Lecture Programme 2012-2013

Our varied programme of illustrated lectures runs from October to Easter.  Speakers and topics are carefully chosen to provide interest for both the amateur and professional geologist. These meetings also provide an informal opportunity to chat to other members, and to gain advice from local experts on visiting geological localities.  Each year, a celebrity lecture is given by a geologist of international repute, who is invited jointly by the Society and the Geological Society of Glasgow.  At the annual Fellows' Night, members can give accounts of their own geological interests, specimens or travels.   Lectures are usually on Wednesday evenings at 7.30 pm. These meetings are open to the public, there is no charge, and visitors are most welcome. Tea and biscuits, also at no charge, are served following the lecture in the Cockburn Museum of the Grant Institute.The lectures usually take place in the Hutton Lecture Theatre in the Grant Institute of Geology, on the University of Edinburgh's King's Buildings campus. View a map of the campus.

2012 17 October: Craig Storey, University of Portsmouth Using accessory minerals to probe the plate tectonic history of the Earth 31 October: Richard Bates, University of St Andrews Geophysics from the edge of Europe’s lost world 14 November: John Underhill, University of Edinburgh The use of 3D seismic data to investigate the geo-anatomy hidden beneath Scottish offshore waters 28 November: Randy Parrish, NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory Arthur Holmes, 100 years of Geochronology and the Age of the Earth 12 December: Fellows Night (Murchison House) 2013 16 January: Andrew Bloodworth, British Geological Survey (Murchison House) Between a rock and a hard place: How sustainable is critical metal supply? 30 January: Annual General Meeting (7pm) and Rachel Wood, University of Edinburgh The eve of biomineralisation 13 February: Simon Price, British Geological Survey The Geology of the Anthropocene 27 February: The James Wright Memorial Lecture - joint with the Geological Society of Glasgow. Steve Sparks, University of Bristol Volcanic plume and ash cloud dynamics: implications for ash hazards 13 March: Ian Meighan Geoarchaeology of the Newgrange World Heritage site, Boyne Valley, Ireland 27 March: Ewan Hyslop, Historic Scotland The impact of climate change on our stone heritage

17 October: Craig Storey, University of Portsmouth Using accessory minerals to probe the plate tectonic history of the Earth	Craig Storey is a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Portsmouth. His research uses a range of innovative analytical techniques to study the evolution of Earth’s continental crust, particularly looking at some of the tiny ‘accessory’ minerals that are only seen through the microscope, yet hold vital clues to an area’s geological history. Craig has worked on field areas all over the world, but his PhD research was focused on the Glenelg-Attadale Lewisianoid inlier of the NW Highlands, where he recognised the importance of the Grenville orogeny to the geological story of Scotland. Craig’s talk will give an overview of some of his work on accessory minerals, and what they can tell us about fundamental tectonic questions.
31 October: Richard Bates, University of St Andrews Geophysics from the edge of Europe’s lost world	Richard Bates is a Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews. His main research interests are in high resolution geophysics, applied to a whole range of issues including climate change studies, palaeo-environmental reconstruction and archaeology. These techniques are applied in both marine and terrestrial surveys. Recently, he organised a major Royal Society exhibition showcasing evidence for Doggerland, the area of land that once lay where the North Sea is now, but was drowned many thousand years ago. Richard’s talk will present some of his research relating to this ‘lost world’
14 November: John Underhill, University of Edinburgh The use of 3D seismic data to investigate the geo-anatomy hidden beneath Scottish offshore waters	John Underhill, Professor of Stratigraphy at the University of Edinburgh, will present this year’s Clough Medal lecture. John’s main research brings together fieldwork and sequence stratigraphy principles with the use of seismic methods, to understand the structure, stratigraphy and depositional history of sedimentary basins. Much of this work is related to petroleum, but John has also applied similar techniques to problems such as the origin of the ‘Silverpit Crater’ in the North Sea and the position of Ithaca, homeland of Odysseus. His talk will give an overview of research into the evolution of sedimentary basins around Scotland.
28 November: Randy Parrish, NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory Arthur Holmes, 100 years of Geochronology and the Age of the Earth	Randy Parrish is the head of the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory in Keyworth, Nottingham, and also a Professor at the University of Leicester. His research interests are focused around the application of isotope geochronology to a very wide range of problems, from the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of the Himalayas to Neogene climate change and hominid evolution. Randy was the Mineralogical Society’s Distinguished Lecturer for 2011-2012. His talk will celebrate the many advances made in our capability to date geological processes since Arthur Holmes obtained the first radiometric age date a century ago.
12 December Fellows Night (Murchison House)	Fellows’ Night & Social Evening Wednesday 12 December 2012, 7.30 pm BGS, Murchison House, Edinburgh This meeting, close to the anniversary of the founding of the Society, is a chance to meet other members of the Society informally, with a series of short talks given by members, followed by a wine and cheese reception. Soft drinks will be available. Talks programme: Anne Burgess - "Santorini" Christine Thompson - "Pre-Raphaelite Portraits in Glen Finglas" Graham Leslie - "Assynt - virtually 3D" Angus Miller - "Our website"
16 January Andrew Bloodworth British Geological Survey Between a rock and a hard place: how sustainable is critical metal supply? (Joint Lecture with the Mining Institute of Scotland)	Andrew Bloodworth is the Head of Science for Minerals and Waste at the British Geological Survey, based in Keyworth. He is an expert on mining and minerals policy in the UK, and regularly provides advice to government on security of supply of minerals and resource issues. He also has significant experience of mineral resource development in Africa, and was formerly the Mining Advisor for the Department of International Development, with a particular interest in small-scale and artisanal mining. Andrew’s talk will look at the critical metals – a suite of metals that are much in demand for use in a range of new technologies – and ask how sustainable the supply of these metals is for the future. Are there enough suitable mineral deposits in the Earth’s crust to meet demand?
30 January Rachel Wood University of Edinburgh The Eve of Biomineralisation	Details to follow. Please note that this is a change from the previously advertised programme. This lecture follows the Annual General Meeting which will take place at 7:00pm.
13 February Simon Price British Geological Survey The Geology of the Anthropocene	Simon Price is the Urban Geoscience Team Leader at the British Geological Survey, based in Keyworth. His research focuses on applied geology in urban environments and he has been involved in development of 3D models of the subsurface for towns and cities in the UK and around the world. He has a particular interest in characterisation of the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch that is defined by the effect of humans on the Earth. Simon’s talk will look at how humans have acted as agents of geological change, and how the Anthropocene might be defined based on the geological record.
27 February Steve Sparks University of Bristol Volcanic plume and ash cloud dynamics: implications for ash hazards (Joint lecture with Geological Society of Glasgow)	Professor Steve Sparks is one of the world’s leading volcanologists. He has published over 300 papers in the field of volcanology, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a CBE. He has worked on most aspects of volcanology and igneous processes, and is now the government’s foremost advisor on volcanic hazards. Following on from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, when volcanic ash hazards were dramatically brought to the attention of the British public, Steve will talk about new research on volcanic plume and ash cloud dynamics, and the implications for ash hazards.
13 March Ian Meighan Geoarchaeology of the Newgrange World Heritage site, Boyne Valley, Ireland	Dr Ian Meighan was a research student under Brian Upton, and spent much of his career as a lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast, retiring as a Senior Lecturer in Geochemistry and Archaeology. His research interests focus on Irish /Scottish Tertiary and Caledonian granites and geoarchaeology, and he currently holds honorary research positions at Trinity College Dublin, University of Glasgow and the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. His talk will look at the geoarchaeology of Newgrange, a World Heritage Site in the Boyne Valley, north of Dublin, which is an internationally famous passage tomb and a major tourism earner for the Republic of Ireland.The rock materials used in Newgrange’s construction include huge greywacke sandstone kerbstones, quartz fragments and granite cobbles. The lecture will focus on determining their geological sources (diverse and distant) and speculate on their significance.
27 March Ewan Hyslop Historic Scotland The impact of climate change on our stone heritage	Dr Ewan Hyslop is the Deputy Director of Conservation at Historic Scotland, and was previously a petrologist and building stones specialist at the British Geological Survey. He is responsible for coordinating activity on climate change across Historic Scotland and his talk will focus on the impacts of climate change on our historic buildings, with an emphasis on building stones.

 

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