Earth Science Teachers' Association Annual Course and Conference

Friday 17th - Sunday 19th September, 2010

Hosted by the Department of Geology
University of Leicester

New! Sunday Timetable

Field trips

Geophysics – physics experiments in the open-air

This workshop will demonstrate common geophysical survey methods, with the opportunity for hands-on participation. This workshop will be held at the Environmental Geophysics Test Site at Leicester University, where we have buried a wide variety of objects to test geophysical equipment (and the expertise of the users!). The intended outcome is that participants will leave the workshop having gained direct experience of the methods, and will have an information pack containing a description of the methods, the basic physics behind the method, example data sets in Excel, and instructions for manipulating graphing and interpreting the data. They will also have the opportunity to make their own additional teaching resources by photographing the equipment, and themselves using it. Options to identify themselves with Time-Team are at the discretion of the participants! Waterproof clothes and notebooks are recommended – just in case. Estimated completion time 13.00.

Ian Hill is Senior Lecturer in Geophysics at Leicester, and Manager of the Environmental test site. In addition to long teaching experience, he has wide links with industry, and specialises in small-scale environmental and near-surface geophysics. He has developed his own geophysical survey system which is now commercially available (but not suitable for schools – this is not a commercial!).

A diversity of Jurassic sea floors: Tilton Railway cutting.

Dr Jan Zalasiewicz & Prof Dick Aldridge, Department of Geology, University of Leicester
The strata of Tilton Railway cutting provide a record of conditions when England was an archipelago of islands set amidst shallow seas, in the Early Jurassic Period.  The rocks in the cutting are evidence of dramatic environmental change, from conditions that supported prolific life, to those where the sea floor became inhospitable, devoid of multicellular life.  The rocks contain abundant fossils, including brachiopods, belemnites and ammonites, that allow these environmental changes and conditions to be charted.  Within them, there are also sedimentary structures and textures from which the physical and chemical conditions on that evolving sea floor may be recreated.  The successive palaeoenvironments that these strata represent form part of the deep time context within which modern environmental change must be placed, for this change to be effectively analysed and interpreted. Estimated completion time 13.30.

Jan Zalasiewicz is a senior lecturer in geology at the University of Leicester, and was formerly with the British Geological Survey. A field geologist, palaeontologist and stratigrapher, he teaches various aspects of geology and Earth history to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researches fossil ecosystems and environments spanning more than half a billion years of geological time.

Dick Aldridge is F. W. Bennett Professor of Geology at the University of Leicester and currently President of the Palaeontological Association.  His research interests have two main overlapping themes: the evolution and palaeobiology of early vertebrates, particularly conodonts, and exceptionally preserved Early Palaeozoic fossils.  He is a member of a Leicester University team collaborating with Chinese palaeontologists at Yunnan University in research on the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota, one of the most important fossil sites in the world.  He also leads a team working on the exceptionally preserved Upper Ordovician fossils from the Soom Shale of South Africa.

Bardon Quarry

Operated by Aggregate Industries, Bardon quarry is one of the country‟s largest hard rock quarrying operations. It is located near Coalville in Leicestershire, and at an elevation of 278 m it is the highest point in the county. The quarry dates back several hundred years with the earliest documented reference in 1622. It is a regionally important site and supplies aggregate to London and the south east. The site has its own processing plants and labs to test and ensure the material being produced meets the required standards.

Geologically it is thought that the rocks formed in a volcanic arc environment in the late Precambrian. These were uplifted to form a landmass and eroded before Triassic sediments were deposited on top - the Mercia Mudstone that forms the overburden at the quarry. As a result an unconformity between the two main units display wadi structures and in some places host copper and vanadium mineralisation.

It is a busy active site producing over 3 million tonnes of aggregate every year of which over a third is transported by rail and the rest by road. A new major development (extension) is planned and this has raised many environmental and social issues that will be discussed.

Kip Jeffrey is Senior Lecturer in Industrial Rocks and Minerals and Course Director for the Diamond Professional Certificate. He joined the Department in 1992 following ten years working in the industrial minerals industry. His current research involves aggregate deposit assessment, replacement fluorite mineralisation in the S.Pennine orefield and specialist clay deposits in Turkey. He continues to work on field assessment of aggregates, coloured gemstones and diamond deposits. He is on the Accreditation Committee of the Geological Society of London. In 2010 Kip was awarded a University Teaching Fellowship in recognition of in recognition of his ground breaking work in distance learning course design focussed on both student and employer needs.

Charnwood Forest

The Precambrian rocks of Charnwood Forest are world-famous amongst geologists as being the locality where Charnia fossils were first identified and described in unequivocally Precambrian rocks. These rocks are still important today, having yielded a significant proportion of the known fossils from the late-Precambrian Ediacaran Period.

This fieldtrip will show that the Precambrian, Cambrian and Triassic rocks of Charnwood Forest can be used for geological fieldwork at a range of levels. We will follow a route that we have used for outreach courses for GCSE-level students, showing that these rocks can be used for demonstrating geological concepts at this level (unconformity, age relations, bedding, cleavage) yet still contain features in volcaniclastic rocks that baffle the experts. The trip will culminate with an opportunity to locate Charnia fossils yourself on a well exposed bedding plane. Our aim is that this trip will give you enough background for you to confidently bring your own groups to visit this classic area.

Gawen Jenkin is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Geology and Schools Liaison Tutor for the Department of Geology. He teaches mineral deposit geology and ore genesis along with geological field skills. His research includes the origins of and exploration for gold mineralisation (Solomon Islands, Ghana and Scotland's first gold mine), CO₂ sequestration (United Arab Emirates), environmental effects of arsenic and palaeoclimate studies including the Precambrian of Ethiopia. He is has been involved in a number initiatives relating to geoscience education and was awarded a University Teaching Fellowship in recognition of his work in 2009.

Dave Holwell is a Lecturer in Applied and Environmental Geology in the Department of Geology, and joined the department in 2009 after several years as a consultant exploration geologist. He teaches modules involving ore deposits, exploration techniques, engineering geology and hydrogeology, together with the Arran field course. His research is centred around the origin and exploration for precious metal mineral deposits, including the huge platinum deposits of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, and the frontiers of current gold exploration in east Greenland. He currently holds the title of Barrick-SGA Young Scientist for outstanding contribution to the understanding of mineral deposits.

The Geology of the Sculptures of the Botanic Gardens

The sculptures from the exhibition 'Heart, Head and Hands' at the University of Leicester Botanic Garden in Oadby are an artistic spectacle, but look a little closer and there are other stories to be told - of rocks formed in warm shallow seas teeming with life or in the dark deep ocean; of rocks caught up between colliding continents and squeezed and cooked; of rocks crystallised in the searing heat of a magma chamber.

This will be a leisurely mini-field trip in beautiful surroundings. The aim is to explain what the rocks are that the sculptors chose to work on and how they formed and hopefully show that a little bit of geology can be learnt wherever there are rocks.

And it is not just the rocks, but the other materials in the sculptures that will be explored and explained ­ bronzes, steel and even plastics. These are also derived from rocks and an understanding of the materials used will enhance appreciation of the sculptures themselves.

Mike Lovell is professor of petrophysics at the University of Leicester. In 1984 he became involved in ocean drilling and this led to studies of gas hydrates in the laboratory and in situ. Mike’s research interests are varied and include the physical properties of ocean crust and hydrocarbon reservoirs. More recently he has returned to acoustics to investigate bio-inspiration in better characterising reservoir rocks. In addition he is keen on emphasising the importance of linking geology to petrophysical evaluations, and believes that field-based petrophysics teaching can often deliver a better understanding of petrophysical concepts and techniques.

The ESTA conference is sponsored by: