Deposits Earth Science Archive
An acclaimed international collection of articles and book reviews on fossils, geology, minerals, palaeontology and earth science
Deborah Painter (USA) On a cool, early December day in 2020, my friend David Hawk and I decided we simply had to search for fossils after not doing so for months, and also not be stopped by the chill or the coronavirus. Rather, we would prepare for both. We set … Read More
Paul D Taylor (UK) Many fossil collectors will have been disappointed to discover mollusc and brachiopod shells ‘disfigured’ by crust-like coverings of oysters, serpulid worms, barnacles or bryozoans so firmly cemented to the shells that they cannot be removed. However, rather than discarding these encrusted shells, it is worth considering … Read More
Dr Kendal Martyn (UK) Spectacular “spiny” adaptations of the Devonian (about 380Ma) trilobites of Morocco are well known. Free-standing spines, sometimes up to one hundred on a single specimen, make for spectacular (if fragile) specimens. Historically, similar species were first recognised way back in the 1880s by the classic work … Read More
George Corneille (Ireland) I have been a collector of marine reptile and dinosaur fossils for many years and started to sell on a small scale a few years ago. This editorial is specifically to help collectors identify teeth that they may have in their collections and to better understand these … Read More
Steven A Alter (UK) Imagine a shark three times the size of the modern Great White shark charging with reckless abandon into a pod of enormous 30 foot Sperm Whales. The mighty fish opens its gaping jaws and crunches into the side of one of the swimming mammals, slicing through … Read More
E R Matheau-Raven (UK) Amber is the hardened resin of coniferous and angiosperm trees. Resin should not be confused with sap, which is a product of photosynthesis that consists of sugars, water and dissolved minerals. The sticky extrusive mass that comes from a cut on a pine tree is resin. … Read More
S M Bowerman (UK) Sharks of the genus Hexanchus belong to the family Hexanchidae and are more commonly known as six gilled sharks or cow sharks. They are well known for the difference in shape between teeth of the upper and lower jaw. They are first recorded in the Jurassic. … Read More
Alister and Ian Cruickshanks (UK) During the year of 1818, a nugget of gold weighing around ten pennyweights was discovered in the river Helmsdale, in Northeast Scotland. The find sparked national interest and the Scottish local newspapers were soon headlining the discovery. It was then in 1968 that Scotland ensured … Read More
E R Matheau-Raven (UK) Florida has one of the world’s richest fossil deposits of both terrestrial and marine origin, encompassing over 2,000 known fossil locations. The state is famous for its Pliocene/Pleistocene fossil fauna but also has a rich and diverse Miocene heritage, plus its coastal waters abound with giant … Read More
Patricia Vickers-Rich , Peter Trusler, Steve Morton, Peter Swinkels, Thomas H Rich, Mike Hall and Steve Pritchard (Australia) The “road map” allowing (time) travellers to move across more than 1,000 million years in Namibia is recorded in the rocks of this land. And, it is on display in several museums … Read More
Deborah Painter (USA) I am an ecologist and general environmental scientist, specialising in transportation, energy and industrial development planning to minimise deleterious environmental impacts. I live in the United States and have also written several articles for this magazine. I appreciate just how important local geology and soil science are … Read More
Ken Brooks (UK) The beach from Rocka-Nore to Pett Level is rich in fossil evidence. Even the most insignificant fossils are important because they provide clues that enable us to reconstruct the ancient environments of this area. Between 100 and 140 million years ago, much of southern England was covered … Read More
Alister Cruickshanks (UK) The Norwich Crag at Easton Bavents, Southwold in Suffolk is one of the only locations where mammalian remains from the Pleistocene Epoch can be found, in situ, at an accessible location in the UK. The Norwich Crag splits the Antian and the Baventian. At Easton Bavents South … Read More
Mike Thorn (UK) If you ask someone to think of Oxford, they will not usually picture warm tropical beaches and azure coral seas. However, go back to the middle Jurassic and you would be hard pushed to find a dreaming spire or student on a bicycle anywhere. At that time, … Read More
Ken Brooks (UK) This is the first of three articles on the geology and fossils in the cliffs and foreshore to the east of Hastings. This one is intended as a field trip. The geology here is all Lower Cretaceous and is some of the best in Britain if you … Read More
Deborah Painter (USA) I am an ecologist and general environmental scientist specialising in transportation, energy and industrial development planning to minimise deleterious environmental impacts. I live in the United States and have also written several articles for this magazine. One of the things I really appreciate is just how important … Read More
Dr Kendal Martyn (UK) This article describes several processes producing the shape of crystals. Such processes are illustrated in the most common mineral from the Earth’s surface, quartz. Quartz or “simple” silicon dioxide, is made up of interlocking atoms of silicon and oxygen, arranged into various symmetrical structures depending on … Read More
Ken Brooks (UK) During the Lower Cretaceous period, between 110 and 145 million years ago, Britain was part of the European land-mass. Southeast England was covered by meandering rivers, extensive flood-plains, lakes and lagoons which extended across to central France. Rivers flowing from the London Uplands and the west brought … Read More
The second edition of this guide is written to explain the key concepts of tectonics and rock structures to students and to interested amateurs. I have reviewed a number of Graham Park’s books in recently years (see below) and he is clearly a prolific and excellent writer of books about the earth sciences.
Tony and Anna Gill (UK) The best time to look for fossils in Dorset is after heavy rain and winter storms. These conditions make the cliffs unstable and collapse. High winds produce rough seas, which wash the mud away, leaving the nodules that contain the fossils exposed on the beach. … Read More
Dr Richard J Hubbard (UK) Introduction The Thanet Anticline is an uplifted area forming the northeast corner of Kent and is home to the four coastal towns of Birchington, Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate (Fig. 1). Historically, the area has been known as the Isle of Thanet and, in this article, … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) Chemistry is the key to identifying the source of a meteorite. The commonest rock in the Solar System – and on Earth – is basalt. Erupted at mid-ocean ridges and many hotspot volcanoes, it also floors the oceans. However, each of these situations can be identified as … Read More
The Crowood Press are really developing a nice little series of books on the landscape and geology of select regions of the British Isles, and Tony Waltham’s addition to the series about the Peak District is well worth a read. This new one follows the same format as the others – beautiful, full colour photos and diagrams, a fascinating chapter on each of the important geological and geomorphological aspects of the area (including buildings and industry), and an author who knows his stuff and can write it down with an easy and authoritative style.
Thomas H Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich (Australia) Whether they had horns or not, the ceratopsian “horn faced” dinosaurs are distinctive, not only from other dinosaurs, but all other vertebrates as well, in the structure of their skulls. In addition to the horns, another element of their skeleton, the lower arm … Read More
Deborah Painter (USA) I am an ecologist and general environmental scientist living in the USA and specialising in transportation, energy and industrial development planning to minimise deleterious environmental impacts. I have also written several articles for this magazine. As such, I appreciate just how much local geology is a vital … Read More
This is an ambitious little field guide, which aims to allow amateurs to identify basic rocks and rock formations, for the first time, in a systematic way., as it says: “… using only careful observation, a magnifying glass, a pocket knife – and a bit of patience”.
Stephen Moreton (UK) Our journey around Ireland concludes in Ulster. This comprises Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, which are part of the Republic of Ireland. As geology is no respecter of politics, the national border is ignored here. I … Read More
Helen Gould UK) What are meteorites? Lumps of rock left over from the formation of the solar system or “chipped off” planets during major impacts can become trapped in the Earth’s gravitational field and fall as meteorites. The three main types are iron, stony and stony-iron. All of these are … Read More
I like local geological guides, which aim to get you out and about, visiting areas you might not have known are worth a daytrip. And this is a good example. I sat down and read it cover to cover, as it is only 90 pages long. And I now really want to visit this bit of Kent coastline. Largely concentrating on the Upper Cretaceous Chalk, this guidebook explains and illustrates what seems to be some marvellous geology that can also be explored during what could be a lovely day out on the beach.
Stephen Moreton (UK) In the first two articles of this series, we looked at Leinster and Munster. Continuing in a clockwise fashion brings us to Connaught. Some of Ireland’s oldest rocks are to be found here, forming the Ox Mountains. The rugged and mountainous west is dominated by metamorphic rocks … Read More
