Lecture
Programme 2012-2013Our
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
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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
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October: Craig Storey, University of PortsmouthUsing 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 Earths
continental crust, particularly looking at some of the tiny accessory
minerals that are only seen through the microscope, yet hold vital clues to an
areas 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. Craigs 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 AndrewsGeophysics from the edge of Europes
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. Richards talk will present
some of his research relating to this lost world | 14
November: John Underhill, University of EdinburghThe 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 years Clough Medal lecture. Johns 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 LaboratoryArthur 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 Societys 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 SurveyBetween 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. Andrews
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 Earths 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 SurveyThe 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. Simons 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 BristolVolcanic plume and ash cloud dynamics:
implications for ash hazards(Joint lecture with Geological Society of
Glasgow) | Professor Steve Sparks is one of the worlds
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 governments 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 MeighanGeoarchaeology 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 Queens
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 Newgranges 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 ScotlandThe 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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