bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF PART OF THE SOUTH-EAST DURHAM COALFIELD
Authors: Magraw D. , Clarke A. M. , Smith D. B.
Published: December 2009

During the last few years, a geologically little known area of south-east Durham, lying between the worked area of the Durham coalfield and the West Hartlepool Fault, has been explored by a gravity survey and a series of boreholes, with a view to the possible siting of a new coal mine. This work has proved an extension of the Durham coalfield, lying in a downfolded area beneath Permian rocks and fairly thick glacial deposits in the neighbourhood of Dalton Piercy. Some thirty million tons of coal are probably present in seams in the
communis
Zone of the Durham Coal Measures, but these are unlikely to be economically workable at the present time. The six new bore-holes have been correlated with earlier boreholes in the Fishburn area to the west and with shafts and boreholes, including two of the recent offshore bore-holes, to the north and east. Additional data obtained from the cores of the Permian rocks have augmented earlier work and led to a clearer understanding of some outstanding problems, in particular the position within the sequence of the thick Hartlepool Anhydrite and its probable relationship to the Middle Magnesian Limestone reef of Durham. Two alternative interpretations of the structure are offered in the paper; one assumes the likely easterly continuation of the Butterknowle disturbance, and the other the termination of this fault by an extension of the north-south trending Castle Eden disturbance.
A RE-DESCRIPTION OF
NAUTILUS BISTRIALIS
PHILLIPS
Authors: Moore E. W. J.
Published: December 2009

Well-preserved material from the P
1a
reef limestones of Poolvash (Poyll Vaaish) in the Isle of Man, showing different growth stages, permits amplification of previous descriptions of
Nautilus bistrialis
Phillips. Details of the internal structure and the embryonic test ornament are now available. It is concluded that the genus
Bistrialites
Turner, 1954, which was founded on this species, is a junior synonym of
Liroceras
Teichert, 1940.
EVAPORITE DIAGENESIS IN THE LOWER PURBECK BEDS OF DORSET
Authors: West I. M.
Published: December 2009

Five stages have been determined in the diagenetic history of the calcium sulphate of beds of Lower Purbeck age in Dorset, particularly by reference to abundant pseudomorphs and other relict textures and structures preserved in late-formed gypsum and in secondary silica and calcite. The weight of overburden is thought to have controlled the changes, Occurrences are described of minerals, including celestite, calciostrontianite, lutecite and quartz, remaining after the removal in solution of gypsum. A description is also given of secondary limestones which occur particularly in the Caps and Broken Beds. They are shown to be almost entirely replacements of original sulphate deposits.
THE RADIOACTIVE CONTENT OF THE COAL MEASURES SEDIMENTS IN THE YORKSHIRE–DERBYSHIRE COALFIELD
Authors: Knowles B.
Published: December 2009

Measurements of the radioactivity of a large number of samples of marine and non-marine sediments in the Yorkshire-Derbyshire coalfield have been made and the results analysed statistically. Phosphate, carbonaceous and potassium contents have been determined and the relationship between these and the radioactivity examined. Alpha track data were obtained by autoradiography.

The results show that of the marine bands only the Alton and the Mansfield are consistently and markedly radioactive. The high levels of radioactivity are commonly associated with phosphate in the form of collophane and with certain types of carbonaceous and bituminous matter. For the Alton Marine Band in particular there are close correlations between these constituents and the beta-radioactivity. The conditions of deposition of the highly radioactive marine sediments are discussed.

In the sediments where the radioactivity is low, the isotope K
40
is the most important source of beta-radioactivity. The low uranium-thorium content is mainly disseminated through the fine-grained constituents and there are only rare occurrences of highly radioactive constituents in the form of organic matter or zircon.
GEOCHEMICAL DIAGNOSIS OF FACIES
Authors: Krejci-Graf K.
Published: December 2009

Geochemistry may help in the diagnosis of facies, especially where petrography or palaeontology alone are unable to answer questions of genesis or environment. Apart from fundamental genetic relations, accidental connections between geochemistry and local conditions of facies or horizon may sometimes be of use within limited regions in practical geology.
THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INTERNAL SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES OF TURBIDITES
Authors: Walker R. G.
Published: December 2009

The hydrodynamic conditions controlling deposition from turbidity currents are examined and reasons are suggested for the formation or absence of each of Bouma’s five intervals (1962, p. 49). The factors which affect the grain distribution within turbidity currents are discussed and four different types of current are suggested. The nature of the graded division depends upon the type of current from which it formed, but the nature of the other divisions depends mainly on the hydrodynamic conditions existing at the bed-current interface rather than on the current as a whole. The lower laminated division and current rippled division are compared with bed configurations described by Simons
et al.
(1961) from flume experiments. It is suggested that the upper laminated division was formed by the separation of mixed grains as they settled at different velocities through a laminar boundary layer. The origin of “cut-out” and “truncated” sequences is also discussed and it is tentatively suggested that these may prove to have a palaeogeographical significance.
THE PERMO-TRIASSIC ROCKS AROUND KIRKBY STEPHEN, WESTMORLAND
Authors: Burgess I. C.
Published: December 2009

Two brockrams occur in the Permo-Triassic sequence. The lower, of Penrith Sandstone age, infills hollows in the pre-New Red Sandstone landscape; the upper is a northward-thinning wedge intercalated with St. Bees Shales. Beds of the intervening Hilton Series, which are seen at four hitherto unrecorded localities, include dolomitic limestone containing fossils of Upper Magnesian Limestone age. The St. Bees Shales overlap the earlier rocks eastwards on to the underlying Carboniferous.
THE PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS OF HOLDERNESS, EAST YORKSHIRE
Authors: Catt J. A. , Penny L. F.
Published: December 2009

The Holderness tills are described, and grouped into two series: the Basement Series below, and the Drab-Purple-Hessle Series above. The Basement Till is shown to underlie (and not overlie as was formerly supposed) the Sewerby raised beach, which is considered to belong to the Last Interglacial. The Basement Till was therefore deposited during the Saale Glaciation or earlier, and the Bridlington Crag (which has been rediscovered after being hidden for sixty years) may thus be of Holstein (Great Interglacial) age or earlier. The Drab-Purple-Hessle Series is considered to have been deposited from one composite ice sheet of Würm age, probably Main Würm, and the “moss silts” which underlie it at Dimlington are placed in a Würm interstadial. The Early Würm may be represented by the solifluction bed at Sewerby. The Kelsey Hill Gravels, the Kirmington silts and the Speeton Shell Bed are reassessed, and their position in the chronology is discussed.
OUTLINE GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTHERN NORTH SEA BASIN
Authors: Kent P. E.
Published: December 2009

The address outlines the geological results of exploration for natural gas in the southern North Sea Basin as derived from geophysical surveys and deep drilling operations.

The greater part of the marine area is stratigraphically comparable with the landward continuation of the basin in northern Germany. Marine Tertiary is well developed; the Trias includes a representative of Muschelkalk and the Permian is bipartite, with a Zechstein including thick evaporites overlying the Rotliegendes.

True folding is very gentle, deep-seated folds and faults trending predominantly north-west–south-east (in the west) and north–south (in the east). A major phase of movement occurred in pre-Aptian times, resulting in widespread transgression of late Cretaceous on to early Jurassic and Triassic rocks. The dominant tectonic feature is the widespread development of halokinetic structures due to movement of Zechstein salt, the forms varying from pillows to diapiric salt plugs. This movement began in the Triassic and continued through Jurassic, Mesozoic and Tertiary times.
AN UNUSUAL GLAUCONITE ASSOCIATED WITH HYDROCARBON IN REEF-LIMESTONES, NEAR CASTLETON, DERBYSHIRE
Authors: Harrison R. K. , Stevenson I. P. , Young B. R. , Sergeant G. A.
Published: December 2009

Green, dioctahedral, iron-poor, aluminous glauconite, associated with solid hydrocarbon, occurs in stylolites and intra-rubble, scaly aggregates in proximity to fluorite-galena-sphalerite-baryte-calcite scrins and veins in apron-reef limestones of B
2
age, in Cave Dale and Odin Vein near Castleton, Derbyshire. The glauconite [K
1.31
Na
0.02
Ca
0.01
(A1
2.59
Fe‴
0.12
Fe″
0.43
Mg
0.93
Ti
0.01
V‴
0.12
Cr
0.03
Mn
0.001
) (Si
7.26
Al
0.71
B
0.03
) O
20
(OH)
4
] is a type 1M polymorph. An epigenetic origin is indicated by the mineral paragenesis and mode of occurrence. The mineralization probably occurred at relatively low temperatures since the fluorite accompanying the glauconite is purple. Reef-limestone lithology and a contemporaneous impermeable shale cover probably controlled the mineralization. Microstylolites facilitated the entry of hydrocarbons and, to a less extent, glauconite, perhaps as fluids, the end-products of the higher temperature galena-sphalerite-colourless fluorite mineralization in the area.
A BOULDER BED AT TREAK CLIFF, NORTH DERBYSHIRE
Authors: Simpson I. M. , Broadhurst F. M.
Published: December 2009

A boulder bed at the junction of the Dinantian Carboniferous Limestone and overlying shales is visible at various localities on and near Treak Cliff, Castleton, Derbyshire. Fissures were developed locally in limestones beneath the boulder bed and these fissures together with cavities in the lower part of the boulder bed were later occupied by hydrocarbons and mineral deposits (chiefly fluorite). The present irregular topography of the area approximates to the surface on which the boulder bed was formed.
A LOWER LLANVIRN GRAPTOLITE FAUNA FROM THE SKIDDAW SLATES, WESTMORLAND
Authors: Skevington D.
Published: December 2009

The Wet Sleddale extension of Manchester Corporation’s Haweswater scheme in Westmorland included the excavation of an aqueduct tunnel to the west of Shap village and entirely within the Skiddaw Slates of the Bampton Inlier. Excavated materials have provided abundant, well-preserved graptolites of late
Didymograptus bifidus
Zone (Lower Llanvirn) age and their description complements the revision by Jackson (1962) of the graptolite faunas, earlier than the
D. bifidus
Zone, of the Skiddaw Slates.

Twenty-seven species and subspecies belonging to at least nine, and possibly eleven, genera have been recovered. Two new species are described:
Diplograptus hollingworthi
sp. nov. and
Climacograptus tailbertensis
sp. nov.

Important features of the fauna include the dominance of biserial graptolites and the paucity of specimens referable to the several pendent species of
Didymograptus.
The extreme rarity of
Didymograptus bifidus
(J. Hall) is adduced as further evidence in support of the claim that the
D. bifidus
Zone of North America does not correlate with the British
D. bifidus
Zone.
POLYPHASE MINERALIZATION IN CHERT FROM THE ASHFORD BLACK MARBLE MINE, DERBYSHIRE
Authors: Orme G. R. , Ford T. D.
Published: December 2009

Banded chert, composed of silicified biomicrite, from the Black Marble Mine at Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire, is traversed by two penecontemporaneous sets of silica veins and one of fluorite-bearing calcite. The silica veins are mainly composed of chalcedony. Those of the first set are associated with displacement of the chert and locally contain angular fragments of unsilicified limestone. They widen to enclose drusy quartz mosaics, and connect broader areas in which there are cavities infilled by calcite in an envelope of chalcedony. Such cavernous areas are characterized by geopetal, recrystallization, and replacement fabrics which are probably contemporaneous with those of the fluorite-bearing calcite veins. The complex paragenesis was concluded by the formation of replacement dolomite rhombs. Some comparisons are made with nearby quartzose limestones.
QUATERNARY DEPOSITS AT OXBOW OPENCAST COAL SITE IN THE AIRE VALLEY, YORKSHIRE
Authors: Gaunt G. D. , Coope G. R. , Franks J. W.
Published: December 2009

Silts, sands and gravels below the floodplain of the river Aire at Oxbow opencast coal site are described and interpreted. A Lower Sand and Gravel resting on Coal Measures is thought to have had a fluvial origin and to be probably of Weichselian age. The flora and insect fauna of the succeeding Lower Silt indicate a tundra environment and a mammoth tusk from this deposit has yielded a radiocarbon date of about 38,600 years B.P.

The characteristics of the overlying Middle Sand and Gravel suggest glacio-fluvial deposition, and it is considered that this deposit and the local terrace deposits may be “outwash” from the Weichselian Aire valley glacier. The flora of the succeeding Middle Silt also suggests a tundra environment.

A rockhead ridge associated with an anticline in the Coal Measures has affected the deposition and subsequent disposition of the deposits below the Middle Silt. This anticlinal ridge is considered to be a cryoturbation structure.

The Upper Sand and Gravel rests unconformably on the Middle Silt and Middle Sand and Gravel. It is of Flandrian age on the basis of its flora, which includes assemblages correctable with zone VI (later Boreal) and with zone VIIb (Sub-Boreal) or zone VIII (Sub-Atlantic). The succeeding Upper Silt forms the present floodplain surface.
STONE ORIENTATION AND STONE COUNT DATA FROM THE LOWER TILL SHEET, EASTERN DURHAM
Authors: Beaumont P.
Published: December 2009

Although numerous glacial striae have been observed in upland areas where the glacial deposits are thin, relatively few records of their occurrence are known from the thickly drift-covered parts of eastern Durham, and those that have been described present no consistent pattern of ice movement. The study of samples from the Lower Till sheet of east Durham by both stone orientation analysis and stone count analysis indicates a general direction of ice movement from west-north-west to east-south-east. The results illustrate the value of using different and unrelated techniques in the solution of glacial problems.
THE ST. BEES EVAPORITES—A CARBONATE-EVAPORITE FORMATION OF UPPER PERMIAN AGE IN WEST CUMBERLAND, ENGLAND
Authors: Arthurton R. S. , Hemingway J. E.
Published: December 2009

Three cycles of carbonate-evaporite rocks, principally dolomite and anhydrite, were formed in the St. Bees Head–Egremont area of West Cumberland in Upper Permian times. Miospores and macrofauna from the lower two cycles indicate an approximate correlation with the EZ
1
, and EZ
2
cycles of the English Zechstein. The deposits appear to have been laid down on a tectonically active platform of Carboniferous rocks flanking the Lower Palaeozoic Lake District massif, and marginal to the Manx–Furness sedimentary basin. In each cycle a transgressive and a regressive phase are recognized. The criteria upon which this recognition is based are described and discussed, along with those employed in the interpretation of sedimentary environment. The case for a thickening of the formation towards the centre of the Manx–Furness basin is argued.
A NOTE ON THE BIOSTRATIGRAPHICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOWER CRETACEOUS BELEMNITE GENUS
AULACOTEUTHIS
IN THE B BEDS OF THE SPEETON CLAY, YORKSHIRE
Authors: Rawson P. F.
Published: December 2009

Bed-by-bed collecting through part of the Speeton Clay B Beds has shown that the distinctive, deeply-grooved belemnite genus
Aulacoteuthis
is limited to a thin series of beds at the top of Lower B and the base of the Cement Beds, and therefore provides a useful biostratigraphical marker horizon in a part of the Speeton section conspicuously lacking in ammonites.
THE BASE OF THE VISÉAN IN SOUTH-WEST AND NORTH-WEST ENGLAND
Authors: Mitchell M.
Published: December 2009

The lower Viséan macrofaunas of the N.W. Province are compared with those from the S.W. Province. Evidence is given to support the suggestion first made by Hudson and Dunnington (1945) that the base of the Viséan in the S.W. Province should be placed at the base of the Gully (=
Caninia
) Oolite (or Sub-Oolite Bed where present). The details of the beds at the Tournaisian–Viséan boundary are largely obscured by dolomitization in the S.W. Province but the lowest Viséan beds are thought to be missing. In addition, the top part of the beds of Tournaisian age in the Burrington Combe succession can be shown to be missing at Bristol where the Tournaisian–Viséan boundary is marked by a non-sequence.
A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGY OF DURHAM CITY
Authors: Whitworth T. A.
Published: December 2009

Recent construction work at Durham City, in the vicinity of the Cathedral, Palace Green, Hatfield College, Kingsgate Bridge and New Elvet, has yielded additional geological information concerning the stratigraphy of the Coal Measures and superficial deposits of that area. The data also suggest an interpretation of the structure of the Cathedral peninsula alternative to that recently propounded by Smith and Francis (1967), but supporting the views of Hindson and Hopkins (1947).
THE GEOLOGY AND ORIGIN OF THE SILVER PIT AND OTHER CLOSED BASINS IN THE NORTH SEA
Authors: Donovan D. T.
Published: December 2009

The Silver Pit, in the south-western North Sea, is shown to be a closed trench-like depression cut through till of Weichselian age. Its deeper southern part penetrates marine interglacial deposits below the till. The floor of the pit is probably of Chalk partly covered by Recent sediments. Other trench-like features (Sole Pit, Coal Pit, Well Hole) are described briefly and thought to be sufficiently similar to Silver Pit to imply a similar origin.

Two hypotheses of origin of these closed depressions are considered: by subglacial stream erosion (tunnel valleys) and by tidal scour during an early post-glacial low sea level. Neither hypothesis appears to be wholly satisfactory by itself, and the possibility of a composite origin is mentioned.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOINTS IN PRE-CAMBRIAN, LOWER PALAEOZOIC AND CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS IN THE WEST MIDLANDS OF ENGLAND
Authors: Moseley F. , Ahmed S. M.
Published: December 2009

Joint measurements were made in three northerly trending fold structures in the English Midlands, with the principal object of studying the relationships between joints in Pre-Cambrian, Lower Palaeozoic and Carboniferous rocks which had been subjected to similar folding processes. It was noted that the joints were nearly always perpendicular to bedding except in the Pre-Cambrian volcanic rocks, and, further, it was found that the joints were related to local rather than regional structures and tended to change orientation in sympathy with changes in bedding dip. It is concluded that wrench type joints tend to develop at deeper structural levels whereas at higher levels in the same fold tensional strike and dip joints are formed. There is no direct evidence from these areas that the joints above an unconformity are inherited from those below, and joint parallelism, where it occurs, can easily be explained by posthumous fold movements in which younger rocks have the same fold axes and directions of dip as the older rocks. It is suggested that the north trending Midland structures are part of a wider pattern, extending over much of England and Wales, which was initiated in Pre-Cambrian times.
REFLECTIVITY AND ANISOTROPY OF VITRINITES IN SOME COAL SCARES FROM THE COAL MEASURES OF NORTHUMBERLAND
Authors: Jones J. M. , Murchison D. G. , Saleh S. A.
Published: December 2009

The pattern of variation of reflectivities and bireflectances in vitrinites of low bituminous rank in coal scares from the Middle Coal Measures (Westphalian) of Northumberland has been examined in relation to the angle which the scares and the vitrinite banding make with the sedimentary bedding. The normal uniaxial negative optical character of the vitrinites is maintained when the scare margins and the edges of the vitrinite bands are parallel to the stratification, with the isotropic section in the plane of the bands. However, when the scare and the banding are in a vertical position, the optical properties of the vitrinites appear similar to those of biaxial materials. This pattern of variation can be attributed primarily to overburden pressure which, when the vitrinite bands depart from parallelism with the stratification, distorts both the form anisotropy and the specific anisotropy of the aromatic lamellae that constitute the greater part of the molecular structures of the vitrinites at this level of coalification.
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE OF THE MIDDLE JURASSIC STRATA OF THE YORKSHIRE BASIN OF NORTH-EAST ENGLAND
Authors: Hemingway J. E. , O’B. Knox R. W.
Published: December 2009

Changes in the lithostratigraphical nomenclature of the Middle Jurassic strata of north-east Yorkshire are proposed which avoid the genetic connotations of existing terms such as Estuarine Series and Deltaic Series and which eliminate certain equivocal aspects of previous nomenclatures. A new marine unit has been recognized which is believed to include the beds previously described as the Hydraulic Limestone.
THE SANDRINGHAM SANDS OF NORFOLK
Authors: Casey R. , Gallois R. W.
Published: December 2009

Improved knowledge of the stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Sandringham Sands of Norfolk permits the recognition of four divisions, named in ascending order: Roxham Beds (Middle Volgian), Runcton Beds (Upper Volgian), Mintlyn Beds (Ryazanian) and Leziate Beds (Valanginian). These marine strata span the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary and represent the interval during which the topmost Portland Beds, the Purbeck Beds and the Hastings Beds of southern England were accumulated. The Sandringham Sands rest disconformably on the Kimmeridge Clay and nodule-beds and erosion surfaces mark the lower and upper limits of the Runcton Beds. Palaeontologically the Mintlyn Beds can be divided into a lower set of strata with
Hectoroceras
(unique in western Europe), preserved mainly at West Dereham, and an upper set with
Surites
and allies found in the King’s Lynn area. Strata above the Leziate Beds formerly included in the Sandringham Sands are united with the Snettisham Clay under the new name Dersingham Beds, which comprise an interfingering complex of marine Hauterivian–Barremian sands, silts and clays roughly equivalent in age to the Weald Clay of the south. Interpretation of the whole sequence is complicated by lateral changes in lithology, intraformational erosion and by regional overstep of the Carstone.
LOWER BORDER GROUP (TOURNAISIAN) FLUVIO-DELTAIC SEDIMENTATION AND PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND BASIN
Authors: Leeder M. R.
Published: December 2009

Lower Border Group (Tournaisian) successions in the Northumberland basin are divided into seven formations. Only broad correlation between laterally equivalent formations is possible owing to facies changes. Facies association 1 comprises thick, erosive-based sandstones of meandering fluviatile and delta-distributary channel origin. Facies association 2 comprises coarsening-upwards shale to sandstone subfacies deposited in lacustrine, pro-delta, delta-front and marginal delta embayment environments. Facies association 3 comprises alternating thinly-bedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and carbonate subfacies deposited in interior fluviatile flood basins, coastal plain flood basins and playa-lakes and on-delta backswamps.

Palaeocurrent evidence indicates river and delta influxes from the north-west and the north-east. The Whita fluvio-deltaic system drained from Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary source-lands in the Southern Uplands to the north and north-west. Clastic input from this system had almost ceased by the end of Tournaisian times. The Bewcastle deltaic system advanced along the axis of the Northumberland basin from the north-east during the later Tournaisian. Each delta advance (thirteen in all) closed off and then infilled a shallow embayment, the Newcastleton embayment, located north of the axis of active delta-front sedimentation. Advance of both delta systems into the basin was periodic, with gulf carbonate facies deposited during periods of delta absence. Detailed study of the facies deposited by a single advance of the Bewcastle delta system indicates: (1) delta advance into relatively shallow waters (2) development of delta-front sheet sands
and
interdistributary bay deposits (3) temporary abandonment of a portion of the delta-front and (4) absence of tidal and wave current modifications to the advancing and retreating delta-fronts.

During Lower Border Group tune the Northumberland basin was bounded by land areas to the north and south. The Whita and other fluvial systems deposited thick alluvial wedges of sediment at points along the northern basin margin. These indicate a general southerly palaeoslope over much of the Southern Uplands area.
THE MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC SUCCESSION AT BOLTBY MOOR, NEAR THIRSK, YORKSHIRE
Authors: Senior J. R.
Published: December 2009

A number of new sections in Callovian and Lower Oxfordian strata were exposed on the western slope of the Hambleton Hills at Boltby Moor, near Thirsk, in 1967. The succession from the Upper Deltaic Series to the Lower Calcareous Grit is described and compared with other better known localities in Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay contained a prolific ammonite fauna at one horizon and proved to have the unexpectedly large thickness of about 35 metres.
A NEW SECTION IN THE LINCOLNSHIRE LIMESTONE OF SOUTH HUMBERSIDE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Authors: Ashton M.
Published: December 2009

A new section near Kirton-in-Lindsey has exposed the lower units of the Lincolnshire Limestone which have previously been only poorly exposed. In particular, the little-understood Raventhorpe Beds are seen to be an inter-digitating sequence of oolitic limestones and clastic-rich, impure limestones. The measured section is described and the broader implications of the facies variants are briefly discussed.

The nomenclature of the Lower Lincolnshire Limestone on South Humber-side is reviewed and a formalised terminology proposed.
A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE OCCURRENCE OF MINOR SEDIMENTARY CYCLES IN THE ‘MIDDLE WHITE LIMESTONE’ (D
1
, LOWER CARBONIFEROUS) OF NORTH WALES
Authors: Power G. , Somerville I. D.
Published: December 2009

A sedimentary cyclicity is recognised in the “Middle White Limestone” (D
1
, Lower Carboniferous) of North Wales. This has enabled a provisional correlation to be made between Anglesey and Llangollen, and lateral lithological variations to be identified. Comparison with the Settle and Bristol areas suggests that minor cycles could be of value in regional correlation.
THE SEDIMENTARY HISTORY OF A DELTA LOBE FROM A YOREDALE (CARBONIFEROUS) CYCLOTHEM
Authors: Elliott T.
Published: December 2009

A delta lobe has been recognised in the Great Limestone (Yoredale) cyclothem over an area of approximately 700 square kilometres in the northern Pennines (Weardale to Stainmore). The lobe occupies the entire clastic interval of the cyclothem and has a complex history of sedimentation involving four distinct phases. The
coastal plain phase
includes small-scale fluvial channels, and a mudstone-spiculite chert association deposited in a shallow, shoreline bay. This phase preceded lobe development in the Stainmore Trough and was terminated by a localised transgression. In the upstream and intermediate lobe area, the
progradational phase
consists of small-scale coarsening upwards sequences which represent the repeated infilling of an extensive interdistributary bay by levees, crevasse splays, sand spits and minor mouth bars. Small-scale (crevasse) channels and larger-scale (distributary) channels are associated with these sequences. Farther south the progradational phase comprises a single large-scale coarsening upwards sequence which represents progradation of a river-dominated (mouth bar) shoreline over offshore muds. During the
abandonment phase,
a thin marker horizon accumulated, comprising coal in the upstream area (widespread marsh development) and fossiliferous sandstone, mudstone and limestone towards the shoreline (reworking and normal sedimentation). This horizon reflects slow deposition rates related to conditions of minimal sediment supply and subsidence. In the
post-abandonment phase,
sediment supply recommenced and a barrier island—lagoon complex was established on the abandoned lobe. The lagoon facies include small-scale coarsening upwards sequences formed during infilling, in one case by washover fans. The barrier is made up of medium-scale, wave-dominated coarsening upwards sequences which demonstrate contrasted migration trends equivalent in time along the barrier.
SOME SEDIMENTOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF A FALL IN THE LEVEL OF HAWESWATER, CUMBRIA
Authors: Donovan R. N. , Archer R.
Published: December 2009

During the autumn of 1973 a fall in the level of Haweswater led to the development of multiple shorelines of regression and to the formation of surfaces of subaerial desiccation. Rivers adjusting to the new base level transported coarse debris on to the exposed lake floor. Wave action removed sand both from the resulting deltas and from the lake shorelines, distributing it along the new, lower lake shore.

Where the depositional slope was greater than 5 degrees an orientated orthogonal desiccation crack pattern formed, whilst on slopes of less than 5 degrees the crack pattern was not orientated. Desiccation crack density was greatest where mud thickness was least.
WATER TEMPERATURES IN THE LIMESTONE AREAS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PENNINES
Authors: Pitty A. F.
Published: December 2009

In the Carboniferous Limestone area of the central and southern Pennines, temperatures of emerging groundwaters and their geographical pattern reveal characteristics of water movement underground. Factors influencing water temperatures are discussed, the implications of a time lag between antecedent air temperatures and water temperatures considered and the effectiveness of this lag as an index in groundwater studies evaluated. The gross permeability of limestones in north-west Yorkshire is greater than that in Derbyshire, the rate of flows in sink-resurgence systems taking 1.4 times longer in Derbyshire than in Yorkshire.
AN EXPOSURE OF UPPER OXFORDIAN CLAYS IN THE VALE OF PICKERING, YORKSHIRE
Authors: Pyrah Barbara J.
Published: December 2009

A section in the Vale of Pickering showing Upper Oxfordian clays is recorded. Previously clays of this age (between the Corallian Beds (Oxfordian) below and the Kimmeridge Clay (Kimmeridgian) above) have been identified in boreholes only.
CLAY-WITH-FLINTS ON THE YORKSHIRE AND LINCOLNSHIRE WOLDS
Authors: Matthews B.
Published: December 2009

Clay-with-flints occurs as isolated patches in solution hollows in the chalk of the Yorkshire Wolds and beneath glacial till in Lincolnshire. The clay may be partly the insoluble residue of chalk left after long-continued chemical weathering in a Tertiary or Interglacial warm period and is now part or all of a paleosol. It contains white ‘sugary’ flints, which may have been strongly weathered under a climate warmer than the present one. The deposits on the Yorkshire Wolds lie outside the mapped limit of the Devensian ice-sheet and probably have survived because of their situation in solution hollows. Overlying intermixed clay-with-flints and glacial drift have splinters of flint, suggesting that this deposit was affected by a climate comparable with that in the present arctic deserts of northern Quebec, Canada.
MAJOR CYCLES OF TRANSGRESSION AND REGRESSION (MESOTHEMS) IN THE NAMURIAN
Authors: Ramsbottom W. H. C.
Published: December 2009

Some general principles about sedimentation resulting from major eustatic cycles in the Dinantian are applied to a reinterpretation of north of England Namurian successions in terms of major cycles of transgression and regression. Significant faunal renewals occur immediately subsequent to the development of more than usual regressive features. Eleven major cycles are distinguished in the Namurian of Britain. Such cycles are unconformity-bounded on shelf or ‘block’ areas (where the basal faunas of each major cycle are missing) and the term mesothem is recommended for them. A brief survey suggests that these cycles are widely applicable in the northern hemisphere and are of eustatic origin. Their significance in terms of a proposed new generally-applicable stratigraphical boundary in the middle of the Namurian is discussed.
THE CORNBRASH FORMATION (CALLOVIAN) IN NORTH YORKSHIRE AND CLEVELAND
Authors: Wright J. K.
Published: December 2009

The Cornbrash Formation comprises two main units together forming one marine cycle—the Cornbrash Limestone followed by the Shales of the Cornbrash. The formation is the expression in the Yorkshire Jurassic of the world-wide marine transgression which began in the Lower Callovian. This study concentrates on the petrographical aspects of the Cornbrash Limestone Member. Brief discussions of the palaeoecology of the Cornbrash Limestone and the sedimentology of the Shales of the Cornbrash are also given.

Contrary to previously held opinion, the Cornbrash Limestone does not form one homogeneous unit. At the most complete sections on the coast, it is made up of four units differing markedly in petrology and thus in environment of deposition. Study of the relations of the four units along the coast and inland shows that the Callovian transgression was a gradual, step by step process, with frequent halts and periods of erosion.
BRAIDED RIVER BEDFORMS AND RELATED SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES IN THE FELL SANDSTONE GROUP (LOWER CARBONIFEROUS) OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND
Authors: Hodgson A. V.
Published: December 2009

The Lower Carboniferous Fell Sandstone Group in northern Northumberland is composed of lenticular or sheet-like bodies of cross-stratified quartz arenites which alternate with shales and ripple-laminated siltstones. Although correlation is difficult due to the lack of fossils or marker horizons, those exposures described can be fixed stratigraphically by reference to the overlying Scremerston Coal Group.

The sedimentary structures and bedforms developed in the sandstones include unimodal trough and tabular cross-stratification, channel fills with penecontemporaneous deformation structures, and dunes complete forms of which are preserved in some cases. These features are characteristic of deposition at and near the boundary between the lower and upper flow regimes, where small fluctuations in gradient, flow stage and discharge migration may radically alter the style and type of deposition. The depositional environment is interpreted as alternating between low-gradient meandering and higher-gradient braided perennial rivers, with variable discharge, in channel systems several kilometres wide.

The relatively low variation in lithology, sedimentary structures and palaeoenvironments of the Fell Sandstone, compared to groups above and below, indicates relatively stable depositional conditions. Lower formations show meandering fluvio-lacustrine deposition, while coals and marine transgressive deposits above reflect the infilling of the Northumberland Basin. A comprehensive study of the whole basin is urged.
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ON THE ABRASION OF DETRITAL QUARTZ GRAINS
Authors: ROBSON D. A.
Published: December 2009

Grains of quartz sand were treated to varying degrees of abrasion in the laboratory. After abrasion by violent oscillation of the grains in air they show extensive chipping. After the same treatment in water the grains became cracked, scaled and finally rounded; still further oscillation produced more scaling. Grains which are abraded by rolling in air and in water over much longer periods of time exhibit changes similar to those seen in the initial stages of violent oscillation.
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE CHALK IN NORTH YORKSHIRE, HUMBERSIDE AND LINCOLNSHIRE
Authors: WOOD C. J. , SMITH E. G.
Published: December 2009

It has long been known that the Chalk of England north of the Wash is materially different from that of the southern counties, and it is now generally accepted that the two successions belong to separate depositional provinces. The standard tripartite classification of the Chalk into Lower, Middle and Upper divisions derives from the southern succession, and its use in the north cannot be justified on either lithological or palaeontological grounds. Indeed these divisions have confused and unsatisfactory definitions in southern England.

It is proposed that the Chalk of northern England should be regarded as a lithostratigraphical group consisting of four formations (in ascending order the Ferriby, Welton, Burnham and Flamborough Chalk Formations). The Ferriby Chalk Formation includes the Red Chalk, which will no longer have any formal status. There is little detailed knowledge of the Flamborough Chalk Formation, but the three lower formations are remarkably constant throughout the region, so that, for instance, marl bands a centimetre or two thick and individual flint horizons can be correlated from Flamborough Head to the Louth area of Lincolnshire. The boundaries of the formations are described in some detail and are shown to be mappable horizons.
CYCLIC SEDIMENTATION IN THE HOLKERIAN (MIDDLE VISEAN) NORTH OF SETTLE, YORKSHIRE
Authors: JEFFERSON D. P.
Published: December 2009

Studies of the Horton Limestone (Holkerian) on the Askrigg Block, involving quantitative analysis of thin sections taken throughout the sequence, indicate a cyclic character to the conditions of deposition of the limestone. Eight ‘minor cycles’ have been identified in the top 78 metres of the Holkerian. These cycles are compared with those present in the overlying Kingsdale Limestone (Asbian). Stratigraphic correlation within the area studied is shown to be possible by use of the cycles.
CONODONT FAUNAS AND AGE OF THE RAYGILL QUARRY LIMESTONES (EMBSAY LIMESTONE), LOTHERSDALE, YORKSHIRE
Authors: METCALFE I.
Published: December 2009

The conodont faunas of the Raygill Quarry limestones represent the
Gnathodus homopunctatus
and
Gnathodus commutatus
Zones and are of Chadian to Arundian age. The base of the Arundian, as indicated by the first archaediscid foraminifera, occurs some 45 metres below the top of the section. Many of the conodonts in the limestones, particularly in the upper 25 metres, appear to be reworked. The Raygill limestones correlate very well, both lithologically and faunally, with the Embsay Limestone of the Skipton Anticline and it is suggested that the strata in Raygill Quarry should be classified as Embsay Limestone.
ASBIAN AND HOLKERIAN FORAMINIFERA FROM THE BECKERMONDS SCAR BOREHOLE
Authors: STRANK ANGELA R. E.
Published: December 2009

Foraminiferal analysis of the Beckermonds Scar Borehole to a depth of 200.08 m revealed an abundant faunal assemblage ranging from late Asbian to Holkerian. From rock head to 109 m an Asbian fauna was encountered but from 110 m to the top of the Ashfell Sandstone at 200.08 m a characteristic shallow water Holkerian assemblage occurred containing
Rhodesinella avonensis.
The foraminifera observed correlated very well with those found in the Asbian stratotype section at Little Asby Scar and with other sections examined from the Askrigg Block.
THE OCCURRENCE OF
DISCINISCA
ON
DACRYOMYA OVUM:
AN EXAMPLE OF COMMENSALISM FROM THE UPPER LIAS OF YORKSHIRE
Authors: WATSON JOHN S.
Published: December 2009

The occurrence of the inarticulate brachiopod
Discinisca infraoolithica
Rolliere in the Upper Lias Alum Shales of the Whitby area is described. It appears that a commensal relationship existed between
Discinisca
and the bivalve
Dacryomya ovum
(J. de C. Sowerby) to which it attached itself. The brachiopod obtained a firm substrate for attachment and a possible source of food.
Dacryomya
does not seem to have gained or suffered as a result of the association.
THE LOWER OXFORDIAN (UPPER JURASSIC) OF NORTH YORKSHIRE
Authors: WRIGHT J. K.
Published: December 2009

Sedimentation during the Lower Oxfordian in North Yorkshire proceeded in two contrasting phases. The first, a shallow water sedimentation phase of the
scarburgense
Subzone age, was succeeded by deeper water conditions as the Callovian/Oxfordian transgression reached its maximum extent and the Oxford Clay facies reached the area. The second phase reversed this situation, with the gradual silting up of the basin, the accumulation of large thicknesses of
Rhaxella
spiculite (Lower Calcareous Grit), and then a gradual change to oolite sedimentation at various parts of the basin. A major non-sequence beneath the
cordatum
Subzone sediments results in the
costicardia
Subzone being absent from large areas. At the close of the Lower Oxfordian, the major part of North Yorkshire was undergoing oolite sedimentation.

North Yorkshire comprises the type area of the Oxfordian Stage, and, as such, yields excellent representatives of the ammonite faunas which characterise the five subzones of the Lower Oxfordian. Many of these species are figured here, often for the first time from North Yorkshire.
Cross-bedding in the Permian Yellow Sands of County Durham
Authors: Yardley M. J.
Published: December 2009

Cross-bedding analyses have been carried out on the Yellow Sands mound at Sherburn Hill, County Durham, with additional analyses being made on the nearby developments at Quarrington and Ferryhill. Measurements indicate that sediment-free winds came from the north-east (on present geography) with weaker, depositional and more persistent winds from points between north-west and east. Bimodal foreset directions are shown not to be the direct product of seif dunes but to result from the complex interaction of at least two separate transverse dune bedforms, one of which was migrational. Evidence is scant for static seif structure, but exposures on the windward sides of mounds do indicate very rare south-easterly winds depositing marginal large-scale north-facing foresets. Internally, therefore, the mounds are predominantly stationary transverse southward-facing bedforms.

Comparisons with other British Permo-Triassic deposits of known aeolian origin suggest that the Yellow Sands mounds are more complex than other described draa-scale aeolian bedforms. Nevertheless, despite the absence of documented modern analogues, the mounds are considered likely to be of aeolian origin, with their delicate lamination and absence of bioturbation and fossils precluding a marine origin.
‘S’ or ‘Z’ shaped coal seam splits in the Coal Measures of County Durham
Authors: Fielding C. R.
Published: December 2009

Coal seam splits, where a coal divides into two or more parts in the vertical plane, are common within the Westphalian Coal Measures of the Durham coalfield. In addition to simple and multiple branching types of coal seam split, a more unusual ‘double branching’, ‘S’ or ‘Z’ shaped style of splitting also occurs. An example of this last type, involving the Brockwell and Threequarter coals in south-west County Durham, is described in detail; it is attributed to differential subsidence patterns brought about by compaction of sequences variously dominated by peat, clay or sand.
Lithostratigraphy and depositional history of the late Toarcian sequence at Ravenscar, Yorkshire
Authors: O’B. Knox R. W.
Published: December 2009

A detailed examination of the late Toarcian beds of Ravenscar has shown that the traditional lithostratigraphical subdivisions do not adequately reflect the lithological sequence. A new subdivision is therefore proposed that is based on grain size and other lithological characters. At the formation level, the Blea Wyke Beds are renamed the Blea Wyke Sandstone Formation, and the base redefined to correspond to an upward increase in silt and sand content that separates dominantly silty beds below from dominantly sandy beds above. The underlying siltstones and mudstones are placed within the previously defined Whitby Mudstone Formation. At member level, the following units are proposed. The Peak Mudstone Member, whose base is defined by a sharp upward increase in silt and mica content, takes the place of the upper part of the Peak Shales and the lower part of the Striatulum Shales of previous authors. The Fox Cliff Siltstone Member (new name), whose base is defined by a sharp upward increase in coarse silt and fine sand content, takes the place of the upper part of the Striatulum Shales and the basal part of the Grey Beds of previous authors. The Grey Sandstone Member is equivalent to the middle and upper part of the Grey Beds, and the Yellow Sandstone Member is exactly equivalent to the Yellow Beds. Other lithological characters discussed in the text include the distribution and mineralogy of carbonate concretions, and the distribution of phosphate nodules.
Quantification of peat to coal compaction stages, based especially on phenomena in the East Pennine Coalfield, England
Authors: ELLIOTT R. E.
Published: December 2009

The ratio of thickness before compaction to thickness after compaction in the peat to coal series, is directly related to
in situ
moisture content by volume. Rheological parameters are greatly dependent on that moisture content and control the kind of distortion that took place during compaction. The resulting structures now enable compaction ratios to be determined and five stages to be recognised from near-floating vegetation in a forested swamp to bituminous coal. The stages are the accumulation of unloaded peat, forest loading, penecontemporaneous sediment loading, loading by the geological column and coalification by heat.
ROCKFILE: a computer-based system for the curation of rock specimens
Authors: GIBB F. G. F. , BOOTES P. A.
Published: December 2009

The computer-based system for the curation of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks (ROCKFILE) is designed to cater for collections that are, at least in part, highly mobile, such as those used for teaching. Its provisions include easy logging and editing of specimen records, listing of catalogues and rapid machine searching of the databases for specimens that satisfy specific criteria; this last facility eliminates the need for complex cross-referencing. In addition, it allows for the recording of geological as well as managerial information, a high degree of security, a unique specimen numbering system and multiple storage locations that are independent from the specimen numbers.
Mineralogy and diagenesis of Lower Jurassic sediments of the Lossiemouth borehole, north-east Scotland
Authors: Hurst A.
Published: December 2009

Sandstones in the Lossiemouth borehole have subarkosic and sublitharenitic compositions, and are thought to have been derived from a southerly source. Early diagenesis in sandstones took place in low ionic concentration waters which generated dissolution secondary porosity and formed kaolinite. Grain-coating illite/smectite and calcite are locally abundant early diagenetic cements. Illite and K-feldspar authigenesis post-dates kaolinite formation and may be associated with mineralisation. Quartz overgrowth is the final stage of diagenesis observed. Shales have an illite + chlorite mineralogy interpreted to be of detrital origin.