BCGS

Events in February–March 2020

• 8 February
  Geoconservation Day: Saltwells LNR

  Geoconservation Day: Saltwells LNR   10.30 - 2.30

  Saturday 8 February (Geoconservation Day): Saltwells Local Nature Reserve. Meet at the Nature Reserve car park (Grid ref: SJ 934 868) on Saltwells Lane at 10.30. Wear old work clothes, waterproofs and stout footwear or wellies. Please bring gloves and garden tools (hand brushes, trowels, loppers, secateurs, forks and spades if you have them). Either bring packed lunch or hot food can be acquired from the Saltwells Inn adjacent to the car park. Finish at 2.30.

  http://maps.google.com/maps?z=16&daddr=52.479977N,2.098254W
  
  iCal
• 17 February
  The Impacts of Future Climate Change on Industrial Landscapes: recent work in The Derwent Valley Mills WHS and its relevance to the Black Country

  The Impacts of Future Climate Change on Industrial Landscapes: recent work in The Derwent Valley Mills WHS and its relevance to the Black Country   7.30 -

  Monday 17 February (Indoor Meeting): 'The Impacts of Future Climate Change on Industrial Landscapes: recent work in The Derwent Valley Mills WHS and its relevance to the Black Country'. Speaker: Dr Andy J. Howard ('Landscape Research & Management', and Honorary Fellow, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Durham). The availability of coal, limestone and metal ores together with water for power, was critical to the development of the heavy industries that kindled the Industrial Revolution. Paradoxically, many of these advantageous characteristics, also create environments where geomorphological processes are most sensitive to future climatic and environmental change. This talk by Dr Andy Howard describes a 'landscape' approach developed to manage the built and other historic assets of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site along the River Derwent between Matlock Bath and Derby. As we move forward into the Anthropocene, the applicability of this study to other industrial landscapes such as that of the Black Country is considered.

  http://maps.google.com/maps?z=16&daddr=52.518501N,2.0743W
  
  iCal
• 7 March
  Geoconservation Day Barrow Hill

  Geoconservation Day Barrow Hill   10.30 - 2.30

  Saturday 7 March (Geoconservation Day): Barrow Hill. Directed by the reserve warden. Meet on Vicarage Lane off High Street, Pensnett (A4101), at the top end near to the nature reserve and the church (St. Marks), for a 10.30 start. The day will involve vegetation clearance in the East Quarry. Wear old clothing and stout boots or wellies. Please bring gloves and tools; i.e. brushes, trowels, loppers, saws, rakes etc. Safety glasses and hard hats will be provided where necessary. Bring a packed lunch and hot drink. We will aim to finish around 2.30.

  http://maps.google.com/maps?z=16&daddr=52.502201N,2.12577W
  
  iCal
• 16 March
  AGM followed by three short talks by young geologists

  AGM followed by three short talks by young geologists   7.00 -

  Monday 16 March (Indoor Meeting, 7.00 for 7.30 start): AGM followed by three short talks by young geologists:
  1. 'Disentangling geological and human biases of the non-avian theropod dinosaur fossil record'. Speaker: Daniel Cashmore (Doctoral researcher, University of Birmingham).
  Non-avian theropods were a highly successful group of bipedal, predominantly carnivorous, dinosaurs, popularly known by species such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor mongoliensis. Key to our understanding of their evolutionary history are interpretations of their changing diversity through geological time. However, spatial and temporal changes in fossil specimen completeness, diagnostic quality, and sampling availability can bias our understanding of a group's fossil record. In this talk I outline the research I undertook as part of my PhD thesis, quantifying the skeletal completeness and the diagnostic quality of theropod fossil specimens, in order to critically assess any potential geological and human biases acting upon their fossil record. Results suggest the theropod record is heavily spatially and environmentally biased, and shows signs of taphonomic and taxonomic identification bias towards particular subgroups.
  2. 'Phytoplankton and the response of ocean ecosystems to ancient and future climate change'. Speaker: Matt Sutton (Postgraduate research student, Oxford University). Phytoplankton form the base of ocean ecosystems. They play a vital role in the climate system, the composition of the atmosphere and, ultimately, the health of humanity. Anthropogenic climate change is predicted to cause substantial changes in phytoplankton abundance over the coming centuries. Using the sedimentary record of the deep sea, I will be quantifying changes in the abundance of phytoplankton and fish microfossils across the Plio-Pleistocene, with an emphasis on episodes of rapid environmental change. By disentangling the relationship between climate and marine ecosystems in the geological past, we will begin to build a picture of the future ocean.'
  3. 'Geology before, during and after university'. Speaker: Connor King (BSc graduate from Plymouth University). Connor will talk a little bit about his motivations for studying geology, followed by his time at university, and finishing with what he's doing now and some of the less-discussed parts of postgraduate life, such as applying for further study and finding work.

  http://maps.google.com/maps?z=16&daddr=52.518501N,2.0743W
  
  iCal