and catastrophism,evolution and creationism, and ontocontinental drift and plate tectonics.Each concept, set into its own historicaltimescale, details the development anddiscoveries that have shaped ourunderstanding of geological time, by thepeople most notably involved.

Time Matters is more than a textbookand reads with the accessibility of a novel.Clearly written by an educationalist, thereader’s own understanding is frequentlychallenged with appropriate use of“discussion point questions” which makethe text much more interactive. Theauthor also provides additionalbackground to the topics discussed as wellas further reading suggestions. Indeed, hefrequently quotes from an extensivebibliography that further directs thereader to new ideas for study, and it is this

synthesis of so many current books on thistopic that makes Time Matters such auseful publication. Thus the book, whichis liberally illustrated with black and whitephotos, maps and diagrams and a verygood index, is an ideal introduction to atopic that is central to any study of theEarth sciences.

This is certainly appropriate for the A-Level/first year university market and as abackground to the development ofunderstanding of the Earth sciences for theeducated layman. As the book covers somany important topics - remnantmagnetism, geological principles,radiometric dating techniques andmountain building to name but a few - theA-Level student and Year 1 undergraduatewill find it a particularly useful reference.Whilst the cost may be prohibitive forschool class copies, this is certainly one forthe departmental and main library. Ithoroughly recommend the paperbackversion of the book to colleagues andstudents alike - you will not bedisappointed.

Reviewed by Pete LoaderSt Bede’s College, Manchester

Time Matters – Geology’s Legacy ToScientific Thought

TIME MATTERS – GEOLOGY’S LEGACY TOSCIENTIFIC THOUGHTMICHAEL LEDDRA Published by: Wiley-BlackwellPublication date: 2010. ISBN: 978-1-4051-9909-4 288pp. List price: £24.95 (pbk); £75.00 (hbk)www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

The ‘bitesize’ approach to popular scienceis becoming increasingly popular, as istelling the human stories behind accountsof theories and hypotheses that otherwiserisk being dry and impersonal. One ofthe most important outcomes of bookslike Science Without the Boring Bits is tobring home the fact that science doesn’talways get it right – as any ‘Whiggish’account of science, marching ever closertowards truth misleadingly suggests,ignoring all the strange cul-de-sacs anddeviations that scientists have meanderedthrough, on their way to finding theideas that stuck.

Thus, we learn that even the greatCharles Darwin had his ‘stupid moment’,investigating into the musicality ofworms, while time and again scientistshave confidently stated that we knownearly everything we need to – ahighlight being the Linnean SocietyPresident who declared that “this yearhas not been marked by any strikingdiscoveries”. He was speaking of 1859 –only a few months after the Linneans hadheard Darwin and Wallace’s paper On theTendency of Species to form Varieties; and onthe Perpetuation of Varieties and Species byNatural Means of Selection.

Occasionally, mistaken ideas have hadmore serious consequences than wastedtime spent in the company of worms,bassoons and whistles. The danger ofsigning up too early to a fledging theoryis well illustrated by the craze for radiumas cure and cosmetic (‘Let “Caradium” dofor you what it has done for thousandsacross the world!”), and for lobotomy toalleviate the slightest mental difficulty.

The book is helpfully arranged inchronological order, giving a timeline ofthe humorous, bizarre and nonsensicalantics of scientists from 3750BC to thepresent day. They are also categorisedaccording to discipline – sometimesanachronistically, especially since thesecategories are applied to examples datingfrom eras before they were recognised.But the wide variety ensures there is

SCIENCE WITHOUT THE BORING BITS –CRANKS, CURIOSITIES, CRAZY EXPERIMENTS AND WILD SPECULATION IAN CROFTON. Published by: Quercus, 2010;ISBN: 978-1848660564 (hbk) 352pp. List price: £12.99, www.quercusbooks.co.uk

BOOKS & ARTS GEOSCIENTIST

something for everyone, as does thevarying length of entries. This is a bookto dip in and out of, rather than readingcover to cover. There are many similarofferings on the market already; but ifthey all serve to reinforce the point thatscientists are not only fallible, but have asense of humour, there will never beenough of them.

Reviewed by Sarah Day

n KEVIN EATON Kevin Eaton hasbeen appointedTechnical Directorof Hydrogeologicaland GeologicalServices with

MJCA, the independentenvironmental consultancy.Kevin is a CGeol and Specialistin Land Contamination (SiLC)with 20+ years’ experience incontaminated land andgroundwater pollution, evaluatingenvironmental liability andassociated financial impacts.Kevin can be contacted atkevineaton@mjca.co.uk.

n RAYMOND MURRAYRaymond Murray,a member of theGeological Societyof America, hasbeen named as thefirst recipient of the

Forensic Geoscience Group(FGG) Award, presented at the3rd International Workshop onCriminal & Environmental SoilForensics, California - organisedby the California Association ofCriminalists and the CaliforniaDepartment of Justice.

n ROGER SEARLE Roger Searle(DurhamUniversity) hasbeen awardedthe Price Medalby the Royal

Astronomical Society for“investigations of outstandingmerit in solid-Earth geophysics,oceanography or planetarysciences”.

24 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST PEOPLE

CAROUSEL

PEOPLEFilm rights are mine!As a new biography of Professor Jack Gregory (1864-1932) byBernard Leake launches this month, Nick Robins* considersGregory’s legacy and its importance for geologists of today

The Geological SocietyPublishing House releasesBernard Leake’s biography ofJack Gregory this month.Leake has empathy with hissubject, as both occupied theChair of Geology at GlasgowUniversity - albeit separatedby some 70 years.

As Leake reveals,Gregory’s manyachievements includedrecognising the initial upliftphase and then the tensionalorigin of the African RiftValley; the Lake Eyreexpedition and the resulting‘Dead Heart of Australia’book, and his recognition thatthe Pacific Ocean had beenmuch smaller in the past, notlarger as Wegener supposed.Unfortunately this led to hisinfluential rejection ofcontinental drift and helpeddelay its acceptance in theUK. Gregory worked onevery continent exceptAntarctica (having resignedas Leader when Robert Scott

was appointed to race to thePole, an episode detailed withpreviously unpublishedletters). Gregory firstrecognised the Olorgesailiehumanoid site in Kenya, latermade famous by the Leakeys,and he wrote on theworldwide structural controlof fiords

COPIOUS OUTPUTGregory returned to the UK in1904 to the Chair of Geologyat Glasgow University, the rolefor which he is probably bestremembered, building thelargest First Year GeologyClass in the UK (over 400students!). Although hiscopious output of papers,monographs and booksactually increased after heretired, his broad brush anti-drift global theory focused onthe still curious puzzle overwhy 95% of the Earth’s land isantipodal to ocean.

Leake’s biography is notjust an acknowledgement ofGregory’s professional life,extraordinary and productiveas it was. The book alsoincludes some beautifulillustrations of his Victorianchildhood. There arerevealing descriptions of lifein a superior EdwardianGlasgow tenement, and Leakeeven describes Gregory andhis wife Audrey entertainingtheir dinner guests.

Gregory was a trulyremarkable manwhose professionalcareer began as a

palaeontologist at theNatural History Museumand led via overseasexpeditions, including Libya,Angola and Tibet, tointernational (contemporary)fame. The book takes thereader through his careerwith its 52 years of nightly5–6 hours’ writing, to ‘earlyretirement’ at 65, and to hislast expedition - a fataltraverse of the PeruvianAndes. The suddendrowning of Bernard Leake’shero comes as both shockingand very sad. This is anexcellent and compellingread. As for the film rights –well, you can get in thequeue behind me!

* British Geological Survey

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

The Life & Work of Professor J.

W. Gregory FRS (1864—1932);

geologist, writer & Explorer, ispublished by the GeologicalSociety as Memoir 34, priced £75.

All fellows of the Societyare entitled to entries in thiscolumn. Please emailted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk,quoting your Fellowshipnumber.

MARCH 2011 25

PEOPLE GEOSCIENTIST

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.

Geologist and science writer Nina Morgan reports on remarkable creatures, a fishy tale and a lucky miss

DISTANT THUNDER Hit and miss

Among many fascinatingspecimens collected by MaryAnning (1799 –1847 - arguablyone of the most important andtalented collectors who workedalong the Jurassic coast nearLyme Regis) was a completeskeleton of the fish, Squalorajapolyspondyla, believed to bea transitional link betweensharks and rays.

According to a communicationprinted in the Transactions of theGeological Society of London(1887), the specimen had beenpurchased by John NaishSanders, Esq. Sanders – whoacted under the assumed nameof 'An Aged Citizen' - was amoving spirit behind the BristolInstitution, to which he donatedthe fossil and "where it nowconstitutes a part of that valuableand improving collection." 'Part',apparently, was the operativeword. It seems that Sandersinitially received only its body. Heexpected to receive the tail later.

In a letter dating from February1838 preserved in the archives atthe Oxford University Museum ofNatural History (OUMNS),Sanders wrote to Mary Anning'sfriend and fellow collector,

Elizabeth Philpot, to enquireabout the missing tail.

“... I believe you are alreadyaware," he wrote, "that Ipurchased of Miss Anning, someyears ago a rare, fossil,described by Monr. Agassiz, ofwhich there is a large plate in thelast report of the GeologicalTransactions. If Miss A. had notforgotten her promise to me, aportion of the tail, subsequentlyfound, would now be attachedto the fossil.

“Should you be of the opinionthat science would be promotedby a reunion, I should be mosthappy to pay any expense thatyou have incurred, for thefragment in your possession.

"I can sincerely assure youthat I have no personal interestin view, having already offeredthe fossil, gratuitously, to a public museum, to prevent sovaluable a specimen leavingthis Country ...”

Body and tail were neverreunited – luckily, as it turned out.The body was lost in the Bristolblitz. Happily the tail, along witha drawing by Mary Anning of the

skull and body, survive and havebeen recently displayed as partof a fascinating temporaryexhibit, Remarkable Creatures,Remarkable Finds, at the OUMS.

IN MEMORIAM WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/OBITUARIES

THE SOCIETY NOTES WITH SADNESS THE PASSING OF:

Coleman, John Arthur R*Craig, James*Harwood, H J*Henney, Paul*John, Thomas Urias*Jones, James Peter*

Locke, Matthew*Mann, Paul Dunstan*Morley, William*Richardson, Alfred James *Wilson, Henry Hugh *

If you would like to contribute an obituary, please emailted.nield@geolsoc.org.uk to be commissioned.You can read the guidance for authors atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/obituaries. To save yourselfunnecessary work, please do not writeanything until you have received acommissioning letter.

Deceased Fellows for whom noobituary is forthcoming havetheir names and datesrecorded in a Roll of Honour atwww.geolsoc.org.uk/obituaries.

In the interests of recording its Fellows' work for posterity, the Societypublishes obituaries online, and in Geoscientist. The most recent additionsto the list are in shown in bold. Fellows for whom no obituarist has yetbeen commissioned are marked with an asterisk (*).

Mary Anning’s sketch of Squaloraja. Picture courtesyOxford University Museum of Natural History

Acknowledgements: The storyabout Squaloraja forms part of atemporary exhibit entitledRemarkable Creatures,Remarkable finds at the OxfordUniversity Museum of NaturalHistory. The exhibit, whichfocuses on Mary Anning andElizabeth Philpot includesspecimens, drawings and letters, was researched andassembled by CarolineCheeseman, Eliza Howlett, PaulJeffery and Joy Todd.

If the past is the key to yourpresent interests, why notjoin the History of GeologyGroup (HOGG)? For moreinformation and to read thelatest HOGG newsletter,visit: www.geolsoc.org.uk/hogg. Keen collectors willnote that registration for theHOGG Conference onGeological Collectors andCollecting is now open. A full programme andregistration form areavailable for download fromthe HOGG website.

* Nina Morgan is a geologistand science writer basednear Oxford

26 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST OBITUARY

OBITUARY‘

Petroleum geologist, former Assistant Director of BGS and a Laureate of the Royal Academy of Music

STUART HARDY BUCHAN 1940-2010

tuart Buchan,who died inCalifornia aged70, was apetroleum

geologist. He was born inSurrey in June 1940, the sonof Stevenson Buchan (1907-1996) the Scots fieldgeologist andhydrogeologist who becameAssistant Director of theBritish Geological Survey.Suffering as a child fromasthma, voice lessons (toaid breathing) introducedhim to the performing arts.Later, while atCambridge, he becamea Laureate of theRoyal Academy ofMusic, and theatrebecame a lifetimeinterest.

After completinghis geology degree inCambridge, Stuartjoined BP, andcommenced a careerspent largelyoverseas -including

Libya, USA, Australia,Singapore – as well asAberdeen. Much of his workinvolved subsurface studiesbut Stuart also carried outtwo major field surveys. In1966 he took part in ahelicopter-supported surveyin the central Brooks Range(Alaska), and in 1970 led athree-month survey of coastalNE Kalimantan, Borneo,using an ex-Royal Navycoastal patrol boat as base,

transfer from BP’sinternational staff,continuing to work on thePrudhoe Bay oilfield as alocal employee based inHouston, Texas.

CALIFORNIAOn retirement (early1990s), Stuart left the oilindustry and returnedwith Deanne to California.They settled outside Davison five acres, where Stuartplanted a small vineyardand started making wine.He then began a secondcareer - counselling thosewho had lost their jobs,using his human-relationsskills developed in BP. Inaddition, Stuart devotedmuch time to helpingpeople with mental illnessand their families, throughthe National Alliance onMental Illness (NAMI).Under his leadership, thelocal chapter expandedsignificantly, and asPresident, Stuart broughthis business skills to bearon developing theorganisation’sprogrammes andimproving its financialsecurity.

Early in 2010 Stuart wasdiagnosed with coloncancer, but it had alreadyspread. Surgery andchemotherapy came toolate, and he died at homein California on 16October 2010. He issurvived by Deanneand step-children Lauraand Neville.

with outboard skiffs forpenetrating the (then)untouched junglehinterland. Encounters withpoisonous snakes, andcareening the ship to changea propeller, were among theincidents that made theexpedition memorable;while for BP it achieved animportant insight into theCenozoic stratigraphy of itslicence area north of theMangkalihat Peninsula.Stuart’s particular strengthwas operations geology.Here his ability to gainmaximum geological datafrom a well, and his person-management skills, came tothe fore in training andsupervising youngergeologists on drilling rigs.

NORTH SLOPE It was while based inSingapore (1970s) thatStuart’s involvement inamateur dramatics led to hismeeting Deanne, a youngwidow of Scots origin,whom he later married.After a period as operationsgeologist for the North Sea

(Aberdeen), Stuart wasposted to California. By

that time the PrudhoeBay field (AlaskanNorth Slope) hadbeen discovered, andhe was put in chargeof arbitratingBP/SOHIO’s shareof its oil reserves.Stuart and Deannefound the USAvery much to theirliking, and they

decided he should

S

By Michael F Ridd

MARCH 2011 27

CALENDAR GEOSCIENTIST

ENDORSED TRAINING/CPD

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) COURSES

Developing Geological Knowledge for CGeol Status, First Steps Ltd. For reservations and information contact Christine Butenuth,info@firststeps.uk.com, 0207 589 7394, www.firststeps.eu.com.Managing Performance through People, The Open University. Online Course. Contact David Robinson, d.t.robinson@open.ac.uk, 0870 900 9577,www.open.ac.uk.Effective Leadership Skills, The Open University. Online Course. Contact David Robinson, d.t.robinson@open.ac.uk, 0870 900 9577, www.open.ac.uk.Managing Organisational Performance, The Open University. Online Course. Contact David Robinson, d.t.robinson@open.ac.uk, 0870 900 9577,www.open.ac.uk.n For endorsed courses run by ESI Ltd, visit www.esinternational.com or contact CoursesUK-ESI@esinternational.comn For endorsed courses run by FUGRO Engineering Services, visit www.fes.co.uk/courses or contact s.poulter@fes.co.uk

DIARY OF MEETINGS MARCH 2011

CAN’T FIND YOUR MEETING? VISIT WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK – FULL, ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE

Meeting Date Venue and details

Geoscience Careers Evening(East Anglian Regional)

Unconventional ResourcesEvening Lecture(Petroleum Group, SPE, SPEE)

Contaminated Land(South East Regional)

Careers Day (Geological Society of London)

Engineering Geology of Pipelines(Engineering Group)

“Men of Rock” (South West Regional)

A Mole in London: tunnelling beneaththe City (Shell London Lecture)

Submarine Geohazards - Landslides,Sediment Flows and Tsunamis (Shell University Lecture)

Credit Due to the Few: British MilitaryGeologists of World War II(Thames Valley Regional)

Global Volcanic Risk(Shell University Lecture)

Rocks, Carbon and Climate -geological evidence for Earth's futureenvironment (Geological Society)

Annual Research inProgress Meeting 2011(Metamorphic Studies Group)

1 March

3 March

8 March

8 March

15 March

16 March

16 March

16 March

22 March

23 March

23 March

23 March

University of East Anglia. The EARG are pleased to be holding their first geosciencecareers evening. This event aims to showcase a selection of careers available in thegeoscience industry.

The Geological Society (Burlington House). Three presentations on the assessment ofunconventional resources. Speakers: The Investor - Paul Wheeler, Bank of America,Merrill Lynch; The Independent Auditor - Paul Chernik, ERC; The Operator - MartinSchuepbach, Schuepbach Energy. 1800 for 1830.

The Bell Inn, Godstone, Surrey. Speaker: Hugh Mallett. 1800 for 1830. Contact: LucieClatworthy T: 020 8774 2000 E: lucie.clatworthy@mottmac.com

Burlington House. Careers Day is for geosciences undergraduates and postgraduatesto find out about the latest career developments and opportunities. 1000-1500, followedby beer reception. Free. Contact: Leila Taleb T: 020 7432 0981 F: 020 7494 0579E: leila.taleb@geolsoc.org.uk

Burlington House. Speaker tbc. Contact: Paul Emerson E: paul@emerson-moore.co.uk

University of Plymouth. A lecture by Prof. Iain Stewart based on his TV series. Contact: Cathy Smith E: swrg@geolsoc.org.uk

The Geological Society (Burlington House). 1500 and 1700. See page 11 for details.

Winsor Building, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham. Speaker: Dr PeteTalling (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton) 1730 for 1815. Contact: LeilaTaleb T: 020 7432 0981 F: 020 7494 0579 E: leila.taleb@geolsoc.org.uk

Royal Holloway University of London, Egham. 1830 for 1900. Speaker: Dr Ted RoseContact: Philip Charles E: philip.charles@ciria.org

University of Southampton. 1730. Speaker: Prof. Steve Sparks (University of Bristol)Contact: Leila Taleb T: 020 7432 0981 F: 020 7494 0579 E: leila.taleb@geolsoc.org.uk

Burlington House. Speaker: Anthony Cohen (Open University). Free. Lecture times:1500 & 1700. Contact: Donna FitzgeraldT: 020 7432 0944 F: 020 7494 0579 E: donna.fitzgerald@geolsoc.org.uk

Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University. Contact: Kate BrodieE: k.brodie@manchester.ac.uk

28 MARCH 2011

GEOSCIENTIST OBITUARY

OBITUARY‘

rank John Fitchdied peacefully athis home in HerneBay on 29September 2010 at

the age of 85. Born inCroydon, Frank received aNational Service Commissionin the Royal Engineers shortlyafter the end of WWII andserved in the British Army ofthe Rhine. Afterdemobilisation in 1948, hestudied for a part-timehonours degree in Geology atBirkbeck College London. In1949 he began working forthe Atomic Energy Divisionof HM Geological Surveybefore resigning in 1952 tocomplete his degree full time.In 1950, the year in which hemarried his late wife Stella(1925-2003), he was elected aFellow of the GeologicalSociety of London. He was afounding member of theVolcanic Studies Group.

In 1953 he joined theteaching staff of theDepartment of Geology atBirkbeck College, andbetween 1956 and 1964 healso lectured one day a weekat Goldsmiths College,London. His special areas ofinterest were petrographicalmicroscopy, volcanology,igneous petrology,geochronology, glaciology,and geological fieldwork. Inthe 1950s he was involved,with others, in a renewedunderstanding of theOrdovician rhyolites ofSnowdonia and Lleyn as theproducts of ignimbritevolcanism. He also activelyparticipated in an internalrevolution within the

Geological Society thateventually changed its“gentleman’s club” image tothat of a vigorous modernscientific society.

JAN MAYEN ISLAND In 1959, 1961 and 1963, heundertook geologicalfieldwork in the Arctic as aleading member of LondonUniversity expeditions to JanMayen Island. He was the solesurvivor of a tragic accidentthat killed five of hiscompanions during the 1961Beerenberg Expedition. A sudden katabaticwindstorm, emerging from one of the glacier-filled valleyson the west face of theBeerenberg volcano, swampedand overturned the smallexpedition boat. Despite thistragedy, he retained a closeinterest in volcanic geology; hecontinued to be active in theVolcanic Studies Group and touse his wide field knowledgeof the rocks of Snowdonia,Anglesey and Lleyn in trainingmany undergraduate andpostgraduate students.

In the 1960s his researchbecame increasingly shaped byan interest in geochronology,namely potassium-argon,argon-argon, and fission trackdating. His long academicresearch collaboration with thelate Jack Miller of ChurchillCollege, Cambridge, beganwith a paper on the age of theLundy granites in 1962. Hewas the author or co author ofover 80 scientific papers andbooks, several published bythe Geological Society. From1965 to 2000 he was theExecutive Director of FM

Consultants Limited, asuccessful Earth sciencesconsultancy company. Thisventure with Jack Miller aroseas a result of a suggestion fromthe late Robert Cummings ofRobertson ResearchInternational, whose lectureshad been an inspiration toFrank as an undergraduate,and encouragement from thelate Tom Gaskell when he wasat BP. Much of theconsultancy work supportedthe development of the NorthSea oil and gas fields.

GEOCHRONOLOGYThrough the 1970s he servedthe Geological Society as theadvocate of numericalgeochronology on theStratigraphy Committee, andwas appointed Secretary of theInternational Subcommissionon Geochronology. He was astrong advocate of teamworkin scientific research, being atone time convener of theIntercollegiate Co operationSubcommittee of theUniversity of London Board ofStudies in Geology, joint leaderof a NERC-funded London-Cambridge Inter Universityrock dating research team, andan executive committeemember of the international,interdisciplinary, East RudolfResearch Project in Kenya. InEast Africa, he worked mainlywith the late Louis Leakey andhis son Richard in attempts todate the geological frameworkof fossil hominids. Hisgeochronological research insouthern Africa included theKaroo Igneous Province, theVredefort Astrobleme, and theCape Fold Belt. In 1979, Basil

FVolcanologist, petrologist, geochronologist and stratigrapher, consultant, academic

FRANK JOHN FITCH 1925-2010

Booth and Frank published Earthshock, apopular book, and a first of its kind, describing the geological hazards that continue to confrontthe globe.

He was appointed aUniversity of LondonReader in Geology in 1970.An authority in the fields ofvolcanology, petrology andgeochronology, Frank was agifted teacher, and many ofhis students and researchassistants were grateful forthe enthusiastic supportthey received at thebeginning and throughouttheir careers. He was aninspiration to me when Iwas a chemistry student atOxford to pursue a career in the Earth sciences. He was given the title ofEmeritus Reader in Geology when he retiredfrom full-time academic life in 1982 to pursue hisconsultancy work.

His four children (mywife Caroline, Frank, Peterand Sarah) and fourgrandchildren survive him.

By Paul J Hooker

MARCH 2011 29

CROSSWORD GEOSCIENTIST

1 Underground winner (5)

4 Thought therefore was (9)

9 Rose pink tourmaline (9)

10 Humus-rich and wellbalanced (5)

11 Rare meteorites consistingof equal parts Ni-Fe andsilicate materials in a breccia (14)

14 Treble and tenor and bass,often seen on staves (4)

15 Money-wasting measure (10)

18 Adherents of dogmaticworldviews (10)

19 Render momentarily unconscious (4)

21 RSO2NH2, where R is anorganic group (13)

24 Call off (5)

25 Quorn element, often of aneponymous grit (9)

27 In a saintly manner (9)

28 Reference from whichmeasurements are made,by the OS, for example (5)

1 Lake whose waters remain stratified (10)

2 Point at issue (3)

3 To savour with pleasure (6)

4 Ever decreasing (9)

5 Parallel or tangentiallyapplied stress (5)

6 Removal of material from a surface,typically by aeolian erosion (8)

7 Removed from source to another place (11)

8 Leguminous oilseed of the orient (4)

12 Squinting machine for producing 3Dimages and blind undergraduates (11)

13 Naked seed plant (10)

16 Operating without vestige of beginning or prospect of end, as Hutton mighthave said (9)

17 Utters long, loud, trilling sound (8)

20 Victoria was rarely (6)

22 Moist (4)

23 If 4a wrote poetry he might havethought therefore in feet of thismetre (4)

26 Avena sativa (3)

ACROSS DOWN

CROSSWORD NO. 144 SET BY PLATYPUS

All correct solutions will be placed in thedraw, and the winner’s name printed inthe May issue. The Editor’s decision isfinal and no correspondence will beentered into. Closing date - March 28.

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

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

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

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

SOLUTIONS DEC/JAN

ACROSS: 1 Basin 4 Quaysides 9 Obsidians 10 Yetis11 Nuees Ardentes 14 Tine 15 Witchcraft18 Nottingham 19 MICE 21 Incandescence24 Osier 25 Pictorial 27 Himalayas 28 Silty

DOWN: 1 Brownstone 2 SOS 3 Nudist 4 Quarrying5 Aisle 6 Styptics 7 Detestation 8 Sash12 Einsteinium 13 Ethereally 16 Coalesces17 Visceral 20 Echoes 22 Nappy 23 Foch 26 ILL

WIN A SPECIAL PUBLICATION

The winner of the NovemberCrossword puzzle prize draw was Jim Cockings of London.

GeoscientistThe Editor invites all

Geoscientist advertisers,past, present and

prospective, to welcome

Century One Publishing

as our new publisher forGeoscientist magazine.

For any future advertising or recruitmentenquiries please contact:

Jonathan on 01727 739193 orjonathan@centuryonepublishing.ltd.uk

RECRUITMEN

T

Frontiers Meeting

THE COUPLING BETWEEN TECTONICS AND SURFACE PROCESSES

2011

Call for papers

T F

E W

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

Frontiers Meetings are 1-day meetings focused on shortpresentations and discussion to explore developments in emerging

geoscience areas, followed by an open access discussion forum

14 November 2011

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