bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FAUNAS AND TIME IN THE MARINE DEVONIAN
Authors: House M. R.
Published: December 2009

The Middle Devonian was a period of peak Palaeozoic faunal diversity (if numbers of known marine genera and families are taken as a guide), yet by the middle of the Upper Devonian large numbers of formerly abundant groups had become extinct. It was an extremely impoverished fauna which survived to give rise to Carboniferous stocks.

The pattern and timing of these extinctions is examined, as far as published data allow, for the major ecological regimes, in the light of the analysis and dating of facies movements which formed the subject of a previous Address (House, 1975). Near-shore vagrant groups seem less affected by these changes than faunas of shelf and basinal environments.

Transgressions near the Lower/Middle Devonian boundary led to the widespread establishment of equable carbonate regimes in tropical regions which allowed substantial faunal diversification. Transgressions in the early Upper Devonian led to the progressive attenuation of reef complexes and to their near global termination before the close of the Frasnian. Many specialised reef and associated organisms became extinct as a result. It is argued that once the protecting influence of platform edge carbonates was lost, the effect on organisms living in the shelf environments was considerable, especially among suspension feeders. This may be an explanation for the extinction of several major brachiopod groups near the Frasnian/Famennian boundary. Changes near the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary led to the extinction of the clymenid ammonoids and the phacopid trilobites.

The need for future multidisciplinary and international cooperation in the study of these problems is stressed.
THE EFFECTS OF DIAGENESIS ON SOME HEAVY MINERALS FROM THE SANDSTONES OF THE MIDDLE LIMESTONE GROUP IN NORTHUMBERLAND
Authors: Hemingway J. E. , Tamar-Agha M. Y.
Published: December 2009

The heavy minerals in the sandstones of the Middle Limestone Group in Northumberland include four ubiquitous species, namely garnet, rutile, tourmaline and zircon. With the aid of a scanning electron microscope, evidence of abrasion, corrosion and secondary growth on these grains was recognised. Garnet shows corrosion features only. Rutile is of both detrital and authigenic origin. Tourmaline displays abrasion and growth features, whilst zircon is a very stable constituent both mechanically and chemically. The form and surface textures of authigenic pyrite are also recorded.
VISÉAN LOWER YOREDALE LIMESTONES ON THE ALSTON AND ASKRIGG BLOCKS, AND THE BASE OF THE D
2
ZONE IN NORTHERN ENGLAND
Authors: Burgess I. C. , Mitchell M.
Published: December 2009

Re-examination of sections in the Viséan (Lower Carboniferous) lower Yoredale limestones and their equivalent in the Great Scar Limestone (the beds spanning the D
1
-D
2
zonal boundary) on the Alston Block, along the Dent Line and on the Askrigg Block, has shown that individual cyclothems can be traced throughout this area, and a detailed correlation is established. The strata thicken rapidly southwards from the Alston Block to the Stainmore Trough and then thin progressively on to the Askrigg Block. The absence of any obvious southern margin to the trough is interpreted as indicating that the Askrigg Block and Stainmore Trough are not distinct structural units and that the thicker sequence in the latter area is due to tilting of the Askrigg Block during sedimentation, with more rapid subsidence in the north than in the south.

The base of the D
2
Zone is taken at the base of the Hawes/Peghorn Limestone, in preference to the previously accepted, somewhat higher, horizon at the base of the
Girvanella
Nodular Bed, and the correlation of this zone with the Bristol area is discussed.
THE UPPER PERMIAN SABKHA SEQUENCE AT QUARRY MOOR, RIPON, YORKSHIRE
Authors: Smith D. B.
Published: December 2009

Upper Permian rocks exposed at Quarry Moor, Ripon, Yorkshire, comprise about 7.2 metres of thick-bedded porous oolitic dolomite overlain by about 5.5 metres of varied, mainly thin-bedded, limestones and dolomites with thin argillaceous and earthy beds. They lie at the top of the Lower Magnesian Limestone, and may include the lowest beds of the Permian Middle Marls. Algal lamination is present in the uppermost 9 metres, where textural evidence suggests that the limestones originated by calcitization of earlier dolomite rock (dedolomitization). Most of the rocks exposed were deposited at or near sea level and it is suggested that the contortion and brecciation in some of the higher beds took place during the formation, diagenesis and subsequent dissolution of displacive evaporites. The calcitization is thought to have taken place when intergranular gypsum or anhydrite was dissolved, probably near the ground surface during the current cycle of uplift and erosion.
A CARBONIFEROUS PEDUNCULATE BARNACLE
Authors: Whyte Martin A.
Published: December 2009

A new genus and species of pedunculate cirripede,
Pabulum spathiforme
, is described from the Carboniferous (Upper Viséan) of Yorkshire, England, and Fife, Scotland. This is the first species of scalpellid type to be recorded from the Palaeozoic and is unusual in possessing paired elliptical sockets on the peduncle scales.
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHICAL CONTROL OF MINERALIZATION IN THE BLENDE VEIN, MAGPIE MINE, SHELDON NEAR BAKEWELL, DERBYSHIRE
Authors: Worley N. E.
Published: December 2009

Detailed mapping in the Magpie sough has shown that the Blende Vein lies in reef facies and bedded stylolitic facies limestones of upper D
1
Viséan age.

Mineralization consists of a series of solution cavities lined with fluorite, calcite, sphalerite, and a little galena with pyrite; collectively they form a pipe deposit. Lithofacies control is evident in that the cavities favour the reef facies limestones. In the bedded stylolitic facies, cavities are restricted to areas adjacent to fractures and stylolite seams. It is postulated that the primary porosity of the reef limestone provided access for corrosive solutions which produced the cavities. The origin of the deposit is discussed from the standpoint of the Mississippi Valley type deposits.
THE EARTH’S CRUST IN PRECAMBRIAN TIMES
Authors: Watson J. V.
Published: December 2009

Primitive continental crustal masses rich in granitic material, land-areas subject to erosion, and primitive oceans in which sedimentation took place were already in existence when the oldest known rocks were formed about 3800 Ma ago. The initial development of a concentrically zoned earth (which overlapped with the main phases of activity on the moon) had taken place before the beginning of the geological record as we know it. The extent, distribution and thickness of the early continental masses have still to be established. The continental crust appears to have received large intermittent accessions of granitic material from the mantle over a very long time but it is not clear whether the crust was continually enlarged or whether some process of recycling kept its volume roughly constant. Certain crust-forming magmatic processes originating in the mantle appear to have been peculiar to the period prior to 2500 Ma. Surface processes associated with organic activities began at least as early as 3000 Ma and changed markedly with time.

Considered in broad terms, the structural patterns characteristic of Archaean domains formed before about 2500 Ma differ from those of younger domains which are known to have been produced in response to the motions of large and effectively rigid lithospheric plates. Large-scale variations in structural style and in metamorphic grade suggest regional variations either in the composition of the crust and upper mantle or in geothermal gradients. The forms and distribution of layered gabbro-anorthositc complexes have a bearing on this question. The large volumes of material of granitic composition which characterise Archaean provinces show distinctive relationships with other rock units which may record the effects of substantial enlargement of the continental crust. Profound changes in the style of sedimentation, tectonic activity and magmatism beginning at about 2700 Ma ushered in the Proterozoic stage of crustal development.
THE SPEEDWELL VENT, CASTLETON, DERBYSHIRE: A CARBONIFEROUS LITTORAL CONE
Authors: Cheshire S. G. , Bell J.D.
Published: December 2009

The so-called Speedwell Vent is composed of a complex mixture of carbonated massive basalt, petrographically similar to the nearby Cave Dale Lava (of D
1
age), and palagonitised hyaloclastite. It is proposed that this ‘vent’ is in reality a littoral cone formed when a tongue of the subacrial Cave Dale Lava entered shallow sea-water, undergoing a certain amount of fragmentation and chilling to glass in the process.
LATE DEVENSIAN DEPOSITS FROM KILDALE, NORTH-EAST YORKSHIRE
Authors: Jones R. L.
Published: December 2009

A Late Devensian deposit containing abundant moss remains is described. One species assumes significance because of its first recorded occurrence in British late-glacial sediments. A radiocarbon date of
c
. 16,000 BP obtained from an accumulation of the earliest deposited moss fragments assists in the interpretation of the Devensian deglaciation sequence in the region. This is considered to have been accomplished between about 18,000 and 16,000 BP probably initially by the separation and stagnation of ice lobes in valleys.
A NEW SPECIES OF
AULINA
(RUGOSA) FROM THE NAMURIAN OF NORTHERN ENGLAND
Authors: Nudds John R.
Published: December 2009

Aulina botanica
sp. nov. is described from the Namurian Botany Limestone of Teesdale, Co. Durham.
NOTES ON THE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE
LINGULA
FLAGS IN DYFED, SOUTH WALES
Authors: Turner P.
Published: December 2009

Sedimentary structures suggest that the
Lingula
Flags of South Wales are shallow marine intertidal and subtidal deposits, and not turbidites as previously described.
A STRATIGRAPHIC REVISION OF THE SCARBOROUGH FORMATION (MIDDLE JURASSIC) OF NORTH-EAST YORKSHIRE
Authors: Parsons C. F.
Published: December 2009

The lithostratigraphy of the Scarborough Formation is described and 3 new formal lithostratigraphic units are named (the Hundale Shale, Ravenscar Shale and White Nab ‘Ironstone’ Members). Six ammonite horizons occur in the upper part of the Formation and indicate that all 3 Subzones (
romani, humphriesianum
and
blagdeni
) of the Lower Bajocian
humphriesianum
Zone are represented. The ammonite and ostracod faunas show that although some of the lithostratigraphic units are very variable the Crinoid Grit, Ravenscar Shale and White Nab ‘Ironstone’ Members are isochronous.
LITTORAL AND FLUVIATILE FACIES IN THE ‘KELLAWAYS BEDS’ ON THE MARKET WEIGHTON SWELL
Authors: BRASIER M. D. , BRASIER C. J.
Published: December 2009

The sequence of Jurassic sands in the South Cave area is described. The White Sands (probably Bathonian) are fluviatile sands and clays with a rootlet horizon and burrows near the top. These sediments were partly reworked by the Callovian transgression bringing in the Kellaway Sands and Rock, here informally subdivided into units A/B to K. These are tabular cross bedded sands with intertidal to shallow subtidal trace fossils, infaunal bivalves and disarticulated shells of epifauna, the latter especially occurring in distinct shell bands. The facial evidence indicates tidal to subtidal channels for the most part, with channel lag shell bands.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY AND GROWTH OF THE CARBONIFEROUS GIGANTOPRODUCTIDS
Authors: FERGUSON J.
Published: December 2009

The hinge width and degree of curvature of the valves of gigantoproductid brachiopods are shown to be related to the population density and to the nature of the substrate on which the animal lived. Statistical studies of their growth are discussed and two models of growth, leading to either an alate or a globose form, are proposed. Preferred orientation of these brachiopods has been noted and followed up with experimental work on models, involving the use of a flume. It is suggested that the shape of the shell may also reflect certain hydrodynamic requirements.
A JURASSIC CTENOSTOME BRYOZOAN FROM YORKSHIRE
Authors: TAYLOR PAUL D.
Published: December 2009

Cellaria smithii
Phillips 1829, which has usually been placed in the cyclostome bryozoan genus
Stomatopora,
is redescribed and shown to belong to the ctenostome bryozoan genus
Arachnidium.
The type specimens of
Arachnidium smithii
(Phillips) and its junior synonym
Stomatopora phillipsii
Vine, from the Cornbrash of Scarborough and Northamptonshire respectively, represent only the second and third records of Jurassic adnate ctenostomes. Although they lack a mineralised skeleton these Jurassic forms have been preserved as external casts by the process of bioimmuration.
QUARTZ OVERGROWTHS FROM THE MILLSTONE GRIT SANDSTONES (NAMURIAN) OF THE SOUTHERN PENNINES AS REVEALED BY SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
Authors: WILSON PETER
Published: December 2009

Examination of detrital quartz grains from the Millstone Grit sandstones (Namurian) of the southern Pennines reveals the existence of euhedral quartz overgrowths. Distinct growth stages are visible and correspond to those described by previous workers. Overgrowths in these sandstones have been observed on a number of previous occasions but this is the first study in which they are examined by scanning electron microscopy.
A Rb-Sr ISOCHRON FOR THE SHAP GRANITE
Authors: WADGE A. J. , GALE N. H. , BECKINSALE R. D. , RUNDLE C. C.
Published: December 2009

A Rb-Sr age of 394 ± 3 Ma has been determined from a 21–point isochron for the Shap Granite, which was probably emplaced in lower Devonian times. The determination provides a minimum age for the base of the Gedinnian Stage. K-Ar measurements on biotites and U-Pb measurements on zircons from the granite give similar ages.
CONODONT EVIDENCE FOR THE AGE OF THE PINSKEY GILL BEDS OF RAVENSTONEDALE, NORTH-WEST ENGLAND
Authors: VARKER W. J. , HIGGINS A. C.
Published: December 2009

The Pinskey Gill beds occur at the base of the Carboniferous succession in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria and rest unconformably on Silurian Bannisdale Slates. Their precise age has been uncertain. Five of the calcareous horizons exposed in Pinskey Gill have been examined for conodonts and a stratigraphically useful collection of 97 specimens has been extracted from one of these. The impoverished fauna of only five specifically identifiable forms is dominated by
Bispathodus aculeatus aculeatus, B. stabilis
and
Clydagnathus unicornis
, which suggest an age of upper K or lower Z on the coral/brachiopod scheme, i.e. around the middle of the Courceyan Stage. An almost identical fauna has also been extracted from between 33.55 and 36.58 metres depth in the Pinskey Gill borehole (see Holliday, Neves and Owens 1979) thus allowing a correlation between borehole and exposed succession.
A SEDIMENTARY CYCLICITY IN EARLY ASBIAN (LOWER D1) LIMESTONES IN THE LLANGOLLEN DISTRICT OF NORTH WALES
Authors: SOMERVILLE I. D.
Published: December 2009

Sedimentary cyclicity is recognised in the early Asbian (lower D1) limestones of the Llangollen district, North Wales. 14 to 15 cycles have been identified, each characterised by the alternation of two distinct lithologies. The lower phase, muddy bioclastic limestone rich in
Daviesiella llangollensis,
is succeeded by an upper phase of porcellanous limestone. The porcellanous limestones occasionally show subaerial features. Comparison with other areas suggests that this kind of cyclicity is commonly developed in early Asbian limestones.
THE MARL SLATE AND BASAL PERMIAN BRECCIA AT MIDDRIDGE, CO. DURHAM
Authors: BELL J. , HOLDEN J. , PETTIGREW T. H. , SEDMAN K. W.
Published: December 2009

A study of the stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Basal Permian Breccia and Marl Slate at Middridge, south-east Durham, was recently made possible by the reopening of an old quarry. The Permian Breccia here, although originally deposited under terrestrial (desert) conditions, was subsequently partially redistributed during the transgression of the Zechstein Sea. Numerous specimens of invertebrates, fish and plants were collected and the assemblages as a whole demonstrate that the Marl Slate is of a near shore facies in this part of Durham. Sessile, shallow water invertebrate fossils are relatively abundant at the top of the Breccia and in a laminated limestone within the Marl Slate. Many of these fossils represent several years of
in situ
growth which contradicts the accepted palaeoenvironmental interpretation of seasonal toxic conditions. It is suggested that toxic conditions were less severe in the near shore environment which probably acted as a refuge for the deep and shallow water faunas during periods of unfavourable conditions in the offshore area. This interpretation is supported by other exposures of the Marl Slate in south Durham which yield a sparse invertebrate assemblage in contrast to the exposures to the north-east which yield few or no invertebrates and an essentially deep water fish fauna.
THREE IGNIMBRITES FROM THE BORROWDALE VOLCANIC GROUP
Authors: MILLWARD DAVID
Published: December 2009

Ignimbrites at Kidsty Pike, St Sunday Crag and Coniston are thinner than many within the Borrowdale Volcanic Group and occur in distinctive layered sequences which consist mostly of basic to intermediate pyroclastic fall deposits. The ignimbrites from these areas show particulate structure, eutaxitic texture, columnar jointing and the rare development of lithophysae (siliceous nodules). The latter is indicative of the important role of volatiles in the formation and later history of the deposits. Field relations and comparison with modern counterparts suggest eruption of the St Sunday Crag and Coniston ignimbrites from the same centres as the ashfall deposits with which they are interbedded.
A SEISMIC SURVEY OF THE FORMER CHANNEL OF THE RIVER DOE, INGLETON
Authors: WILSON C. D. V.
Published: December 2009

An east-west seismic refraction line has been shot 400 m north of the unconformity at Thornton Force to test the hypothesis of glacial blockage of the River Doe. The seismic data have been coordinated with an earlier resistivity survey (Bruckshaw 1948). The geophysical results confirm the buried valley and elucidate its cross-section
HYDROGEOCHEMICALLY ANOMALOUS AREAS IN THE ASKRIGG BLOCK OF THE NORTHERN PENNINE OREFIELD
Authors: INESON P. R. , AL-BADRI A. S.
Published: December 2009

A regional hydrogeochemical reconnaissance survey of the southern part of the northern Pennine orefield (Askrigg Block) was undertaken with a sample density of one sample per two square kilometres. 370 water samples, each with 30 analytical determinations necessitated the use of various multivariate statistical interpretation techniques. After due consideration for pollution and possible contamination, it is concluded that in the Litton and Dent areas undiscovered mineral deposits may be present.
THE GREAT LIMESTONE (NAMURIAN) OF SOUTH NORTHUMBERLAND
Authors: FAIRBAIRN R. A.
Published: December 2009

This paper extends the work of Fairbairn (1978) in tracing individual beds and posts of the Great Limestone from the northern part of the Alston Block into the Northumberland Trough. The Bench and Main Posts, forming the lower half of the Great Limestone, when traced northwards from Weardale to Rothbury show little change in thickness and lithology. However, the upper part of the limestone passes gradually northwards into mudstone as a result of the incoming of mudstone partings which thicken and become more numerous towards the north as the limestone posts thin.
LANDFORM DEVELOPMENT AROUND KISDON, UPPER SWALEDALE, YORKSHIRE
Authors: ROSE J.
Published: December 2009

The landforms of the upper part of Swaledale are described and analysed in terms of their development and regional pattern of Quaternary history. The area is dominated by Kisdon, which is a conspicuous, isolated hill associated with a prominent change in the course of the River Swale and an anomalous abandoned valley known as Skeb Skeugh. This large-scale relief is the framework for a complex assemblage of smaller landforms such as drift-tails, meltwater channels, eskers, kames, river gorges, river terraces and landslips. The origin of Kisdon is attributed to glacial modification of the original river pattern, and the last stage in the diversion of the drainage is recorded in the meltwater drainage system which developed during Devensian deglaciation. River landforms and landslips are explained in terms of the adjustment between Late-glacial and Flandrian subaerial processes and the glacially inherited landscape.
EARLY SUBMARINE LITHIFICATION IN THE RED CHALK AND LOWER CHALK OF EASTERN ENGLAND: A BACTERIAL CONTROL MODEL AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
Authors: JEANS C. V.
Published: December 2009

Early submarine lithifications are common in the Albian and Cenomanian Red Chalk and Lower Chalk of eastern England. They have developed generally in shallow water sediments deposited relatively slowly in the aphotic zone of the Chalk sea. Five varieties of early lithification are described and interpreted in detail. The lithification has occurred during the intrinsic diagenesis of the sediment ranging from very close to the water/sediment interface to some metres below. It has been caused by the precipitation of a ferroan calcite cement (2940–8900 ppm Fe
2+
) under anaerobic alkaline conditions. The preservation of aragonitic fossils indicates that sources from within the sediment and the external reservoir of sea water supplied the necessary Ca
2+
and CO
3
2−
. Indirect evidence suggests that (1) bacterial ammonification and sulphate-reduction have effected the precipitation of the ferroan calcite cement, and (2) porewater temperature, depositional rates, and the content of aragonite and organic matter in the sediment were important factors in controlling the development of early lithification. The importance or the bacterial mechanism as a general lithification process in the aphotic marine environment is discussed.
A NEW REVISION OF THE PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF KIRKDALE CAVE, YORKSHIRE
Authors: BOYLAN PATRICK J.
Published: December 2009

Kirkdale Cave, discovered in 1821, has a special place in British palaeontology, as William Buckland’s first, and classic, fossil hyaena den. Since Buckland’s time there has been no comprehensive re-examination of all the surviving mammalian fossils from this important site. Hitherto the Kirkdale species list has apparently shown puzzling anomalies, including a mixture of cold (glacial) and warm (interglacial) species within a single thin cave-earth.

All of the surviving Kirkdale Cave material that could be traced has now been re-examined, and a revised faunal list is given. Eighteen species are identified, four more species are doubtfully recorded, and twenty-seven rejected as erroneous or synonyms. The latter include
Homo sapiens, Ursus spelaeus, Mammuthus primigenius, Rangifer tarandus
and
Coelodonta antiquitatis,
The material is indicative of a single, homogenous faunal assemblage, which includes
Vulpes vulpes, ‘Panthera’
cf.
leo, Crocuta crocuta spelea, Elephas antiquus, Hippopotamus amphibius, Bison cf.priscus
and the interglacial rhinoceros,
Dicerorhinus hemitoechus.
The assemblage is attributed to the climatic optimum (Zone II) of the Ipswichian interglacial.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE LOESS AROUND MORECAMBE BAY, NORTH-WEST ENGLAND
Authors: VINCENT P. J. , LEE M. P.
Published: December 2009

Discontinuous deposits of strong brown silt have been observed on all the limestone outcrops around Morecambe Bay. These are identified as loessic sediments and are interpreted as the deflation products of glacigenic sediments, which accumulated in the Bay as Lake District and Irish Sea ice wasted.
QUATERNARY SEDIMENTS AT WESTFIELD FARM, FIMBER, NORTH HUMBERSIDE
Authors: BRAY D. A. , FREEMAN S. M. C. , READ D. , WALSH P. T. , WILSON P.
Published: December 2009

An unexposed outlier of unfossiliferous sand and brickearth in the Chalk of the central Yorkshire Wolds at Westfield Farm, Fimber has been shown by augering and trenching to comprise a tripartite stratigraphic sequence totalling over 15m thickness. The sediments, over 10,000 m
3
in residual volume, occupy an elongate closed depression which is over 10m deep. They are disposed synclinally in what is reasoned to be a solution subsidence structure, the wavelength/amplitude ratio of which is tighter than 5:1. Mineralogical evidence indicates that the fill sediments are similar to nearby loessic drifts of supposed late-Devensian age. However, the geomorphological situation of the outlier suggests that the fill is considerably older.
EUSTACY, SEA LEVEL AND LOCAL TECTONISM, WITH EXAMPLES FROM THE BRITISH CARBONIFEROUS
Authors: RAMSBOTTOM W. H. C.
Published: December 2009

A method is presented which allows calculation of a tectonic element in situations where the primary influence on deposition is eustacy. Calculation of the eustatic rise in sea level needed for deposition of any thickness of rocks yields a conclusion that, assuming deposition of the Carboniferous rocks in Britain was primarily influenced by eustacy, the sea level rose by about 227 m during the Dinantian and about 100 m during the Namurian. There was a temporary halt to sea level rises at a level corresponding with the Mississippian/Pennsylvanian non-sequence in North America. Preliminary attempts are made to estimate the amount of sea level lowering between transgression, and an example of derived figures for local tectonism in the late Viséan of Scotland is given.
GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE WHIN SILL IN THE ROMAN WALL DISTRICT OF NORTHUMBERLAND
Authors: SUMMERS T. P. , LOS A. P. , WESTBROOK G. K.
Published: December 2009

Magnetic and seismic refraction investigations of two areas on the outcrop of the Whin Sill in western Northumberland with obscure geological relationships have served to clarify these relationships. In the area east of Great Chesters, a 0.9 km wide gap in outcrop of the sill is shown to have been produced by a channel eroded 30 m into the sill and filled by glacial drift. In the area of Limestone Corner the transgressive nature of the sill is demonstrated, but the two leaves of the sill are shown not to be connected by a continuous dyke.
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS NEAR GOXHILL, SOUTH HUMBERSIDE
Authors: BARKER R. D.
Published: December 2009

Geophysical surveys between Goxhill and Skitter Ness have resulted in the discovery of an old channel of the River Humber from which the boulder clay has been completely eroded and in which estuarine silts have been subsequently deposited. It is suggested that during the time when the river was in direct contact with the Chalk, saline water entered the aquifer and was later entrapped by the deposition of the low permeability silts.
THE STRATIGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF WESTPHALIAN VOLCANIC ROCKS TO THE EAST AND SOUTH OF NOTTINGHAM
Authors: BURGESS I. C.
Published: December 2009

Igneous rocks in the concealed North-East Leicestershire Coalfield to the east and south of Nottingham comprise both extrusive and intrusive suites. Extrusive activity, intermittent in the late Viséan and Namurian, culminated in Westphalian A with the outpouring of alkaline basaltic lavas and tuffs, apparently from several sources. In the east, these contribute almost the entire sequence, intertongueing westwards with Coal Measures sediments. The intrusive rocks comprise numerous alkaline basaltic and doleritic sills, and represent a later period of activity, possibly associated with tectonism during Westphalian C.
PETROGRAPHY OF THE PRE-CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE BECKERMONDS SCAR BOREHOLE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MAGNETIC ANOMALY AT THE SITE
Authors: BERRIDGE N. G.
Published: December 2009

A brief petrographical description of the Ordovician metasediments of the Beckermonds Scar Borehole is given, with more detailed coverage of their anomalously high magnetite content. Despite the presence of secondary vein mineralisation it is concluded that the magnetite, and hence the high magnetic anomaly at the site, is essentially of sedimentary origin. A quartz-microdiorite minor intrusion probably postdates early mineralisation and therefore also the Wensleydale Granite, with which proportions of both the veins and the metamorphism may be associated.
HOLKERIA
GEN. NOV., A FORAMINIFER CHARACTERISTIC OF THE HOLKERIAN STAGE OF THE BRITISH DINANTIAN
Authors: STRANK ANGELA R. E.
Published: December 2009

Holkeria,
a new genus of tournayellid foraminifer characteristic of Holkerian strata in the British Isles, is described. Three species are recognised: the first,
H. avonensis
has been described by Conil and Longerstaey in Conil, Longerstaey & Ramsbottom (1980) as
Rhodesina avonensis.
The second,
H. daggeri,
and the third,
H. topleyensis,
are newly described here.
THE ORIGIN OF CYCLOTHEMS IN THE LATE DINANTIAN PLATFORM CARBONATES AT CRICH, DERBYSHIRE
Authors: BRIDGES D. H.
Published: December 2009

The Monsal Dale Limestones at Crich, Derbyshire represent a carbonate platform succession of early Brigantian (D
2
) age, The exposed succession (36m) contains five cyclothems each terminated by a limestone surface providing evidence of subaerial exposure, overlain by a thin clay. The lower part of each cyclothem is dominated by a skeletal-peloidal grainstone/packstone which was probably deposited in an open bay or lagoon, but the upper part of each cyclothem is dominated by fine-grained peloidal grainstone/packstone. Both facies show evidence of bioturbation, but in addition the peloidal facies contains fenestrae indicative of periodic emergence which suggests that it may have formed in shallow subtidal or lower intertidal conditions. Each cyclothem therefore records the progressive shoaling which occurred prior to emergence, but there is a negligible sedimentary record of each subsequent transgressive event. Four of the cyclothems are terminated by surfaces displaying minor karstic solution features, but the fifth is coated by a subaerial crust and is associated with early diagenetic rhizoliths, pseudomorphs of gypsum and minor silicification.
GEOGRAPHICAL CHANGE IN BRITAIN DURING THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
Authors: JOHNSON G. A. L.
Published: December 2009

The Gulf Coast plain of S.E. U.S.A. is suggested as a modern analogue of the Carboniferous shelf across Britain. The coastal plain has developed over a comparable period to the shelf, they are of similar size and the gross environment of deposition, structural setting and broad evolution are much the same. Deposition on the British Carboniferous shelf began with fluviatile sedimentation following the Middle Devonian compressional event that produced widespread uplift and erosion across Britain south of the Scottish Highlands. Marine deposition commenced at the beginning of the Carboniferous in the south and is diachronous across Britain arriving in the Scottish Borders in the Asbian and with the Brigantian Hurlet transgression in South Scotland. In part this can be ascribed to progressive northward spreading epeirogenic downwarping which was first recognised in Devonian marine deposits and called the ‘bathyal lull’. Concurrently tensional stress in the upper crust, owing to slab pull subduction to the south, caused differential subsidence and block and basin extensional tectonics over the shelf. A combination of differential subsidence of sedimentary basins with regional subsidence caused deep Dinantian downwarping in the north and the formation of thick sequences of shallow water deposits. By the Namurian, differential movement was slackening in the north with change to more regional epeirogenic sinking; the centre of deposition or depocentre migrated southward to the Central basin at this time. This process of developing seaward stability continued in the Silesian with a depocentre migrating further south to Cheshire and the Midlands in the earlier Westphalian and to the south-west of Britain, south of the Wales-Brabant ridge, in the late Westphalian. Differential subsidence persisted in the south into the Westphalian and stabilisation of the shelf had not evolved to completion by the time it was terminated by the late Carboniferous Hercynian collision orogeny. From early in Westphalian B times a new arid land surface developed with red-bed deposition across Britain, spreading from the north southwards. Red beds were laid down in some basins in the Midlands and South Scotland apparently without significant break in deposition from the Carboniferous through into the Permian. The sequence of structural change with tensional stress, compressional stress and epeirogeny, together with independent factors such as eustatic changes in sea-level, combined to provide an evolving environment of deposition which is described and briefly compared with similar processes associated with the Gulf Coast plain of U.S.A.
ISOGRAPTUS GIBBERULUS
(NICHOLSON) AND THE ISOGRAPTIDS OF THE ARENIG SERIES (ORDOVICIAN) OF ENGLAND AND WALES
Authors: JENKINS C. J.
Published: December 2009

A revision of collections of
Isograptus gibberulus
(Nicholson) from the Arenig Series of England and Wales shows that nine separate isograptid species and subspecies have previously been included under that name. They are
Isograptus caduceus gibberulus
(for which a lectotype is now selected),
I. caduceus
cf.
imitatus
(Harris),
I. caduceus
subsp. indet.,
I. victoriae divergens
(Harris),
Pseudisograptus stellus
(Hopkinson),
P. angel
n. sp.,
P. ? menaiensis
n. sp. and
Pseudisograptus
n. spp. A and B.

The new identifications resolve important taxonomic problems related to the definition of
Isograptus.
They also allow a reassessment of the
I. gibberulus
Zone in Britain, and make possible a more accurate correlation of the zone to the graptolite sequences in other countries. The fauna of the zone indicates that it is no older than the Ca 3 Zone (uppermost Castlemainian) of the Lower Ordovician in Australasia.
THE OSTRACODA AND UNIFORMITARIANISM. I. THE LATER RECORD: RECENT, PLEISTOCENE AND TERTIARY
Authors: NEALE JOHN W.
Published: December 2009

Ostracods are the most sophisticated organisms with which micropalaeontologists deal and have specific ecological requirements, particularly regarding salinity and temperature. This, combined with the fact that they occupy marine, brackish, freshwater and even terrestrial habitats makes them ideal subjects for applying knowledge gained from study of Recent forms back in time to elucidate the past. The two main controlling parameters are those noted above but a wide range of others, often difficult or impossible to ascertain geologically are also operative. This address looks at some examples from the later Pleistocene and Tertiary record.
THE PETROGRAPHY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE WATERSWALLOWS SILL, BUXTON, DERBYSHIRE
Authors: INESON P. R. , WALTERS S. G. , SIMON. MSc. R. M.
Published: December 2009

A petrographic and geochemical survey of the Waterswallows Sill has shown it to be an olivine microphyric dolerite of a transitional type with tholeiitic affinities. The cores from 86 boreholes indicate a saucer-shaped intrusion 80 m thick with a coarse-grained upper unit and a fine-grained columnar lower unit. Eight new K-Ar isotopic age determinations gave a spread of ages from 160 to 280 my. These results are examined knowing that smectite (nontronite and saponite) alteration, and not chlorite alteration as previously reported, is present. The variable loss of argon related to the partial devitrification of the primary interstitial glass may explain these analyses. They do not indicate the age of emplacement of the Sill.
STRATIGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF EARLY PALAEOGENE PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS IN THE NORTH SEA BASIN
Authors: O’B. KNOX R. W. , MORTON A. C.
Published: December 2009

Early Palaeogene pyroclastic sedimentation in the North Sea Basin took place in two main phases. The first (c. 58 – 57 Ma) was related to Hebridean volcanicity and the associated deposits are coarsest and most abundant in central western parts of the North Sea Basin. The second phase (c. 55 – 52 Ma) appears to have been related to volcanic activity in the Rockall-Greenland rift, with a maximum phase of explosive eruptions taking place immediately before the onset of oceanic crust generation at c. 54 – 54.5 Ma.
A LATE DEVENSIAN AND EARLY FLANDRIAN FAUNA AND FLORA FROM KILDALE, NORTH-EAST YORKSHIRE
Authors: KEEN D. H. , JONES R. L. , ROBINSON J. E.
Published: December 2009

Late Devensian and early Flandrian Mollusca and Ostracoda from a silted kettle-hole at Kildale in north-east Yorkshire are described. The fauna is related to a radiocarbon-dated stratigraphic and palaeobotanical sequence. The faunal assemblages are compared with others of similar age in Northern Ireland and Denmark. An assessment is made of the environments of the Windermere interstadial, Loch Lomond Stadial and early part of the Flandrian Interglacial at the locality.
MARINE REPTILES FROM THE UPPER LIAS (LOWER TOARCIAN, LOWER JURASSIC) OF THE YORKSHIRE COAST
Authors: BENTON M. J. , TAYLOR M. A.
Published: December 2009

Fossil marine reptiles have been collected in some abundance from several sites along the Yorkshire coast over the last 225 years. Much of this material has remained unstudied and there is confusion over the provenance of most specimens. A detailed study of early collectors’ reports has revealed the sources of some specimens, and others have been dated by means of associated ammonites and matrix. A complete list of all specimens known to us is given, and these include 55 crocodiles, 69 ichthyosaurs, 33 plesiosaurs and one pterosaur. Reptiles are rare in the Lower and Middle Lias of Yorkshire. The richest horizons are within the Upper Lias (Lower Toarcian, Whitbian), with 14 specimens from the Jet Rock Formation and 144 from the Alum Shales Formation (predominantly the Main Alum Shales). The best localities have been the Whitby – Saltwick section (137 specimens) and the old alum quarries at Kettleness (5 specimens) and Loftus (4 specimens). The faunas from these sites are unrivalled in the Upper Lias of Britain, and they show significant differences from the Upper Lias faunas of SW Germany (e.g. Holzmaden) and France.
ANOMALOUS URANIUM IN SUPERFICIAL DEPOSITS OVERLYING THE WASDALE HEAD GRANITE, CUMBRIA.
Authors: BUCKLEY A.
Published: December 2009

Earlier work has indicated that the main outcrop of the Eskdale Granite may be the source of stream sediment uranium anomalies. The collection and analysis (by XRF) of the <150
μ
m fraction of boulder clays and stream sediments from further north has indicated the presence of anomalous uranium, arsenic and molybdenum over a body of granite at Wasdale Head. Follow-up sampling confirmed this and delineated the anomaly more accurately. No primary uranium mineralisation has been found but the anomaly is comparable with anomalies from mineralised areas and detailed examination of the samples suggests that, whilst scavenging has caused some enhancement, the anomaly is unlikely to have formed simply by accumulation of uranium from the normal low background. Furthermore, it is unlikely that secondary processes acting on lithologies similar to those exposed in the area would produce a strong correlation between these elements.
THE OSTRACODA AND UNIFORMITARIANISM. II. THE EARLIER RECORD: CRETACEOUS TO CAMBRIAN
Authors: NEALE J. W.
Published: December 2009

The application of Uniformitarian principles provides useful information on a wide variety of aspects concerning ostracod faunas from the Cretaceous back into the Cambrian. Even in the Cambrian, knowledge of the anatomy of Recent ostracods is essential for the interpretation of the appendages which have now been found preserved in early members of the group.
DEEP STRUCTURE AND ORIGIN OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND AND STAINMORE TROUGHS
Authors: BOTT M. H. P. , SWINBURN P. M. , LONG R. E.
Published: December 2009

The Lower Carboniferous trough and block structures of northern England were discovered and delineated by geological and gravity observations. New information on the depth to the underlying basement comes from seismic refraction studies using quarry blasts, and from observations of the LISPB shots of 1974 along a north-south line of temporary stations from the Northumberland Trough to the Craven Basin (the NERL line). In agreement with earlier gravity interpretations, this new seismic evidence shows that the Northumberland Trough is about 3–4 km deep beneath north-eastern England, and that the Stainmore Trough is about 2.5 km deep across the Pennines. Seismic data from NERL and from the Rookhope array station indicate a 6.5 km s
−1
layer at about 12 km depth and the Moho at about 28 km depth. To within the accuracy attained, the Moho appears to be at the same depth beneath both blocks and troughs.

The regional and differential subsidence are both primarily attributed to stretching of the lithosphere (including crust) in a north-south direction. The lithospheric tension was probably mainly caused by the slabpull force (or trench suction?) resulting from subduction of the attached oceanic part of the plate which formed the closing Hercynian marginal sea to the south, supplemented in the continental crust by tension related to the crustal thickness. It is suggested that the ductile lower part of the lithosphere, including the lower continental crust, was stretched to a much greater extent than the strong and brittle uppermost layer as a result of resistance to subduction at shallow depth. The regional subsidence was partly the isostatic response to thinning of the lower ductile part of the continental crust; subordinate thermal subsidence probably contributed, but this was cut short by a new thermal event at the end of the Carboniferous. Differential subsidence is attributed to faulting in the upper continental crust in response to the tension. This allowed the buoyant granites to remain relatively stable as the intervening regions subsided, with the Moho shallowing regionally but not developing strong local variations in depth.
The structural plotter: a simple device for plotting data onto geological maps
Authors: LYNAS B. D. T.
Published: December 2009

A cheaply-manufactured device, which allows the quick and accurate plotting of structural data on geological maps, is described.
An investigation of the crustal structure of north-west England using quarry blasts as seismic sources
Authors: Banks R. J. , Gurbuz C.
Published: December 2009

Seismic refraction profiles have been established between quarries at Outscar and Oddendale (on the north-eastern margin of the Lake District), Holmepark (between Lancaster and Kendal), and Arcow (Ribblesdale). The profile between Outscar and Holmepark traverses the Shap granite intrusion and outcrops of Silurian meta-sedimentary rocks. The eastern line crosses the Ingleton Coal Measures basin and continues onto the Askrigg Block, where the basement is formed of Lower Ordovician (Ingletonian) metamorphic rocks. The P wave velocity, S wave velocity, and Poisson’s ratio of the Carboniferous Limestone were estimated to be 5.250 km s
−1
, 2.854 km s
−1
, and 0.290 respectively. The corrresponding values for Silurian rocks were 5.635 km s
−1
, 3.144 km s
−1
,0.274, and for Lower Ordovician metamorphic rocks on the Askrigg block were 5.984 km s
−1
, 3.326 km s
−1
, and 0.276. In addition, at the longer ranges, arrivals with a P velocity of 6.25 ± 0.15 km s
−1
were detected on both the profiles. Seismic models derived by ray tracing are compatible with the view that the pre-Silurian basement between the Lake District and the Askrigg block is of Lower Ordovician age, equivalent to the Ingletonian rocks on the block, and that it extends westwards to the point at which it is intruded by the granite batholith that underlies the Lake District.
The Clowne Seam, Marine Band, and overlying sediments in the Coal Measures (Westphalian B) of north Derbyshire
Authors: Rippon J. H.
Published: December 2009

Two differing mudstone suites, in places with an intervening non-sequence, overlie the Clowne Seam. The earlier suite is localised, and includes the Clowne Marine Band at its base. The overall succession represents an onlap relationship with the peat, commencing with near-marine creeks and bays and continuing with fresher waters containing a prolific ostracod and bivalve fauna. Total submergence of the Clowne peat was achieved during the deposition of the later suite, which has no marine affinities. This progressive flooding is related to thickness and petrographic variations in the underlying coal, which locally includes quartzitic lenses (‘
quarzlagen
’). The possible origins of these lenses are reviewed.
The methane content of some Carboniferous limestones from the northern Pennines and its relationship to mineralisation
Authors: Ferguson J.
Published: December 2009

Anomalous amounts of methane gas have been detected in Carboniferous limestones collected in an area to the south-east of Rookhope in the Northern Pennines. The significance of this discovery is discussed in relation to the geology of the area. Two origins for the gas are postulated: either it has been generated as a direct result of the mineralisation or it is a consequence of the prolonged existence of a high geothermal gradient in the area. It is argued that, since these two events are likely to be related, the location of methane anomalies might prove a useful technique for mineral exploration in similar geological settings.
An interpretation of regional geochemical drainage basin data from the Dent-Ingleton area of the Askrigg Block
Authors: Bateson J. H. , Johnson C. C.
Published: December 2009

Data obtained in a geochemical drainage basin survey of the Dent – Ingleton area of the Askrigg Block give a regional element distribution in which a zone of fluorine is identified with discontinuous peripheral zones of copper, lead and barium. This is a pattern seen elsewhere in the Pennines, and in the survey area a small negative Bouguer anomaly is coincident with the fluorine zone. It is suggested that the regional geochemical pattern is related to a small granite boss protruding from the larger Wensleydale granite.
Geochemistry and tectonic significance of the Lower Carboniferous Cockermouth lavas, Cumbria
Authors: MACDONALD R. , WALKER B. H.
Published: December 2009

Dinantian volcanism in the Cockermouth area was associated with the initiation of the Northumberland Basin and was related to crustal attenuation resulting from lithospheric stretching. The sequence consists mainly of basalts of tholeiitic (quartz-normative) affinity, with minor tholeiitic andesites. The basaltic magmas were generated by variable degrees of partial melting of homogeneous mantle source rocks followed by fractional crystallization and final equilibration at high crustal levels. The tholeiitic andesites probably indicate the establishment of high level magma chambers. The intrusive basalts of Little Mell Fell are confirmed on chemical grounds as likely outliers of the Cockermouth lavas. There are also close compositional similarities with Dinantian lavas in Derbyshire and south and central Scotland, and with the Whin Sill magma type, indicating that changing tectonic conditions during the Carboniferous are not reflected in magma compositions. There is no evidence in magma chemistry that the Iapetus suture underlies the Northumberland Basin.
An interpretation of the trace fossil
Cochlichnus kochi
(Ludwig) from the East Pennine Coalfield of Britain
Authors: Elliott R. E.
Published: December 2009

Cochlichnus kochi
is common in well-laminated mudstones in the Westphalian of the East Pennine Coalfield of Britain; 189 specimens were examined and 70 measured. This trace-fossil is a sinuous endichnial tunnel less than 1 mm diameter following a straightish repichnial path. Snake-like locomotion is reviewed and the geometry of
C. kochi
approximates to that of repeated clothoid curves, the transition curve of railway engineers. These curves allowed efficient propulsion through watery surface muds to an animal with a ‘hydrostatic skeleton’, probably a nematode.