The climatic, eustatic and tectonic controls on the Mid Carboniferous (Visean and Namurian) strata of Northumbria, England

The Mid Caiboniferous (Viséan and Namurian) Yoredale cycles of Northumbria were deposited as a result of glacio-eustatic fluctuations, arising from waxing aid waning of Gondwanan ice sheets in the southern hemisphere. Each cycle contains a variety of Uthofacies, generally comprising carbonate platform lithofacies deposited during the transgressive systems ttact, followed by deltaic or marine shoreline lithofocies, deposited during the highstand, lowstand and falling stage systems tract. There may or may not be a transgressive shoreline lithofacies present at the top of each cycle. Although there is a general pattern to the composition of each Yoredale cycle, carbonate platform lithofacies are more dominant in the south of the area due to a close proximity to the main marine source to the south-west. Likewise, deltaic and marine shoreline lithofacies are more common in the north of the area due to a close proximity to the main sedimentary source to the north-east The duration of each cycle has been calculated as approximately 200,000 years resulting in their classification as fourth-order cycles. Within each Yoredale cycle, the components of a sea-level curve have been identified indicating their formation was directly influenced by fluctuations in relative sea- level. By using Fischer plots, third-order cycles have also been identified and it is inferred that composite eustasy was տ operation, resulting from Gondwanan glaciation. Evidence for climate change is abundant throughout the Mid Carboniferom. By using palaeosoils and lithological evidence for climate change has been recognised. A major arid phase at the Asbian I Brigantian boundary has been identified by the presence of calcretes, red flmial sediments, a decrease both the amount of coal the amount of fine siliciclastic material within each cycle. This change in climate can be correlated with other areas of similar palaeolatitude indicating that this change was global. Stable isotope analysis reveals little or no information regarding Mid Carboniferous palaeoclimate and I or palaeoceanogiaphy. It has been possible to identify major post-depositional influences on the Mid Caiboniferous strata of Northumbria. Both the Weardale Granite and the Whin Sill Complex appear to have generated large amounts of hydrothermal fluids, both during their emplacement and in the case of the Weardale Granite, after еmplacement. This has led to the obliteration of the original isotopic composition of the marine limestones. Tectonic activity associated with the Variscan orogeny began in the Late Devonian, but was still active in Northumbria during the Viséan. The resulting extensional tectonics had a profound affect on sedimentation. During the Viséan, active extension was still ongoing, with the syn-rift phase lasting until the end of the Asbian period. The result of this was a series of E-w trending sedimentary basins with wedge-shaped geometry of sediments. The intervening blocks subsided at a slower rate due to underlying buoyant granite masses compared to the Caledonian basement rock of the basinal areas. Differential subsidence ended in the Namurian and the post rift-phase gradually took over from the start of the Brigantian period onwards. This resulted in uniform deposition, with localised intrabasinal faulting. The initial objectives for this thesis were to assess not only the effects of climate, eustasy and tectonics on the Mid Caibontferous strata of Northmnbria, but also to look at the clastic and carbonate interactions within the classic Yoredale cycles. The vast amount of previously unpublished information that has been obtained from the rocks especially with regards to climate change has meant that the clastic-carbonate interaction study was abandoned. In an area that has been studied for over two centuries due to it mineral wealth it is perhaps surprisng to find that there is still much work to be gleaned from such a classic area of British geology

UNESCO Global Geoparks in the UK: fighting against climate change

This document provides an overview of the measures that the UK UNESCO Global Geoparks are taking in the fight against climate change. There are currently eight UNESCO Global Geoparks in the UK, all of whom are at risk from the impacts of climate change. These risks include damage to the natural environment, damage to infrastructure, risks to health and well-being, risks to business and industry, and global impacts that will have an effect on the UK. Whilst the impact of climate change on the UK will be great there are a range of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures that are being taken across the UK UNESCO Global Geoparks. For climate change mitigation there are examples of enhancing natural carbon sinks, more sustainable use of lands and forests, responsible consumption of natural resources, adopting renewable energy sources and developing more sustainable transport systems. For climate change adaptation there are examples of nature-based solutions, engineered solutions, encouraging behavioural change, establishing good environmental governance and gathering of research and data. Finally, when identifying measures to address the impacts of climate change it is essential that this is done in alignment with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. By looking at these holistically, the UK UNESCO Global Geoparks will have a real opportunity to not just help to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, but to make a real difference to those that live, work and visit their territories

BGS: education through open doors and OpenGeoscience

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has supported geoscience education since it opened the Museum of Economic Geology in Whitehall, London, in 1841. However, the BGS has taken some large leaps since the wooden display cabinets of yesteryear, and now the public can browse a geologic map of the entire United Kingdom on their mobile phones, fly over or under the landscape using GeoVisionary, or view and print our fossil collections in three dimensions. In 2010, the BGS opened its doors to its vast collections of data through OpenGeoscience, which has stimulated opportunities to educate the public through a variety of online maps and free data. The BGS also hosts events such as “Open Days” and Rock Detective Clubs and attends science fairs to demonstrate its latest research or simply to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists. But nothing engages children's imagination like the destructive power of an earthquake. The BGS-led School Seismology project offers in-depth learning about the structure of the earth through a set of simple classroom experiments and the opportunity to work with live data from real earthquakes. The School Seismology project has become popular with teachers around the world and will shortly venture into space to explore the seismology of Mars

The ‘Clay-with-Flints’ deposit in Northern Ireland: reassessment of the evidence for an early Paleocene ignimbrite

Reassessment of key geological sections, field relationships and petrographical characteristics of the Northern Ireland ‘Clay-with-Flints’ and ‘Donald's Hill Ignimbrite Formation’ show they formed dominantly by sedimentary processes. The involvement of a previously postulated pyroclastic flow during early Paleocene time is not recognized and, as such, the Donald's Hill Ignimbrite Formation stratigraphic term is discounted. Instead a multistage model of formation by sedimentary accumulation and remobilization is presented and the term Clay-with-Flints is retained. Regionally, two dominant facies are recognized in most Clay-with-Flints sections. Facies 1 was formed by an initial accumulation of flints on a chalk landscape undergoing karstification, and involved deposition of a clay matrix derived predominantly from contemporaneous erosion of subtropical soil horizons formed mainly on basalt. In Facies 2, evidence is observed for widespread remobilization of Facies 1 deposits by high-density mudflows driven by the advancement of the Antrim Lava Group, which caused the blockage of subsurface and marginalization of surface drainage. A stratigraphical constraint imposed by the presence of a supposed ignimbrite in this part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province has been problematic, but this is resolved by its identification as a diachronous, sedimentary deposit that formed until buried by either the lower or upper formations of the Antrim Lava Group

AGEO : Natural hazard prevention and awareness raising through citizen observatories

ABSTRACT:The Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management (AGEO) is a new project co-financed under the Interreg Programme for the Atlantic Area which aims to launch five Citizens’ Observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Agenda 2030 and the transnational UGGps: the Marble Arch Caves UGGp and SDG 16 as case study

Comunicação em Conferência internacionalAfter four years of the proclamation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development by the United Nations, it is interesting to understand the effective contribution of the UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) for this major worldwide compromise. It is even more pertinent to understand how the transnational UGGps can contribute in their management plan for the implementation of the 17 SDGs of the Agenda 2030. As referred by UNESCO, the transnational UGGps “naturally cross-national borders, connecting the peoples of different countries and encouraging intimate regional, cross-border cooperation. It is through this strong cross-border cooperation that transnational UGGps strengthen the relationship between countries and contribute to peacebuilding efforts”. In this context, through a research study about the contribution of the European UGGps for the Agenda 2030, especial attention was given to the role of a transnational UGGp as a case study of this research. For this purpose, it was selected the Marble Arch Caves UGGp. In this framework, the case study was based in the analysis of the progress reports of this UGGp (2015-2016) and to make a correlation between the developed activities and the 17 SDGs. The main challenge was to compare the results obtained with that analysis with the interviews done personally to some of the elements of this UGGp team and to some inhabitants living in this territory. Through this process, it was intended to obtain more detailed information about the awareness regarding the Agenda 2030 and which SDGs were more relevant for them in a daily basis. The analysis of the progress reports showed that the SDG16 only appears in the seventh position out of ten most relevant SDGs. However, in the interviews carried on in the territory, the SDG 16 appears in the first position, since it is considered very important to maintain peace, cooperation and sustainable development among the local communities. The main explanation for this reality is the fact of the discussion around Brexit and the uncertainty of the future for the local communities. In this sense, this work demonstrates that the Marble Arch Caves UGGp can be considered a vital territorial tool for peace and sustainable development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How to Include Crowd-Sourced Photogrammetry in a Geohazard Observatory—Case Study of the Giant’s Causeway Coastal Cliffs

The Causeway Coast World Heritage Site (Northern Ireland) is subject to rockfalls occurring on the coastal cliffs, thus raising major safety concerns given the number of tourists visiting the site. However, such high tourist frequentation makes this site favorable to implement citizen science monitoring programs. Besides allowing for the collection of a larger volume of data, better distributed spatially and temporally, citizen science also increases citizens’ awareness—in this case, about risks. Among citizen science approaches, Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry based on crowd-sourced photographs has the advantage of not requiring any particular expertise on the part of the operator who takes photos. Using a mock citizen survey for testing purposes, this study evaluated different methods relying on crowd-sourced photogrammetry to integrate surveys performed by citizens into a landslide monitoring program in Port Ganny (part of the touristic site of the Giant’s Causeway). Among the processing scenarios that were tested, the Time-SIFT method allows the use of crowd-sourced data in a very satisfactory way in terms of reconstruction quality, with a standard deviation of 8.6 cm