Jurassic stratigraphy of the Faroe-Shetland region : implications for the evolution of the proto-NE Atlantic margin

This report is the result of a joint study by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Jarðfeingi (the Faroese Earth and Energy Directorate) on behalf of the Faroe-Shetland Consortium (FSC) and presents a regional analysis of Jurassic stratigraphy of the Faroe-Shetland region and the implications for the evolution of the proto-NE Atlantic margin. This report integrates the main conclusions of the various component studies that comprise the ‘Jurassic Project’. Readers are directed to the individual, detailed reports for further background information, a discussion of methodology and a fuller discussion of the conclusions. The detailed reports cover the following subjects: seismic interpretation, structure and thickness (Quinn 2018), sedimentology (Dodd, 2018) and palynology (Riding, 2018a-i and Thomas, 2018a-j)

Core values: the role of core in twenty-first century reservoir characterization

Through state-of-the-art reviews and case studies this volume illustrates how innovative technologies, approaches and thinking continue to reinvent the value of both newly-acquired and legacy core for subsurface evaluation. Such an assessment is timely given that the sector sits at a pivotal point in terms of changing economics, demographics, skillsets and energy solutions

Urban geological surveying in Singapore

Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has seen unprecedented economic and social improvement, which has also been accompanied by physical growth through land reclamation. This rapid growth, coupled with the increasing cost of land reclamation and a desire to be a City in a Garden, has resulted in competing land-use requirements at the surface. Consequently, Singapore now looks to the subsurface to meet many of its future development needs. A comprehensive understanding of the geology has therefore become critical to Singapore’s continued prosperity and future development. For the last decade, the British Geological Survey has been working with the Geological and Geospatial Development Department of Singapore's Building and Construction Authority to implement a comprehensive urban geological survey and communicate the outcomes to the widest possible stakeholder community in Singapore. Activities within this programme of works included: desk study and literature review; deep borehole drilling and in situ testing; seismic reflection and refractions surveys; field mapping; aerial image analysis; detailed outcrop and borehole logging; a wide range of laboratory analysis testing; 3D geological modelling; comprehensive analysis and interpretation of new and existing data; and training and knowledge exchange. The culmination of this work is a substantially revised interpretation of the geology, including a new International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)-compliant stratigraphy and structural framework. The research has been published in six peer-reviewed articles and is now synthesised in a new interactive map and memoir of Singapore geology. A companion volume, Practitioners’ guide to the bedrock geology of Singapore, has also be published to facilitate adoption of the new geological framework by industry professionals. It is the intention of the Building and Construction Authority that the trio of new publications are used by those working in the engineering construction and development planning sectors to make decisions that will reduce the cost and risk of construction, and to ensure future urban development in Singapore in both resilient and sustainable. Keywords: urban geology; surveying; mapping; ground investigation; Singapore. Marcus Dobbs is the Head of Engineering Geology at the British Geological Survey. His specialist expertise includes: urban geology; engineering geological classification, mapping and modelling; experimental rock and soil mechanics; site investigation and interpretation; and project and laboratory facilities management. He is currently a Co-Investigator on the BGS International Geoscience Research and Development programme, responsible for the coordinating urban geoscience research. Prior to this he managed a succession of BGS projects in Singapore and was Co-Investigator on the BGS Official Development Assistance Programme: Geoscience for Sustainable Futures, responsible for coordinating research in Malaysia

The sedimentological expression of transgression‐regression cycles upon aeolian‐marine margins

When compared to their temperate coastal counterparts, sediments deposited and preserved along arid aeolian to shallow-marine margins remain relatively poorly understood, particularly at the scale of lithofacies units and architectural elements. These systems often record evidence for relative sea-level change within sedimentary basins. This work focusses on the Entrada-Curtis-Summerville formations that crop out in central eastern Utah, USA, and provides a detailed analysis of the aeolian Moab Member of the Curtis Formation (informally known as the Moab Tongue) that was impacted by cycles of marine transgressions and regression in the late Jurassic. This study utilises photogrammetry, sedimentary logging, and sequence-stratigraphical analysis techniques. Results indicate that four short-lived transgressive-regressive cycles are preserved within the Moab Member, followed by a broad regressive event recorded at the transition between the Curtis and Summerville formations. These cycles relate to changes in the relative sea level of the Sundance Sea and the deflation and expansion of the neighbouring aeolian dune field. During periods of normal regression, marine sediments displayed evidence of tidal and wave action, whereas the continental domain was characterised by the growth of the aeolian system. However, when regression occurred within optimal physiographic conditions such as a restricted, semi-enclosed basin, and at sufficient magnitude to outpace erg expansion, this acted to shut-down bedform development and preservation. A rapid restriction of aeolian sediment availability and the inability of the dune field to recover resulted in the formation of deflationary sandsheets, arid coastal plain strata, and contemporaneous shallow-marine deposits that are starved of wind-sourced sediments. This study highlights how a rapidly-developing high-magnitude regression can lead to the overall retraction of the erg. Deciphering the evolution and sequence stratigraphical relationships of arid aeolian to shallow marine margins is important in both understanding environmental interactions and improving the characterisation of reservoir rocks deposited in these settings