Scottish Geology Research Articles

A Geological Excursion Guide to the Stirling and Perth Area A Geological Excursion Guide to the Stirling and Perth Area , edited by M.A.E. Browne & C. Gillen. 2015. Edinburgh Geological Society in association with NMS Enterprises Ltd. 231 pp. ISBN 978-1-905267-88-0, £15.99.

A Geological Excursion Guide to the Stirling and Perth Area , edited by M.A.E. Browne & C. Gillen. 2015. Edinburgh Geological Society in association with NMS Enterprises Ltd. 231 pp. ISBN 978-1-905267-88-0, £15.99. ‘Stirling and Perth’ is the fourth in the series of geological excursion guides published by the Edinburgh Geological Society in association with National Museums Scotland. Its predecessors had focused on established icons of Scottish geology – Rum, the NW Highlands and the Moine succession – but this latest contribution explores the possibilities of a less-celebrated region, and demonstrates that it has much to offer. But in these days of apps and smartphones, if a traditional excursion guidebook is to succeed, it needs to simultaneously satisfy several requirements: an attractive format, clear and concise navigation and locality descriptions integrated into the broader pattern of the regional geology, and the capacity to tempt the reader along unexpected byways. How does ‘Stirling and Perth’ fare in these respects? Very well, I think. The layout of the book is familiar from the earlier excursion guides in the series and works well. There are plenty of well-chosen colour illustrations and the maps and diagrams, equally colourful, are clear and purposeful. An introduction to the local geology is followed by itineraries for 18 excursions, each of which commences with an introductory panel summarizing its overall purpose and providing useful details of logistics and complementary Ordnance Survey topographical and British Geological Survey geological maps. A location and route map with adequate geology accompanies the beginning of each itinerary (all credited to Angus Miller), which is then laid-out to a common pattern so that the book develops a consistent identity, despite being the work of 16 different contributors. Credit for this must lie with the editors. Mike …

Peach and Horne: the British Association excursion to Assynt September 1912

Abstract At the meeting of the British Association held in Dundee in September 1912 a group of eminent European geologists, including most of the leading Alpine tectonic experts of the day, intrigued by the account of the structure of the NW Highlands given in the 1907 memoir, expressed a wish to see these structures for themselves. Peach and Horne were approached, and agreed to lead an excursion to the Assynt area following the meeting. The programme for the excursion followed an itinerary that many geological parties still follow today. On the final evening of the excursion Albert Heim (Zurich), the doyen of Alpine geologists, gave a vote of thanks to the leaders and Maurice Lugeon (Lausanne) composed La Chanson du Moine Thrust which the participants sung with great enthusiasm. Brief biographies are given of the participants, many of whom were already distinguished, while most of the junior participants, particularly those from the British Geological Survey, went on to pursue long and distinguished careers, making major contributions to our knowledge of Scottish geology.

Geology at the crossroads: aspects of the geological career of Dr John MacCulloch

Abstract Dr John MacCulloch MD was a pioneer of geological cartography. Prior to his surveys there had been few attempts to map and survey Scotland. Of these few, only the student efforts of Louis-Albert Necker de Saussure and the published map of Aimé Boué have attempted to show the whole country. MacCulloch's geological map of Scotland, published posthumously in 1836, remains one of the great cartographic milestones in the history of geology. Earlier, MacCulloch was the first government-appointed geologist through his work on the Board of Ordnance whilst carrying out the Millstone, Meridian and Mountain surveys. MacCulloch's work often generated controversy after 1820 when others began to take an interest in Scottish geology. MacCulloch was an active member of the Geological Society and was quickly recognized as a geologist of rare ability and influence, and was appointed to several committees. He was made Vice-President in 1815 and became its fourth President in 1816. From 1820 his influence and activity in the Society began to wane as the demands of his Survey work and ill health began to take their toll. He finally resigned from the Society in 1832.

Tectonic stratigraphy and structural continuity of the northernmost Moine Thrust Zone and Moine Nappe, Scottish Caledonides

Abstract The Moine Thrust Zone and overlying Moine Nappe represent classic ground in Scottish geology in which Neoproterozoic Moine metasedimentary rocks were translated towards the WNW over the Laurentian foreland comprising Lewisian basement gneisses and a Cambrian cover succession during Caledonian orogenesis at c. 430 Ma. Systematic mapping of both the Moine Nappe and underlying Moine Thrust Zone in the Loch Hope to Whiten Head region of Sutherland extends the tectonic stratigraphy developed in other parts of the thrust zone to the little-studied north coast section. An apparent continuum of deformation is recognized from the Moine Nappe down into the underlying thrust zone with a consistent gently ESE-dipping foliation associated with down-dip mineral and extension lineations. The polyphase fold history present within the Moine Nappe and the thrust zone results from progressive deformation during thrusting. Thrust-related fold axes and bedding-cleavage intersections are typically subparallel to the transport direction in high-strain zones, whereas gently north- or south-plunging attitudes are common in lower strain portions of the thrust zone. Thrusts are commonly deformed by folds developed within their footwalls, consistent with a foreland-propagating sequence of deformation. The newly defined Lochan Riabhach Thrust is interpreted as an ‘out-of-sequence’ structure that sliced at low angles across the thrust zone and toward the WNW after initial thrust stacking. Comparison with the downfaulted segment of the Moine Nappe and thrust zone exposed on the foreland at Faraid Head demonstrates cross-strike continuity of the thrust sheet template and structural history for at least 15 km to the NW.

James Powrie, chronicler of the Scottish Lower Devonian

James Powrie (1815–1895) was an important figure in the early history of Scottish geology and palaeoichthyology. Powrie first described, what were in his day, the earliest known articulated vertebrates and most of his descriptions still stand today. He collaborated and corresponded with prominent palaeontologists and zoologists of Victorian Britain but strangely, other than his published output, virtually nothing else was previously known about Powrie, and only an anonymous obituary in a local newspaper appeared on his death (Anonymous, 1895) . This work collates the available information on Powrie based on the archives of the National Museum of Scotland, newly published correspondence and information from living relatives. This paper contains the first published photograph of James Powrie.

‘Where ignorance is bliss ‘tis a folly to be wise’ (Thomas Gray 1716–1761) – controversy in the basement blocks of Scotland

The Millennium Issue The year 2000 is the Millennium year and it is appropriate that the Scottish Journal of Geology should mark it in some way. The Editorial Board feel that at this time, at the beginning of what is arguably its 4th century, it is important to bring out the unique and varied character of Scottish geology. After some discussion it was decided to invite short essays from scientists for whom the geology of Scotland has had a special importance and who have themselves had a particular influence on Scottish Geology. We asked for personal approaches to what is significant about the geology of Scotland. In what way has it inspired? Is it because of the intrinsic importance of the discoveries made here or more simply the influence of the environment? We hoped that some contributions would take a more geopolitical view. How much influence has Scotland had on the development of the science of geology as a whole and is there anything left here to discover? We have been delighted with the contributions we have received. A recurrent theme has been the influence of place and it is clear that many of our contributors are as aware of the scenery and their feelings about this important legacy as they are about the (in some ways) more mundane geological issues. Many have included a historical viewpoint, and have reminded us how great a part was played in the last century by observers in Scotland in putting the science of geology together from its diverse beginnings. These contributions appear in both issues of this volume of the Journal and are identified by photographs of the authors and brief notes on their careers.

The road to the oils

It is not every year that we cross the threshold of a New Millennium! For reasons unknown, governments around the World decided that when midnight struck on the last day of 1999 we would move through this mystical timewarp. The Royal Greenwich Observatory would have preferred us to wait another year. Whichever, such an occasion does provide an opportunity for looking back in time and for trying to look ahead. Inevitably, reminiscences are personal. However, the more I explored my thoughts the more I became aware that my most acute memories are not just personal, but are inextricably interwoven with apparently disparate events in the history of Scottish Geology. These have a bearing on local heroes, the path of the Industrial Revolution, Scottish lighthouses, a weather station on Ben Nevis, the Geological Society of Glasgow, Professors of Geology, Geological Survey maps, and concerns about climate change. ‘ The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order’. Eudora Welty’s words are profoundly relevant. It is the interconnectedness of events with each other and with my most vivid personal recollections, that forms the basis for this Millennium article. Like the history of the Earth, the story of these events is written in rock. Initially, in a small piece of non-descript brownish-black rock picked up by a casual prospector 150 years ago in a field some 2 miles east of Armadale, West Lothian. This was originally thought to be coal . . .

That man is little to be envied ...

What is special about Scottish Geology? I think the answers are quite simple. The country has an astonishingly varied geological make-up in a small area, and partly for that reason is astonishingly beautiful. And marvellous work has been done on it by remarkable people, many of whom were not only great scientists but great writers too. Let me try to justify this outpouring of adjectives. Sit on top of the Sgurr of Eigg, or stand, if you can, against the gale. You are on top of the youngest volcanic rock in the country. You can see the Lewisian gneisses of the Outer Isles, the Caledonian mountain chain of the Highlands, the Jurassic of the Hebrides basin just below, the basaltic plateaus of Skye and of Eigg itself, the Tertiary plutons of Skye, Rum and Ardnamurchan, and everywhere the evidence of recent glaciation and uplift. The only comparable area that I know anything about is Switzerland, which is about the same size as the Highlands but much more densely populated. It is comparably beautiful and complex, and equally bound up with the history of our science. But it is Scotland that we are celebrating. Scottish geology is diverse in its appeal and it should encourage a diversity of response. It should foster curiosity, and an eclectic approach to what we find interesting. I think we underestimate the influence of the beauty of scenery in our science, almost as though we are ashamed of it. I don't know why. I do know . . .

Theses on Scottish geology, 1986–89

Theses on Scottish geology, 1986–89

Silver Jubilee Volume

Whenever groups of socially inclined men and women discover that they enjoy the same intellectual pursuits, two things happen. First, they formally coalesce into a learned society to promote the communality of their interests; and then, having taken the big step of airing their views in knowledgeable company, they promptly decide to share their erudition with the rest of the world through transactions, proceedings and journals. Enthusiasm usually outstrips available resources. Most periodicals published by learned societies are endangered species limping along in anxious search for more and larger subscriptions and subsidies of any kind. Thus it was for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Geological Societies for the first century or so of their common existence, when modest circulations and variable flows of original papers steadily eroded the viability of their separately published Transactions. But in February 1962, a committee convened by that Peter Pan of the Palaeozoics, Professor Gordon Y. Craig, advised the Council in Edinburgh to explore, with its Glasgow counterpart, the prospects of launching “a national geological journal” in place of their independently published Transactions. It says a great deal for the vision of both Councils of the day that, by February 1965, this far-sighted initiative had been brought into focus by the publication of the first part of Volume 1 of the Scottish Journal of Geology. We are certainly indebted to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Councils for affording this opportunity of celebrating the publication of the 25th volume of a Journal which has served Scottish geology so . . .

Institutional and Individual Influences on Scottish Geological Maps, 1804–1847: A Cornucopia of Publication or a Mere Trickle?

The shape, form and pace of the development of Scottish geological cartography during the first half of the nineteenth century are described. The part played by Scottish scientific societies in publishing geological maps is assessed, comparison being made with that of the Geological Society of London. The attempts made to devise graphic representations of the strata, and the problems encountered in publishing the results, are also discussed.

Institutional and Individual Influences on Scottish Geological Maps, 1804–1847: A Cornucopia of Publication or a Mere Trickle?

Institutional and Individual Influences on Scottish Geological Maps, 1804–1847: A Cornucopia of Publication or a Mere Trickle?

Theses on Scottish geology, 1984–85

Theses on Scottish geology, 1984–85

Theses on Scottish geology, 1977–83

Theses on Scottish geology, 1977–83

Scottish Geology: Geology of Scotland.

Scottish Geology: Geology of Scotland.

Scottish geology for the 1980s

Geology of Scotland, 2nd Edn. Edited ByG. Y. Craig. Scottish Academic Press/Halsted: 1983. Pp.472. Hbk £35, $54.95; pbk £17.50. Scotland's Environment During the Last 30,000 Years. By Robert J. Price. Scottish Academic Press/Columbia University Press: 1983. Pp.224. Hbk £27.50, $41.50; pbk £15.

New basal Namurian (Upper Carboniferous) fishes and crustaceans found near Glasgow

I report here a recent discovery of new species of sharks, together with the most complete and best-preserved Carboniferous shark known, in Bearsden near Glasgow. Sharks of this age are significant because of their high diversification rate during the Carboniferous. This, coupled with their poor fossil record, has led to “almost as many classifications of Palaeozoic chondrichthyan fish as there are taxa in this group represented by adequate specimens”1. The new shark discoveries also throw considerable morphological light on relatively fragmentary material collected during the past few years from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Namurian) of Montana2. The fish found also include 11 new palaeoniscid (early ray-finned) fishes which represent the first known British Namurian marine species. The site has also yielded a crustacean assemblage which is probably the best preserved from Europe or even the Northern Hemisphere. The only comparable crustacean fauna, from beds of Wesphalian age at Mazon Creek in Illinois, is larger but is mainly preserved as moulds whereas the Bearsden material preserves the cuticle intact. The first (and last) major discovery of a substantial vertebrate and crustacean marine fauna from the British Carboniferous was made in 1879 when the Glencartholm site (Dumfries and Galloway) was found by Macconochie of the Scottish Geological Survey3 in the Lower Carboniferous, Upper Border Group (Upper Dinantian, Asbian).

Theses on Scottish geology, 1975–7

Theses on Scottish geology, 1975–7

Theses on Scottish geology, 1973–5

Theses on Scottish geology, 1973–5

Theses on Scottish geology, 1972–3

Theses on Scottish geology, 1972–3