Excursion Report - British Geological Survey, Keyworth,

13th October 2007

The final event of the 2007 Field Programme took place on a balmy day in October when 26 members attended a day at the British Geological Survey hosted by Chief Curator Dr Mike Howe.

The day commenced with refreshments and an introductory talk by Mike at 10.30, when we heard of how the BGS and its collections came into being. The Geological Survey opened its first museum in 1841, in London, moving again in 1851 and 1935 before the main facility was moved to Keyworth in 1985. The current premises, the Kingsley Dunham Centre, were formerly occupied by a group of nuns who specialised in the training of teachers. The building still retains a peaceful, contemplative air, especially on a Saturday.

After Mike’s interesting introduction we moved on to see the 3D facility. One of the aims of this arm of the BGS is to create a facility for virtual mapping, so that at any given grid reference a virtual borehole can be sunk and the underlying sequence observed. We were shown a 3D image of the British Isles that could be manipulated to reveal the underlying Moho, fault lines, earthquake epicentres and the geological sequence. With the aid of our 3D glasses the quality of the visual imagery was demonstrated via the medium of a short natural history film. So intense were the images that we felt part of the film, and found ourselves reaching out to touch a fish as it swam towards us, and beating off a marauding wasp!

Our packed lunches were consumed in the cafeteria before we moved on to the Fossil Museum. For the palaeontologists amongst us this was a sweet shop, and the many fine specimens put out especially for us were closely scrutinised. Some of us even indulged in attempted reclassifications! Mark Evans contributed to the day by introducing us to certain marine reptile specimens. The museum contains both fossil and cast examples and they provide, like the rest of the collection, an invaluable research resource. From the relatively small scale of the palaeontology area, we were taken to experience the complete contrast of the cavernous Core Store, which contains a vast depository of cores stored in metre length boxes and accessed by hydraulic machinery. This facility offers an invaluable resource for mining companies, research organisations and geologists, and the BGS are always keen to make the resource available to bona fide researchers. We were able to examine a selection of cores that included ones from Cropwell Bishop and Blockley, and we also saw Mercia Mudstone and Sliding Stones Formation from Bradgate. These provided a fascinating snapshot through millions of years of geology. We were also able to view thin sections of various local igneous rocks under polarised light, and these offered an insight into the chemical makeup of the rocks that constitute our local road surfaces!

(Left) The party in the BGS Core Store © Andrew Swift

(Below) In the core study area © Andrew Swift

The day was rounded off by a vote of thanks from the Field Secretary and the group dispersed at approximately 3.15pm.

Helen Jones & Andrew Swift