Hertfordshire Geological Society

Annual General Meeting
2024-03-14 19:45 - 21:30 UTC | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
AGM will be followed by refreshments after which members are invited to share slides on the theme of 50 years of HGS in the field!

The Thames in Hertfordshire and adjacent areas
2024-02-08 19:30 - 21:30 | over Zoom
Talk by Professor David Bridgland, University of Durham.
Hertfordshire would seem to be the only one of the Home Counties to have been abandoned by the Thames during the Quaternary. It was squarely on the Thames course prior to southward diversion of the river ~450,000 years ago, the result of Britain’s most extensive glaciation. The evidence for the erstwhile Hertfordshire Thames will be pieced together during the lecture, with comparison made with neighbouring areas that have also furnished parts of the story and have supplied more recent refinements.
View This Talk In The Members’ Section.

Outcrops & Subsurface examples of the EoCambrian petroleum system in Oman
2024-01-11 19:30 - 21:30 | over Zoom
Talk by Professor Stuart Harker, Retired.
Southern Oman has one of the oldest working petroleum systems in the world with source rocks, reservoirs and productive traps in the Huqf Supergroup (520-600mya). There are superb world class outcrops of these sediments exposed along the Indian Ocean coast and in the inland salt diapir province. Reservoirs range in depositional environment from glacial clastics to peritidal stromatolitic carbonates. Petroleum traps range from conventional tilted fault blocks and anticlines, through salt induced anticlines to rafted carbonates and silicilyte. In spite of over 70 years of exploration, there remain many opportunities to discover additional reservoirs and traps.
View This Talk In The Members’ Section.

Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World
2023-12-12 19:30 - 21:00 | over Zoom
given by Prof. Mike Benton (Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol)

Twenty-five years ago, the first feathered dinosaur was reported, Sinosauropteryx. There has been a revolution in dinosaur palaeobiology since then, driven by thousands of amazing specimens from China plus new analytical methods.
In 2010, we were among the first to develop a new analytical method to identify the colour of feathers, including the feathers of dinosaurs. Suddenly the ancient world came to life!
Since then, the methods have been criticised, tested, and applied to many exceptional fossils of dinosaurs and birds, and the plumage colours and patterns reconstructed. These methods are scientific, meaning they can be tested (and so far they have withstood critical testing), and they make definite predictions about the colours of dinosaurs and other extinct animals.
Order a copy here: https://bit.ly/DinosaursNewVisions
More information:
https://thamesandhudson.com/dinosaurs-new-visions-of-a-lost-world-9780500052198
https://dinocolour.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

From shallow mine workings to deep basement rocks: A tour of UK low temperature geothermal resources
2023-11-09 19:30 - 21:00 | over Zoom
given by Dr. Cat Hirst (Senior Engineering Geologist, COWI, Glasgow)
From shallow mine workings to deep basement rocks: A tour of UK low temperature geothermal resources
Catherine M. Hirst1, Sally Jack1,2
1COWI UK Ltd, Fifth Floor, 310 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5RG.
2University of Strathclyde, 16 Richmond St, Glasgow, G1 1XQ, UK.
The UK has committed to be net zero by 2050 via the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement and 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact. Space heating in the UK accounts for 42% of UK energy demand, and natural gas is used to provide more than 90% of this heating and cooling demand. De-carbonising heat, therefore, has the potential to make a huge impact on the UK’s net zero aspirations.
Over the past 25 years, research into geothermal energy extraction from low enthalpy (temperature) resources within the UK has been increasing year-on-year. Whilst historically the UK has only ever had one working low temperature deep geothermal system (Southampton), there is scope for geothermal energy to make a significant contribution to the UK energy portfolio. More recently, focus has fallen on the shallow (typically <500 m depth) geothermal systems associated with old, abandoned mine workings. Our understanding of these systems is incomplete in the same way we have limited knowledge of the deep (>500 m depth) subsurface, but what sets shallow resources apart from deeper resources is their accessibility. This talk aims to cover the background to geothermal heat generation, the key differences between shallow and deep low temperature geothermal resources, provide examples of deep low temperature resources in the UK and to showcase the work currently being completed by the University of Strathclyde and COWI to better characterise mine water geothermal resources.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

Geologist's Association Festival of Geology
2023-11-04 | University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

HGS Warwickshire Field Trip
2023-10-14 12:00 - 2023-10-15 17:00 | The Gret Western Arms, Station Road, Blockley, Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 9DT
We have a day and a half in the field planned with the help of the Warwickshire Geo-Conservation Group. The outline schedule is as follows:
Saturday morning
Drive to the village of Blockley in the Cotswolds
Lunch (TBC) – The Great Western Arms
Saturday afternoon
Northcot Brick Works to visit the Blockley Brickpit

We will be met by Dale Moss – Works manager. Lower Jurassic (Charmouth Formation) led by Dr. Jon Radley (Warwick Museum).
This is a very fossiliferous site and the WGCG made a video of a previous visit – view that here.
It will be muddy!
Saturday evening
Find your own overnight B&B accommodation in the Stratford on Avon, Evesham and Warwick area.

Possible dinner meet up
Sunday all day
Meet with Dr. Stuart Burley (University of Keele) at Inkberrow, followed by Henley in-Arden & the Grand Union canal to study the Triassic (Carnian) Arden Sandstone. A recent Geology Today article for this is available from Haydon if you’d like one.
If you’re interested in attending this trip, then please notify Haydon as soon as possible at haydonbailey@outlook.com .

A short history of buildings in six stones
2023-10-12 19:45 - 21:00 | Hartoak Room, Mansion House, Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Dr. Tim Yates, (Technical Director, Building Research Establishment, Garston.

Doors open at 7:15pm, tea & coffee available, talk starts at 7:45pm.

Many will be familiar with Neil MacGregor’s ‘A history of the world in 100 objects’ that retell humanity’s history through the objects we have made. This talk is on a much smaller scale with just six objects – all natural stones! But hopefully they will help us to see how our built heritage, our built landscapes, our towns, cities and villages, are shaped by the natural stones used in their construction.
Along the way we’ll look at the links to geography, society, technology, and politics – and, of course, the geology of the rocks from which the stones were taken.
Why six stones? Well there’s no real reason but six felt about right in the time we have! And choice of the six – Caen Limestone, Clunch, Portland Limestone, Welsh Slate, York Sandstone, and Aberdeen Granite – includes some of the most important building stones found in the UK but is also a personal choice that reflects my background and my work at Building Research Establishment for the last 37 years.

GA Lecture via Zoom
2023-10-06 18:00 - 20:30 | over Zoom
Gold Mining and the Welsh Connection given by Mark Austin, Alba Mineral Resources PLC

Notes from Deep Time – A journey through past and future worlds
2023-09-14 19:30 - 21:00 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Helen Gordon, (University of Hertfordshire & author of Notes from Deep Time).
An exploration of the world of deep time and what it means to be human within the context of 4.5 billion years. From stratigraphers, volcanologists and palaeontologists to writers, artists and semioticians, this talk will draw on a series of conversations with the men and women who live and work in deep time.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

Magmatic systems and the energy transition
2023-07-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Prof. Jonathan Blundy (Royal Society Research Professor, University of Oxford)
Abstract:
The transition to Net Zero will place unprecedented demand on natural resources requiring some new thinking about where to find them and how to extract them. In this talk I will explore the potential for magmatic systems, such as those beneath volcanoes, to provide accessible sources of both geothermal power and a diversity of metals including many that are essential for the energy transition. I will draw upon new research in volcanology, igneous petrology, economic geology and high-pressure and temperature experiments.
View This Talk In The Members’ Section.

Charnwood Forest
2023-06-10 10:00 - 17:00 | Charnwood Forest, Charnwood, LE12 9XJ, United Kingdom
Following interest expressed at the last HGS meeting (Oct) we’ve been in touch with John Carney (ret BGS) and he is willing to lead an HGS trip to Charnwood Forest.
For a reasonably compact visit-site, with all facilities and good scenery, even Tudor history Bradgate Park provides a great opportunity to potentially find evidence of ancient volcanoes, igneous intrusions, earthquakes, and tsunamis can be found together. We will start at the Hunt’s Hill entrance clearly marked on the Bradgate Park Find Us webpage.

More details will be provided in the May Chalk Board. Meet up at Hunters Hill 10:00 – 10:15, picnic of café for lunch and a selection of great tea shops in Newton Linford to relax at the end of the day. Good paths – undulating walk 5 km.
To register for this trip please e-mail nicpierpoint@aol.com

The Moine Thrust Controversy
2023-06-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Dr. Peter Gutteridge (Director, Cambridge Carbonates)
Abstract:
The NW Highlands of Scotland probably has the best scenery and geology in the world. You can find the oldest rocks in the British Isles, the first evidence of life, ancient landscapes carved out by preCambrian rivers and beautifully exposed Lower Palaeozoic clastic and carbonate sediments. These all form part of a major fold and thrust belt on which the metamorphosed Moine schists were emplaced.
However, geologist Roderick Impy Murchison saw this as a conformable succession. It is worth asking the question, why did Victorian geologists so completely miss evidence that is so obvious to geologists today? The answers lie in the state of geological science at the time, geopolitics and social climbing. Resolution of the Moine thrust controversy was a turning point in the history of geology gave us the foundations of the science of geology as we now know it.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

'Puddingstone Peregrination'
2023-05-13 10:30 - 16:30 | St Mary’s Church, Standon, High Street, Standon, Hertfordshire, SG11 1LA, United Kingdom
Meeting at 10.30 at the ‘Standon Stone’ near the church in Standon village ( O.S. TL 396223 ). Sandwiches and coffee can be picked up at Day’s bakery in the village. Then to the newly discovered ‘William Smith’s HPS mounting block’ mentioned in 1819!! We will then look at HPS boulders at various sites along the A120 to Bishops Stortford.
Including the HPS boulder described by Chris Green now at Hadham Ford (where we will have lunch), The Hadham Hall boulder which features in a ‘Work of Art’. The collection of boulders at Wickham Hall, where we will discuss the erosion and formation of HPS boulders over coffee.
To register for this trip please e-mail mehowgate@hotmail.com.

Visions of Nature. Art, science and natural history museums
2023-05-11 19:30 - 21:00 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Prof. Paul Smith (Director University of Oxford, Natural History Museum).
Abstract

In an era of polarised opinion and a difficulty in determining the veracity of information, science museums play an important role as ‘honest brokers’ in both enabling and encouraging public debate around science. Surveys on both side of the Atlantic have demonstrated that museums are amongst the most trusted providers of information, but first they need audiences to discuss and debate with.
For the last few years, Oxford University Museum of Natural History has been operating an innovative series of exhibitions entitled Contemporary Science & Society. Each exhibition is an interdisciplinary investigation of an aspect of current science research and interweaves the scientific storytelling with related contemporary art that enhances the audience appeal. The exhibition is, however, only a starting point for a broader programme of events that range from lectures and debates to more informal science fairs, art interventions and comedy nights. Audiences for each exhibition range up to 245,000 and both qualitative and quantitative evaluation show that the content has had the ability to change people’s decision-making and behaviours.
The lecture will examine a variety of recent exhibitions, the range of issues that the exhibition series is seeking to address, and the role of a natural history museum in modern society.

View this talk in the Members’ Section.

Percy Evans Lecture: The Norber Erratics
2023-04-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Hartoak Room, Mansion House, Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Clive Maton (Honorary President, HGS)
Abstract
The Norber Erratics are well known and are featured in geological text books and numerous local guides to the Yorkshire Dales. This is partially due to their large size, the very large numbers, and all being located in a relatively small area; but they are best known for their emplacement on Carboniferous Limestone pedestals.They have been the subject of much study. The first scientific papers were published in the late 19th Century and many more have described and discussed them in the last 150 years. My study of them started as they were included in the area of my Map & Thesis, which formed part of my Geology degree, and I have continued to visit the area for post graduate field work. This, together with my recent research on the source and flow of the erratics, form the basis of the lecture.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

Building Stone walk in Aylesbury & visit Discover Bucks Museum
2023-03-25 10:00 - 16:30 | Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury, Hertfordshire, HP20 1UG
Meet outside Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (HP20 1UG) 10:00 for 10:15 departure
– best parking is in Waterside Multi-Story Car Park (HP20 1AL) on level 2 or 3
Itinerary
Morning: 2 1/2 hour walk through the old town centre of Aylesbury
Lunch: at the Kings Head which is owned by the National Trust
Afternoon: Discover Bucks Museum – in particular the new Geology display
Finish: mid afternoon 15:30/16:00
Please contact Nick Pierpoint at nicpierpoint@aol.com to reserve a place

Little heath Geoconservation Working Party
2023-02-18 10:00 - 16:00 | Little Heath, Potten End, Potten End, United Kingdom
Annual activity to remove vegetation and clean-up the exposure at Little Heath

Clays!
2023-02-09 19:30 - 21:00 | over Zoom
given by Prof. Peter Scott (Emeritus Professor, Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter)
Abstract:
Clay minerals, such as kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite, are the essential components of clays. Their crystals are very small and they have variable amounts of disorder in their structure. They impart a plasticity to clays. Their properties also make them very useful raw material for industry, including construction, ceramics, paper, paint, oil clarification, metal casting, cat litter and even high level nuclear waste disposal. This presentation will review the properties of clays and illustrate examples of their geology and uses from the UK and elsewhere.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

GA Lecture
2023-02-03 18:00 - 19:30 | over Zoom
Winchcombe meteorite
given by Dr Ashley King (Natural History Museum)

Ocean sediments tell the story of Palaeogene environmental change
2023-01-12 19:30 - 21:00 | over Zoom
given by Prof Bridget Wade (Department of Earth Sciences, University College London)
Abstract:
Numerous oceanic, climatic, and biotic conditions relating to biogeochemical cycles and environmental change impact the composition and distribution of deep- sea sediments. Utilising the extensive sediment archives of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and its predecessors, maps of deep-sea sediment type have been assembled across two critical boundaries in the Paleogene, one characterised by an interval of extreme warmth (Paleocene/Eocene) and the other by global cooling (Eocene/Oligocene). Ocean sediment distribution shows significant divergence both between the latest Paleocene and Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), across the Eocene- Oligocene Transition (EOT), and in comparison to modern sediment distributions. In the latest Paleocene, carbonate sedimentation extends to high southern latitudes. Disappearance of carbonate sediments at the PETM is well documented and can be attributed to dissolution caused by significant ocean acidification as a result of carbon-cycle perturbation. Biosiliceous sediments are rare and it is postulated that the lowered biogenic silica deposition at the equator is due to an absence of equatorial upwelling in the early Paleogene ocean. In the Southern Ocean, we attribute the low in biosiliceous burial, to the warm deep water temperatures which would have impacted biogenic silica preservation. Our sediment depositional maps record a tongue of radiolarian ooze in the late Eocene eastern equatorial Pacific. Enhanced biosiliceous deposits in the late Eocene equatorial Pacific and Southern Ocean are due to increased productivity and the spin-up of the oceans. The compilation documents the enhanced global carbonate sedimentation in the early Oligocene, confirming that the drop in the carbonate compensation depth was global.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

GA Lecture
2023-01-06 18:00 - 19:30 | over Zoom
The Lower Cretaceous ‘East Lindsey Group’ a jewel in the geological crown of Lincolnshire given by Paul Hildreth (Yorkshire Geological Society)

Below the Bonnie Banks - investigating Lock Lomond's subaqueous Quaternary landscape
2022-12-15 19:30 - 21:00 | over Zoom
given by Dr. Andrew Finlayson (Quaternary Geologist, BGS Edinburgh)
Abstract:
Loch Lomond is an iconic part of Scotland’s scenery, spanning landscapes of both Highland and Lowland character on either side of the Highland Boundary Fault. From a Quaternary geological perspective, the wider Loch Lomond basin has a long history of research and forms a type area for a period of environmental change at the end of the last glacial cycle in Britain – the ‘Loch Lomond Stadial’. However, there is still relatively little known about the submerged landscape below the loch surface. This talk will give a brief overview of the Quaternary landscape evolution around Loch Lomond and then present new findings from multibeam bathymetry and shallow seismic profiles. We will look at how these data add the loch’s glacial and postglacial story, and also what they tell us about more recent processes such as subaqueous landslides associated with shoreline infrastructure.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

AGM
2022-11-18 08:00 - 17:00 | Hertfordshire
followed by Talk on Hertfordshire RIGS

The Stegosaurian Dinosaurs
2022-11-10 19:30 - 21:00 | over Zoom
given by Dr Susannah C. R. Maidment (Senior Researcher, Natural History Museum, London)
Abstract:
Stegosaurs are a group of dinosaurs characterized by the possession of two rows of plates and spines that extend from the neck to the end of the tail. They are known from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous and have been found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Stegosaurs are part of a larger group of armoured dinosaurs, which also includes the ankylosaurs. Stegosaurs were four-legged plant-eaters and body mass estimates indicate they weighed about the same as a rhino. They were probably slow-moving, and not capable of running. They had very small teeth and do not appear to have chewed, but despite this, their bite forces indicate they could have eaten tough vegetation and small twigs. Several hypotheses have been put forward about the function of the plates of stegosaurs, but these have proven difficult to test. Different species appear to have had differently shaped plates, suggesting a role in display, and perhaps to deter predators. Two stegosaurs are known from North America: the iconic Stegosaurus, which is known from numerous skeletons from Colorado, Utah and southern Wyoming, and the less well-known Hesperosaurus, represented by just a few specimens from northern Wyoming and Montana. Both are known from the Morrison Formation, a suite of rocks laid down by rivers and on flood plains about 150 million years ago, and the two genera appear to have lived at the same time. Over 120 years of sampling in the south of the Morrison basin has failed to find any specimens of Hesperosaurus there, perhaps suggesting the two genera were ecologically segregated. Although stegosaurs are one of the most iconic dinosaurs, much remains unknown about their palaeobiology due to their sparse fossil record.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

The first day of the Cenozoic: Insights from the Chicxulub impact crater
2022-10-13 18:30 - 20:00 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Dr. Auriol Rae (Junior Research Fellow in Earth Sciences Trinity College, University of Cambridge)
Abstract:
66 Million years ago, a 14 km-diameter meteoroid struck the Earth at approximately 20 km/s. This event had a profound influence on the history of life on Earth – causing the extinction of around 75% of all species including all of the non-avian dinosaurs. This impact produced the 200 km-diameter Chicxulub Crater, located in present-day Mexico. This talk will look at the geological, climatological, and biological consequences of the end-Cretaceous impact, with particular insight from drilling of the crater in 2016 by the International Ocean Discovery Program. Furthermore, the wider significance of impact crater formation as a planetary geological process will be discussed.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

GA Lecture
2022-10-07 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom Talk
The rise and fall of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet given by Prof Chris Clark.

Flamborough Head - Excursion
2022-09-29 16:00 - 2022-10-02 17:00 | Sefton Hotel, The Sefton Hotel, Bridlington, Yorkshire, YO15 2HX, United Kingdom
Paul Hildreth of the Yorkshire Geological Society will lead this 3-day trip to the delights of Flamborough Head.
Itinerary:
Thursday 29 September
Introductory talk over drinks at 8pm.
Friday 30 September
North Landing(Welton/Burnham Chalk boundary and variations in flint form) followed by Selwick’s Bay (Burnham/Flamborough Chalk boundary, Flamborough Fault zone and syncline) with lunch at local café & free evening.
Saturday 1 October
Dane’s Dyke and Sewerby (Flamborough Chalk, Flamborough Sponge Bed, Devensian stratigraphy and Sewerby Buried Cliff (Ipswichian) with packed lunch & group meal in the evening.
Sunday 2 October
RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs – clifftop walk, spectacular geomorphology, fault zone and there should be some seabirds still around with lunch at RSPB Centre.
Participants may wish to revisit the HGS June 2021 talk on It’s ‘And Up North – An overview of the Chalk of the Northern Province given by Paul Hildreth and download a fabulous Field Guide from the Members’ Section.
Janet

Understanding large igneous provinces and volcanic rift margins
2022-09-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
given by Dr Dougal Jerram (DougalEARTH Ltd)
Abstract

Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) represent some of the largest eruptive episodes on the planet and along with their associated volcanic rifted margins, they have left a great footprint on the geology of the planet. This talk will present a number of examples from around the globe looking at the scales and occurrences of LIPs and studies into both onshore and offshore volcanic margins. We will touch on the relationship with climate change, offshore exploration and the possibilities for carbon sequestration. Look at how we can build 3D models of key outcrops and the use of modern day analogues to help unravel their evolution.

Dougal Jerram (BSc Cardiff, PhD Liverpool) began his professional career in 1996 with a two-year postdoctoral position at the University of Würzburg, Germany. In 1998 he returned to the UK and spent 13 years as research fellow, lecturer and senior lecturer at the University of Durham. In June 2011 he set up DougalEARTH Ltd., where he combines his pursuits in consultancy, media, research and teaching, and joined the University of Oslo as a 20% research professor. He has published extensively in the scientific literature as well as penning a number of books for both children and adults including; Victor the Volcano, Dig to the Centre of the Earth, Introducing Volcanology, Volcanoes of Europe, and The travel Guide the Centre of the Earth, as well as two of the geological field guide series (Igneous and metamorphic guides). He has also appeared on the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel and Channel 4, and on many other TV and radio programs, relating the earth sciences to the general public. In 2006 he received the Murchison Fund by the Geological Society of London for his early career contribution to geology.
View this talk in the Members’ Section.

HGS Summer Event - Is it flat or bent? The Chalk around Royston
2022-08-06 11:00 - 16:30 | Royston Cave, Katherine’s Yard, Melbourne Street, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 7BZ, United Kingdom
Morning at Royston Cave. Park in one of the town centre car parks & walk to Royston Cave.
Royston Cave interior
Come and explore the amazing Royston Cave; check out the theories and get an update on the latest geological dates produced by the Herts. Geol. Society
Lunch – local pub – The Tally Ho!, Barkway
Afternoon visits to Barkway Chalk Pit and Reed Chalk Pit
Barkway Chalk Pit
Have a look at some upended Lewes Chalk and see if we can find the Chalk Rock.
Register through: haydonbailey@outlook.com Cost £5.00
