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<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

From the ESTA<br />

President:<br />

A Handsome<br />

Resource in<br />

Somerset<br />

Environmental<br />

Risk Management:<br />

The Montserrat<br />

Volcanic Emergency<br />

(1995-1999)<br />

Mineral Exploration<br />

Geological Time in<br />

the Classroom<br />

A Results<br />

Spreadsheet for AS<br />

and A Level Geology<br />

Role of Fieldwork in<br />

Undergraduate<br />

Geoscience<br />

Education:<br />

Approaches and<br />

Constraints<br />

Reviews<br />

ESTA Members<br />

ESTA Diary<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

www.esta-uk.org


th <strong>Science</strong><br />

ache<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

Activities and<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>quakes<br />

Response to the<br />

<strong>Science</strong> and<br />

inquiry into the<br />

Kingston 2001<br />

Book Reviews<br />

Websearch<br />

Browne<br />

Teaching <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s: Guide for Authors<br />

The Editor welcomes articles of any length and nature and on any topic related to<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> science education from cradle to grave. Please inspect back copies of TES,<br />

from Issue 26(3) onwards, to become familiar with the journal house-style.<br />

Three paper copies of major articles are requested. Please use double line spacing<br />

and A4 paper and please use SI units throughout, except where this is inappropriate<br />

(in which case please include a conversion table). The first paragraph of each<br />

major article should not have a subheading but should either introduce the reader<br />

to the context of the article or should provide an overview to stimulate interest. This<br />

is not an abstract in the formal sense. Subsequent paragraphs should be grouped<br />

under sub-headings.<br />

Text<br />

Please also supply the full text on disk or as an email attachment: Microsoft Word<br />

is the most convenient, but any widely-used wordprocessor is acceptable.<br />

Figures, tables and photographs must be referenced in the text.<br />

References<br />

Please use the following examples as models<br />

(1) Articles<br />

Mayer, V. (1995) Using the <strong>Earth</strong> system for integrating the science curriculum.<br />

<strong>Science</strong> Education, 79(4), pp. 375-391.<br />

(2) Books<br />

McPhee, J. (1986 ) Rising from the Plains. New York: Fraux, Giroux & Strauss.<br />

(3) Chapters in books<br />

Duschl, R.A. & Smith, M.J. (2001) <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>. In Jere Brophy (ed), Subject-<br />

Specific Instructional Methods and Activities, Advances in Research on Teaching. Volume 8,<br />

pp. 269-290. Amsterdam: Elsevier <strong>Science</strong>.<br />

Figures<br />

Prepared artwork must be of high quality and submitted on paper and disk. Handdrawn<br />

and hand-labelled diagrams are not normally acceptable, although in some<br />

circumstances this is appropriate. Each figure must be submitted as a separate file.<br />

Each figure must have a caption.<br />

Photographs<br />

Please submit colour or black-and-white photographs as originals. They are also<br />

welcomed in digital form on disk or as email attachments: .jpeg format is to be preferred.<br />

Please use one file for each photograph, to be at 300dpi. Each photograph<br />

must have a caption.<br />

Copyright<br />

There are no copyright restrictions on original material published in Teaching <strong>Earth</strong><br />

<strong>Science</strong>s if it is required for use in the classroom or lecture room. Copyright material<br />

reproduced in TES by permission of other publications rests with the original<br />

publisher. Permission must be sought from the Editor to reproduce original material<br />

from Teaching <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s in other publications and appropriate acknowledgement<br />

must be given.<br />

All articles submitted should be original unless indicted otherwise and should<br />

contain the author’s full name, title and address (and email address where relevant).<br />

They should be sent to the Editor,<br />

Dr Roger Trend<br />

School of Education<br />

University of Exeter<br />

Exeter EX1 2LU<br />

UK<br />

Tel 01392 264768<br />

Email R.D.Trend@exeter.ac.uk<br />

Editor<br />

To Advertise in<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 26 ● Number 4, 2001 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

Your President<br />

Introduced<br />

Martin Whiteley<br />

Thinking Geology:<br />

Activities to Develop<br />

Thinking Ski ls in<br />

Geology Teaching<br />

Recovering the<br />

Leaning Tower of Pisa<br />

Demonstrations:<br />

House of Commons<br />

Technology Commi tee<br />

<strong>Science</strong> Cu riculum for<br />

14 - 19 year olds<br />

Se ting up a local<br />

group - West Wales<br />

Geology Teachers’<br />

Network<br />

Highlights from the<br />

post-16 ‘bring and<br />

share’ session a the<br />

ESTA Conference,<br />

ESTA Conference<br />

update<br />

News and Resources<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 27 ● Number 1, 2002 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

Telephone<br />

Ian Ray<br />

0161 486 0326<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

rth <strong>Science</strong><br />

chers’ Asso<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

Creationism and<br />

Evolution:<br />

Questions in the<br />

Classroom<br />

Institute of Biology<br />

Chemistry on the<br />

High Street<br />

Peter Kenne t<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

Activities and<br />

Demonstrations:<br />

Fossils and Time<br />

Mike Tuke<br />

Beyond Petroleum:<br />

Business and<br />

The Environment in<br />

the 21st Century John<br />

Using Foam Rubber in<br />

an Aquarium To<br />

Simulate Plate-<br />

Tectonic And Glacial<br />

Phenomena<br />

John Wheeler<br />

Dorset and East<br />

Devon Coast:<br />

World Heritage Site<br />

ESTA Conference<br />

Update<br />

New ESTA Members<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

(including ESTA AGM)<br />

WHERE IS PEST?<br />

PEST is printed as the<br />

centre 4 pages in<br />

Teaching <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s.


From the ESTA<br />

President:<br />

A Handsome<br />

Resource in<br />

Somerset<br />

Environmental<br />

Risk Management:<br />

The Montserrat<br />

Volcanic Emergency<br />

(1995-1999)<br />

Mineral Exploration<br />

Geological Time in<br />

the Classroom<br />

A Results<br />

Spreadsheet for AS<br />

and A Level Geology<br />

Role of Fieldwork in<br />

Undergraduate<br />

Geoscience<br />

Education:<br />

Approaches and<br />

Constraints<br />

Reviews<br />

ESTA Members<br />

ESTA Diary<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

Teaching <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s is published quarterly by<br />

the <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Teachers’ <strong>Association</strong>. ESTA<br />

aims to encourage and support the <strong>teaching</strong> of<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s, whether as a single subject or as<br />

part of science or geography courses.<br />

Full membership is £25.00; student and retired<br />

membership £12.50.<br />

Registered Charity No. 1005331<br />

Editor<br />

Dr. Roger Trend<br />

School of Education<br />

University of Exeter<br />

Exeter EX1 2LU<br />

Tel: 01392 264768<br />

Email: R.D.Trend@exeter.ac.uk<br />

Advertising<br />

Ian Ray<br />

5 Gathill Close<br />

Cheadle Hulme<br />

Cheadle<br />

Cheshire SK8 6SJ<br />

Tel: 0161 486 0326<br />

Reviews Editor<br />

Dr. Denis Bates<br />

Institute of Geography and <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s<br />

University of Wales<br />

Aberystwyth<br />

Dyfed SY23 3DB<br />

Tel: 01970 622639<br />

Email: deb@aber.ac.uk<br />

Council Officers<br />

President<br />

Martin Whiteley<br />

Barrisdale Limited<br />

Bedford<br />

Chairman<br />

Geraint Owen<br />

Department of Geography<br />

University of Swansea<br />

Singleton Park<br />

Swansea SA2 8PP<br />

Secretary<br />

Dr. Dawn Windley<br />

Thomas Rotherham College<br />

Moorgate, Rotherham<br />

South Yorkshire<br />

Membership Secretary<br />

Owain Thomas<br />

PO Box 10, Narberth<br />

Pembrokeshire SA67 7YE<br />

Treasurer<br />

Geoff Hunter<br />

6 Harborne Road<br />

Tackley, Kidlington<br />

Oxon OX5 3BL<br />

Contributions to future issues of Teaching <strong>Earth</strong><br />

<strong>Science</strong>s will be welcomed and should be<br />

addressed to the Editor.<br />

Opinions and comments in this issue are the<br />

personal views of the authors and do not<br />

necessarily represent the views of the <strong>Association</strong>.<br />

Designed by Character Design<br />

Highridge, Wrigglebrook Lane, Kingsthorne<br />

Hereford HR2 8AW<br />

CONTENTS<br />

106 Editorial<br />

Roger Trend<br />

107 From the ESTA President:<br />

A Handsome Resource in Somerset<br />

Martin Whiteley<br />

108 Environmental Risk Management: The Montserrat<br />

Volcanic Emergency (1995-1999)<br />

Peter Kokelaar<br />

118 Mineral Exploration<br />

Tim Colman<br />

121 Geological Time in the Classroom<br />

Ian Wilkinson<br />

126 A Results Spreadsheet for AS and A Level Geology<br />

Owain Thomas<br />

129 The Role of Fieldwork in Undergraduate Geoscience<br />

Education: Approaches and Constraints<br />

S. Mondlane and B. Mapani<br />

132 Amendments<br />

137 Reviews<br />

138 New ESTA Members<br />

139 ESTA Diary<br />

139 Websearch<br />

140 News and Resources<br />

142 ESTA Conference 2003<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

Visit our website at www.esta-uk.org<br />

Front cover<br />

Montserrat: Dome-collapse pyroclastic<br />

flow of 25 June 1997, near to its<br />

termination in Spanish Point<br />

(Photo Paul Cole)<br />

Back cover<br />

Montserrat: Vulcanian explosion of 6<br />

August 1997; this buoyant-convective<br />

plume of ash reached an altitude of 12km.<br />

(Photo Barry Voight)<br />

105 www.esta-uk.org


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Editorial – At the chalk face<br />

Some readers, particularly those working in<br />

British Higher Education Institutions, will be<br />

aware of the RAE: the Research Assessment<br />

Exercise. This is a huge and complicated process by<br />

which departments in UK HEIs are assessed on behalf<br />

of central government in relation to the quality of their<br />

research activities. Following the RAE, research funding<br />

to the tune of about £5 billion is then allocated to<br />

universities and colleges (by the four higher education<br />

funding councils) on the basis of their RAE performance.<br />

Actually, departments are not required to participate<br />

in the exercise: but if they don’t then obviously<br />

they don’t stand any chance of receiving any of the<br />

research funding. The last RAE happened in 2001 and<br />

the outcome determines the allocation to each department<br />

until the next one: which looks as if it won’t be till<br />

2008. This is clearly good news for some departments,<br />

but not for others... another story.<br />

Briefly (very), at the heart of the process is the<br />

Subject Panel comprising leading authorities in the<br />

field. In 2001 there were 60 panels covering 69 subjects,<br />

but next time there will be far fewer panels.<br />

Some subjects were combined: <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s and<br />

Environmental <strong>Science</strong>s is a good example where two<br />

subjects comprised a single “unit of assessment” for<br />

the 2001 exercise. The ESES Panel was chaired by<br />

Professor Peter Liss of the University of East Anglia.<br />

Similarly, there was a joint panel for General Engineering<br />

and Mineral and Mining Engineering. By<br />

contrast, Education and Geography each had their<br />

own single-subject panels.<br />

To over-simplify the position, many academics see<br />

their main responsibility (as far as research is concerned)<br />

as publishing (in the period leading up to each<br />

RAE) at least four top-quality research-based articles or<br />

chapters in similarly top-quality academic journals or<br />

books, and obtaining as much external research funding<br />

as possible. As I say, this is a gross over-simplification,<br />

but it is a fair start. This “best four” requirement might<br />

seem straightforward, but believe me it is not ... but that<br />

is yet another story!<br />

Following the panel’s scrutiny of each academic’s<br />

research activity, each department gets graded from 1 to<br />

5*, according to the proportion of research-active staff<br />

who are publishing research of international quality.<br />

Five-star is the best and obviously yields the greatest<br />

income subsequently. This number is qualified by a letter<br />

A to D which is a reflection of the proportion of eligible<br />

staff (viz. all the academics) whose work actually<br />

contributed to getting the main grade. You can check<br />

out all of this, including the results for each department,<br />

on the website.<br />

What has the RAE got to do with ESTA and Teaching<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s? Quite simply: a lot. First, we have<br />

been privileged to publish in TES over the years articles<br />

from a wide range of UK <strong>Earth</strong> science and education<br />

academics, including many internationally-renowned<br />

researchers: and long may this continue. Each one of<br />

those articles represents a communication by an <strong>Earth</strong><br />

science or education academic directly to the <strong>teaching</strong><br />

fraternity, rather than to their peers. However, in terms<br />

of RAE ratings, an article in TES does not carry a lot of<br />

weight, although I trust that readers acknowledge that<br />

RAE is not the only thing that matters: here at the TES<br />

we operate on a higher plane!<br />

Second, TES itself is (rightly) not regarded by RAE<br />

panels as a high-status, research-based international<br />

journal. It is a different vehicle completely, and one<br />

which supports a large number of teachers, rather than<br />

a smaller number of researchers. However, there is a<br />

strong case for journals such as TES to be accorded<br />

more recognition in the RAE since they are publications<br />

for the dissemination of research results directly<br />

to practitioners (teachers in our case). This is especially<br />

the case with education. Our journal can provide an<br />

outlet for researchers working in both geoscience and<br />

education which reaches the practitioners at the chalk<br />

(sorry, interactive whiteboard plus data projector) face.<br />

The criteria for the next RAE (2008) are currently out<br />

for consultation and, if past experience is anything to go<br />

by, the importance of dissemination and impact of<br />

research findings on the community of practitioners<br />

will be increased, ...but not by very much.<br />

Third, a request to readers who are geoscience or<br />

education researchers: please consider submitting your<br />

latest research article to TES as well as the high-status<br />

academic journal preferred by the RAE, ideally having<br />

revised it to suit the TES readership. It is likely that<br />

“impact” on practitioners is likely to figure in the RAE<br />

deliberations of 2008, and there is no better way of having<br />

an impact on geoscience teachers than through the<br />

pages of this journal, especially since ESTA membership<br />

is now steadily rising.<br />

Last, if you have any thoughts on the role that TES<br />

and ESTA might play in the next UK universities RAE,<br />

I am sure readers would be interested to hear your<br />

views: please write to the Editor.<br />

RAE 2001 website http://www.hero.ac.uk/rae/AboutUs/<br />

Roger Trend<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

106


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

From the ESTA President:<br />

A Handsome Resource in Somerset<br />

There are many ways of <strong>teaching</strong> <strong>Earth</strong> sciences<br />

but, to my mind, few are as effective as fieldbased<br />

activities. So, when I recently heard about<br />

the East Mendip Study Centre, I was determined to pay<br />

it a visit and see what it had to offer. My welcoming<br />

hosts were Gill Odolphie and Jo Hicks, two enthusiastic<br />

teachers who are equally at home in front of 28<br />

excitable ten-year-olds, as wading through chilly rivers<br />

or describing the finer points of rock blasting. The<br />

Centre is owned and managed by Hanson plc, the<br />

largest producer of aggregates in the world, and it is<br />

located next to Whatley Quarry, near Frome in Somerset.<br />

Close enough to hear the daily rumble of blasting<br />

and within sight of the rail terminal that despatches<br />

thousands of tonnes of limestone to SE England, this<br />

appears at first glance to be a discouraging location for a<br />

Study Centre. But it’s not and here’s why.<br />

Hanson recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding<br />

with English Nature. The two organisations<br />

have agreed to apply appropriate conservation strategies<br />

to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) on land<br />

under Hanson’s control, and they will work to meet<br />

agreed biodiversity targets as progressive reclamation is<br />

practised. To illustrate this collaboration we need look<br />

no further than the wooded valleys just a couple of<br />

miles east of the Centre. Quarrying activities have been<br />

undertaken in these now tranquil valleys since Roman<br />

times and they provide an interesting archaeological<br />

context to the sites preserved here. Hanson has an<br />

active management plan for SSSIs in this area, which<br />

include the famous De La Beche geological unconformity,<br />

ancient woodland in Asham Wood and horseshoe<br />

bats in Vallis Vale.<br />

The Study Centre is therefore uniquely placed to<br />

access a wide range of field resources and it also provides<br />

a classroom facility with varied displays and documents<br />

mostly geared to the National Curriculum. Whilst it<br />

caters principally for Key Stage 2-4 pupils, sixth formers,<br />

adult extra-mural classes and members of the public<br />

have also used the Centre at various times. Tuition is<br />

provided free of charge and any educational group within<br />

striking distance of east Mendip can benefit.<br />

On the day of my visit a lively class of mixed ability<br />

children from Larkhall, Bath arrived mid-morning<br />

clutching wellie boots, packed lunches and clipboards.<br />

Gill and Jo quickly assessed their level of familiarity<br />

with river systems and then gave a thorough introduction<br />

to the pending fieldwork, with an emphasis on<br />

safety. Back onto the coach for the short drive to Vallis<br />

Vale and then several short practical exercises before<br />

lunch. These included measuring stream profiles and<br />

flow rates, mapping river features and sketching a<br />

meander. The class was even more exuberant after<br />

lunch (too many E-numbers!) but most pupils got<br />

something out of the environmental survey that<br />

involved noting occurrences of pollution, litter and<br />

wildlife throughout the valley. The fieldwork ended in<br />

time to allow the class to return to their school at a reasonable<br />

hour, but for Gill and Jo it was back to the Centre<br />

to prepare for another visit the following day.<br />

The advantage of the Hanson Centre is that it can<br />

cater for a wide variety of skills, interests and abilities.<br />

For example, sixth formers can investigate the commercial<br />

aspects of quarrying, ecologists can document<br />

plant regeneration on reclaimed land and geologists<br />

can work on some of the finest exposures in Britain.<br />

And even if <strong>Earth</strong> science isn’t your bag of tricks you<br />

can simply marvel at the huge scale of the machinery<br />

in the quarry and appreciate the effort that goes into<br />

this operation. There’s something for everyone and<br />

we should congratulate Hanson and their staff for providing<br />

such a facility. If you’re lucky enough to be<br />

within reasonable travelling distance of Frome, I can<br />

only recommend that you arrange a visit. Simply contact<br />

either Gill or Jo beforehand (see below) in order<br />

to discuss your educational needs and let a bit of east<br />

Mendip rub off on your class.<br />

Martin Whiteley<br />

President, ESTA<br />

The Study Centre is open on weekdays (apart from Public Holidays)<br />

and receives school visits by arrangement, generally during term time.<br />

You are welcome to contact the Teacher Wardens:<br />

Gill Odolphie & Jo Hicks<br />

Hanson East Mendip Study Centre<br />

Whatley<br />

Frome<br />

Somerset<br />

BA11 3LF<br />

Tel: 01373 452515<br />

The Study Centre does not have its own website but Hanson does<br />

(www.hansonplc.com). It includes an education section that introduces<br />

‘Material World’, a project designed to introduce primary age<br />

children to the world of quarrying and brick making. It’s fun, informative<br />

and full of downloadable resources<br />

(see our review in TES 26/3 p 120. Ed).<br />

107 www.esta-uk.org


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Environmental Risk Management:<br />

The Montserrat Volcanic Emergency (1995-1999)<br />

PETER KOKELAAR<br />

The eruption on Montserrat during 1995-1999 was the most destructive in the Caribbean volcanic<br />

arc since that of Mont Pelée (Martinique) in 1902. The slow progress and long duration of the<br />

volcanic escalation, coupled with the small size of the island and the vulnerability of homes, key<br />

installations and infrastructure, resulted in a dominantly reactive style of emergency<br />

management. To minimise the disruption, scientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory<br />

anticipated hazards and their potential extents of impact with considerable precision. This article<br />

charts the course of the eruption against the progressively evolved management strategies and<br />

considers lessons learned from the crisis.<br />

Introduction<br />

The eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano devastated the<br />

small Caribbean island of Montserrat. Approximately<br />

60% of the land area, including the most densely populated<br />

districts, was designated unsafe for habitation. Of<br />

the original resident population of ~10,500, 92% had to<br />

move home; many families were relocated two or three<br />

times. Up to 1,600 people had no accommodation<br />

other than basic temporary shelters; by early 1998<br />

roughly 70% of the population had left the island. Most<br />

of the original administrative, commercial and industrial<br />

facilities were destroyed or rendered inaccessible,<br />

along with infrastructure including the airport and harbour,<br />

and prime agricultural land. Also lost was much<br />

of the verdant paradise that underpinned tourism and<br />

the lucrative residence in Montserrat of numerous<br />

migrants from the North American winter. More than<br />

two thirds of businesses were closed by October 1998.<br />

Most insurance companies withdrew cover as the eruption<br />

escalated in August 1997, which was before most of<br />

the losses were incurred; the local financial institution<br />

concerned with mortgages and savings consequently<br />

collapsed. Unofficial insurance industry sources estimate<br />

that total losses will be as much as £1 billion if no<br />

real estate is recovered. The Montserrat economy, only<br />

recently in budgetary surplus, was plunged back into<br />

dependency on UK financial aid. Whereas health problems<br />

were less than in many other natural disasters with<br />

catastrophic onset (e.g. Monsoon floods), the protracted<br />

emergency led to considerable psychological distress<br />

and related health problems for Montserratians. Perhaps<br />

more challenging still will be linking disaster<br />

recovery with sustainable development for the future.<br />

The eruption and associated hazards escalated only<br />

slowly from 1995 through 1997 and from the outset<br />

many inhabitants indicated a strong preference to<br />

remain on the island. Understandably, the Government<br />

of Montserrat wished to preserve life as near to normal<br />

as possible and to avoid jeopardising the long-term viability<br />

of the island community. The UK Government<br />

policy was for people to be supported in continuing<br />

occupation of the island so long as there was a viable<br />

safe area. Given this scenario, a reactive strategy for<br />

emergency management was inevitable. Rather than<br />

immediate and complete evacuation to a safe area, the<br />

management strategy adopted was to react to changing<br />

levels of risk as they were identified. Consequently,<br />

considerable importance was placed on scientific monitoring,<br />

hazard anticipation and risk assessment. The<br />

succession of risk management maps that was produced<br />

reflects this strategy and constitutes a unique case in<br />

emergency management (see below).<br />

There were no contingency plans. Many actions<br />

taken by both the UK Government and the Government<br />

of Montserrat were driven stepwise by events in<br />

the volcanic escalation. Initially, because there was no<br />

recognition of how the eruption might develop, much<br />

of the on-island emergency management involved<br />

solutions for the short-term. Similarly, UK Government<br />

departments attempted initially to deal with the<br />

crisis using normal institutional arrangements. However,<br />

as the eruption escalated it became clear that longerterm<br />

solutions were required and that some aspects of<br />

the handling of the emergency were unsatisfactory. In<br />

1997 the House of Commons Select Committee on<br />

International Development recommended an independent<br />

evaluation of the UK Government’s response to<br />

the Montserrat volcanic emergency. The terms of reference<br />

requested identification of key findings and<br />

lessons learnt. The author was asked to evaluate the scientific<br />

monitoring and risk assessment, and to lay out<br />

the course of the volcanic developments against which<br />

the emergency management could be charted. This<br />

article for teachers originates from the work for the<br />

evaluation study, which was published in 1999 (Clay et<br />

al. 1999). The course and effects of the eruption are<br />

amplified in a research paper (Kokelaar 2002); the reader<br />

is referred to this, and other papers in the volume, for<br />

full accounts with numerous diagrams, photographs<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

and a lists of references. Many references are omitted in<br />

this article, for brevity.<br />

Facets of the history of Montserrat are given (see<br />

Table 1 below) because they are relevant to understanding<br />

the plight of the people and their perceptions<br />

regarding both the handling of the emergency and the<br />

aid provided by the UK Government. It did not escape<br />

Montserratians that while a UK Government Minister<br />

(Clare Short) publicly questioned the aid expectations<br />

of the afflicted islanders, who were citizens of a (then)<br />

Dependent Territory, the same Government spent £179<br />

million in nine months on sustaining what one referred<br />

to as “a glorified circus tent designed to create the illusion<br />

of an empire” – the Millennium Dome.<br />

Geological Setting<br />

Montserrat is in the northern part of the Lesser Antilles<br />

volcanic island arc (see Figure 1). The arc marks a<br />

destructive plate margin resulting from westward subduction<br />

of the Atlantic oceanic lithosphere beneath the<br />

Caribbean Plate. From Martinique southwards to<br />

Grenada the arc comprises a closely spaced double<br />

chain of volcanoes, the eastern elements of which date<br />

from the Eocene. From Martinique northwards an<br />

extinct eastern volcanic chain diverges via Marie<br />

Galante to Sombrero, while Montserrat lies in the<br />

western active chain that extends to beyond Saba.<br />

Montserrat is the summit portion of a complex volcanic<br />

edifice that extends from 1 km above sea level, at<br />

Soufrière Hills Volcano, to about 900 m below sea level,<br />

where the basal diameter is ~25-30 km. The volcanic<br />

edifice probably dates back to the Miocene (~9 Ma),<br />

although the oldest exposed rocks are Pliocene (~2.6<br />

Ma) and the majority are Pleistocene or younger.<br />

Montserrat is predominantly composed of<br />

andesites 1 . Basaltic magma is represented in volumetrically<br />

minor outcrops as well as in common inclusions<br />

in the andesitic rocks, where they mark magma mingling.<br />

Research shows that basalt at ≥ 1050ºC invaded<br />

and mingled with partially crystallised andesite at<br />

~830-850ºC in a magma chamber at ≥ 5 km depth<br />

beneath Soufrière Hills, heated it, and then erupted<br />

with it.<br />

Figure 1.<br />

Location of<br />

Montserrat in the<br />

Lesser Antilles<br />

volcanic island arc.<br />

Figure 2.<br />

Map showing<br />

Montserrat as it<br />

was before the<br />

eruption, which<br />

initiated through<br />

Castle Peak<br />

(lava-dome).<br />

Physiography<br />

Montserrat is a small island, 16.5 x 10 km (~100 km 2 ;<br />

see Figure 2). Its topography is dominated by four main<br />

volcanic massifs, each with numerous valleys and ridges<br />

1<br />

Molten andesite, at around 850˚C, is extremely viscous and<br />

will not flow rapidly like the more familiar basalt of, for example,<br />

Hawaii, where ‘fire fountaining’ and rapid ‘runny’ lavas<br />

are characteristic and form lava-shield volcanoes. Instead it flows<br />

almost imperceptibly and tends slowly to form enormous, steep<br />

and crumbling lava domes. The density of andesite rock is about<br />

2,500 kg m -3 . One cubic metre is roughly the volume of an<br />

entire domestic refrigerator.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

overlying aquifers. The lesser slopes in the southern<br />

two thirds of Montserrat are on pyroclastic-flow<br />

deposits and lahar deposits from the Soufrière Hills<br />

Volcano and were the favoured sites for habitation (see<br />

Figure 3), including the capital town Plymouth and its<br />

environs, the airport on the northeast coast, and the<br />

numerous dwellings in the so-called ‘central corridor’<br />

linking the communities on the northern flanks of the<br />

volcano.<br />

Montserrat’s climate is maritime sub-tropical, with<br />

winds at different altitudes prevailing in different directions:<br />

towards the west at 1-5 km and 20-30 km, and<br />

towards the east between 8 and 18 km. Average rainfall<br />

ranges from 10 3 mm yr -1 near sea level to >2.5 x 10 3 mm<br />

yr -1 in the hills. Torrential rain is associated with hurricanes<br />

that all too frequently track northwestwards<br />

through the eastern Caribbean. Before the 1995 eruption<br />

the vegetation in the hills was mainly secondary<br />

forest (little indigenous forest remaining), whereas on<br />

the less-steep slopes and volcaniclastic fans there was<br />

mainly bush or cultivated land. It was Montserrat’s<br />

originally lush and exotic vegetation that earned it the<br />

epithet – the Caribbean’s Emerald Isle – recalling the<br />

verdant homeland of the early Irish colonists.<br />

Montserrat’s small size and rugged terrain severely<br />

constrained on-island options for volcanic risk mitigation.<br />

The location of most human activity and infrastructure<br />

in highly vulnerable locations maximised the<br />

impact of the eruption. Had the island been significantly<br />

smaller, total evacuation would have been inevitable.<br />

Figure 3.<br />

Maps of (a) prehistoric fans of pyroclastic and lahar deposits<br />

derived from Soufrière Hills Volcano, showing these as preferred<br />

sites for homes, key installations and infrastructure, and (b) the<br />

extent of areas devastated by pyroclastic flows during 1995-1999.<br />

radiating towards and truncated at a coastline predominantly<br />

of steep cliffs. The massifs each represent eruptive<br />

centres. Soufrière Hills Volcano (pre-eruption<br />

height 914 m), which is the youngest centre and manifestly<br />

active, retained little-modified primary features<br />

in its sector-collapse scar (English’s Crater) and Castle<br />

Peak lava dome within, although these are now mostly<br />

obliterated. Hot springs and fumaroles (soufrières) on<br />

the flanks of Soufrière Hills Volcano (see Figure 2) register<br />

a deep supply of both magmatic heat and gas to<br />

A Brief History of Montserrat Leading<br />

to the 1995 Eruption<br />

In 1998 Montserrat became an UK Overseas Territory,<br />

rather than an UK ‘Dependent Territory’. Although<br />

tragically the eruption had just rendered Montserrat<br />

once more dependent on UK financial aid, the name<br />

change constituted one further step away from the<br />

injustices associated with some 300 years of British<br />

colonial status, commercial exploitation and slavery.<br />

Social injustice is remarkably recent: voting rights for<br />

all adult inhabitants were secured only some 50 years<br />

ago and the unfair system of land leasing and crop-taking<br />

by landlords (share-cropping) was terminated only<br />

around 40 years ago. Power invested in a Montserratian<br />

Chief Minister with a ministerial government dates<br />

only from 1961. Table 1 gives key developments in<br />

Montserrat’s emergence into a free and economically<br />

viable small-island nation. Alongside this are charted<br />

the volcanic activity and volcano-seismic surveillance,<br />

both on Montserrat and on other Caribbean islands, as<br />

they bear on Montserrat’s preparedness for the<br />

Soufrière Hills eruption. Before devastation due to<br />

Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Montserratians had gained<br />

good standards of accommodation, education and<br />

health-care services, and, with UK aid following the<br />

hurricane, they were on the verge of almost complete<br />

recovery when disaster struck again.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Table 1. Historical developments of Montserrat and the region leading to the 1995 eruption.<br />

DATE OCCURRENCE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY<br />

c. 3950 BP<br />

c. 3000 BP<br />

1493<br />

1500s - early 1600s; likely<br />

1620s<br />

1632<br />

mid 1600s<br />

late 1600s- 1700s<br />

1782-1783<br />

early 1800s<br />

1834<br />

1838-<br />

1866<br />

1897-1898<br />

1902<br />

1933-1937<br />

1936<br />

1951<br />

1959<br />

1961<br />

1966-1967<br />

1967<br />

1971-1972<br />

1976<br />

1979<br />

1981<br />

1987<br />

1988<br />

April 1989<br />

17 September 1989<br />

1991<br />

January 1992<br />

July 1993<br />

mid 1994<br />

end Nov - Dec 1994<br />

early 1995<br />

18 July 1995<br />

English’s Crater forms.<br />

South American Amerindians first settle on island.<br />

Columbus sails along west coast of island (apparently deserted), and names it Santa<br />

Maria de Monserrate after an abbey in mountains near Barcelona (Spain) where a similar<br />

rugged profile occurs.<br />

Castle Peak dome forms in English’s Crater with several pyroclastic layers deposited.<br />

Irish Catholics first colonise as religious refugees from nearby St Kitts, shortly afterwards<br />

joined by Irish Catholic dissidents from Virginia.<br />

English colonial control established. Arrivals of exiles from Ireland (deported by Cromwell)<br />

and transportees (criminals). African slaves imported, mainly to work in sugar plantations.<br />

Population comprises Anglo-Irish plantation owners, poorer Irish servants and increasing<br />

numbers of slaves. Frequent raids by French and Caribs.<br />

French capture island; restored in Treaty of Versailles.<br />

Slave population exceeds 6500.<br />

Abolition of slavery by Act of UK Parliament.<br />

Full emancipation of slaves. Former slave population continues to struggle to establish<br />

independent peasant culture, being compromised by land-lease arrangements (sharecropping)<br />

and political control by whites.<br />

UK tightens control by establishing Crown Colony rule. Governor (appointed in UK) heads<br />

Legislative Council with six members appointed by him.<br />

New hot springs and fumaroles (Gages Lower Soufrière) initiated on volcano flank.<br />

Eruption at St Vincent kills ~1,500 persons. Eruption at Martinique (Mont Pelée) kills<br />

~29,500.<br />

Perret makes observations 1934-1937; Royal Society expedition in 1936 consequent<br />

upon petition following destructive earthquakes in 1935 and concern about possible<br />

major eruption. Gages Upper Soufrière reactivated.<br />

New constitution includes four elected members of Legislative Council.<br />

Universal adult suffrage introduced.<br />

Share-cropping ended.<br />

Political power wrested from white merchant-planter class. Ministerial government<br />

established and led by first Chief Minister. Governor retains responsibility for national<br />

security, civil service and foreign relations.<br />

Galway’s and Tar River Soufrières become more active. Movement of magma upwards<br />

from >10 km depth inferred.<br />

Affiliation with West Indian Federation rejected, effectively reaffirming colonial status;<br />

Montserrat becomes an UK Dependent Territory. Sale of 600 acres of prime land to North<br />

Americans and Europeans initiates relative economic boom.<br />

Eruption at St Vincent.<br />

On neighbouring Guadeloupe, phreatic explosions at La Soufrière lead to evacuation of<br />

72,000 persons; estimated cost ~ £200 million.<br />

Eruption at St Vincent.<br />

Montserrat no longer in need of UK budgetary aid.<br />

Wadge & Isaacs (1987) report on hazards due to Soufrière Hills Volcano submitted to<br />

sponsors, noting Plymouth to be vulnerable.<br />

Lesser Antilles Volcanic Assessment Seminar hosted by Seismic Research Unit (Trinidad)<br />

and attended by Montserrat government representative(s). Wadge & Isaacs (1988)<br />

findings published in an international journal.<br />

Seismic Research Unit prompted to deploy second and third seismic stations at<br />

Montserrat.<br />

Hurricane Hugo totally destroys 20% of homes, with 50% severely damaged; nearly 25%<br />

of population homeless. Plymouth devastated; total damage estimated at £150 million.<br />

11 persons killed. £3 million from UK as emergency aid. Average wind speeds ~240 km<br />

hr -1 (~67 m s -1 ) with gusts over 300 km hr -1 . All three seismic stations destroyed.<br />

£16.8 million capital aid programme approved in UK. New government headquarters, library<br />

and hospital, all built in Plymouth. Seismic stations restored by Seismic Research Unit.<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>quakes occur in distinct swarms. Hypocentres located up to 10-15 km depth.<br />

Governor assists Montserrat Government in initiating upgrade of disaster preparedness.<br />

Three additional seismic stations established. Direct links of two stations to Seismic<br />

Research Unit, via Antigua, restored. Hypocentres up to 10-15 km depth.<br />

Head of Seismic Research Unit gives public interviews to reassure population concerning<br />

the earthquakes.<br />

Data from six seismic stations telemetered to Emergency Operations Centre in<br />

Plymouth, with possible events forwarded to Seismic Research Unit. National Disaster<br />

Action Plan (manual) delivered, with virtually no reference to volcanoes. Potato crops<br />

fail on volcano flank.<br />

Early-mid afternoon: jet-engine-like roaring noises, sulphurous smell and ash fallout.<br />

Population of Montserrat ~10,500.<br />

Sector collapse.<br />

Andesitic lava and ash eruption(s).<br />

Volcano-seismic crisis.<br />

Volcano-seismic crisis.<br />

Volcano-seismic crisis.<br />

Seismic activity escalates above<br />

background.<br />

Start of volcano-seismic crisis.<br />

Increasing seismicity.<br />

Intense swarm of felt earthquakes.<br />

Soufrière Hills Volcano erupts.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Table 2. Progress of volcanic activity with related emergency responses and effects on the population of Montserrat.<br />

DATE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY RESPONSE<br />

18 July 1995<br />

28 July 1995<br />

21-22 August 1995<br />

mid to late November 1995<br />

1-2 December 1995<br />

January 1996<br />

21 March 1996<br />

31 March 1996<br />

3-4 April 1996<br />

April 1996<br />

May 1996<br />

August 1996<br />

September 1996<br />

End November into<br />

December 1996<br />

February 1997<br />

May 1997<br />

Early-mid June 1997<br />

25 June 1997<br />

27 June 1997<br />

4 July 1997<br />

July 1997<br />

August 1997<br />

September 1997<br />

22 September -<br />

21 October 1997<br />

November 1997<br />

2-5 December 1997<br />

26 December 1997<br />

Early 1998<br />

February 1998<br />

March 1998<br />

20-21 April 1998<br />

21 May 1998<br />

11 June 1998<br />

14-16 July 1998<br />

30 September 1998<br />

October 1998<br />

November 1998<br />

January 1999<br />

12 April 1999<br />

1 May 1999<br />

mid 1999<br />

November 1999<br />

Onset of eruption.<br />

Major phreatic explosions.<br />

Onset of lava-dome growth.<br />

Onset of minor pyroclastic flows.<br />

Onset of major pyroclastic flows.<br />

Pyroclastic flows reach the sea.<br />

First major magmatic explosion; ballistic blocks >1 m<br />

diameter wreck Long Ground.<br />

First Galway’s Wall crisis<br />

Dome material overtops Galway’s Wall for first time.<br />

Dome growth switches to north and escalates.<br />

Increasing dome-collapse and pyroclastic flow<br />

activity in northern drainages.<br />

Pyroclastic flows kill 19 persons and injure 8. Surgederived<br />

pyroclastic flow unexpectedly reaches<br />

vicinity of Cork Hill.<br />

Large pyroclastic flows frequent and encroaching<br />

Plymouth.<br />

First series of (13) cyclic repetitive Vulcanian<br />

explosions and associated radially directed fountaincollapse<br />

pyroclastic flows.<br />

Second series of (75) cyclic repetitive (Vulcanian)<br />

explosions<br />

Galway’s Wall sector collapse and violent pyroclastic<br />

density current.<br />

Heavy ash fall in Central Zone.<br />

Cessation of magma ascent.<br />

Lava dome substantially degraded by collapses; ash<br />

venting frequent.<br />

Emergency Operations Centre activated in Plymouth. On-island population<br />

(10,500<br />

Military contingency evacuation plans completed both for removal to north<br />

and off-island. Long Ground temporarily evacuated.<br />

First major evacuation of 6,000 from southern and eastern areas, which lasted<br />

for 2 weeks.<br />

Long Ground and White’s Yard evacuated.<br />

Second major evacuation of 6,000, which lasted for 1 month.<br />

Civilian contingency evacuation plans (Operation Exodus) initiated.<br />

Government of Montserrat confirms acceptance of budgetary aid conditions.<br />

On-island population ~9,000<br />

Governor declares state of public emergency. Plymouth and southern areas<br />

evacuated finally.<br />

Population in temporary shelters 1,366 (gradually declined until August<br />

1997). Voluntary Evacuation Scheme gives evacuees leave to remain in UK for<br />

2 years.<br />

Risk management zone map introduced (Fig. 5a).<br />

On-island population ~7,500. £25m aid for 2 years agreed.<br />

Revised risk management zone map issued, dated October (Fig. 5b).<br />

Revised risk management zone maps issued dated November and December<br />

(Figs 5c and 5d). Red Alert requiring further evacuations (19 December) largely<br />

ignored.<br />

On-island population ~6,000. Revised risk management zone map issued (Fig. 5e).<br />

Population in temporary shelters 775; some residents still refuse to evacuate<br />

high-risk zones.<br />

Revised risk management zone map issued 6 June (Fig. 5f); increased risk at<br />

airport is explicit. Emergency jetty handed over to Government of Montserrat.<br />

Cork Hill evacuated; airport and Plymouth port closed. Search and rescue<br />

initiated.<br />

Revised risk management zone map issued, requiring further evacuation of<br />

western areas (Fig. 5g).<br />

Revised risk management zone map issued (Fig. 5h), abandoning microzonation<br />

and designating all hazardous areas as Exclusion Zone.<br />

1,160 persons in temporary shelters. £6.5m emergency housing scheme<br />

announced to accommodate 1,000 in north of island.<br />

Evacuation of areas just north of Belham River. 1,598 persons in temporary<br />

shelters. Formal assessment by Montserrat Volcano Observatory presented to<br />

UK Government. UK Foreign Secretary establishes inter-departmental<br />

Montserrat Action Group with Ministerial and Cabinet Office monitoring.<br />

Assisted Passage (to UK) Scheme announced, to aid relocation.<br />

Revised risk management map issued places Salem and Old Towne in<br />

Exclusion Zone (Fig. 5i). Chief Minister visits London securing commitments to<br />

aid development of northern Montserrat.<br />

Frequent ash fall causes extreme nuisance; many remaining islanders decide<br />

to leave.<br />

On-island population 3,338<br />

Scientists meet in Antigua to produce formal assessment for UK Government;<br />

validated on 19 December by Chief Scientific Adviser.<br />

On-island population 3,000. Recommended evacuation of Central Zone<br />

generally not heeded.<br />

UK Foreign Secretary visits Montserrat. Robbery of bank vault in Plymouth<br />

constitutes most significant opportunistic crime of the emergency.<br />

UK Government spend on aid related to the volcanic emergency totals ~£56m.<br />

Scientists meet in UK to produce formal assessment for UK Government.<br />

Evacuees allowed to settle indefinitely in UK.<br />

UK Government commitment of £75m over 3 years to 2001, and indicative<br />

£25m for 2001-2002.<br />

Scientists meet on Montserrat; formal assessment confirms lower risk levels.<br />

Revised risk management map issued (Fig. 5j).<br />

Phased reoccupation of areas north of Belham River allowed. 427 people still<br />

housed in shelters.<br />

Montserrat Sustainable Development Plan published.<br />

Inquest verdict on deaths of June 1997 published (11 January); it criticises<br />

both UK and Montserrat Governments. Montserrat Country Policy Plan agreed.<br />

Revised risk map issued allows Daytime Entry north of Plymouth (Fig. 5k).<br />

Assisted Return Passage Scheme (from UK) begins.<br />

On-island population recovered to ~4,500.<br />

Renewed dome growth.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Chronology, Nature and Nomenclature of the Eruption<br />

The 1995 eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano followed<br />

several years of precursory seismicity (earthquakes) and<br />

involved a slowly progressive escalation of volcanic<br />

activity and associated hazards (see Tables 1 and 2).<br />

With the small size of the island, and its population<br />

mainly located on the flanks of the active volcano, the<br />

slow escalation caused several distinct problems in the<br />

emergency management. These are outlined below.<br />

Initial signs of increased seismicity close to Soufrière<br />

Hills Volcano were detected in April 1989, and earthquakes<br />

more obviously located there were registered at<br />

intervals from January 1992 and particularly from mid<br />

to late 1994 (see Table 1). The eruption was not expected,<br />

and none of the detected precursors was obviously<br />

indicative of an imminent eruption.<br />

Most of the Soufrière Hills eruption until 1998<br />

involved slow ascent and extrusion (0.5-10 m 3 s -1 ) of<br />

viscous magma to form a composite andesite lava dome.<br />

However, on several occasions, including two protracted<br />

intervals, magma erupted explosively from the conduit<br />

(see Table 2). From March 1998 until November<br />

1999 there was a pause in magma extrusion, during<br />

which time the dome became divided by a deep chasm<br />

and substantially reduced by collapses. Renewed extrusion<br />

of andesite lava from November 1999 is not dealt<br />

with here.<br />

The eruption in the period 1995-1999 involved five<br />

main styles of volcanic activity. Each characterised a distinctive<br />

phase in the eruptive history, but overlapped<br />

with other styles:<br />

Phreatic explosions. These were produced by the sudden<br />

and/or sustained jet-like release primarily of heated<br />

groundwater, which blasted out mainly old volcanic<br />

rock. They characterised the opening phase of the eruption.<br />

A powerful explosion on 21 August led to the first<br />

evacuation of Plymouth (see Table 2). The heat source<br />

was newly arisen magma.<br />

Lava-dome growth periodically with dome-collapse pyroclastic<br />

flows. This activity was produced by the slow<br />

extrusion of lava, mainly in the range 0.5-10 m 3 s -1 ,<br />

which formed a steep-sided dome or pinnacle that<br />

eventually collapsed to form a hot avalanche. Large collapses<br />

produced blocky pyroclastic flows, which, driven<br />

mainly by gravity, tended to follow valleys. They typically<br />

had an overriding ash cloud, part of which flowed<br />

down slope and was not strongly valley-confined, while<br />

part ascended buoyantly to form an ash plume. Such<br />

dome-collapse pyroclastic flows characterised most of<br />

the eruption during 1996, 1997 and early 1998 (see Figure<br />

4). They constituted the main hazard of the eruption,<br />

their high energy and searing temperatures (many<br />

hundreds of ˚C) rendering them lethal and highly<br />

destructive. They sometimes travelled at velocities up<br />

to about 40 m s -1 (~100 mph) and they caused the tragic<br />

fatalities and injuries of 25 June 1997 (see Table 2).<br />

Magmatic explosions, commonly with fountain-collapse<br />

pyroclastic flows. These followed substantial dome collapses<br />

and consequent depressurisation of gas-rich<br />

magma in the underlying conduit (like removing a cork<br />

from a bottle of champagne). Explosive disruption of the<br />

magma then formed an eruptive jet, part of which<br />

ascended buoyantly as a plume, commonly to several<br />

km, or higher (up to 15 km), and part of which commonly<br />

collapsed back following fountain-like trajectories<br />

to the ground to form fountain-collapse pyroclastic<br />

flows. The first major explosion (17-18 September 1996)<br />

produced a sustained eruption plume, following initial<br />

vent-clearing explosions that showered ballistic blocks 1<br />

m in diameter up to 2 km. from the vent. Two episodes<br />

of explosions (August and September-October 1997)<br />

were associated with fountain-collapse pyroclastic flows<br />

that were directed radially down most drainages.<br />

Catastrophic sector collapse with associated explosive<br />

dome disruption and pyroclastic flows. This was caused<br />

by large-scale volcano-structural instability leading to<br />

sudden edifice failure and depressurisation of gas-rich<br />

magma. It was anticipated earlier in the eruption (end-<br />

November 1996), but occurred 13 months later, on 26<br />

December 1997 (the so-called Boxing Day Collapse).<br />

Failure of old flank rocks caused a debris avalanche<br />

closely succeeded by highly energetic pyroclastic flows<br />

that formed from the explosively disintegrating unsupported<br />

dome; these obliterated St Patrick’s and surrounding<br />

areas, which were already evacuated.<br />

Ash venting. This occurred periodically from the<br />

Figure 4.<br />

Progressive<br />

inundation of<br />

southern<br />

Montserrat by<br />

pyroclastic flow<br />

deposits during<br />

1995-1999. Each<br />

map shows the<br />

extent of deposits<br />

at the end of the<br />

time indicated. The<br />

areas impacted by<br />

pyroclastic flows<br />

are almost entirely<br />

the same as those<br />

anticipated in the<br />

hazards assessment<br />

made by<br />

Wadge & Isaacs<br />

(1987, 1988)<br />

before Hurricane<br />

Hugo damaged<br />

many key<br />

installations in<br />

Plymouth. Despite<br />

the contrary advice<br />

in the assessment,<br />

key installations<br />

were rebuilt in<br />

Plymouth, only to<br />

be lost to the<br />

volcano.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Figure 5a-k.<br />

Risk management maps based on hazards assessments made by the Montserrat Volcano<br />

Observatory (see text and Table 2). Until July 1997, the maps were used in conjunction<br />

with an alert-level system that changed the advice and/or access status relating to<br />

specific zones (see Table 3). Moving from Zones 4 to 1 or G to A (earlier maps) represents<br />

increasing risk. The May 1996 map (a) utilised field assessment and computer simulation<br />

(modelling) of pyroclastic flow behaviour on the volcano slopes; the October 1996 map<br />

(b) primarily reflected MVO consensus on the hazards of dome-collapse pyroclastic flows,<br />

with enhanced risks from major magmatic explosions (as occurred on 17 September); the<br />

November and December 1996 maps (c and d) reflected concern for a possible collapse to<br />

the southwest of Galway’s Wall, with a major explosion, and the February 1997 map (e)<br />

registered a diminishment of this; the 6 June 1997 map (f) took account of the new<br />

threats from pyroclastic flows travelling northwards; the 27 June 1997 map (g) registered<br />

the aftermath of the 25 June tragedy and continuing volcanic escalation; the 4 July 1997<br />

map (h) constituted acknowledgement of the continued escalation and need for<br />

rationalisation of the management system for simplicity; the September 1997 map (i)<br />

took account of a possible explosion with ten times the intensity of that of 17 September<br />

1996; the 30 September 1998 map (j) reflects the cessation of emplacement of new<br />

magma but persistent threat of pyroclastic flows; the 12 April 1999 map (k) recognised<br />

diminished eruptive energy, although substantial ash fall rendered the Daytime Entry<br />

Zone far from comfortable.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

actively growing and cooling lava dome, but characterised<br />

the phase when (after mid-March 1998) there<br />

was no substantial ascent of magma. It occurred when<br />

cooling and crystallisation caused abundant gas (mainly<br />

water vapour) to be exsolved and exhaled, commonly<br />

carrying with it ash derived by conduit erosion.<br />

Pyroclastic fallout (volcanic ash and gravel) from<br />

plumes was associated with all five styles of activity and<br />

generally increased as the eruptive activity escalated.<br />

Low-level plumes commonly drifted over the populous<br />

areas on the easterly trade winds, and substantial ash fall<br />

was common over the northwestern part of the island<br />

where most of the post-evacuation inhabitants were<br />

located. Although involving intense nuisance, some danger<br />

of roof-collapse, and possible secondary hazards (e.g.<br />

because of reduced visibility), the effects of the fallout<br />

were of concern mainly regarding long-term health and<br />

not immediately lethal volcanic hazard. The long-term<br />

health effects of respirable cristobalite, a silica mineral<br />

found to be abundant in dome-derived ash, remain cause<br />

for concern regarding lung-scarring silicosis (a miners’<br />

disease) and are the subject of ongoing health studies.<br />

Impacts of ballistic projectiles (bombs) capable of threatening<br />

life (fragments larger than ~50 mm in diameter)<br />

mainly occurred within zones that were already evacuated<br />

according to the hazards of pyroclastic flows. Roughly<br />

half of the houses of Long Ground, 2 km northeast of<br />

the vent (see Figure 2), were hit by ballistic blocks from<br />

the initial explosion(s) of 17 September 1996; some were<br />

larger than 1 m. in diameter.<br />

Emergency Management<br />

Table 2 sketches the progress of the eruption against the<br />

responses in terms of emergency management. Eleven<br />

risk management maps were published as the eruption<br />

escalated (see Figures 4 and 5), each with zones depicted<br />

according to hazards anticipated by the Montserrat<br />

Volcano Observatory (MVO). The micro-zonation<br />

maps were used until July 1997, in conjunction with an<br />

Alert Scheme (Table 3). Risk Management Zones had<br />

their access regulations altered according to the level of<br />

risk as set by the announced Alert Stage. At a particular<br />

alert level certain ‘generic’ restrictions applied to the<br />

various zones. For example, with a change of alert level<br />

from Orange to Red, Zones C and D, previously with<br />

limited access only, become exclusion zones to be<br />

rapidly evacuated (see Table 3). To a certain extent the<br />

restrictions could be (and were) treated flexibly by<br />

administrative officials. If new scientific consensus<br />

found it necessary, information was provided as a basis<br />

for the maps and/or alert levels to be changed.<br />

In the contexts of (1) the human and infrastructural<br />

stresses imposed by evacuations, (2) recognition that<br />

there was public determination not to leave the island,<br />

and (3) the political desire to keep life as near as possible<br />

to normal (albeit quite abnormal), the MVO was under<br />

Table 3.<br />

Alert System<br />

for Montserrat<br />

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ALERT LEVEL ACTIONS BY ADMINISTRATORS & GENERAL PUBLIC<br />

Background seismicity with no new surface manifestation of<br />

volcanic activity.<br />

Low-level local seismic activity, ground deformation and mild<br />

phreatic activity.<br />

Dome-building in progress, periodic collapses generating<br />

rockfalls and occasional pyroclastic flows. Moderate level of<br />

seismic activity with no sudden changes.<br />

Change in style of activity anticipated within a few days.<br />

Pyroclastic flows common with associated light ash fall. High<br />

level of seismic activity.<br />

Major dome collapse under way, with large pyroclastic flows<br />

and heavy ash fall. Explosive event possible if the activity<br />

continues.<br />

Ongoing large explosive eruption with heavy ash fall.<br />

0<br />

(WHITE)<br />

1<br />

(YELLOW)<br />

2<br />

(AMBER)<br />

3<br />

(ORANGE)<br />

4<br />

(RED)<br />

5<br />

(PURPLE)<br />

All zones occupied. Review and update emergency plans on an ongoing<br />

basis<br />

Maintain readiness of key personnel, systems and procedures. Keep<br />

stock of critical supplies. Local evacuations may be necessary in Zone A.<br />

Zone B and C on standby.<br />

Zone A - No access.<br />

Zone B - Access limited to short visits by residents, officials and<br />

approved visitors with means of rapid exit.<br />

Zone C - Daytime only visits by residents, for approved commercial<br />

activities and agriculture.<br />

Zone D - Day and night-time occupation by residents, high level of alert<br />

maintained.<br />

Zone E, F - Full occupation by residents with national contingency plan<br />

for evacuation in readiness.<br />

Zone G - Full occupation.<br />

Zone A, B - No access.<br />

Zone C - Access limited to short visits by residents and workers with<br />

means of rapid exit.<br />

Zone D - Daytime occupation for essential services and agriculture,<br />

residents allowed access in daytime. Essential services operate with<br />

standby transport and evacuation plans in place.<br />

Zone E - Full occupation with high level of alert maintained. Schools<br />

operate with standby transport.<br />

Zone F - Full occupation by residents with contingency plan for<br />

evacuation. Warn of ashfalls in Zone E and F.<br />

Zone G - Full occupation.<br />

Montserrat Standing Operation Procedures for Red Alert in place.<br />

All schools closed as required. People with special needs removed from<br />

Zone E & F.<br />

Zone A, B, C, D - No access, rapid evacuation of all remaining persons.<br />

Zone E - Rapid evacuation. Warn of potential for gravel, pumice and ash<br />

fall.<br />

Zone F - Warn of potential for gravel, pumice and ash fall.<br />

Zone G - Full occupation.<br />

Zone A, B, C, D, E - No access, rapid evacuation of all remaining persons.<br />

Zone F - Initiate evacuation. Warn of potential for gravel, pumice and<br />

ash fall.<br />

Zone G - Warn of potential for ash hazards.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

pressure to keep risk zones as narrow and precisely<br />

located as possible, so as to minimise adverse livingstress<br />

effects. Such ‘microzonation’ was in effect minimising<br />

margins of error and involved fine judgements<br />

in decision making. However, for reasons not directly<br />

concerned with the scientific methodology, the system<br />

was changed in early July 1997. Significantly prompted<br />

by the 25 June tragedy, the complex zone maps were<br />

replaced by a far simpler and safer tripartite division of<br />

the island into an Exclusion Zone and a Northern Zone,<br />

with an intervening Central (buffer) Zone (see Figure 5,<br />

Map h). The September 1997 map resulted from a comprehensive<br />

evaluation of the contemporary step-up in<br />

volcanic activity (see Figure 5, Map i).<br />

The Wadge & Isaacs Report (1987)<br />

The study entitled ‘Volcanic hazards from Soufrière<br />

Hills Volcano, Montserrat, West Indies (Wadge &<br />

Isaacs 1987) was commissioned in 1986 on the understanding<br />

that Soufrière Hills Volcano was potentially<br />

dangerous. According to the report, the impetus for<br />

the study came from the Government of Montserrat,<br />

which wanted a full assessment to be made; apparently<br />

there were plans to combine the hazards analysis with<br />

new census data to produce a risk assessment. The latter<br />

never materialised.<br />

The Wadge & Isaacs report discussed a range of eruption<br />

scenarios, provided maps that implied devastation<br />

on various scales up to and including most of southern<br />

Montserrat (as actually occurred), made reference to<br />

the likelihood of an eruption, and advocated local<br />

emergency planning. The study utilised three main<br />

classes of data: (1) the distribution of prehistoric pyroclastic<br />

flow (and other) deposits on Montserrat (see<br />

Figure 3a), (2) age determinations of the pyroclastic<br />

deposits, and (3) computer models of pyroclastic flows<br />

down the (digital terrain) slopes of the volcano, which<br />

predicted extremes of runout distance. The existing<br />

deposits confirmed the extent of impact inferred by the<br />

modelling, and the age data yielded some information<br />

on prehistoric frequency. The focus on pyroclastic-flow<br />

behaviour was highly relevant for Montserrat, because<br />

the favoured sites for the towns and villages, as well as<br />

the airport and farming sites, were on the gentle slopes<br />

of pyroclastic flow deposits derived from Soufrière<br />

Hills Volcano (see Figures 2 & 3).<br />

The report concluded that eruption emergency<br />

planning should allow for three types of eruptions: (1)<br />

a small eruption that would directly threaten Long<br />

Ground, which should be evacuated as soon as the<br />

eruption began, (2) a moderate to large eruption for<br />

which most of southern Montserrat should be evacuated<br />

according to priorities indicated in the sequential<br />

hazard zone map, and (3) a collapsing dome/lateral blast<br />

eruption - a very remote but dangerous possibility<br />

requiring immediate evacuation of the relevant 180-<br />

degree sector of the volcano. It went on to suggest that<br />

some consideration be given to strategies for mitigating<br />

the damage done to Montserrat by the loss during an<br />

eruption of the centralised facilities at Plymouth.<br />

In 1988 a distillation of the report was published and<br />

distributed internationally (Wadge & Isaacs 1988). In<br />

1989 one of the hazard maps was reproduced in a children’s<br />

book in a series on World Disasters (Knapp<br />

1989). The caption (abbreviated) reads: This computer<br />

map shows one way the volcano on Montserrat may erupt. It<br />

shows areas where people need to be evacuated. The government<br />

can also use these maps to show areas where it is safe to build in<br />

the future. Hospitals and control centers should all be placed<br />

away from danger spots. The text states: The latest scientific<br />

techniques have been used to help the government of the<br />

Caribbean island of Montserrat to make plans in case there<br />

should be an eruption in the future. ...Scientists have pinpointed<br />

the likely danger spots so that evacuation plans can be prepared<br />

taking these spots into account.<br />

Evidently, the Wadge & Isaacs report was never<br />

received in a way that allowed it to be used as advocated<br />

in the children’s book. On Montserrat, losses of documents<br />

from the Governor’s office and other<br />

government offices were attributed to Hurricane<br />

Hugo, which struck in 1989. The regional organisation<br />

charged with ensuring disaster preparedness, which<br />

commissioned the report in 1986, was superseded in<br />

1991. Seemingly, institutional memory can be as short<br />

as the period leading to a change of key personnel,<br />

organisational structure or government.<br />

It is conceivable that if the report had been read thoroughly<br />

by interested parties in Montserrat, its findings<br />

on the long-term recurrence probability of pyroclasticflow<br />

inundation of Plymouth, of about 1% per century,<br />

might have been interpreted as acceptable odds justifying<br />

no action on rethinking the island’s infrastructure.<br />

Similarly, a sentence near the end of the report, under<br />

Long-Term Planning, – “Soufrière Hills Volcano is not<br />

a very active volcano and it may be centuries before it<br />

erupts again on the scale requiring mass evacuation.” –<br />

might have been interpreted as a rationale for doing<br />

nothing. The estimation of future-event probability<br />

was necessarily crude. It is nevertheless remarkable that<br />

the report’s recommendations were not recollected<br />

when, in mid to late 1994, earthquakes very obviously<br />

located beneath the Soufrière Hills Volcano were<br />

detected and escalating. Although this escalation constituted<br />

no strong reason to expect an eruption (at the<br />

highest level of probability), evacuation plans, at least,<br />

should have been considered then. Former volcanoseismic<br />

crises of greater seismic energy had not led to<br />

eruption, but the key issue, recognised in the commissioning<br />

of the Wadge & Isaacs study in 1986 and so pertinent<br />

for the region, is one of disaster preparedness.<br />

It is regrettable that the Wadge & Isaacs study did not<br />

register fully in Montserrat or with the UK government<br />

department responsible for the administration of its<br />

Overseas Territory. Full consideration of it would: (1)<br />

have forced authorities in advance to evaluate the priori-<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

ties and possible consequences of their actions or inaction,<br />

particularly with regard to rebuilding key installations<br />

in Plymouth, and (2) have provided them with<br />

enhanced forward-looking capability at the onset of the<br />

eruption. Montserrat was less prepared than it might<br />

have been had the Wadge & Isaacs report found its mark.<br />

Census data were never utilised to produce risk assessments,<br />

which might have transformed the findings into<br />

terms more readily understood by planners and policy<br />

makers. The lessons in this for other communities at risk<br />

from volcanoes are non-trivial. With hindsight, the tragic<br />

losses on Montserrat could have been considerably<br />

fewer if the volcanic hazards assessment had triggered<br />

institutional planning for risk mitigation.<br />

Reflections<br />

The 1995-1999 eruption in Montserrat has been the<br />

most destructive in the West Indies since 1902 (the devastation<br />

of St Pierre and environs, Martinique). By 1998,<br />

when magma ascent paused and it was hoped that the<br />

eruption had ended, the resources deployed by the UK<br />

government agencies for scientific monitoring of the<br />

volcano amounted to more than £3.8 million, including<br />

provision of a helicopter (~£1.2 million). The total<br />

expenditure by then was almost £56 million, which was<br />

disbursed by the Department for International Development<br />

(DFID) of Her Majesty’s Government.<br />

The slow progress of the volcanic escalation coupled<br />

with the small size of the island had several key effects.<br />

The island was sufficiently large to have a safe zone<br />

throughout the eruption, but the majority of the inhabited<br />

areas and associated infrastructure had progressively<br />

to be abandoned. There was never any real need to<br />

evacuate the entire island, although contingency plans<br />

for this were formulated at the onset of the eruption<br />

(see Table 2). Had the eruption escalated rapidly, the<br />

risk management microzonation system probably<br />

would never have been developed.<br />

In terms of emergency management at Montserrat,<br />

the slow escalation also caused some problems with<br />

enforcement of evacuations. Whereas risk could be<br />

assessed and evacuations advised according to robust<br />

criteria, long periods with little change that was perceptible<br />

to the population contributed to several<br />

instances of hazardous disregard of advice or instructions.<br />

One such instance contributed to the tragic<br />

deaths on 25 June 1997. Some survivors commented<br />

that, had they known what the volcano could do, they<br />

might not have exposed themselves to the hazard. A<br />

catastrophic onset to the eruption probably would<br />

have engendered more cautious attention to the<br />

issued evacuation notices.<br />

The challenge for the future in vulnerable areas lies<br />

in ensuring that full institutional preparedness actually<br />

does follow from soundly based scientific appraisal of<br />

hazards and robust assessments of consequent risks.<br />

There are many communities, globally, that require upto-date<br />

hazards assessments.<br />

References<br />

Clay, E., Barrow, C., Benson, C., Dempster, J., Kokelaar, P., Pillai, N. & Seaman,<br />

J. (1999) An Evaluation of HMG’s Response to the Montserrat Volcanic<br />

Emergency, Department for International Development Evaluation Report<br />

EV635, Vols. I (86pp) and II (182pp).<br />

Knapp, B. (1989) Volcano London: Macmillan.<br />

Kokelaar, B.P. (2002) Setting, chronology and consequences of the 1995-<br />

1999 eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat. In: Druitt, T.H. &<br />

Kokelaar, B.P. (eds) The eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, from 1995<br />

to 1999. Geological Society of London Memoirs 21, 1-43.<br />

Wadge, G. & Isaacs, M.C., (1987) Volcanic Hazards from Soufrière Hills Volcano,<br />

Montserrat, West Indies. A report to the Government of Montserrat and the<br />

Pan Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Project. Reading:<br />

Department of Geography, University of Reading, UK.<br />

Wadge, G. & Isaacs, M.C. (1988). Mapping the volcanic hazards from<br />

Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, West Indies using an image processor.<br />

Journal of the Geological Society, London, 145: 541-555.<br />

Websites<br />

The Montserrat Volcano Observatory<br />

http://www.mvo.ms/<br />

U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program<br />

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/<br />

Montserrat Reporter<br />

http://www.montserratreporter.org/<br />

Volcano World<br />

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/<br />

How Volcanoes Work<br />

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/index.html<br />

Volcanic Jump Station<br />

An alphabetic list of links to other sites concerning volcanoes, use the<br />

alphabet tables to hop to a specific letter.<br />

http://www.v-home.alaska.edu/~jdehn/vjump.htm<br />

National Geographic Volcano information<br />

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/98/volcanoes<br />

Discovery On-line<br />

http://www.discovery.com/exp/montserrat/previous.html<br />

Acknowledgements<br />

This work is dedicated to all of the staff and other scientists who have<br />

served the Montserrat Volcano Observatory and hence given vital<br />

assistance to the beleaguered people of Montserrat. Kay Lancaster<br />

patiently and expertly drafted the figures and Helen Kokelaar gave<br />

considerable assistance and support to the author through the entire<br />

Montserrat project.<br />

Peter Kokelaar<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s Department<br />

University of Liverpool<br />

Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK.<br />

P.Kokelaar@liv.ac.uk<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Mineral Exploration<br />

TIM COLMAN<br />

We all use minerals from the moment we get up each day; finely powdered calcite in toothpaste<br />

and copper pipes carrying hot water. The roads are built of local crushed rock, sand and gravel<br />

with tarmac from oil refinery residues. Cars are made from steel made from iron ore from<br />

Australia, Brazil or Sweden and even washing powder contains phosphates from Morocco.<br />

This article is based on a workshop given by the author at the ESTA Annual Conference held at the<br />

BGS Headquarters, Keyworth, Nottingham, in September 2002.<br />

Figure 1<br />

Cartoon: mineral<br />

use in the USA<br />

Prices, demand and exploration<br />

Figure 1 shows the prolific use of minerals by the<br />

world’s richest country. The price of commodities has a<br />

great effect on mineral exploration. For example, the<br />

price of gold was fixed at $35 per ounce in the 1930s<br />

(the Gold Standard). By the 1960s this was very close to<br />

the cost of production, so no one looked for gold. South<br />

Africa produced over 60% of the world’s gold at just<br />

under 1000 tonnes per year. Then in 1968 the fixed<br />

price was removed and the price of gold began to rise:<br />

see Figure 2. When it reached a price of $600 per ounce<br />

in the early 1980s companies started looking for gold in<br />

earnest and production increased rapidly. Now production<br />

is around 2400 tonnes per year and South Africa’s<br />

share has shrunk to 18%.<br />

Mineral exploration as a job<br />

Mineral exploration is one of the most interesting and<br />

varied jobs. It involves geology, physics, chemistry<br />

(sometimes even biology – geobotanical exploration)<br />

coupled with travel to unusual places, diplomacy and<br />

public relations! The exploration geologist is usually<br />

the first person from his/her organisation in the area<br />

being explored and has to explain what they are doing,<br />

and why, to the general public.<br />

Figure 2<br />

World gold price<br />

fluctuations<br />

since 1968<br />

Figure 3<br />

Major cobalt deposits<br />

Where we look for minerals<br />

Generally the best place to find any particular minerals<br />

is ‘elephant country’ i.e. near an existing mine (or<br />

where elephants live!), or in a similar geological situation<br />

to an existing deposit. This means that the ground<br />

will have been well explored in the past so that new<br />

techniques or new ideas may have to be used to find<br />

new deposits. However, some companies deliberately<br />

go to areas which have not had much exploration in the<br />

hope of finding something more easily. The image<br />

below shows the locations of major cobalt deposits<br />

around the world.<br />

Exploration geologists may work anywhere in the<br />

world, apart from Antarctica where the Antarctic Treaty<br />

forbids the exploration and exploitation of any minerals.<br />

One could be at 3000 m altitude in the Andes, baking<br />

in the Australian outback, freezing in Arctic Canada<br />

or literally in someone’s backyard in Cornwall. Rocks<br />

all speak the same language, so the same geological<br />

skills can be employed anywhere in the world.<br />

Some companies, such as Inco (International Nickel<br />

Company of Canada) specialise in one or two metals<br />

– in this case nickel and copper. Others, such as the<br />

major British-based Rio Tinto, are interested in a wide<br />

range of commodities from iron ore to diamonds.<br />

Having identified the area of interest, some kind of<br />

prospecting licence is required to have legal ownership<br />

of whatever is found, subject to the terms of the licence.<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

This is usually from the government of the country,<br />

though in some places, such as America and Britain,<br />

most minerals are privately owned (gold and silver in<br />

Britain are owned by the Crown) and terms with<br />

numerous mineral rights owners have to be agreed<br />

before exploration starts.<br />

There are a number of stages to a mineral exploration<br />

programme, each one getting more detailed.<br />

Geology<br />

The first essential is a geological map of the area. This is<br />

often done in the office using satellite images as different<br />

rocks have different spectral characteristics and so a map<br />

of the rocks can be produced purely from the image. The<br />

exploration geologist then checks the map on the ground<br />

and adds the fine details which cannot be deduced from<br />

the images. This map allows the exploration campaign to<br />

be planned which is based on the assumption that any<br />

mineral deposit will have physical or chemical traces<br />

which extend beyond the deposit itself.<br />

Gossan<br />

Bleached zone<br />

Prospecting<br />

Surface prospecting, or walking over the area looking at<br />

the rocks for any unusual features which may indicate<br />

the presence of mineralisation, is still used today. Figure<br />

4 shows a gossan in Australia over a copper deposit. The<br />

gossan is the oxidised, iron-rich capping of an orebody<br />

at depth. It is surrounded by a much wider bleached<br />

zone of rocks which have altered by the mineralising<br />

fluids – in this case about 3100 Million years ago. Most<br />

of the numerous nickel deposits found in Western Australia<br />

in the 1960s and 1970s were discovered by<br />

prospectors locating gossans.<br />

Geochemistry<br />

Another basic technique is to take systematic samples of<br />

soil, rock and stream mud from the area. These are prepared<br />

by crushing and grinding to powder and are then<br />

analysed for a wide number of elements by a variety of<br />

X-Ray or spectroscopic methods. These are now all<br />

automated and capable of detecting many elements<br />

down to 1 part per million or less. Some elements, such<br />

as gold, are routinely analysed at parts per billion level<br />

in soil and rock and parts per trillion in water. A typical<br />

range of elements would be arsenic, antimony, barium,<br />

cobalt, copper, gold, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum,<br />

nickel, platinum, palladium, silver, tin, tungsten,<br />

vanadium and zinc. The values of the different elements<br />

can then be plotted in various ways. Figure 5<br />

shows a series of soil samples across an area in southwest<br />

Wales collected by the BGS Mineral Reconnaissance<br />

Programme. The volcanic rock has higher zinc<br />

content and is prospective for mineralisation; a sample<br />

over a fault shows an increase in lead values.<br />

The values can also be displayed using a Geographic<br />

Information System (GIS) which allows numerate spatial<br />

data to be plotted, analysed and manipulated. The<br />

resulting geochemical map may show an ‘anomaly’ or<br />

area of higher values over the hidden mineral deposit<br />

where metals such as copper, lead or zinc have been<br />

leached out of the deposit and risen to the surface soil.<br />

Figure 6 is from the BGS Welsh Geochemical atlas<br />

(British Geological Survey, 2000) and shows high copper<br />

values in stream sediments around the Parys Mountain<br />

copper deposit in Anglesey, extending to the southeast.<br />

Geophysics<br />

Some minerals are magnetic and can affect the <strong>Earth</strong>’s<br />

natural magnetic field. The most important of these is<br />

magnetite Fe 3 O 4 or lodestone. Very sensitive instruments<br />

called magnetometers can measure the <strong>Earth</strong>’s<br />

magnetic field to within 1 part in 1 million. They can be<br />

hand-held or flown in aircraft to measure the changes<br />

Figure 4 (Top)<br />

Gossan over an<br />

Australian copper<br />

deposit<br />

Figure 5 (Above)<br />

Lead and zinc<br />

variation in soil<br />

samples across a<br />

South Wales<br />

transect<br />

Figure 6<br />

GIS at work: high<br />

copper values in<br />

stream sediments<br />

around Parys<br />

Mountain,<br />

Anglesey<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Figure 7<br />

Magnetic anomaly,<br />

Cunderlee<br />

prospect,<br />

Western Australia<br />

Figure 8<br />

Drill rig in<br />

southern Scotland<br />

in the magnetic field. Some igneous rocks, such as<br />

basalt, can contain small amounts of magnetite and thus<br />

be detected using a magnetometer. A magnetite deposit,<br />

such as the huge iron orebody at Kiruna in Sweden, can<br />

cause a very large anomaly. Figure 7 shows a strong, circular<br />

magnetic anomaly from the Cunderlee prospect<br />

in Western Australia. High values are dark, low values<br />

are pale. This has been drilled by Western Areas NL<br />

with a 700 m deep hole to investigate its potential for<br />

copper, nickel, platinum and possibly diamonds. The<br />

anomaly is caused by a circular intrusion of an igneous<br />

rock into less magnetic sedimentary rocks.<br />

Some mineral deposits, especially those with a lot of<br />

pyrite which often accompanies more valuable minerals<br />

of copper or zinc, can be detected by their electrical<br />

conductivity compared with normally resistive rocks.<br />

There are various techniques for measuring this; some<br />

use electrodes to put a current into the ground while<br />

others create an electrical field using copper coils.<br />

Drilling<br />

Once an anomaly has been found which is thought to be<br />

due to a mineral deposit it has to be tested by drilling a<br />

hole. There are many different types of drill, but the one<br />

most commonly used to assess a metalliferous deposit is<br />

the diamond drill which uses a hollow steel pipe with a<br />

‘bit’ on the end studded with small industrial diamonds.<br />

The drill bit is usually from 35 to 60 mm across, so only<br />

a very small amount of rock is taken. These form the cutting<br />

edge which grinds up the rock as the drill pipe is<br />

rotated. A core of rock goes inside the pipe and can be<br />

recovered for analysis to determine what the metal content<br />

of the rock is. It may take several hundred drill holes<br />

to prove a large deposit. Figure 8 shows a drill rig in<br />

southern Scotland and Figure 9 below shows core from<br />

a gold deposit in northern Scotland.<br />

The odds on finding a commercially successful<br />

deposit are small. Generally a rule of thumb is that for<br />

every 1000 prospects investigated, 100 are checked in<br />

more detail including perhaps some drilling, 10 are taken<br />

to an advanced stage but only one becomes a mine.<br />

Further information<br />

British Geological Survey 2000. Regional geochemistry of<br />

Wales and west-central England: stream sediment and soil.<br />

(Keyworth: British Geological Survey).<br />

Websites<br />

BGS G-BASE<br />

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/gbase<br />

BGS Mineral Reconnaissance Programme and other<br />

minerals-related information<br />

http://www.mineralsUK.com<br />

Mineral Information Institute<br />

http://www.mii.org<br />

Western Areas NL<br />

http://www.westernareas.com.au<br />

Tim Colman<br />

British Geological Survey<br />

Keyworth<br />

Notts<br />

NG12 5GG<br />

Acknowledgements<br />

The Cunderlee aeromagnetic image was provided<br />

by R. Stuart, Geophysicist, Western Areas NL,<br />

Perth Western Australia. The mine baby image was<br />

provided by Mineral Information Institute Golden<br />

Colorado USA. This article is published with the<br />

permission of the Executive Director BGS.<br />

Figure 9 Cores from a gold deposit, northern Scotland<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

120


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Geological Time in the Classroom<br />

IAN WILKINSON<br />

This article is based on a workshop given by the author at the ESTA annual conference held at the BGS<br />

Headquaters in September 2002. For many, the concept of time is difficult to grasp. Yet even at Key Stage 2,<br />

children are expected to understand long periods of time, such as the activities of the Egyptians 4000 years ago,<br />

the Romans 2000 years ago or the Vikings 1000 years ago. These events took place so long ago that the child<br />

needs help to understand the passage of time. A student having difficulty in comprehending one thousand years<br />

may find it impossible to understand one thousand million years without a little help. Geological time means large<br />

numbers and it is necessary to break down these vast periods of time into more manageable pieces. Scaling is a<br />

useful tool especially when placed alongside a time line.<br />

Tempus fugit<br />

A number of models have been used to scale the 4,600<br />

million years of the <strong>Earth</strong>’s geological history in order<br />

to make it a more manageable concept. Compressing<br />

geological time into, for example, the twenty-four<br />

hours of the day or even to a single hour have been<br />

used. However, this gives the impression that, with the<br />

appearance of humans “a few seconds before midnight”,<br />

geological time came to an end and that our<br />

species is the ultimate life form at the end of the evolutionary<br />

process. This is far from the truth and these<br />

models, therefore, may be misleading.<br />

The solar system is estimated to be about half way<br />

through its life and so the model presented here scales<br />

geological time to that of a middle-aged person. Consider<br />

the <strong>Earth</strong> not as a planet 4,600 million years old,<br />

but as a person 46 years old. What major events have<br />

happened to <strong>Earth</strong> on some of its 46 ‘birthdays’? Of<br />

course to an eight or twelve year old child, it is perhaps<br />

difficult to imagine that anybody could be as old as 46,<br />

but discussion about the age of relatives – parents and<br />

grandparents (and teachers?) – helps to bring this into a<br />

more understandable framework. I would argue that,<br />

for a child, the same mental agility is necessary to come<br />

to terms with 46 years, 460 years and 4600 years, as is<br />

needed to understand 4,600 million years.<br />

Time in the classroom<br />

A time line is the ideal way to demonstrate how life has<br />

changed throughout <strong>Earth</strong>’s history and to help the student<br />

to comprehend the passage of geological time.<br />

Children in Key Stages 2 and 3 will be familiar with<br />

time lines. They will have constructed one for their<br />

own life, early in their educational experience and will<br />

1 2 3 4 5 ....................................... 43 44 45 46<br />

a.<br />

b. c.<br />

Age of the <strong>Earth</strong> in millions of years<br />

1. Creation of the<br />

Solar system and<br />

Formation of <strong>Earth</strong>’s<br />

crust.<br />

10 20<br />

2. The oldest things<br />

known to have<br />

formed on <strong>Earth</strong> are<br />

Zircon crystals.<br />

460 450 440<br />

d.<br />

3.<br />

Millions of years ago<br />

2<br />

The young <strong>Earth</strong> was covered in craters,<br />

rocks and dust, and there would have<br />

been lots of volcanoes. From the<br />

volcanoes came huge amounts of steam<br />

which condensed onto the cooler crust to<br />

form the oceans. This was also a time<br />

when there was a great bombardment of<br />

water-laden meteorites, that added to<br />

the <strong>Earth</strong>’s oceans. The oldest surviving<br />

things that are known to have formed on<br />

the <strong>Earth</strong> are crystals of a mineral called<br />

zircon. These crystals show that.........<br />

Figure 1.<br />

Methods for constructing a geological<br />

time line.<br />

a. A linear timeline divided into 46 units<br />

(“birthdays”).<br />

b. A linear time line stretched along a<br />

4.6m long washing line.<br />

c. An A0 board divided into 46 divisions<br />

(note the linear appearance is lost in<br />

this case).<br />

d. Part of a time line drawn on a computer<br />

(using Microsoft Word, saved in a pdf<br />

format and viewed in Adobe Acrobat).<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Table 1. (opposite)<br />

A geological time<br />

line: important<br />

events in the life<br />

and times of<br />

planet <strong>Earth</strong>.<br />

Ma = Millions of<br />

years ago<br />

also have met the concept in a historical context. It is a<br />

natural progression to extend the idea of a time line<br />

back into geological time.<br />

There are several ways that this can be achieved in the<br />

classroom (or outside area).<br />

● A piece of wallpaper 4.6 metres long could be<br />

stretched around a room, divided up into forty six<br />

10cm squares, each square representing a ‘birthday’<br />

(see Figure 1a).<br />

● A 4.6m length of rope, like a washing line, can be<br />

stretched across a playground (see Figure 1b). A<br />

clothes-peg every 10cm can be used to mark the<br />

‘birthdays’.<br />

● Or, if space really is at a premium, a grid pattern of<br />

46 squares can be drawn on an A0 piece of card (see<br />

Figure 1c), although this does lose the linear appearance<br />

(if time is indeed linear- I leave that question to<br />

the physicists).<br />

Whatever method is appropriate, subdivision into 46<br />

units is useful as these give the idea of the 46 ‘birthdays’<br />

(each birthday represents 100 million years of geological<br />

time). It is helpful if the last division (representing<br />

the last year between the 45 and 46th birthdays) is an<br />

elongate rectangle. A lot happened during that last<br />

‘year’, as Table 1 shows (and there is a need to be selective),<br />

and if it can be divided into 12 ‘months’, so much<br />

the better (see Figure 1c).<br />

Of course, for older students the concept of the <strong>Earth</strong><br />

having birthdays might be considered too juvenile.<br />

However, the same principal can be used. In this case the<br />

scaling can be retained, but the <strong>Earth</strong>’s age can be depicted<br />

along the time line in years from its creation and/or<br />

the number of years before present (as in Figure 1d,<br />

which combines <strong>Earth</strong>’s ‘birthdays’ and geological time).<br />

It is on this time line that the geological events are<br />

placed. These can be attached as blocks of text, but the<br />

visual impact is far better if photographs, sketches or<br />

the children’s artwork can be placed on the line (or<br />

pegged on the washing line at appropriate distances).<br />

The main biological events are shown in Table 1,<br />

although other events can also be added to the time line<br />

to make it as complex as required. Additional events<br />

might be evolution of the atmosphere, major extinction<br />

events, phases of mountain building, construction and<br />

break-up of super continents, etc.<br />

A modern approach might include ICT to draw the<br />

timeline by computer (see Figure 1d). Student’s artwork<br />

can be scanned and attached to the time line, as<br />

can pictures of fossils, rocks, minerals, maps, etc, perhaps<br />

taken from the Web or from clip-art packages.<br />

Hyperlinks can then be used to link the time line to<br />

additional information (e.g. students’ texts). Sophisticated<br />

software packages are not necessary. A pleasing<br />

effect can be achieved simply by using Word files converted<br />

to pdf format and viewed through Adobe Acrobat<br />

software. Figure 1d was drawn using the latter<br />

method and shows a hyperlink to a block of text<br />

describing an event on <strong>Earth</strong>’s second ‘birthday’.<br />

Another hyperlink returns you to the time line.<br />

But what of the future? Our middle-aged solar system<br />

has some way to go yet, and so has the evolution of<br />

life. It is interesting to debate what the world might<br />

look like in another million or 4000 million years. Will<br />

humans still dominate? What will be the effect of<br />

humans on biodiversity? What organisms might evolve,<br />

and what might the atmosphere be composed of? What<br />

is life’s future and how will it all end?<br />

Bearing in mind the article on creationism in volume<br />

27, part 1, of TES, it was perhaps appropriate that<br />

a discussion of life in the geological past was included in<br />

ESTA’s annual conference for 2002. Certainly the conflict<br />

between ‘Scientific’ concepts and ‘Creationist’ doctrines<br />

and the difficulties encountered in a classroom<br />

situation, were discussed during the workshop. I present<br />

here only the ‘scientific case’ and would not wish<br />

to enter a philosophical or theological debate as to how<br />

‘correct’ science or theology may or may not be. However,<br />

this is certainly a subject for discussion, particularly<br />

with the older students.<br />

The Geological time line<br />

The key geological events in the history of life are shown<br />

in Table 1, with brief notes for each. It should be noted<br />

that these events did not fall exactly on the <strong>Earth</strong>’s ‘birthdays’,<br />

but I have placed them to the nearest one. So the<br />

appearance of the dinosaurs 225 Ma (Ma = Millions of<br />

years ago) has been placed, for convenience, at the 44th<br />

birthday. A more accurate date for these events are given<br />

in the notes in Table 1. Of course absolute ages are<br />

approximate anyway and the degree of error and uncertainty<br />

increases with age. There are various opinions in<br />

scientific circles regarding the accuracy of dating methods,<br />

and a number of ‘corrections’ have been made in<br />

recent years. Take the Carboniferous, for example. The<br />

lower boundary has varied between 367 and 353 Ma and<br />

the top has been variously dated between 280 and 301Ma.<br />

This suggests that the Carboniferous was anything<br />

between 52 and 87 million years in duration.<br />

There are a number of critical events in the history<br />

of life, living organisms being those that eat and excrete,<br />

respire, grow, reproduce, respond to external stimuli<br />

and move. Viruses might be considered the most primitive<br />

life form in that they seem to span the prebiological/biological<br />

boundary, although they do not show any<br />

signs of life independent of their host cells. The bacterium<br />

is the most primitive organism capable of independent<br />

life. If we were bacteria, the key events that<br />

took place would be different from those mentioned<br />

here, but from the human perspective, there are perhaps<br />

seven major evolutionary events.<br />

1. The first is the evolution of life itself. Exactly when<br />

and how this took place are matters for conjecture.<br />

However, between about 4000 and 3800 Ma, bacteria<br />

evolved as a result of non-biological evolution,<br />

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122


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

‘Birthday’<br />

Approximate age<br />

of the <strong>Earth</strong><br />

(millions of years)<br />

Approximate time<br />

before present in<br />

millions of years<br />

Notes on key Events in the history of life<br />

0<br />

0<br />

4600<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> formed from a dust cloud with the sun in centre. When <strong>Earth</strong> was about 80%<br />

its present size, it crashed with another planetoid, creating a ring around <strong>Earth</strong><br />

which fused together to form the moon.<br />

1<br />

100<br />

4500<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>’s core formed when dense metals sank to the centre. Eventually the stony<br />

crust cooled and solidified. Little is known about <strong>Earth</strong> (no crustal rocks survive).<br />

2<br />

200<br />

4400<br />

Oldest known minerals to form on <strong>Earth</strong> are zircon crystals in Australia. Inclusions<br />

said to indicate oceans had formed by this time, although this is controversial.<br />

5<br />

500<br />

4100<br />

End of the Hadean (the name of the essentially unknown phase of <strong>Earth</strong>’s history,<br />

not represented by crustal rocks).<br />

6<br />

600<br />

4000<br />

The Ancaster Gneiss (Greenland) are <strong>Earth</strong>’s oldest known crustal rocks (c. 4000 Ma).<br />

8<br />

800<br />

3800<br />

Akilia Gneiss (3850 Ma) said to have carbon traces of life, but this is controversial.<br />

9<br />

900<br />

3700<br />

Banded Ironstone Formations (BIFs) are believed to have beencreated by bacteria.<br />

Oxygen given off by bacteria caused ferrous iron in ocean water to oxidise and<br />

precipitate as a red layer of iron on the sea floor. At times when oxygen was not<br />

being created, grey cherts were precipitated instead. These layers built up<br />

alternately to form BIFs. BIFs provide the earliest signs of photosynthesis. They<br />

began to form about 3700 Ma, but no fossils known. However, photosynthesising<br />

bacteria must have evolved from non-photosynthesising ancestors, which in turn<br />

evolved via non-biological evolution.<br />

11<br />

1100<br />

3500<br />

Oldest fossils – bacteria occur in the Apex Chert (western Australia), 3465 Ma old.<br />

Oxygen was a waste product and would have been poisonous to these early life<br />

forms. However, the oxygen was trapped in the rocks by oxidising iron.<br />

16<br />

1600<br />

3000<br />

Stromatolites formed by blue-green cyanobacteria, microscopic, single celled,<br />

photosynthesising organisms. They formed a mat of calcite removed from the sea<br />

water, which gradually built up to form domes. Blue-green bacteria are still making<br />

stromatolitic domes in Shark Bay (Australia) 3000 million years later.<br />

31<br />

3100<br />

1500<br />

Small amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere. The first eukaryotes appear, the basic<br />

cell type that almost every living thing on <strong>Earth</strong> is made of – protista, fungus, plant,<br />

animal kingdoms (only bacteria – Kingdom Monera- have the simpler prokaryotic<br />

cell). Sexual reproduction is said to have evolved at about this time. Rocks 1000 Ma<br />

old show an increase in diversity of these early eukaryotes, protista.<br />

39<br />

3900<br />

700<br />

The first multicelled animal fossils including the ‘sea-pen’ Charnia, worms, sea<br />

urchin-like creatures and jelly fish, are a little over 600Ma old. Trace fossils in<br />

Australia and Africa are about 700 Ma old (i.e. younger than underlying igneous<br />

rocks dated as 750-800 Ma old). Geneticists have suggested animal life began c.<br />

1000 Ma ago, but there is no evidence for this in the geological record.<br />

40<br />

4000<br />

600<br />

Animals with hard parts (shells and skeletons) e.g. trilobites and molluscs evolved. The<br />

earliest fish evolved soon after. Various dates have been suggested, between 545 and<br />

600 Ma (this is the base of the Cambrian). Soon afterwards, all kinds of organisms with<br />

hard parts began to evolve, including corals, crinoids, brachiopods, nautiloids,<br />

graptolites and microscopic species too- e.g. foraminifera, ostracods, conodonts.<br />

41<br />

4100<br />

500<br />

The first fish with calcareous back bones evolved (rather than cartilaginous<br />

notocords). Comparison can be made to other vertebrates including ourselves.<br />

42<br />

4200<br />

400<br />

Sufficient ozone in the atmosphere allowed plants to evolve from algae and colonise<br />

the land. Invasion of land by plants began with the evolution of non-vascular<br />

bryophytes in the Mid Ordovician, about 460 Ma ago. Cooksonia, the first vascular<br />

plant, evolved in the late Silurian, c. 420 Ma ago. Soon afterwards animals followed<br />

the plants. Animal life has been found on the marshy land associated with early plant<br />

fossils. Worms, snails and, by the late Devonian, the first amphibians (tetrapods) were<br />

the earliest to leave the aquatic realm. Amphibians rapidly evolved into lizards.<br />

43<br />

4300<br />

300<br />

The first tropical rain forests evolved (the coal forests) and began to spread about<br />

320 Ma ago.<br />

123 www.esta-uk.org


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

‘Birthday’<br />

Approximate age<br />

of the <strong>Earth</strong><br />

(millions of years)<br />

Approximate time<br />

before present in<br />

millions of years<br />

Notes on key Events in the history of life<br />

44<br />

4400<br />

200<br />

Lizards evolved into dinosaurs 225 Ma ago. ‘Mammal-like reptiles’ evolved into the<br />

first mammals-shrew-like insectivores- about 210 Ma ago.<br />

45<br />

4500<br />

100<br />

Archaeopteryx, the first bird, evolved from feathered theropod dinosaurs about 140<br />

Ma ago. Soon afterwards (c.130 Ma ago) flowering plants evolved – Archaefructus<br />

was the earliest angiosperm (it had carpels but no flower), but soon afterwards<br />

species related to Magnolia appeared (oldest fossil flower).<br />

45 years 4 months<br />

45,300<br />

65<br />

Mass extinction 65 to 70% of all species, including all the ammonites, belemnites,<br />

flying reptiles and dinosaurs (although birds, the last of the evolutionary line of the<br />

dinosaurs continued to thrive). After this mass extinction, mammals rapidly<br />

diversified occupying land, sea and air.<br />

45years 10 months<br />

45,984<br />

15<br />

Grass evolved. This is, perhaps, the most important flowering plant so far as<br />

humans are concerned as it provides us with wheat, barley, maize, rice, etc. The<br />

first grasslands evolved during a prolonged phase cooling climate. Some primates<br />

started to live on the ground rather than the trees.<br />

About 3 weeks ago<br />

Almost 4600<br />

c. 5-6<br />

The hominid Australopithecus evolved (‘hominid’ and ‘human’ should not be<br />

confused; Australopithecus was not human). There have been several species.<br />

Recently a skull c. 7 Ma old was discovered. This has been suggested to be the<br />

earliest hominid, but at the time of ‘going to press’ there was some doubt of its<br />

relationships and some believe it is the skull of an ape. Australopithecus afarensis<br />

(‘Lucy’) evolved about 5 Ma ago and the last species of Australopithecus, A. boisei<br />

(‘Nutcracker Man’), lived from 2.3 to 1.4 Ma ago.<br />

About 7-8 days ago<br />

2-2.5<br />

The first species of human evolve in Africa – Homo habilis. Fossils of their brain<br />

case shows that the speech centre is only just beginning to develop.<br />

c. 6-7 days ago<br />

2-1.6<br />

Homo erectus is now considered to be two species – H. ergaster and H. erectus. Homo<br />

ergaster evolved in Africa and appears to have evolved into H. erectus about 1.6 Ma<br />

ago. The latter was the first human species to migrate across Europe and Asia.<br />

c. 5 days ago until<br />

‘last night’<br />

1.3<br />

ce ages start, but this was a period of very variable climate-Britain was sometimes<br />

buried beneath up to 1km thick ice caps, sometimes tundra developed, but at other<br />

times it was warmer than today. During warm periods, lions hippo and rhino lived in<br />

Britain, but when the tundra developed, mammoth, wolves and giant elk lived here.<br />

The last glaciation in Britain ended about 10,000 years ago.<br />

c. 2 days ago<br />

0.5<br />

Homo heidelbergensis evolved. The earliest fossils are c. 500,000 years old.<br />

‘Heidelberg Man’ is also known as ‘Swanscombe Man’ and ‘Boxgrove Man’ in Britain.<br />

c.13 days ago<br />

c. 12 hours ago<br />

46<br />

(c. 3.5 hours ago)<br />

c. 1hour ago<br />

c. 60 seconds ago<br />

The last 60<br />

seconds<br />

150 000 years ago<br />

140,000 years ago<br />

c. 35,000 years ago<br />

c.11000 years ago<br />

250 years ago<br />

Homo neanderthalensis evolved in Europe during the “Ice Ages” and fossils are<br />

found particularly in Mediterranean countries. It possibly evolved from Homo<br />

heidelbergensis<br />

Modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved in Africa about 140,000 years ago,<br />

perhaps from ‘Rhodesia Man’, Homo rhodesiensis.<br />

Humans left Africa c.35,000 years ago to spread over Europe and Asia.<br />

Neanderthals became extinct about 30,000 years ago.<br />

Man became a farmer.<br />

Industrial revolution.<br />

Pollution, radioactive waste, hole in ozone later, acid rain, mass extinction.<br />

The next 40 years<br />

4600-9000<br />

What next?<br />

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124


Issue 40<br />

LANDFILL WASTE<br />

Environmental Impacts 4<br />

Published by the <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Teachers’ <strong>Association</strong> Registered Charity No. 1005331<br />

ANOTHER LOAD OF RUBBISH!<br />

Landfill has been a major method of getting rid of rubbish for centuries. Many people including bottle<br />

collectors and archaeologists find that much can be learned from digging up old rubbish. With the<br />

coming of the industrial revolution people found that they had a lot of waste products to get rid of. The<br />

modern plastics industry has developed a mass production of materials that are designed to last, even<br />

as rubbish. The easy way out is to find a hole and bury them. Out of sight out of mind. But as we are<br />

all becoming more aware, a problem buried is not necessarily a problem solved.<br />

Landfill poses many problems for the present and the future<br />

and many of these problems and their solutions are centred<br />

round geology. You may not think of Landfill as a major<br />

Environmental Impact but, to those who live near to one,<br />

the problems and advantages are very apparent. How can<br />

this topic be used in Primary education? A couple of<br />

suggestions are as a practical introduction to materials and<br />

their properties, or, If you have a local landfill site (Contact<br />

your local council to find out), as a geography project into<br />

local studies.<br />

I hope that in this issue of PEST we can give a little<br />

background and stimulate ideas as to how Landfill can be used as a topic for Geography, written<br />

and spoken English and, of course <strong>Science</strong>. Much of the study is best done using an actual local<br />

site. Although many sites are privately run, first approach your local council Environmental Health<br />

Department who will be able to give you information and contact addresses.<br />

The first requirement for a landfill site is a hole in the ground. Most landfill sites are disused<br />

quarries or pits. These are often the remaining holes, left after removal of limestone, sand, iron<br />

ore, gravel or clay.


Issue 40 ● ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 4<br />

If you lived in an area near a proposed landfill site in a disused quarry would these<br />

be advantages or disadvantages to you?<br />

Remember it’s your rubbish and it has to go somewhere.<br />

1. The possibility of pollution in the local water from<br />

rotting material.<br />

2. Lots of heavy vehicles delivering waste to the tip and blocking the roads.<br />

3. Noisy machinery working on the site.<br />

4. Flies and other vermin attracted to the site.<br />

5. Removal of dangerous holes in the ground.<br />

6. Having somewhere local and relatively inexpensive to get rid of local waste.<br />

7. Papers and other litter being blown into the streets and gardens.<br />

8. Cheap power from burning off the methane.<br />

9. Reclamation of land for sport, grazing, wildlife and eventually housing at<br />

no cost to the local council.<br />

10. Dust being blown off the site into houses.<br />

11. Gasses (methane and carbon dioxide) being given off into the atmosphere<br />

or having to be burned off.<br />

Make two lists. Sort the statements into “Advantages “and “Disadvantages”<br />

Can you think of any others?<br />

Decide what you think.<br />

Have a formal debate in the classroom.


Issue 40 ● ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 4<br />

Other ways of getting rid of waste materials include REDUCING, RECYCLING and REUSING.<br />

Can you think about how you can REDUCE the amount of material that you throw away as a family<br />

or as a school?<br />

If you have milk delivered it comes in reusable glass bottles. Can you think of other ways in which<br />

you can REUSE things rather than throw them away?<br />

Some things are made of materials that are easy to RECYCLE. These materials include;<br />

GLASS; PAPER; WOOD; WOOL; COTTON; IRON/STEEL; ALUMINIUM.<br />

Can you sort these objects into their main materials and then into two groups.<br />

“Recycle” and “Not Recycle”<br />

Broken window<br />

Car<br />

Saucepan<br />

Drinks can<br />

Newspaper<br />

Book<br />

Old clothes (natural fibres)<br />

Plastic lemonade bottles<br />

Crisp packets<br />

Metal cooking foil<br />

Food cans.<br />

Disposable drinking cups<br />

Mobile phones<br />

Refrigerators<br />

If all these objects are put into a landfill site and dug up by archaeologists in a thousand years,<br />

What would they find? What parts would rot away and help to form soil and what parts would<br />

remain unaltered?<br />

Some waste can be rotted down to make compost for the soil.<br />

Which of these do you think can be rotted down safely to make compost?<br />

1. leaves 2. cotton 3. polyester fabric 4. polythene bags 5. newspapers.


Issue 40 ● ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 4<br />

More Background<br />

When materials are buried many will decay, forming a range of harmless and harmful or unpleasant<br />

products. If these are gasses they are often explosive. If they are liquid, they may enter the<br />

groundwater, if they are solids they may be dissolved into the groundwater. Thus pollutants may travel<br />

long distances through the ground before becoming apparent. Old landfill sites were opportunist,<br />

using whatever holes were available Modern sites should be prepared more scientifically. The rock<br />

surrounding most landfill sites is, porous (It has internal spaces that can hold liquid) and permeable<br />

(It has cracks or spaces that allow liquid or gas to flow through). There is, therefor, a danger that<br />

liquids (leachate) or gasses will contaminate much of the surrounding area.<br />

To prevent this strict controls are now enforced in preparing and using landfill sites. They are first<br />

sealed with a synthetic membrane or clay lining (or both). It is then divided into cells and waste<br />

materials are added in compacted layers to each cell to a depth of about 2 metres when the cell is<br />

sealed off and another started. When the hole is full it is capped with a dome of clay and then soil<br />

to allow for settlement.<br />

There are other types of landfill site that we sometimes forget for example. Nuclear waste,<br />

controlled toxic waste, and, (We do not often think of this one), cemeteries. They all have their own<br />

individual problems and the effective siting of them all is dependent on the local geology.<br />

Can you think how these factors could effect a landfill site or the choice of location for a new<br />

landfill site?<br />

● Local rock type and formation<br />

● Groundwater<br />

● Rainfall<br />

● Rivers and streams<br />

● <strong>Earth</strong>quakes<br />

(Last year an earthquake in the West Midlands had its epicentre very close to a landfill site)<br />

COPYRIGHT<br />

There is no copyright on original material published in<br />

<strong>teaching</strong> Primary <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> if it is required for<br />

<strong>teaching</strong> in the classroom. Copyright materials<br />

reproduced by permission of other publications rests<br />

with the original publishers.<br />

To reproduce original material from P.E.S.T. in other<br />

publications permission must be sought from the <strong>Earth</strong><br />

<strong>Science</strong> Primary working group via: Peter York, at the<br />

address below.<br />

This issue was devised and written by Stewart Taylor and<br />

edited by Graham Kitts.<br />

TO SUBSCRIBE TO: TEACHING PRIMARY EARTH SCIENCE<br />

send £5.00 made payable to ESTA.<br />

c/o Mr P York,<br />

346 Middlewood Road North,<br />

Oughtibridge,<br />

Sheffield S35 0HF


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

although there is no evidence for this in the geological<br />

record. Kingdom Monera must have gone<br />

through a phase of chemoautotrophic (non-photosynthesising)<br />

organisms prior to the first signs of<br />

more advanced bacteria which adopted photosynthesis<br />

about 3700 Ma.<br />

2. Probably the single most significant evolutionary<br />

step, took place when the prokaryotic cell (the cell<br />

plan of bacteria) evolved into the eukaryotic cell (the<br />

cell plan of all other kingdoms- protista, plant, animal<br />

and fungi). It is believed that this came about<br />

when several prokaryotes began to live together in a<br />

symbiotic relationship in a single cell; each prokaryote<br />

undertaking different functions. But the important<br />

point is that the membrane-covered nucleus<br />

containing DNA came into being and sexual reproduction<br />

became possible.<br />

3. The evolution of multicelled organisms was the next<br />

significant advance. It probably occurred several<br />

times before it was successful about 700 Ma. Evidence<br />

comes from simple burrows that were dug by<br />

unknown organisms at this time. The earliest fossilised,<br />

ediacaran, animals (sea-pens, worms, ‘jellyfish’,<br />

etc) appeared about 605 Ma.<br />

4. The appearance of organisms with hard parts is<br />

reflected in the fossil record by the sudden appearance<br />

of common and diverse fossil assemblages at<br />

the base of the Cambrian, variously dated between<br />

545 and 600 Ma. Many of these were advanced<br />

organisms, suggesting that similar, but unfossilised,<br />

soft bodied organisms were in existence prior to this.<br />

It was not just animals that began to secrete a skeleton<br />

or shell. A number of protista did too, including<br />

foraminifera and algae. A shell or skeleton is<br />

required by advanced organisms, not just for protection,<br />

but for support and for muscle attachment.<br />

5. This brings us to another important advance in the<br />

history of life, the first step onto dry land. This had<br />

probably been attempted several times before it was<br />

successfully accomplished. Organisms had to develop<br />

methods to overcome the high ultraviolet rays<br />

(which had been lethal prior to the build-up of oxygen<br />

and ozone in the atmosphere), withstand dessication<br />

and evolve reproductive strategies out of the<br />

aquatic environment. The first organisms to live on<br />

land were probably bacteria, and although it is difficult<br />

to determine exactly when this occurred, it was<br />

during Precambrian times. Some of the oldest signs<br />

of animal life on land are tracks of a centipede-like<br />

creature which were made in muds on the waters’<br />

edge of an Ordovician lake in northern England.<br />

The footprints were preserved as a result of rapid<br />

dessication soon after they were made. It is likely that<br />

green algae living in the shallow waters, evolved into<br />

true plants at this time. Spores of non-vascular plants<br />

are present in Ordovician shallow marine mudstones,<br />

presumably derived from the land, and by the<br />

late Silurian more advanced vascular species had<br />

evolved. A number of different animals followed the<br />

plants onto the land, including worms, gastropods<br />

and, later, amphibians.<br />

6. There have been several mass extinctions during the<br />

history of the <strong>Earth</strong>, perhaps the most profound taking<br />

place 252 Ma (at the end of the Permian time)<br />

when over 90% of all species disappeared. However,<br />

a less severe mass extinction (‘only’ about 60-70% of<br />

all species became extinct) took place 65 Ma. This<br />

was when the dinosaurs disappeared. From our<br />

point of view this was an important event. For some<br />

reason, as soon as the dinosaurs disappeared from<br />

the landscape, mammals took their place and rapidly<br />

diversified into a vast number of different types,<br />

occupying land, sea and air.<br />

7. From our own perspective, the final significant event<br />

is the appearance of humans, including our own<br />

species. The first humans (Homo habilis) evolved<br />

approximately 2 Ma, presumably from Anthropithecus<br />

ancestors, but our own species (Homo sapiens)<br />

evolved only about 140,000 years ago in central<br />

Africa. It was not until about 35,000 years ago that we<br />

left Africa and spread across Europe and Asia, eventually<br />

inhabiting the whole globe. There is a great<br />

deal of uncertainty regarding the relationships<br />

between one species of human and another; ideas<br />

change very regularly, due mainly to the lack of fossils.<br />

However, the table shows a number of species of<br />

human and gives an indication of how the human<br />

race, and in particular our species, is a very recent<br />

addition to the biodiversity of the <strong>Earth</strong>.<br />

These and the other significant events that took place<br />

along the geological time line are listed on Table 1 and<br />

further details by Dr Mark Williams and myself can be<br />

found in Teaching <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s Issue 27/4.<br />

Further Reading<br />

A number of scientific palaeontology books are available, providing data<br />

that can be used on a time line. The majority are for advanced students, but<br />

a brief outline of the fossil record, including a short reference list, is published<br />

by the British Geological Survey:<br />

Rigby, S. (1997). Fossils, the Story of Life. 64pp. British Geological Survey.<br />

The Fossil Focus series is also published by the British Geological Survey.<br />

These laminated A3 cards colourfully explain the anatomy, distribution and<br />

environmental requirements of a number of fossil groups. A list can be<br />

found in the BGS catalogue and by visiting its web site (www.bgs.ac.uk).<br />

Acknowlegdements<br />

I thank Drs Stewart Molyneux and Mark Williams for helpful discussion<br />

and comments to earlier drafts of this paper. It is publish with permission<br />

of the Director of the British Geological Survey (N.E.R.C.)<br />

Ian P. Wilkinson<br />

British Geological Survey<br />

Keyworth, Nottingham<br />

NG12 5GG<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

A Results Spreadsheet for<br />

AS and A Level Geology<br />

OWAIN THOMAS<br />

More and more emphasis is being placed on the use of statistics and other numerical data in assessing<br />

the effectiveness of departments and <strong>teaching</strong> strategies. So much data is available that it is<br />

sometimes difficult to manage. This article describes a spreadsheet which has been developed to<br />

record pupil results in the AS/A level course.<br />

Figure 1<br />

GCSE Scores<br />

English<br />

B<br />

6<br />

Maths<br />

C<br />

5<br />

<strong>Science</strong><br />

AA<br />

7<br />

Potential grade<br />

C<br />

Figure 2<br />

Mean<br />

6.00<br />

Background<br />

Each year the results from AS and A level modules are<br />

sent to the school from the examination boards and<br />

each year heads of departments are expected to analyse<br />

the results prior to the annual review with the headteacher.<br />

In the past this has been achieved using a<br />

paper based system but the sheer quantity of data<br />

means that this is becoming increasingly difficult. So,<br />

in line with many other departments we have tried to<br />

develop a computerised system for record keeping and<br />

target setting.<br />

There are a number of “audiences” for this type of<br />

data presentation. Curriculum leaders and line managers<br />

will request statistical data. Departmental staff<br />

can judge the effectiveness of their <strong>teaching</strong> strategies<br />

and the value added to pupils’ previous performances<br />

but the most important group are the pupils themselves.<br />

They can see exactly how their efforts are<br />

translated into real marks and how those marks<br />

become combined to give an overall grade. Sharing<br />

data with pupils in this way becomes a powerful tool<br />

in improving pupil performance.<br />

This is the first year that this spreadsheet has been<br />

used and so far it has been very useful in focusing students’<br />

attention on the importance of raising the standard<br />

of their results. I have little expertise in using<br />

statistics so the formulae have been based on the<br />

results of students in the previous assessment period<br />

and I am sure that, as time goes by, and more data<br />

become available, the model will be revised and<br />

adjusted accordingly.<br />

NB. The cells of the spreadsheet have been shaded<br />

to make it easier to use. The teacher enters data into the<br />

yellow cells only, the pink cells display data generated<br />

by the computer.<br />

Using the GCSE scores<br />

The first important data to be recorded are the results in<br />

the core subjects at GCSE (English, Maths and <strong>Science</strong>.<br />

Welsh is also part of the core curriculum in Wales but,<br />

because pupils may have Welsh as their first or second<br />

language, the Welsh grade is not used). The three grades<br />

achieved in these subjects are converted to numerical<br />

scores following the school’s system for entry into the<br />

sixth form (A*=8, A=7, B=6 etc). Some of our students<br />

study geology at GCSE level but, because this is<br />

not a prerequisite for joining the AS course, the GCSE<br />

geology grade is not included in the analysis. The result<br />

for science will most likely be a double grade (since<br />

most students will have followed the double award<br />

course), but this is reduced to a single grade for the purposes<br />

of the spreadsheet. Similarly, if the student has<br />

followed the triple science course, an approximate average<br />

is used.<br />

Figure 1 gives an extract from the spreadsheet which<br />

shows that the pupil gained C in Maths, B in English<br />

and AA in double award science. The scores are shown<br />

below each grade and the spreadsheet generates a mean<br />

score; from this a potential grade for the AS course is<br />

generated.<br />

The spreadsheet calculates the mean points score<br />

and this is used to project a potential grade for the AS<br />

course. A potential mark is also generated – in each case<br />

the minimum mark necessary for that grade. There is<br />

always a danger of relying too much on a purely numerical<br />

method for setting targets since such methods do<br />

not accommodate the oft-quoted and frequently reliable<br />

“teacher’s gut instinct”. A teacher assessment grade<br />

is entered at the top of the spreadsheet. If the teacher<br />

feels that the pupil is capable of obtaining a grade B at<br />

AS, the spreadsheet assigns a numerical score of 225.<br />

This is in the middle of the mark range for that grade<br />

reflecting the confidence of the teacher’s assessment.<br />

The spreadsheet then determines an initial target,<br />

the mean of the teacher assessment and the potential<br />

grade.<br />

Figure 2 is part of the spreadsheet which shows that<br />

the potential result is predicted as 180 marks (i.e. a C<br />

grade). The teacher feels that the pupil could achieve a<br />

B grade in the AS course so the computer generates a<br />

Potential AS Score<br />

180<br />

Teacher<br />

assessment<br />

B 225<br />

Initial target<br />

203<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

126


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Module GL1 Module GL2 Module GL3<br />

Potential: 33% 67 33% 67 33% 67<br />

Likely score: 50 57 57<br />

1st sitting: 55 D 66 C 64 C<br />

Difference: act - pot -12 act - pot -1 act - pot -3<br />

Resit? yes no possibly<br />

2nd sitting: 63 C U 66 C<br />

Best Mark: 63 C 66 C 66 C<br />

% Component: 32.31 33.85 33.85<br />

AS Score 195 C<br />

A Lev<br />

Estimate<br />

B<br />

score of 225 marks, in the middle of the B range. From<br />

these two marks the spreadsheet calculates the initial<br />

target of 203.<br />

AS modular results<br />

The targets and scores predicted by the spreadsheet<br />

assume that the pupils follow the following assessment<br />

pattern:<br />

January Year 12 - GL1 first sitting<br />

June Year 12 - GL2 & GL3 first sitting<br />

June Year 13 - GL4, GL5, GL6 first sitting<br />

Resits can be accommodated at any time.<br />

The template for the AS modular results displays the<br />

potential marks for each module: in each case this is<br />

33% of the initial target. Again it is necessary to take<br />

into account the progress and effort made by pupils<br />

during each stage of the course. In the lower left corner<br />

of the spreadsheet a comment on the effort made<br />

by the pupil can be entered. This follows the school’s<br />

reviewing procedure, using the terms poor, satisfactory,<br />

good and very good (p,s,g,vg). These descriptors<br />

are converted to a score and these are then used to<br />

convert the potential result into a realistic estimate for<br />

the pupil’s attainment; the “likely score”. For example,<br />

a pupil with a potential score of 67 who has made a satisfactory<br />

effort will have a likely score of 50. The<br />

spreadsheet calculates this by using a scaling factor, 1.0<br />

for “very good” effort, 0.75 for “satisfactory” and so<br />

on. The effort description for Christmas term is used<br />

to determine the likely result in GL1, the Summer<br />

term effort comment produces the likely results in<br />

GL2 and GL3 (see figure 3).<br />

Figure 4 is a part of the spreadsheet that takes into<br />

account the pupil’s performance. The school monitoring<br />

system uses the terms poor, satisfactory, good and<br />

very good.<br />

When the first module test result is received, this is<br />

entered into the appropriate cell on the spreadsheet (1st<br />

sitting). The computer displays the appropriate grade<br />

and calculates the numerical difference between the<br />

actual result and the potential score. If the pupil<br />

achieved a mark significantly lower than their potential<br />

(greater than 10 marks) the spreadsheet recommends<br />

that the pupil should resit that paper. For differences<br />

less than 2 marks lower than the potential, the spreadsheet<br />

recommends banking the mark (ie. not resitting).<br />

A drop of between 2 and 10 marks generates a resit recommendation<br />

of “possibly”.<br />

A resit mark can be entered at any time during the<br />

course. In each case the spreadsheet will compare the<br />

two marks and display the best mark at the bottom of<br />

this section and the three best marks are aggregated to<br />

give the overall AS result.<br />

A2 Modular results<br />

The AS score is used to generate a target for the overall<br />

A level result. Basically this is the AS grade + 1. The<br />

potential A2 score is also based on the AS component;<br />

1.15 x AS score. Pupils often ask what they need to<br />

achieve a particular grade in the A level course. A chart<br />

at the top of the spreadsheet shows what score is needed<br />

in A2 in order to achieve each grade.<br />

Figure 3<br />

Spreadsheet entry<br />

for one student<br />

across the three<br />

AS geology<br />

modules.<br />

Figure 4<br />

Effort (p,s,g,vg)<br />

L6th Autumn<br />

S<br />

0.75<br />

L6th Summer<br />

G<br />

0.85<br />

U6th Autumn<br />

G<br />

0.85<br />

U6th Summer<br />

Vg<br />

1<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Figure 5<br />

Potential<br />

A2 Score<br />

224<br />

To get: A B C D E<br />

You need: 285 225 165 105 45<br />

Figure 6<br />

Spreadsheet entry<br />

for one student<br />

across the three A2<br />

geology modules<br />

Module GL4 Module GL5 Course Work<br />

30% 70 40% 92 30% 78<br />

69.5 91.9 66.7<br />

71 B 90 B 75 A<br />

30.08 38.14 31.78<br />

A2 Score 236<br />

Overall 431 B<br />

Figure 5 is the part of the spreadsheet which shows<br />

that the pupil has achieved 224 marks in the AS component.<br />

The lower part of the table shows the number<br />

of marks the pupil needs to get in the A2 component to<br />

achieve overall A level grades.<br />

GL4 and GL5 are only available in summer so the<br />

effort comments for Summer Upper Sixth are used to<br />

determine the likely results in these papers. GL6 is the<br />

coursework component and as such it will probably be<br />

addressed over a period of time so the effort grades in<br />

both parts of the year are used to generate a likely result.<br />

Figure 6 shows the spreadsheet entry for one student<br />

across the three A2 geology component.<br />

Adapting the spreadsheet<br />

This spreadsheet was created using the 2002 specifications<br />

but during the last few months the WJEC have<br />

altered the percentages of the AS components. The<br />

spreadsheet can easily be adapted by changing the components<br />

according to the 2003 specifications.<br />

Conclusion<br />

Although this spreadsheet is still under development<br />

and many of the calculations will need refinement, it<br />

has already proved very valuable in showing students in<br />

the sixth form how their efforts over the next few<br />

months will affect their final results. Hopefully their<br />

results will be improved as a result.<br />

Note<br />

You can download a copy of this spreadsheet from the<br />

ESTA website www.esta-uk.org . If you use the spreadsheet<br />

I would be most grateful for constructive criticism.<br />

Owain Thomas<br />

Teacher i/c Geology<br />

Amman Valley School<br />

Margaret Street, Ammanford<br />

Carmarthenshire<br />

SA18 2NW<br />

Tel (01269) 592441<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

128


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

The Role of Fieldwork in Undergraduate Geoscience<br />

Education: Approaches and Constraints<br />

S. MONDLANE AND B. MAPANI<br />

The importance of fieldwork in geoscience education at undergraduate level is closely related to the competence of the<br />

geologist. Despite the constraints involving fieldwork activities, mainly related to safety, funds, availability to all<br />

students, access and logistics, it still must be done, especially so in developing countries where resources are scarce.<br />

Introduction<br />

This paper discusses the role of fieldwork in the undergraduate<br />

geological curriculum and the integration of<br />

these methods with new approaches in geology within<br />

certain constraints in today’s world of geology where,<br />

for example, the Internet and 5-metre space resolution<br />

of satellite images are facts.<br />

For our purposes we define fieldwork as the activities<br />

of observing, collecting, interpreting and producing<br />

a report and geological map in the field. In areas where<br />

a map already exists, fieldwork serves to improve the<br />

map and the current state of geological knowledge in<br />

that particular area.<br />

Field observations involve the identification and<br />

decodification of geological features in order to recreate<br />

the historical-geological processes that have taken place<br />

(Compiani, 1996). Fieldwork is regarded as a fundamental<br />

scientific activity in the <strong>Earth</strong> sciences (Hawley,<br />

1996). Keller (1963) described fieldwork as a scientific<br />

birthright for geologists. Thompson (1982) (cf. Hawley,<br />

1996) regarded fieldwork as an important, essential and<br />

integral part of <strong>teaching</strong> <strong>Earth</strong> sciences. Without fieldwork,<br />

geology becomes an abstract science.<br />

There are at least 100 days fieldwork in the three<br />

years geology undergraduate curriculum in UK whereas<br />

the days of fieldwork in the five years geology curriculum<br />

in Mozambique are 125. In Zimbabwe there<br />

are 73 days of fieldwork in BSc (hons) one year degree<br />

programme in geology. This example shows that the<br />

exposure to fieldwork of students in different countries<br />

varies but is nevertheless quite high. This is in part<br />

related to the costs and logistics but also to efficiency on<br />

maximisation of the field days. There are many ways of<br />

maximising information and skills transfer through<br />

fieldwork, that are related to different approaches in<br />

fieldwork activities. These approaches include the “persistent”,<br />

the “traditional” and the “investigative” methods.<br />

Although, most lecturers’ approach to <strong>Earth</strong><br />

science fieldwork have not moved along with the general<br />

trend in changing approaches to science education<br />

as highlighted by Fisher & Harley (1988), in general,<br />

the aim is still to equip students to be able to identify,<br />

map and produce a geological report for a given area.<br />

Fieldwork can be carried out during term/semester<br />

time parallel with courses being taught at that time or at<br />

the end of the semester. Both approaches are recommended<br />

and have their own merits. Semester time<br />

fieldwork tends not to have enough time to carry<br />

detailed investigations, whereas fieldwork done at the<br />

end of the semester ensures sufficient amount of time<br />

to do mapping. Therefore an integrated approach is the<br />

best outcome, as students will closely associate lectures<br />

with fieldwork during term time, and detailed fieldwork<br />

during semester breaks thereby learning to treat<br />

the geoscience disciplines as a whole.<br />

Methods Used in Fieldwork Instruction<br />

Different approaches to fieldwork will, inherently,<br />

produce students with different skills at solving field<br />

related problems. Two broad types of approach will be<br />

discussed here, namely the traditional and investigative<br />

approaches. In the traditional method, <strong>Earth</strong> science<br />

fieldwork is a vehicle mainly for transmitting<br />

information by the lecturer. Emphasis is placed on<br />

description and acquisition of information/knowledge.<br />

Little opportunity is given for individual observation,<br />

thought and interpretation of the observed<br />

phenomenon. In most cases, lecturers are actually<br />

unaware of the sequence of events in the giving of this<br />

knowledge. They are generally well acquainted with<br />

the area, well meaning and commonly give the students<br />

more information which has been “interpreted”<br />

rather than that which the students have actually<br />

gleaned from the outcrop. As such, the students are<br />

denied the opportunity to “learn” how to be creative<br />

and link geological processes from “outcrop” to<br />

“region” and “region” to “orogeny”.<br />

The other method is the investigative approach,<br />

which generally complements and parallels other scientific<br />

activities. This method requires a more pedagogic<br />

approach on the part of the leader, since fieldwork concepts<br />

have to be developed to enhance the students’<br />

understanding. Therefore a good grasp of previous<br />

knowledge of the area by the leader is required. The<br />

approach is based more on asking than on showing.<br />

Examples of questions posed in such an approach are:<br />

● How does the stratigraphic column look like in the<br />

area? How does such a stratigraphy arise?<br />

● Is the area likely to have mineralization and, if so, why?<br />

● If present, what kind of mineralization would we<br />

expect in this region?<br />

● What indications could we look for in order to prove<br />

the presence or absence of mineralization in this area?<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

These and other questions can be asked to students<br />

at any level of instruction. They can just be refined as<br />

students gain more experience.<br />

The Ideal Approach to Fieldwork<br />

The ideal approach to fieldwork must take cognisance of:<br />

(i) The main objectives of the fieldwork. At this time<br />

it must be clear in the mind of the lecturer what<br />

the students ought to accomplish in the given<br />

number of days.<br />

(ii) Lecturers must decide whether the objectives are<br />

primarily investigative or transmissive and should<br />

set realistic goals for the available time in the field.<br />

(iii) The structure of the activities that will guide the<br />

students and ensure that students have the necessary<br />

skills and knowledge to carry out the fieldwork.<br />

If necessary, short lectures can be delivered<br />

in the evenings during the fieldwork trip to complement<br />

the knowledge of the students.<br />

(iv) The setting of the area, and context of the field trip,<br />

must necessarily enable interaction, and make it scientifically<br />

valid. Here the lecturer must bring out of<br />

the students the basic geological concept that<br />

“structures observed at microscales are reproduced<br />

at megascales”. This will enable students to work<br />

with the concept of scale and time in geology.<br />

Geology as a Field <strong>Science</strong><br />

Without fieldwork, geology becomes an abstract science<br />

and is thus relegated to the realm of the mind only.<br />

Geology however, is by nature both a pure science,<br />

based on observation of the natural laboratory (<strong>Earth</strong>)<br />

and an applied science, where natural resource management<br />

and exploitation is the major activity; for example,<br />

mining, environment, economics, hydrogeology, and<br />

engineering geology among others.<br />

Therefore, fieldwork consists of the true natural way<br />

of a geologist! By nature, when one graduates as a geologist,<br />

he/she will in more ways than one be actively<br />

involved in fieldwork as part of his/her daily work, e.g.<br />

hydrogeology (pump-testing, hydrogeological exploration)<br />

and numerous other fields. It is then therefore<br />

observed that, fieldwork is the very “life” of geology as<br />

a science. Without fieldwork, geology as a science will<br />

die. It must also be realised, that even modelling in the<br />

labs, takes its control parameters from observed natural<br />

outcrops or processes.<br />

We therefore cannot over-emphasise the need for a<br />

very practical fieldwork training for all geologists.<br />

Keller (1963) put it this way “fieldwork is a scientific<br />

birthright for geologists”. This then shows us that geology<br />

without fieldwork, is basically not geology at all, but<br />

simply a “mimicking” of geology.<br />

Equipping Students with Practical Knowledge<br />

In most cases, students would have been exposed to<br />

such terms as strike and dip, on geological maps and<br />

sections. This concept is rarely well understood in the<br />

classroom and is only learned securely in the field<br />

when they learn to measure strike and dip. Only at this<br />

time do they really appreciate and understand the concepts.<br />

With actual measurements, students learn the<br />

art of linking outcrops, and hypothesising what could<br />

have happened. They then proceed to test these<br />

hypotheses and almost always come up with ideas of<br />

reconstructing the geological history through their<br />

own construction of cross-sections. These attempts,<br />

though humble at first, are actually necessary for the<br />

building up of a geologist.<br />

Student ability to take field notes, model 3-D-sections,<br />

sketch and write observations is slowly built up to<br />

such levels that they become confident enough to pro-<br />

Table 1:<br />

Field trip<br />

objectives for<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

students at<br />

different levels<br />

Action<br />

Observation and<br />

understanding<br />

(motivation)<br />

Years<br />

Formative years<br />

Students in year 1<br />

Little or no<br />

information<br />

Intermediate years<br />

Integration and limited<br />

interpretation<br />

Final years<br />

(Honours/ MSc/PhD)<br />

Integration, thematic<br />

thought interpretation,<br />

concepts of plate tectonics,<br />

terranes<br />

Relate field observations<br />

with lectures<br />

Stratigraphical<br />

observations;<br />

mineralogical<br />

identification and<br />

classification<br />

Mineralogical, processes,<br />

lithological, tectonics –<br />

working model of the earth<br />

slowly being appreciated<br />

Mineralogical, processes,<br />

lithological, tectonics –<br />

working model of the earth<br />

Interpretations and<br />

consequences (thesis)<br />

Production of geological<br />

map and report<br />

Produce a report<br />

Produce a map and report<br />

At this level also cross<br />

sections are produced<br />

Produce a report in thesis<br />

form, map, cross sections,<br />

modelling analysis of data<br />

from a variety of sources,<br />

i.e. thin sections,<br />

geochemistry, geophysics.<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

130


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

duce their own block diagrams, for example. Appreciation<br />

of field relationships of different rock units for first<br />

year students in the classroom is generally poorly<br />

understood. For instance, to geology students the concepts<br />

of a dyke, a stock, a ring complex, a basaltic flow,<br />

a carbonatite stock, a granite and how they actually<br />

occur in the field is normally completely unrelated to<br />

reality. The lecturers may never understand the difficulties<br />

that the students face, because to those who have<br />

seen these relationships in the field several times it is so<br />

obvious it does not need any elaboration. It is here<br />

where understanding of the students’ difficulties must<br />

be exercised. The same problem occurs when students<br />

are shown sedimentary structures and metamorphic<br />

textures in the classroom. Until such a time that the<br />

students observe these geological phenomena in the<br />

field, their understanding of geology is generally poor.<br />

It is also in the field that students begin to appreciate<br />

the fact that geology sub-disciplines are actually interrelated<br />

as a single whole and that <strong>Earth</strong> processes happen<br />

in a related manner.<br />

Table 1 shows the progression of how students can<br />

be led to learn the skills of integrating knowledge<br />

gained in the curriculum with the fieldwork objectives.<br />

As the students gain more knowledge, fieldwork<br />

becomes more involved with various parameters<br />

being included. At the highest level, they begin to<br />

understand the importance of geological data collection<br />

for a specific objective. This level defines in the<br />

truest sense the “knit” relationship between fieldwork<br />

and geology curricula.<br />

Discussion on Fieldwork Integration with Theory<br />

It is not possible to teach many fieldwork techniques in<br />

the classroom because:<br />

(i) There is no way of showing every possible texture,<br />

structure, rock, or process/phenomena to students<br />

in the class. The only way is for them to observe<br />

and appreciate the complexity of the geological<br />

structures, processes and relationships between<br />

various lithological units in given area.<br />

(ii) Theory gives a good foundation to the students,<br />

this knowledge is never really appreciated, until, it<br />

is confirmed by observation. Hence the paradigm<br />

by Read (1966) that “the best geologist is the one<br />

who has seen the most rocks” (cf. Smith, 1996).<br />

(iii) As processes are more emphasised in geological<br />

curricula, it becomes imperative that students have<br />

to be given the opportunity to “see” and use the<br />

skills of interpolation and extrapolation, e.g. in<br />

field mapping, where they have to “fill in gaps”.<br />

(iv) This is the best opportunity for the student to<br />

observe all geological units, minerals, processes at<br />

“true scale”. This opens another window of<br />

thought and integration of data.<br />

(v) Fieldwork is the true “character building” part of a<br />

geologist’s career. With fieldwork, the student<br />

begins to understand that which will be required<br />

of him, once he completes and also it is the time<br />

when the student begins to like the subject and<br />

enjoy it, or for the unfortunate, dislike it.<br />

(vi) Although videos can be used in the classroom,<br />

they lack the actual contact and feel that fieldwork<br />

gives to students.<br />

Conclusion<br />

We have shown here the broad approaches to fieldwork<br />

education in geoscience and have emphasised the<br />

importance of fieldwork for <strong>Earth</strong> sciences. We also<br />

conclude that fieldwork differs in the way it is conducted,<br />

according to the specifications of each university<br />

curricula. However, its objectives are uniquely to equip<br />

students to be able to identify, map and produce a geological<br />

report for a given area. The better this knowledge<br />

is developed in students, the better will be their<br />

understanding of techniques and practices needed<br />

across the breadth of geology professions.<br />

References<br />

Compiani M. (1996) Fieldwork <strong>teaching</strong> in the inservice<br />

training of primary/secondary school science<br />

teachers in Brazil. In DAV Stow & GJH McCall (eds)<br />

Geoscience Education and Training – In Schools and<br />

Universities, for Industry and Public Awareness. pp 329 –<br />

340. Rotterdam: AA Balkema<br />

Fisher, J. A. & Harley, M. J. (1988) <strong>Earth</strong>-science fieldwork in<br />

the secondary school curriculum. Peterborough: Nature<br />

Conservancy Council (now English Nature).<br />

Hawley D. (1996) Changing approaches to <strong>teaching</strong><br />

<strong>Earth</strong>-science fieldwork In DAV Stow & GJH McCall<br />

(eds) Geoscience Education and Training – In Schools and<br />

Universities, for Industry and Public Awareness. pp 243 -<br />

253. Rotterdam: AA Balkema.<br />

Keller, W.D. (1963) Fieldwork: our scientific birthright.<br />

Journal of Geological Education, 11, 119 – 123.<br />

Smith A. J. (1996) Fieldwork in crisis: Current and<br />

future provision – In DAV Stow & GJH McCall (eds)<br />

Geoscience Education and Training – In Schools and<br />

Universities, for Industry and Public Awareness. pp 581-588.<br />

Rotterdam: AA Balkema.<br />

S. MONDLANE 1, 2 and B. MAPANI 1<br />

1 - University of Zimbabwe,<br />

Geology Department;<br />

167 MP, Mount Pleasant,<br />

Harare, Zimbabwe<br />

2 - Eduardo Mondlane University -<br />

Geology Department;<br />

P.O. Box 257,<br />

Maputo, Mozambique<br />

Mondlane@science.uz.ac.zw;<br />

Salmond@Zebra.uem.mz<br />

131 www.esta-uk.org


Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 26 ● Number 4, 2001 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

rth <strong>Science</strong><br />

acher<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

Activities and<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>quakes<br />

Response to the<br />

<strong>Science</strong> and<br />

inquiry into the<br />

Highlights from the<br />

post-16 ‘bring and<br />

share’ session a the<br />

ESTA Conference,<br />

Kingston 2001<br />

ESTA Conference<br />

update<br />

Book Reviews<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

Creationism and<br />

Evolution:<br />

Questions in the<br />

Classroom<br />

Institute of Biology<br />

Chemistry on the<br />

High Street<br />

Peter Kenne t<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

Activities and<br />

Demonstrations:<br />

Fossils and Time<br />

Mike Tuke<br />

Beyond Petroleum:<br />

Business and<br />

The Environment in<br />

the 21st Century John<br />

Browne<br />

Using Foam Rubber in<br />

an Aquarium To<br />

Simulate Plate-<br />

Tectonic And Glacial<br />

Dorset and East<br />

Devon Coast:<br />

World Heritage Site<br />

ESTA Conference<br />

Update<br />

New ESTA Members<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

(including ESTA AGM)<br />

TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

To Advertise in<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

Your President<br />

Introduced<br />

Martin Whiteley<br />

Thinking Geology:<br />

Activities to Develop<br />

Thinking Ski ls in<br />

Geology Teaching<br />

Recovering the<br />

Leaning Tower of Pisa<br />

Demonstrations:<br />

House of Commons<br />

Technology Commi tee<br />

<strong>Science</strong> Cu riculum for<br />

14 - 19 year olds<br />

Se ting up a local<br />

group - West Wales<br />

Geology Teachers’<br />

Network<br />

<strong>teaching</strong><br />

EARTH<br />

SCIENCES<br />

Fossils Under the Microscope<br />

Amendments<br />

IAN WILKINSON<br />

Some of the photographs in the article by Ian Wilkinson (Fossils<br />

Under the Microscope, TES 27/3 pp78-84) were inadvertently<br />

printed as blurred images, for which the Editor apologises. The full<br />

set of Summary Charts is repeated here.<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

Phenomena<br />

John Wheeler<br />

Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 27 ● Number 1, 2002 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

Telephone<br />

Ian Ray<br />

0161 486 0326<br />

rth <strong>Science</strong><br />

chers’ Asso<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

Kingdom: Monera<br />

Bacteria<br />

Kingdom: Monera<br />

Blue green<br />

cyanobacteria<br />

Geological range:<br />

Archaean to Recent<br />

Geological range:<br />

Archaean to Recent<br />

Precambrian bacteria<br />

Kingdom Monera is based on the prokaryote cell (they lack<br />

organelles, like mitochondria, and a nucleus with<br />

chromosomes). The most primitive would have been<br />

chemoautotrophs, adapted to the reducing conditions, but<br />

photautotrophs soon evolved. Some of the oldest known<br />

fossils were single cells less than 1 micron long, but others<br />

formed chains of cells (filaments), like those from the Apex<br />

Chert (3465Ma), or star-like arrangements e.g. Eoastrion<br />

from the Gun Flint Chert (2000 Ma). Bacillus-like<br />

Eobacterium are found in the Fig Tree Chert (3000Ma). These<br />

organisms formed Banded Ironstone Formations (BIFs).<br />

Oxygen given off by the bacteria caused ferrous iron in ocean<br />

water to oxidise and precipitated as a red layer of iron onto<br />

the sea floor. At times when oxygen was not being created,<br />

grey cherts were precipitated instead. These layers built up<br />

alternately to form BIFs.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Precambrian blue-green cyanobacteria<br />

Blue green cyanobacteria are found as fossils in<br />

Precambrian cherts, the oldest being from the 3400Ma old<br />

Towers Formation (Australia). Other examples come from the<br />

Fig Tree Chert and the Gun Flint Chert. These single-celled<br />

organisms may occur as single cells or form a chain of cells<br />

called a filament. Cells may be spheroidal, cylindrical or<br />

irregular. They photosynthesised, giving off oxygen as a<br />

waste product.<br />

In some places, vast numbers of blue green cyanobacteria<br />

formed a mat on the sea bed and by 3000Ma they were<br />

removing CaCO3 from the sea water during photosynthesis.<br />

Precipitation of these carbonates produced the first<br />

limestones. Mat upon mat were built up to form domes and<br />

mounds of limestone called stromatolites. 3000 million<br />

years later they are still doing the same thing in Shark Bay,<br />

Australia.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

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132


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Acritarchs<br />

Dinoflagellates<br />

Geological range:<br />

Precambrian to<br />

Pleistocene<br />

Early Ordovician acritarch<br />

Geological range:<br />

Silurian?, Late<br />

Triassic to Recent<br />

Jurassic dinoflagellate<br />

Acritarchs are amongst the earliest protists. The oldest<br />

fossils are simple spherical cysts that first appear in shales<br />

1900-1600 million years old.<br />

Acritarchs are diverse and most abundant in rocks of<br />

Cambrian to Devonian age (c. 550 to 350 million years ago).<br />

The cyst, which is up to about 150 microns across, has a<br />

resistant wall that may be preserved as a fossil. Their exact<br />

affinities are unknown, but it is likely that many were marine<br />

phytoplankton, similar to dinoflagellates and some<br />

Prasinophyceae. If so, the organisms responsible for<br />

producing the cysts probably had a motile planktonic stage<br />

that encysted as a result of environmental stress or as part of<br />

their reproductive life cycle.<br />

Nothing is known of the motile stage, probably because it<br />

was composed of an organic compound like cellulose, which<br />

is less easily preserved.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Dinoflagellates are single celled protistids. They are plantlike<br />

in having cellulose in the walls and chlorophyll pigments<br />

in the protoplasm, but animal-like having a motile phase<br />

with whip-like flagella to provide propulsion through ocean<br />

waters. The hard envelope (theca) comprises a number of<br />

plates and contains the large nucleus and chromoplasts.<br />

Like acritarchs, during periods of adverse environmental<br />

conditions or after reproduction, they have a ‘resting stage’<br />

when they encyst. But, unlike acritarchs, the plates of the<br />

theca are retained in the cyst stage.<br />

Cysts, the only part that is fossilized, are 20-150 microns<br />

across, and may be smooth or ornamented with spines, ridges<br />

and granules. When improved conditions returned, the<br />

dinoflagellate escapes their cyst through a hole (archaeopyle)<br />

in the wall, made by discarding one of the plates.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Coccolithophores<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Foraminifera<br />

Geological range:<br />

(Precambrian??)<br />

Late Triassic to Recent<br />

Jurassic coccoliths<br />

Geological range:<br />

Cambrian to Recent<br />

Late Jurassic Foraminifer<br />

Coccolithophores are chrysophytes, unicellular and<br />

planktonic, with two flagella for locomotion. Of the c. 2000<br />

species, all but four live in normal marine salinities (three live<br />

in fresh waters and one in high salinities of the Dead Sea).<br />

They require well oxygenated waters and live within the top<br />

50m of the water column in order to photosynthesise.<br />

Between 10 and 30 tiny (3 to 15 microns) calcareous plates<br />

(coccoliths) envelope the organism in a cyst-like coccosphere.<br />

On death, the coccosphere breaks up into coccoliths and,<br />

with diagenesis, these often break up into component<br />

crystals. Coccoliths and their debris comprise over 90% of the<br />

Cretaceous chalk of Britain. Coccolithophores are important<br />

in our environment today as they remove carbon dioxide, a<br />

greenhouse gas, by trapping it in their calcareous (CaCO3)<br />

skeletons on the ocean floor. They are sometimes so<br />

abundant that they form a coccolith ooze.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Foraminifera are sometimes called ‘armoured amoeba’.<br />

The amoeba-like cell engulfs a tiny shell (test) that may be<br />

composed of calcite, aragonite or sand or silt grains<br />

cemented together by a calcite or silica cement.<br />

The test may be a single globular or tubular chamber; a string<br />

of chambers; a coiled arrangement of chambers or a mixture<br />

of these.<br />

They are often found fossilised. Most species are less than<br />

1mm across, but the largest of these single celled organisms<br />

was over 10 cm in length. Foraminifera are confined to marine<br />

and brackish waters and extend into estuaries and marshes,<br />

but are not found in fresh water. Some are planktonic, while<br />

others are benthonic.<br />

They have a complex reproductive strategy so that alternating<br />

generations occur; an organism which was the result of<br />

sexual reproduction, will in turn reproduce asexually.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Radiolaria<br />

Diatoms<br />

Geological range:<br />

Cambrian to Recent<br />

Eocene radiolarian<br />

Geological range:<br />

Jurassic?,<br />

Cretaceous to Recent<br />

Palaeogene diatom<br />

Radiolaria are planktonic actinopods, heterotrophic protista<br />

that secrete a skeleton of between 100 and 2000 microns.<br />

The composition of the skeleton may be strontium sulphate<br />

or opaline silica.<br />

The latter, which dominate the fossil record, form two large<br />

groups. Spumularia, which evolved during the Ordovician, are<br />

radially symmetrical, often spherical or discoidal, with radial<br />

spines. Nassellaria, which developed at the beginning of the<br />

Mesozoic, are elongate and axially symmetrical, being<br />

elongate, ellipsoidal, discoidal or fusiform and often spinose.<br />

They live in tropical marine waters especially at depths of<br />

100 to 500m.<br />

They remain buoyant in the water by using fat globules; gasfilled<br />

vacuoles; long rigid, thread-like axopods on spines; and<br />

by having perforated skeletons to reduce weight.<br />

Reproduction is asexual.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Diatoms are autotrophic, unicellular algae. They occur in the<br />

photic zone of oceans, estuaries, lakes and ponds. The part<br />

that is fossilised is the opaline silica shell (or frustule),<br />

which comprise two valves that fit together rather like a pillbox.<br />

The frustule may be up to about 2mm across and some<br />

forms are colonial, forming long chains. There are two large<br />

groups of fossil diatoms: the radially symmetrical Centrales,<br />

which evolved during the mid Cretaceous, and the more<br />

elongate, bilaterally symmetrical Pennales which appeared<br />

in the Eocene.<br />

They may occur in huge numbers on the ocean floor to form<br />

an ooze. In some cases when huge numbers of diatoms<br />

accumulated they formed a sedimentary rock called a<br />

diatomite. One Miocene diatomite in America is 1000m<br />

thick and there are an estimated 6,000,000 frustules per<br />

cubic centimeter!<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Kingdom: Protista<br />

Green Algae<br />

(Chlorophyta)<br />

Kingdom: Plant<br />

Pollen & Spores<br />

Geological range:<br />

Late Silurian to Recent<br />

Carboniferous calcareous algae<br />

Geological range:<br />

Ordovician to Recent<br />

Pollen (top) &<br />

Spore (bottom)<br />

from the Permian<br />

Chlorophytes are ‘Green Algae’, with chlorophyll in their<br />

cells. Prasinophyceae have spherical cells, 100 to 700<br />

microns across, and an organic wall with small plate-like<br />

scales. Range: Cambrian to Recent. Chlorophycae have a<br />

large central vacuole surrounded by protoplasm. They may<br />

be unicellular or multicellular. Eosphaera is an example<br />

from the Precambrian. Some (Dasycladales and Siphonales)<br />

are spherical, cylindrical or branched and secrete a skeleton<br />

of aragonite, which becomes calcite during fossilisation.<br />

Charophycae are plant-like algae (‘stonewort’) that grow up<br />

to 2m high. Amongst the branches are small (500-750<br />

microns) male (antheridia) and female (oogonia) organs. The<br />

former is rarely fossilised, but the latter is an ovoid body,<br />

with a spiral ornament that may be found in lacustrine and<br />

estuarine deposits.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Spores and pollen appeared when the plant kingdom evolved<br />

from its algal origin in the Ordovician. Spores from primitive<br />

plants (e.g. bryophytes, Cooksoni and Rhynia) were windblown<br />

and, if they landed in suitably moist soils, grew into a<br />

gametophyte plant, bearing both male and female cells. More<br />

advanced plants (e.g. clubmosses and horse tails), which<br />

evolved in the mid-Devonian, gave rise to microspores (20-50<br />

microns), that grew into male gametophytes, and megaspores<br />

(200-400 microns), that became female gametophytes. During<br />

the Late Palaeozoic, plants living in drier areas “imprisoned”<br />

the megaspore in a capsule where it developed further,<br />

eventually dividing into a few cells. The single celled<br />

microspores evolved into multicelled pollen grains (the male<br />

gametophyte), which fertilised the encapsulated female.<br />

Gymnosperms (e.g. seed-ferns, cycads and conifers) and<br />

flower-bearing angiosperms reproduced in this way.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

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134


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Kingdom: Fungi<br />

Spores &<br />

Fruiting bodies<br />

Kingdom: Animal<br />

Conodontophorida<br />

Geological range:<br />

Devonian to Recent<br />

Fruiting body (left) &<br />

spore (right) of Palaeogene fungi<br />

Geological range:<br />

Early Cambrian<br />

to late Triassic<br />

Platform (top) and<br />

compound (bottom)<br />

conodonts from<br />

the Carboniferous<br />

Fungi are known to have evolved by the Devonian, although<br />

their early history is relatively poorly known.<br />

Spores and fruiting bodies have been found in the fossil<br />

record, but have been little studied.<br />

They have little known biostratigraphical or<br />

palaeoenvironmental value and have generally been ignored<br />

by palaeontologists.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Conodonts are small teeth-like structures, generally 100 to<br />

2000 microns in length, but occasionally up to 5000 microns.<br />

They are made of calcium phosphate. Conodonts may be a<br />

simple, individual tooth, a compound ‘blade’ composed of a<br />

series teeth or a row of teeth attached to a ledge-like<br />

platform. They are found in Palaeozoic rocks, particularly<br />

limestones. Although first described as long ago as 1856, it<br />

was not until 1983 that palaeontologists new what the<br />

conodont animal looked like. These teeth came from the<br />

mouth of a eel-like fish, possibly a distant relation of the hag<br />

fish. But here was a problem. Different species and genera of<br />

conodonts had been erected for the different morphologies.<br />

Only when the whole animal was found did paleontologists<br />

realise that different genera and species were found together<br />

in the mouth of a single individual.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Kingdom: Animal<br />

Ostracoda<br />

Kingdom:<br />

Animal(?)<br />

Chitinozoa<br />

Geological range:<br />

(?Cambrian) Ordovician<br />

to Recent<br />

Late Jurassic ostracod<br />

Geological range:<br />

Ordovician-Devonian<br />

An Ordovician chitinozoan<br />

Ostracods are small crustacea that secrete a bi-valved,<br />

calcareous carapace. The hinge line along the dorsal margin<br />

may be a simple bar and groove or a series of teeth and<br />

sockets. The animal opens and closes the carapace with<br />

adductor muscles, the scars often being seen inside each<br />

valve. The surface of the carapace may be smooth or<br />

ornamented with punctation, reticulation, ribs and spines.<br />

Most ostracods are less than 1500 microns, although the<br />

largest is about 2.5 centimetres long. Ostracods are found in<br />

all aquatic environments from the deep sea to coastal rock<br />

pools, estuaries, ponds and lakes. They have even been<br />

found in trees of tropical rain forests where a small pools<br />

form in the leaves. Although they are not usually regarded as<br />

terrestrial animals, one genus has been found amongst leaf<br />

litter on wet, marshy ground. Fossil ostracods are particularly<br />

useful when making palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

Chitinozoa are flask- or bottle-shaped organisms with a<br />

vesicle and an aperture at the end of a neck. They are<br />

sometimes found attached in chains. They may be smooth,<br />

hispid, tuberculate or spiny. They are usually 150-300<br />

microns long, but may be as small as 30 microns or as large<br />

as 1500 microns. The walls are made of chitin-like material<br />

and generally brown or black in colour. These extinct<br />

organisms are found in marine Palaeozoic rocks (especially<br />

shales and siltstones) and mainly those that accumulated in<br />

shallow, well oxygenated conditions. It is not unusual to<br />

find organisms of uncertain affinity in Palaeozoic deposits.<br />

The Chitinozoa is an example of this. Some palaeontologists<br />

believe that they were planktonic and probably<br />

zooplankton; others have suggested that they were related<br />

to foraminifera, and yet others consider them to be egg<br />

cases of an unknown animal.<br />

I.P.Wilkinson (BGS)<br />

135 www.esta-uk.org


Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 26 ● Number 4, 2001 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

Your President<br />

Introduced<br />

Martin Whiteley<br />

Thinking Ski ls in<br />

Geology Teaching<br />

Recovering the<br />

Leaning Tower of Pisa<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

Activities and<br />

Demonstrations:<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>quakes<br />

Response to the<br />

House of Commons<br />

<strong>Science</strong> and<br />

Technology Commi t e<br />

14 - 19 year olds<br />

Se ting up a local<br />

group - West Wales<br />

Geology Teachers’<br />

Network<br />

Highlights from the<br />

post-16 ‘bring and<br />

share’ se sion a the<br />

ESTA Conference,<br />

Kingston 2001<br />

ESTA Conference<br />

update<br />

Book Reviews<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

rth <strong>Science</strong><br />

ache<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

rth <strong>Science</strong><br />

achers’ Assoc<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

Questions in the<br />

Cla sroom<br />

Institute of Biology<br />

Chemistry on the<br />

High Street<br />

Peter Kenne t<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong><br />

Activities and<br />

Demonstrations:<br />

Fo sils and Time<br />

Browne<br />

Simulate Plate-<br />

Tectonic And Glacial<br />

Phenomena<br />

John Wheeler<br />

Dorset and East<br />

Devon Coast:<br />

World Heritage Site<br />

ESTA Conference<br />

Update<br />

New ESTA Members<br />

Websearch<br />

News and Resources<br />

(including ESTA AGM)<br />

TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Geoed Ltd<br />

Dee Edwards & Dave Williams have bought the fossil replica business until recently run<br />

inside Open University and are now trading as Geoed Ltd. Geoed Ltd. has 2,000<br />

different replica fossils, including sets for schools, replica skulls, and large items that can<br />

be hired. Details are on the searchable database at http://geoed.co.uk<br />

We have a wide range of other resources, including:<br />

OU/Esso Geol map of the World . . . . . . . . . . .£6.50<br />

OS UK Geology Wall map (paper, folded) . . . .£4.00<br />

OS UK Geology Wall map (laminated) . . . . .£12.00<br />

Sedimentary Environments poster . . . . . . . . .£6.50<br />

SALE ITEMS<br />

Satellite photos (some laminated): UK, Europe, N. America, World, Africa, etc. £5.00 ea.<br />

Some Open University discontinued study units:<br />

S102: <strong>Science</strong> Foundation Course, <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s units: 5/6; 7/8; 26-28;<br />

S236: Geology: Maps, <strong>Earth</strong> materials, Fossils, Historical geology, Surface processes<br />

Send e-mail to fossil@geoed.co.uk for an up-to-date list<br />

All items are supplied VAT-free, and postage at cost.<br />

New Posting? Retiring? Stay in touch with<br />

Teaching <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>s News and Activities<br />

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Journal of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION<br />

Volume 27 ● Number 1, 2002 ● ISSN 0957-8005<br />

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www.esta-uk.org<br />

136


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Geodynamics (2nd Edition)<br />

by Donald L. Turcotte and Gerald Schubert.<br />

Cambridge University Press, 2002. 472pp., Paperback<br />

ISBN 0521666244, £29.95; hardback ISBN 0521661862, £75.<br />

My introduction to Geodynamics by<br />

Turcotte and Schubert (First Edition)<br />

was when I went to Penn State as a<br />

postgraduate, although I had been briefly<br />

(and mesmerisingly) introduced to it<br />

during my final year as an<br />

undergraduate. Geodynamics seemed to<br />

be the one book that was on the desk of<br />

many flavours of geologist. It was, and is,<br />

a bit of a bible. I’ve always been<br />

impressed at how often Turcotte and<br />

Schubert (1982) is referenced in<br />

publications on sedimentary basin<br />

development. The original version was a<br />

fundamental contribution to describing<br />

and understanding how, from first<br />

principles, the earth behaves. It also<br />

elegantly demonstrated how many<br />

natural phenomena, such as heat<br />

conduction and erosion, can in some<br />

cases be represented by the same<br />

equation. The Second Edition will<br />

continue to fulfil that role.<br />

The book, as the authors themselves<br />

state in the preface, required little<br />

update; the equation sets have not<br />

changed. Many of the chapters (2, 3, 7, 8<br />

and 9) are essentially the same as the<br />

original text, with some minor additions<br />

and insights. In chapters 1, 4 and 6, there<br />

are new sections on mantle convection<br />

and recycling, the origin, structure and<br />

ascent velocity of hotspots and plumes,<br />

and lithospheric stretching and plate<br />

cooling models. Chapter 10 on Chemical<br />

Geodynamics is new and focuses on the<br />

use of isotopes in geochronology and the<br />

isotopic composition of rocks. I found<br />

the sections on geochemical reservoirs of<br />

the earth to be well written and<br />

extremely useful. The book, as in the<br />

original, does not contain an extensive<br />

reference list or refer to many<br />

publications on relevant research.<br />

Perhaps, given the advances since 1982 in<br />

process-orientated research and an <strong>Earth</strong><br />

systems approach, this is an omission. As<br />

an example, what the book does not<br />

attempt is the linkage in geodynamics<br />

between lithospheric behaviour, heat<br />

World Regional Geography<br />

By Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher – Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. ISBN 0716738414. £64.99<br />

Approaching retirement, and having<br />

been brought up in the tradition of<br />

regional geography as described by the<br />

likes of the late Sir Dudley Stamp (not to<br />

forget Prof. Beaver), Preston E. James<br />

(his Latin America is still a good read)<br />

and, later, Jean Mitchell, I was surprised<br />

to find that regional geography is still<br />

alive and flourishing in the United<br />

States. The lack of direction (no pun<br />

intended) for the subject in the United<br />

Kingdom in the last ten years has left<br />

pupils in our schools confused and<br />

becoming less likely to pursue the<br />

subject past GCSE level. Ask a member<br />

of the Sixth Form what they think<br />

geography is and they will not be able to<br />

tell you. Their parents will have<br />

memories of the subject as being<br />

concerned with different places – with<br />

their climates, agriculture, industry and<br />

so on. Modern pupils will at least be able<br />

to confirm that, whatever it is that the<br />

subject is concerned with, it is totally<br />

unlike anything their parents studied.<br />

The content of World Regional<br />

Geography would certainly be<br />

recognizable to the parents of the<br />

current generation of Sixth Form<br />

geographers, though perhaps not to the<br />

sixth formers themselves. The book<br />

stretches itself to include comprehensive<br />

coverage of the world, divided into ten<br />

major regions, each of which receives a<br />

systematic treatment.<br />

Making Global Connections attempts to<br />

flow, rock rheology, erosion and isostasy,<br />

although all the individual components<br />

are detailed. You could argue that is<br />

beyond the scope of one book, but<br />

reference to the literature that does do<br />

this should have been included, and<br />

would highlight how powerful such<br />

process-orientated approaches have<br />

become in <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong>.<br />

A minority of the figures throughout<br />

the text are of poorer quality than in the<br />

original, and reading the data in one or<br />

two is impossible. However, many<br />

figures have been redrafted from the<br />

original version and some of the field<br />

photographs that did not reproduce well<br />

have been improved. At first I was<br />

disappointed that some of the black and<br />

white satellite images had not been<br />

replaced by higher quality (colour)<br />

versions. Although the book is still in<br />

black and white, the reduced publication<br />

cost keeps the price low so that many<br />

students, as well as academics, can afford<br />

it. As I write this, the original version (in<br />

use for a Senior Honours class) is dogeared,<br />

full of yellow post-it notes and has<br />

more than one tea stain on it. I have no<br />

doubt that the Second Edition will get<br />

the same use.<br />

Ruth Robinson<br />

School of Geography and Geosciences<br />

University of St. Andrews<br />

set the region in a world setting and,<br />

indeed the globalisation thread that runs<br />

through the book is one of several<br />

strands that makes the book a worthy<br />

successor to earlier regional works and<br />

one that makes it accessible to the<br />

contemporary students in the UK.<br />

One should applaud the attempt to<br />

place current issues in their proper<br />

context, for that is the tradition that my<br />

training gave me. The Geographic Setting<br />

examines, albeit with a fairly broad<br />

brush, Physical Patterns, Human Patterns<br />

over time and Population Patterns. In<br />

Chapter 4 (Europe), the authors examine<br />

sources of European culture. They allude<br />

to the spread of agricultural practices<br />

from the Tigris-Euphrates valleys,<br />

skipping on to honourable mentions for<br />

the Greeks (art, philosophy and<br />

mathematics), the Romans (private<br />

ownership of land, systems of<br />

colonization and language) and the<br />

137 www.esta-uk.org


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

New ESTA<br />

Members<br />

Mrs M J Huggins<br />

Taunton<br />

Dr Ruth Watkins<br />

University of Paisley<br />

Mr David Farbrother<br />

Shrewsbury<br />

Miss Anna Power<br />

Liverpool<br />

Miss Victoria Griffiths<br />

Bath<br />

Ms Belinda Bawden<br />

Lyme Regis<br />

Dr Hamish Ross<br />

Edinburgh<br />

Pembrokeshire Darwin <strong>Science</strong><br />

Festival<br />

Milford Haven<br />

Mrs Jenny Collins<br />

Redditch<br />

Mr Andrew Bakewell<br />

Birmingham<br />

Mrs Ernah Mamutse<br />

Stoke on Trent<br />

Miss Ruth Donoghue<br />

Leeds<br />

Miss Emma Whiteley<br />

Stoke on Trent<br />

Miss Katherine Bone<br />

Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre<br />

Miss Kathryn Humphreys<br />

Wrexham<br />

Mrs Veronica Bull<br />

Chester<br />

Mrs Kathy Taylor<br />

Hemel Hempstead<br />

Nikki Edwards<br />

Welwyn Garden City<br />

Paul Grant<br />

Wimbledon<br />

Fiona Hyden<br />

Bedford<br />

Celia Jones<br />

Leicester<br />

Phillip Murphy<br />

North Yorkshire<br />

Ms Toyin Solanke<br />

West Norwood, London<br />

Miss Claire Plowright<br />

Stafford<br />

Mr Luke Martin<br />

St Austell<br />

Mrs Cindy Murray<br />

Cumbria<br />

Miss Kerry Pearce<br />

Canterbury<br />

Mr Rory Reilly<br />

Canterbury<br />

Dr Susannah Lydon<br />

Derbyshire<br />

Museu de Ciences Naturals de la<br />

Cituadella<br />

Barcelona<br />

Mr Nigel Blackburn<br />

British Schools (Chile) Education Centre<br />

Reviews Cont.<br />

Moors of North Africa. All this occupies<br />

about one half of one page. However,<br />

that is still more than modern British<br />

texts would offer students interested in<br />

the Geography of Europe.<br />

Economic and Political Issues in Europe<br />

focus on the European Union, the<br />

increasing significance of the service<br />

sector at the expense of the old primary<br />

and secondary activities associated with<br />

mining and heavy manufacture, but no<br />

attempt is made to examine this vitally<br />

important switch in any depth. However,<br />

in a section entitled Measures of Human<br />

Well-Being, the readers’ attention is<br />

drawn to “The Chocolate Standards<br />

War.” Fascinating.<br />

The problem of scale is approached<br />

through an attempt to introduce topics at<br />

a variety of scales; at the opposite scale of<br />

the ‘broad brush’ meso-regional scale,<br />

the authors make use of what they call<br />

“vignettes” – relevant stories (gleaned<br />

from the press, presumably). Following a<br />

comment that Yemen is one of the<br />

poorest countries of the Arabian<br />

Peninsula, there is a ‘vignette’ describing<br />

the role of women in modern-day<br />

Yemen, featuring the activities of the<br />

Yemen’s most outspoken feminist and<br />

her attempts to improve the lot of<br />

women in a traditional Islamic society.<br />

Interestingly, the vignettes return to the<br />

subject of ‘the role of women’ on many<br />

occasions and thus provide a likely focus<br />

for debate or discussion.<br />

Studies at regional and local scales<br />

appear as virtual footnotes and range<br />

across a number of topics – from<br />

subsistence activities in arid Nepal to<br />

sustainable development in Cairo; from<br />

the renewed use of Inca terraces and<br />

canals in the Andes to the exploitation of<br />

natural gas in Burma. These brief studies<br />

are rather like Christmas decorations –<br />

they brighten the scene, but are of<br />

limited significance.<br />

In the best traditions of the modern<br />

text, World Regional Geography contains a<br />

myriad of coloured plates and maps; the<br />

photographs are particularly stunning<br />

and the quality is excellent. However, I<br />

found many of the maps to be<br />

overcomplicated and, consequently,<br />

difficult to read: the map illustrating<br />

Environmental Issues: Europe (p209)<br />

contains a huge amount of information<br />

on a small scale map – there are 14<br />

different categories in the legend for<br />

the map, in addition to annotation.<br />

Other maps are perfectly clear and<br />

accessible, though I could not work<br />

out, from the text, the geographical<br />

significance of a map showing the<br />

diffusion of <strong>Association</strong> Football across<br />

the world (p203).<br />

At £64.99, there cannot be many<br />

schools or college students who could<br />

afford to buy this book even if there was<br />

enough in the content to whet their<br />

appetites. The attempt to provide world<br />

coverage obviously has a price to pay in<br />

shallow treatment, though one must<br />

acknowledge the attempts to provide<br />

some depth by use of vignettes, local and<br />

regional studies. The apparent<br />

randomness of these studies, however,<br />

detracts from the worthy aim of depth.<br />

However, the book comes as part of a<br />

larger package, clearly intended for the<br />

American market, including the<br />

possibility of tutorials via the internet,<br />

study guides, a CD-ROM, map study<br />

exercises, blank outline maps, a questionand-answer<br />

system online and so on.<br />

There are guides for instructors, sets of<br />

slides, CD-ROMs etc. The<br />

comprehensive nature of the total<br />

package is truly impressive and even<br />

without registering as either a student or<br />

an instructor, I was able to download<br />

maps to my computer quite easily from<br />

the dedicated website.<br />

World Regional Geography does not seem<br />

likely to occupy a high priority point on<br />

the geography teacher’s shopping list,<br />

given current sixth-form syllabuses and<br />

the great cost. However, if the school<br />

librarian can be persuaded of its value, this<br />

broadly based book full of modern<br />

concepts, could provide a valuable source<br />

of reference for young geographers. Its<br />

value, to this writer, is its insistence that<br />

the regional tradition in geography is alive<br />

and in a form still recognisable to an<br />

ageing geography teacher!<br />

R A Varley<br />

Penglais School<br />

Aberystwyth<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

138


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Websearch<br />

A recent request for help in <strong>teaching</strong> on the Internet was for suggestions for a fun and educational outreach<br />

activity for junior-high students (11-14 years old) that involves fossils and <strong>Earth</strong> history. The purpose of the<br />

activity was to show students what “real” geologists and paleontologists do, in hopes of encouraging them<br />

to pursue careers in science. The limitations were that the activity can’t be more than 50 minutes long, and<br />

can’t be outside/field-based. This brought a number of replies; some are listed here.<br />

The Ohio geological survey:<br />

www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey/<br />

A 3 day workshop for science teachers entitled “A Festival of Fossils”<br />

that focussed on the development of palaeontology programs<br />

for various school age groups.<br />

www.es.mq.edu.au/mucep/ipc2002/fossil_festival.htm<br />

The UCMP web site at:<br />

www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/museum/k-12.html<br />

www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fosrec/Learning.html<br />

The US government website at:<br />

www.usgs.gov/education/<br />

SEPM, a product of their K-12 committee. The address is:<br />

www.beloit.edu/~SEPM/publications.html<br />

What is claimed as the Oldest Complex Life Form, found in<br />

Newfoundland, is described at<br />

astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/news/expandnews.cfm?id=9388<br />

Adventures in Energy, an educational Web site created by the<br />

American Petroleum Institute, provides an interactive overview<br />

of where oil and gas comes from, the industry’s use of cuttingedge<br />

technologies and environmental practices to find and develop<br />

these resources, and the many innovative products made from<br />

oil and natural gas that you use everyday.<br />

You can access this useful educational resource at<br />

www.adventuresinenergy.com/<br />

A list of the top-selling scientific books at Amazon.com including<br />

those in geology has been compiled at<br />

www.jupiterscientific.org/sciinfo/bestbooks.html<br />

A geological newsletter covering northern Ireland – i.e. Northern<br />

Ireland and the adjacent counties of the Republic of Ireland – is<br />

available on line at<br />

http://www.ulstermuseum.org.uk/es2k/<br />

Visit the Natural History Museum site, to see the relationships<br />

between dinosaurs and birds:<br />

www.nhm.ac.uk/dinobirds/<br />

An American university course:<br />

Geology is the science of the <strong>Earth</strong>, and its fundamental principles<br />

are derived from our interpretations of the <strong>Earth</strong>’s age and<br />

history. “Creationism” is technically the belief that the Universe<br />

was supernaturally created from nothing. However, in the United<br />

States, and increasingly the rest of the world, Creationism has<br />

acquired a much more specific meaning, primarily that the Universe,<br />

including the <strong>Earth</strong> and life, was created in six 24-hour<br />

days less than 10,000 years ago, following the stories outlined in<br />

the first chapter of Genesis. Furthermore, Creationism as popularly<br />

defined includes the belief that Noah’s Flood was real, global<br />

in its extent, and about a year in duration.<br />

These beliefs and others taken from a literal interpretation of<br />

the Bible are clearly contradicted by scientific evidence, especially<br />

that of geology. “Scientific Creationists” know this and have<br />

developed an extensive and popular “refutation” of modern geology,<br />

complete with geological evidence for the Flood, claims that<br />

dinosaurs lived with people, denials of radiometric dating, and<br />

catastrophic explanations for the fossil record. This is clearly<br />

pseudoscience and delusion, leading most geologists to simply<br />

ignore Creationism, but the movement has gained in energy and<br />

adherents in the past decade.<br />

The most recent polls say that approximately 45% of Americans<br />

believe that the <strong>Earth</strong> is less than 10,000 years old, and that<br />

Genesis is a literal account of its history. Geologists are learning<br />

that Creationism must be confronted, and this course is designed<br />

to give students the necessary background and tools to do so<br />

www.wooster.edu/geology/geo350mw/geo350mw.html<br />

ESTA Diary<br />

APRIL 2003<br />

Wednesday 16th April<br />

10:00 to 16:30 Mineral collecting and conservation - hammering out a<br />

future? Harold Riley Suite, University of Salford<br />

Wednesday 23rd - Friday 25th April<br />

Geographical <strong>Association</strong> Annual Conference, University of Derby<br />

JUNE 2003<br />

Saturday 7th June<br />

Hunt The Dinosaurs On The Yorkshire Coast<br />

Explore the coast near Scarborough with Will Watts. A Rockwatch event.<br />

Contact Geraldine Marshall, Rockwatch at the GA, Burlington House,<br />

Piccadilly, London W1J 0DU. Phone: 020 7734 5398.<br />

Rockwatchatga@btinternet.com<br />

Monday 23rd - Saturday 28th June<br />

SciTec 2003 Festival Of <strong>Science</strong> – University of Derby.<br />

JULY 2003<br />

Sunday 27th July<br />

11.00 - 3.30pm Rockwatch At The National Stone Centre<br />

Wirksworth, Derbyshire. A Rockwatch event. Contact Geraldine Marshall,<br />

Rockwatch at the GA, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0DU.<br />

Phone: 020 7734 5398. Rockwatchatga@btinternet.com<br />

AUGUST 2003<br />

10th - 14th August<br />

Conference of the International Geoscience Education Organisation,<br />

Calgary, Canada. Website www.geoscied.org<br />

SEPTEMBER 2003<br />

8th -12th September<br />

The BA Festival of <strong>Science</strong> 2003, University of Salford<br />

Friday 12th - Sunday 14th September<br />

ESTA Annual Conference, University of Manchester<br />

139 www.esta-uk.org


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

News and Resources<br />

JESEI’s Brand New Website<br />

The acronym ESTA sounds like Esther. ESTA now has<br />

a daughter- Jessie, or rather JESEI! The letters stand for<br />

the Joint <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Education Initiative, which has<br />

a brand new website up and awaiting “hits”. JESEI<br />

receives the support of the Royal Society, the Geological<br />

Society and ESTA, and the financial backing of the<br />

UK Offshore Operators’ <strong>Association</strong> (UKOOA).<br />

JESEI’s actual parentage is complex, since the<br />

materials have been written by members of the<br />

Institutes of Biology and of Physics and of the Royal<br />

Society of Chemistry. They have devised activities for<br />

their fellow science teachers in schools, in terms<br />

which those who have not studied <strong>Earth</strong> science will<br />

understand and hopefully implement with their<br />

pupils. Do have a look at it, and check regularly for<br />

new additions. If you are a geologist <strong>teaching</strong> in a<br />

school, please alert your science colleagues to this new<br />

resource. Some of the activities are well known:<br />

others are new. Try clicking on “Volcano in the lab”<br />

and watch the wax volcano erupt. The activity was<br />

devised by Mike Tuke years ago, but never fails to<br />

attract attention from teachers and pupils alike. A new<br />

demonstration involves creating convection cells in a<br />

huge beaker of Golden Syrup, and watching two<br />

“Hobnob” continents drifting apart! And there is<br />

much more. The address is www.jesei.org<br />

With risk of some repetition, the official press<br />

release for the new website ran as follows:<br />

The Joint <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Education Initiative website was<br />

launched at the Annual Meeting of the <strong>Association</strong> for <strong>Science</strong><br />

Education (ASE) at Birmingham University on Saturday<br />

4th January – and was warmly welcomed by all those who<br />

participated. The website contains a wide range of activities,<br />

free to download, especially written to brighten up <strong>Earth</strong> science<br />

<strong>teaching</strong> and to correct misconceptions commonly found in<br />

science textbooks.<br />

Chris King awarded top award<br />

by Geological Society<br />

We are delighted to announce that Chris King has been<br />

awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Geological<br />

Society for 2003. ESTA members and others will wish to join<br />

me in congratulating Chris on this well-deserved recognition.<br />

RDT<br />

The Joint <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Education Initiative is a<br />

collaboration between the Royal Society of Chemistry, the<br />

Institute of Biology, the Institute of Physics and the <strong>Earth</strong><br />

<strong>Science</strong> Teachers’ <strong>Association</strong> to produce materials that<br />

chemistry, biology and physics teachers can use in their <strong>Earth</strong><br />

science <strong>teaching</strong>. The initiative has been supported by the<br />

Royal Society, the ASE and the Geological Society. The UK<br />

Offshore Operators <strong>Association</strong> (UKOOA), the umbrella<br />

organisation for the offshore oil industry, has kindly provided<br />

financial support. The website has been produced by<br />

‘Presenting <strong>Science</strong>’.<br />

The challenge was to write material for <strong>teaching</strong> the <strong>Earth</strong><br />

science in the National <strong>Science</strong> Curriculum in a way that<br />

would appeal to teachers and pupils and that explains <strong>Earth</strong><br />

science concepts clearly. This was met by asking chemistry<br />

teachers to write the chemistry materials, biology writers to<br />

write the biology activities and physics teachers to write the<br />

physics content. <strong>Earth</strong> scientists were involved at every stage.<br />

The results are available to all at the website:<br />

http://www.jesei.org<br />

Those who participated in Birmingham were<br />

enthusiastic, with comments such as: ‘The <strong>Earth</strong> science I<br />

have taught has been very dry, these new practical ideas<br />

will help me to brighten it up a lot’, ‘Now I have the ideas<br />

that will help me to bring my <strong>Earth</strong> science <strong>teaching</strong> to life’<br />

and ‘We find it difficult to teach the <strong>Earth</strong> science at our<br />

school because none of us knows much about it - this<br />

website will make a big difference’.<br />

The website will continue to evolve as new material is<br />

added and as feedback is used to make it more ‘teacherfriendly’<br />

and useful. Meanwhile, many of the practical<br />

activities have been incorporated into ninety minute<br />

workshops that can be brought free to science departments in<br />

secondary schools in England and Wales by local facilitators of<br />

the <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Education Unit. More details of the<br />

workshops can be obtained from the ESEU Administrator,<br />

01782 584437 or from the ESEU website:<br />

http://www.earthscienceeducation.com<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> science is now firmly embedded in the school<br />

curriculum, and forthcoming developments, such as “21st<br />

Century <strong>Science</strong>” are committed to ensuring that it is taught<br />

well. We all face crucial debates about the <strong>Earth</strong> and our<br />

environment in the future. The JESEI initiative will help<br />

science teachers to prepare pupils for their involvement in these<br />

key issues.<br />

Peter Kennett<br />

www.esta-uk.org<br />

140


TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 27 ● Number 4, 2002<br />

Expansion of the ESEU<br />

ESEU = the <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> Education Unit, administered<br />

from Keele University. We have recently appointed<br />

a further 11 facilitators to improve our coverage of<br />

England and to offer our services to Wales. One person<br />

has been appointed to pioneer the work in Scotland.<br />

The total number of facilitators is now nearly 30, so it is<br />

highly likely that one of them lives within 30 miles or<br />

so of your school.<br />

The ESEU offers workshops to science<br />

departments in secondary schools to help them with<br />

<strong>teaching</strong> the <strong>Earth</strong> science in the National<br />

Curriculum. Workshops are free, apart from travelling<br />

expenses, thanks, again to UKOOA.<br />

If the <strong>Science</strong> staff in your school have not yet<br />

invited an ESEU member to lead an INSET session,<br />

now is the time to show them this note and to<br />

encourage them to get in touch. Most of the sessions<br />

involve hands-on activities, whereby science teachers<br />

usually get slightly wet, or sprinkled with sand or<br />

Plaster of Paris! They often do not realise that there is<br />

more to “the rocks bit” than getting out a lot of dusty,<br />

well scratched rocks, scratching them again and<br />

returning them to the cupboard until next year. Many<br />

of them readily admit that they “find the rocks bit<br />

very dry...” not after our visits, they won’t!<br />

For further enquiries, contact the Administrator,<br />

Bernadette Callan, Department of Education,<br />

Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG or see<br />

www.earthscienceeducation.com.<br />

Peter Kennett<br />

Death of Hilary Corke<br />

Readers will be saddened to hear of the death of<br />

Hilary Corke in September 2001. Hilary was a<br />

man of many talents and interests and it is mineral<br />

collecting for which TES readers may remember<br />

him. Please visit the website where you can<br />

read the obituary published in the Independent:<br />

www.hilarycorke.com/html/Independent_obituary.htm<br />

Death of Sir John Knill<br />

Readers will also be saddened to hear of the death<br />

of Sir John Knill in December 2002. Sir John was<br />

not only a leading engineering geologist but also<br />

Chairman of NERC and recipient of numerous<br />

awards, medals and honorary degrees. He was<br />

ESTA President from 1995 to 1997.<br />

Examiner Recruitment<br />

The Joint Council for General Qualifications is seeking to appoint<br />

examiners for the Summer 2003 examinations. The request covers<br />

GCSE but mainly AS and A2 levels and there are shortages in some<br />

subjects. If you are interested, please contact the Joint Council Convenor,<br />

John Milner, at Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX,<br />

Tel 0161 958 3737, Email jointcouncil@jcgq.org.uk<br />

New ESTA “SHOP” Arrangements<br />

A new set-up for new times: where possible ESTA members should<br />

buy direct from suppliers, several of whom have offered discounts to<br />

ESTA members. E-mail is now becoming the standard method of<br />

checking before sending written orders.<br />

BGS materials. These are available at 25% educational discount.<br />

An order on school paper head with ESTA membership number<br />

will be needed to get the discount. Please see the BGS advert in<br />

this issue of TES.<br />

Thematic Trails. Please see their advert with new materials at 15%<br />

discount for ESTA members. An order on school paper head with<br />

ESTA membership number will be needed.<br />

ESTA’s page. This covers ESTA materials and products not<br />

generally available in UK. Several of the <strong>Science</strong> of the <strong>Earth</strong> units<br />

are now rather dated, and also not so relevant to the current<br />

curriculum; so these are now to be offered at knockdown prices and<br />

will then be discontinued.<br />

ESTA will now charge for postage, and members are encouraged to<br />

e-mail (earthscience@macunlimited.net) draft orders, so firm<br />

quotes, including postage, can be given.<br />

ESTA rock kits will be supplied direct by John Reynolds<br />

(jr.reynolds@virgin.net).<br />

A new company (Geoed Ltd) run by Dee Edwards & Dave<br />

Williams has bought the replica fossil business from the Open<br />

University and also sells some maps & posters,<br />

(see our advert in this issue).<br />

The nature of our <strong>Science</strong> is changing rapidly: many traditional<br />

geology courses in Universities have changed or closed, new ones<br />

have started, especially geology with other sciences, such as<br />

Environment. Fewer students take A-level geology, and more are<br />

doing AS-level & Environmental <strong>Science</strong>. Perhaps ESTA members<br />

can suggest new materials which could be usefully stocked to reflect<br />

these changes?<br />

New Adverts Manager: Ian Ray (ianray@ray2003.fsworld.co.uk) is<br />

looking to find advertisers for things members will find useful and<br />

he welcomes your suggestions.<br />

Dave Williams<br />

141 www.esta-uk.org


www.esta-uk.org<br />

142


THEMATIC TRAILS<br />

These guides are full of serious explanation, yet challenge us to question and interpret what we see.<br />

The reader is encouraged to observe, enquire and participate in a trail of discovery – Each trail is an<br />

information resource suitable for teachers to translate into field tasks appropriate to a wide range of ages.<br />

LANDSCAPES<br />

GEOLOGY AT HARTLAND QUAY<br />

Alan Childs & Chris Cornford<br />

In a short cliff-foot walk, along the beach at Hartland Quay, visitors are provided with a<br />

straightforward explanation of the dramatically folded local rocks and their history.<br />

Alternate pages provide a deeper commentary on aspects of the geology and in<br />

particular provide reference notes for students examining the variety of structures<br />

exhibited in this exceptionally clear location. A5. 40 pages. 47 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-12-6 Thematic Trails 1989. £2.40<br />

THE CLIFFS OF HARTLAND QUAY<br />

Peter Keene<br />

On a cliff-top walk following the Heritage Coast footpath to the south from Hartland<br />

Quay, coastal waterfalls, valley shapes and the form of the cliffs are all used to<br />

reconstruct a sequence of events related to spectacular coastal erosion along this coast.<br />

A5. 40 pages. 24 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-05-3 Thematic Trails 1990. £2.40<br />

LYN IN FLOOD, Watersmeet to Lynmouth<br />

P. Keene & D. Elsom<br />

A riverside walk from Watersmeet on Exmoor, follows the East Lyn downstream to<br />

Lynmouth and the sea. The variety of physical states of the East Lyn river is explained<br />

including spate and the catastrophic floods of 1952. A5. 48 pages. 36 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-20-7 Thematic Trails 1990. £2.40<br />

THE CLIFFS OF SAUNTON<br />

Peter Keene and Chris Cornford<br />

“If you really want explanations served up to you... then go elsewhere, but if you want<br />

to learn, by self-assessment if you like, start here. Ideally you should go there, to<br />

Saunton Sands, but it’s not absolutely necessary. The booklet is so cleverly done that<br />

you can learn much without leaving your armchair. Not that we are encouraging such<br />

sloth, you understand.” (Geology Today). A5. 44 pages. 30 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-048444-24-X Thematic Trails 1995. £2.40<br />

SNOWDON IN THE ICE AGE<br />

Kenneth Addison<br />

Ken Addison interprets the evidence left by successive glaciers around Snowdon<br />

(the last of which melted only 10,000 years ago) in a way which brings together the<br />

serious student of the Quaternary Ice Age and the interested inquisitive visitor.<br />

A5. 30 pages. 18 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-9511175-4-8 Addison Landscape Publications. 1988. £3.60<br />

THE ICE AGE IN CWM IDWAL<br />

Kenneth Addison<br />

The Ice Age invested Cwm Idwal with a landscape whose combination of glaciological,<br />

geological and floristic elements is unsurpassed in mountain Britain. Cwm Idwal is<br />

readily accessible on good paths within a few minutes walk of the A5 route through<br />

Snowdonia. A5. 21pages. 16 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-9511175-4-8 A. L. P. 1988. £3.60<br />

THE ICE AGE IN Y GLYDERAU AND NANT FFRANCON<br />

Ice, in the last main glaciation, carved a glacial highway through the heart of Snowdonia<br />

so boldly as to ensure that Nant Ffrancon is amongst the best known natural landmarks<br />

in Britain. The phenomenon is explained in a way that is understandable to both<br />

specialist and visitor. A5. 30 pages. 21 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-9511175-3-X A.L.P. 1988. £3.60<br />

ROCKS & LANDSCAPE OF ALSTON MOOR<br />

geological walks in the Nent Valley. Barry Webb & Brian Young (Ed. Eric Skipsey). On<br />

two walks in the North Pennines landscape, the authors unravel clues about how<br />

today’s rocks, fossils and landscape were formed and how men have exploited the<br />

geological riches of Alston Moor.’<br />

A5. 28 pages, 40 figs. Cumbria Riggs 2002. £2.00<br />

CITYSCAPES<br />

BRISTOL, HERITAGE IN STONE<br />

Eileen Stonebridge<br />

The walk explores the rich diversity of stones that make up the fabric of the City of<br />

Bristol. The expectation is that as the building stones become familiar, so comes the<br />

satisfaction of being able to identify common stones and their origin, perhaps before<br />

turning to the text for reassurance. A5. 40 pages. 60 figs.<br />

ISBN 0948444-36-3 Thematic Trails 1999. £2.40<br />

BATH IN STONE a guide to the city’s building stones<br />

Elizabeth Devon, John Parkins, David Workman<br />

Compiled by the Bath Geological Society, the architectural heritage of Bath is explored,<br />

blending the recognition of building stones and the history of the city. A very useful<br />

walking guide both for visiting school parties, geologists and the interested nonspecialist<br />

visitor. A5. 48 pages. 36 illustrations.<br />

ISBN 0948444-38-X Thematic Trails 2001. £2.40<br />

GLOUCESTER IN STONE, a city walk – Joe McCall<br />

This booklet was compiled by the Gloucestershire RIGS Group as an introduction to<br />

the geology of the city. Four compass-point streets radiate from Gloucester city centre.<br />

The first short walk, Eastgate Street, is, in essence a mental tool-kit for identifying<br />

some local common building stones and their history - a skill which can then be applied<br />

to any of the three following compass direction walks.<br />

A5. 40 pages. 39 illustrations.<br />

ISBN 0948444-37-1 Thematic Trails 1999. £2.40<br />

GEOLOGY AND THE BUILDINGS OF OXFORD<br />

Paul Jenkins<br />

The walk is likened to a visit to an open air museum. Attention is drawn to the variety<br />

of building materials used in the fabric of the city. Their suitability, durability,<br />

susceptibility to pollution and weathering, maintenance and replacement is discussed.<br />

A5. 44 pages. 22 illustrations.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-09-6 Thematic Trails 1988. £2.40<br />

EXETER IN STONE, AN URBAN GEOLOGY<br />

Jane Dove<br />

“Directed at ‘the curious visitor and interested non-specialists’, Thematic Trails Trust<br />

publications incorporate and translate professional knowledge from the academic<br />

literature to which members of the general public don’t have ready access....Exeter in<br />

Stone is a fine addition to the ever-expanding list of booklets on the building stones of<br />

British towns and cities.” (Geology Today). A5. 44 pages. 24 illustrations.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-27-4 Thematic Trails 1994. £2.40<br />

GUIDE TO THE BUILDING STONES OF HUDDERSFIELD<br />

Two walks in central Huddersfield examine decorative polished building stones that<br />

have been brought into Huddersfield from many parts of the world to enhance the<br />

commercial and public buildings of the city. Huddersfield Geology Group.<br />

A5. 12 pages. 23 illustrations. £2.00<br />

COASTAL EROSION AND MANAGEMENT<br />

WESTWARD HO! AGAINST THE SEA<br />

Peter Keene<br />

This ‘case study’ examines the history of coastal erosion at Westward Ho! and the<br />

many strategies for coastal defence adopted and discarded over the last 150 years.<br />

A5. 44 pages. 24 illustrations.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-34-7 Thematic Trails 1997. £2.40<br />

DAWLISH WARREN AND THE SEA<br />

Peter Sims<br />

Within living memory Dawlish Warren in South Devon has dramatically changed its<br />

shape several times. A shoreline walk explains the nature and history of dynamic coastal<br />

change and its implications for both short-term and long-term coastal management.<br />

A5. 48 pages. 44 figs.<br />

ISBN 0-948444-13-4 Thematic Trails 1988-98 £2.40<br />

These titles are selected from over 100 guides published or marketed by the educational charity Thematic Trails.<br />

For a free catalogue e-mail keene@thematic-trails.org<br />

(Tel:01865-820522 Fax: 01865-820522) or visit our web site: www. thematic-trails.org<br />

Address ORDERS to THEMATIC TRAILS, 7 Norwood Avenue, Kingston Bagpuize, Oxon OX13 5AD.<br />

Use an educational address and quote your ESTA membership number to qualify for a 15% educational discount.<br />

Orders for five or more items are post free. Thematic Trails is registered charity No. 801188.<br />

143 www.esta-uk.org


from the British Geological Survey<br />

2003 Catalogue<br />

now available<br />

Contact the Sales Desk<br />

Fossil Focus and Holiday<br />

Geology Guides<br />

Buy any ten Fossil Focus or Holiday<br />

Geology Guidecards for just £10<br />

Titles include Ammonites, Belemnites,<br />

Brachiopods, Corals, The Lake<br />

District, North York Moors, Peak District and many more.<br />

See our Online Shop for a full list.<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>wise Books – Super Savers<br />

£4 each – normally £6.50<br />

Catastrophes – time’s trail of destruction<br />

Suzanna van Rose<br />

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, floods fascinate and<br />

horrify us all. In this book, famous natural catastrophes are<br />

investigated and explained in layman’s terms. Order Code CATAS<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>quakes – our trembling planet<br />

Suzanna van Rose & Roger Musson<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>quakes are in the news, even in Britain. This book helps<br />

those who want to get to grips with all aspects of the subject.<br />

Order Code EOTP<br />

Fossils – the story of life<br />

Sue Rigby<br />

Concentrates on British fossils and the story of life on our<br />

islands. Includes details of the great fossil collections of Britain.<br />

Over 100 colour photos and illustrations. Product Code FOSL<br />

Groundwater – our hidden asset<br />

Richard Downing<br />

This book explains clearly how and where groundwater<br />

occurs, how it is used and how it is at risk. Product Code GRHA<br />

UK North & South Sheets “Ten Mile Map”<br />

Special price £15 for any two folded sheets<br />

(normally £9.95 each)<br />

Revised 4th editions of the 1:625 000 solid geology map of the<br />

UK. Order Code Folded UKNSP<br />

The Geology of Britain<br />

By Peter Toghill – paperback<br />

Normally £16.95 – now £15.00<br />

This popular book is now available in paperback format.<br />

Published by Airlife. (ISBN 1840374047). Order Code VTGB<br />

How To Order<br />

Please include the Order Codes, title and price for all items.<br />

Mark your order “ESTA Offers” include your ESTA<br />

membership number, or use an official order form or<br />

letterhead.<br />

Prices quoted do not include postage: please add 10%,<br />

minimum £2.50. No further discounts are available on the<br />

Special Offer prices.<br />

Standard Educational Discount<br />

A 25% discount is available to educational institutions on most<br />

BGS publications (excluding some print-on-demand items and<br />

all non-BGS publications).<br />

Items not listed here can be ordered from the Sales Desk<br />

(please check availability before for sending payment).<br />

Discounts and offers are not available for purchases made via<br />

the BGS Online Shop. No additional discount is available on<br />

prices shown here.<br />

Yorkshire Rock – a journey through time<br />

Richard Bell<br />

Everywhere in Yorkshire there are clues to vanished worlds in<br />

the rocks, fossils and landforms. This book is an accessible<br />

guide to the geology of the county. Illustrated in watercolours<br />

by renowned wildlife artist Richard Bell. Product Code DGYR<br />

Any book, any quantity – £4 + P&P<br />

For other publications visit our Online Shop at:<br />

www.geologyshop.com<br />

Send Orders to:<br />

Sales Desk (ESTA)<br />

British Geological Survey<br />

Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG<br />

Tel. 0115 936 3241<br />

Fax 0115 936 3488<br />

sales@bgs.ac.uk


ESTA TEACHING MATERIALS<br />

ESTA Groups have produced a variety of <strong>teaching</strong> materials with teacher notes and worksheets.<br />

They are all copyright free for classroom use<br />

Working with Soil pack £6.00 + p&p<br />

NEW<br />

PRIMARY<br />

Working<br />

With<br />

Soil<br />

Working with rocks pack<br />

including postcard set<br />

£6.00 + p&p<br />

Contents<br />

● The Map . .inside cover<br />

● Information . . . . . . . . . . . . .pages 1 - 3<br />

● How to Use the Work Sheets . . . . .page 4 - 6<br />

● <strong>Science</strong> Activities and Work Sheets .pages 7 - 16<br />

● Literacy Activities and Work Sheets . .pages 17 - 26<br />

● Numeracy Activities and Work Sheets . . . . . . .pages 27 - 30<br />

Authors<br />

Waldorf the Worm<br />

This pack was wri ten and developed by members of the ESTA Primary Commi tee.<br />

Building stones photos.<br />

set of 16 postcards from this pack,<br />

sold separately £3.50 + p&p<br />

KEY STAGE 3<br />

Devised at KS3 to introduce <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> to pupils as part of the <strong>Science</strong> & Geography<br />

curriculum. Each contains 3 double periods of <strong>teaching</strong> time.<br />

ME Moulding <strong>Earth</strong>’s Surface: weathering, erosion & transportation (1993)<br />

HC Hidden changes in the <strong>Earth</strong>: introduction to metamorphism (1990, 2001 reprint)<br />

M Magma: introduction to igneous processes (1990, 2002 reprint)<br />

SR Second hand rocks: introducing sedimentary processes (1991)<br />

FW Steps towards the rock face: introducing fieldwork (1991)<br />

ES <strong>Earth</strong>’s surface features (1992)<br />

£2.00 each, or £10.00 for all 6 + post at cost<br />

There are limited stocks of other units less relevant to today’s curriculum<br />

GW Groundwork: introducing <strong>Earth</strong> <strong>Science</strong> (1990)<br />

PP Power from the past: coal, with colour poster (1990)<br />

E Power source: oil & energy (1992)<br />

WG Water overground & underground (1992)<br />

BM bulk constructional materials (1991)<br />

LP Life from the past: introducing fossils (1990)<br />

offered at £1.00 each + p&p, while stocks last<br />

KEY STAGE 4 and on<br />

Investigating the <strong>Science</strong> of the <strong>Earth</strong>: practical and investigative activities for key stage 4 and beyond<br />

SoE1: Changes to the atmosphere (1995)<br />

SoE2: Geological changes: <strong>Earth</strong>’s structure & plate tectonics (1996)<br />

SoE3: Geological changes:rock formation & deformation (1998)<br />

Routeway: planning & technical problems of building a major road (with posters 1994)<br />

£2.50 each, or £9.00 for all 4 + p&p<br />

Practical kits<br />

ESTA Mineral kit: 10 common minerals, lens, acid DROPPER, etc., boxed, £15.00<br />

Diversity of Life fossil replica kit: 12 representative items, data sheet, boxed, £16.00<br />

ESTA Rock kits: teacher and pupil sets available, details from jr.reynolds@virgin.net<br />

All kits supplied plus postage at cost<br />

Enquiries to earthscience@macunlimited.net<br />

Orders: Dave Williams, Corner Cottage, School Lane, Hartwell, Northampton, NN7 2HL<br />

145 www.esta-uk.org

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