Programme No. 47 for 2001


Programme Secretary: David Bone

Telephone: 01243 788474 (evenings)

Email: Events@tertiary-research.org

TRG Homepage: http://www.tertiary-research.org

 Details of the Programme are as complete as far as possible at the date of issue. Updates will appear as necessary, and will be posted on our Web site.

 Attendance is open to all, irrespective of membership status, however it is advised that you let the Field Trip Director or myself know that you wish to attend, at least 7 days in advance, so that you can be told of any venue change or cancellation. If you require a lift, please contact the Field Trip Director or David Bone.

 A fee of £1 is collected from each member and adult guest to cover personal accident and third party liability insurance. The Tertiary Research Group cannot accept liability for any loss or accident incurred whilst on out field meetings. Everyone who attends does so at his or her own risk. Always wear suitable footwear and clothing. For quarry visits, please bring your own hardhat and high visibility vest.

 The Tertiary Research Group is always interested in hearing about new (or old) localities to visit, temporary exposures, or providing assistance with research activities that can be included in the programme. Please contact David Bone with details.


Saturday 13th January 2000. AGM at 81 Crofton Lane, Orpington, Kent.

 ·         Hosts: David and Alison Ward.

·         Everyone is welcome to the Annual General Meeting. Please bring any interesting, spectacular or unidentified finds from the previous year.

·         Arrive from 12.30pm onwards. The formal meeting starts at 2pm. Cold food will be available from 1pm; hot food and drink from about 5pm. Nearest railway station: Petts Wood.

·         For further details, please contact David Ward on 01689 871565 (day and evening) or e-mail david@fossil.ws

 


Saturday 17th February 2001. Field meeting to Whitecliff Bay, Isle of Wight.

 ·         Leaders: John Quayle and Martin Munt

·         This classic site on the Isle of Wight shows an almost complete sequence through the lower Tertiary, including many fossiliferous horizons. Hopefully winter storms will have cleared foreshore exposures in addition to the ever-present cliff sections. If exposures are poor on the day, the itinerary may be changed to suit interests of members.

·         Meet in Brading village car park (SZ 606874; on the left just before the Waxworks Museum and church when heading south from Ryde) at 10.00am. If you expect to arrive later, please advise the leader or David Bone so that alternative arrangements can be agreed.

·         John Quayle has kindly offered to invite members back to his house after the meeting. Please register you interest in attending, so that we have an idea of numbers.

 


Sunday 18th March 2001. Field meeting to Barton on Sea, Hampshire.

 ·         Leader: Paul Jeffery

·         Fossiliferous Barton Group, with plenty of well-preserved molluscs and occasional vertebrates to be found. If the wet weather prevailing at the time of writing this programme continues, there should be plenty of fresh slips and exposures along the cliffs.

·         Low water is around 11.10am, so the tide will be rising during the day and return along the cliffs may be necessary. The cliffs can be dangerous with ravines, mudflows and vertical drops. Please only attend if you can cope with these hazards. Children should be closely supervised.

·         Meet at 11.00am near the hotel on the coast road at SZ 237930 (on street parking). Bring a packed lunch.

 


 Sunday 8th April 2001. Field meeting to BELTINGE, ETC.

 ·         Leader and details not finalised.

 


May 2001. Field meeting to the Aquitaine Basin, southwest France.

Tentative dates: Wednesday 16th - Sunday 20th May (or September 2001?)

·         Negotiations are under way with Didier Merle in Paris to arrange access to some sites in the Aquitaine region and Bas Pyrenees. These range from Eocene (Late Ypresian) to Miocene (Burdigalian). In contrast to the Paris Basin, the sites are mostly in silty clays / sandy silts, often overgrown and not necessarily easy to reach.

·         Suggested sites in the area between Biarritz and Dax (southwest corner of France) eastwards, are Gaas (Rupelian Oligocene), St. Etienne d'Orthe (Chattian Oligocene), Poudenx (early Lutetian) and the classic Tuilerie de Gan (late Ypresian-early Lutetian). Published references on the area can be supplied in due course.

·         The main palaeontological interest at these sites is concerned with rich faunas of small molluscs, fish teeth, otoliths, and profuse microfossils. Larger material is nowadays hard to find.

·         It is suggested that participants depart early on the Wednesday morning to arrive the same evening (a long drive) - shared transport is recommended (perhaps a people-carrier could be arranged?). Site visits on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Return on Sunday. Please register your interest and thoughts about the timing with David Bone. You will be put in contact with others who have registered interest, so that transport and accommodation details can be arranged on a mutual basis.


Friday 15th  – Sunday 17th June 2001. Reims and surrounding area, France.

·         Leader: Chris King (and others if they can be persuaded!)

·         A design-it-yourself ramble around some of the richly fossiliferous sites of the Paris Basin, taking in other facets of local interest coupled with good wine and food in wonderful countryside. Any suggestions for localities to visit will be welcome.

·         Contact David Bone as early as possible if you are interested (but no later than 30th April), so that transport and accommodation arrangements can be investigated. Car sharing will be essential, as it will be necessary to restrict the number of vehicles. Please indicate if you can offer a lift.


Sunday 1st July 2001. Field meeting to Chichester Harbour, West Sussex and TRG barbecue.

·         Leader: David Bone

·         The morning will be spent wading through the mud in Chichester Harbour and locating the (sometimes) fossiliferous deposits that span the Reading through to London Clay Formations. Horizons yielding plant remains, molluscs and scarce sharks’ teeth (not all together) are occasionally exposed. The sites visited and time spent at each will depend upon the interests of the party.

·         Meet at11.00am in the car park on the south side of Chichester Railway Station (SU 860043).

·         Following the field meeting, members are invited to a barbecue at the leader’s home from 3.00pm. Hot food will be served as soon as possible after that time. Please bring any specimens for show or discussion.

·         It is essential that you register your interest at least 10 days in advance so that appropriate catering arrangements can be made (01243 788474 or david.bone@on-edie.net). Offers of additional supplies will always be welcome.


Sunday 15th July 2001. Field meeting to Plumstead Cemetery Pit, south-east London.

·         Leader: Jackie Skipper

·         An excavation will be attempted to re-expose a section in the Plumstead Cemetery Pit (the former and now built over South Metropolitan Brickyard).

·         Meet at 10.30am in Radnor Crescent, Plumstead (grid ref. to follow). Location maps can be provided on request by the Director or David Bone nearer the date.


Sunday 12th August 2001. Field meeting on the Tertiary deposits of north-west Surrey.

·         Leader: Paul Davis

·         An excursion around fossiliferous (bivalves, gastropods and shark teeth) exposures of “Bagshot Beds” (Barton/Bracklesham Group) and Pliocene age Netley Heath Beds (fossiliferous Red Crag equivalent). This will involve driving between sites and some walking at each location. Bring a packed lunch if you wish, but we will stop at a pub for refreshment.

·         Meet at 10.30am at the public car park by the monument on the east side of the B383 (Chobham Road), Chobham Common, Surrey (SU 9650 6550). For those with internet access, go to page http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=496750&Y=165750&A=Y&Z=3


Saturday 8th September 2001. Meeting at the Natural History Museum, London.

·         Leaders: Jerry Hooker and Adrian Rundle

·         Over the past few years, the TRG has held very successful meetings at Abbey Wood with some exciting finds being made (see October meeting). The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for members to see Abbey Wood fossils, particularly of vertebrates, and receive guidance in the techniques for recognition and identification of specimens. The mammal remains, for which Abbey Wood is justly famous, will be complemented by material from the mollusc and other fossil groups.

·         Meet at the Natural History Museum (Cromwell Road entrance) reception desk at 10.30am. A break will be taken for lunch and the meeting will finish at 4.00pm.

·         It is essential to register your interest with David Bone. Numbers must be limited to a maximum of 30 people and preference will be given to attendees of Abbey Wood field meetings.


Sunday 7th October 2001. Field meeting to Abbey Wood, SE London.

·         Leader: Jerry Hooker

·         This trip continues to be the most popular of recent years, with individuals and extended families taking the opportunity to dig and sieve the shell beds which make this the most fossiliferous site in the London area.  Children are most welcome, but must be kept away from the edges of the excavation.

·         Attendance requires all participants to retain and search all material over 0.5mm and to bring all reptile, bird and mammal remains to the Director’s attention. Please bring a digging implement, a large bucket or bowl for sieving, lots of bags and your own set of graded sieves. Water for wet sieving will be available.  Some communal tubs will be available for sieving, but demand is high – please try to be self-sufficient. .

·         Meet at 10.00am on the north side of Lesnes Abbey Woods, east of the ruined Abbey itself. It is a short walk up this path to the excavation within the woods. Abbey Wood station is within walking distance. Drivers please park on Abbey Road (the B213), not in the woods.

·         As in recent years, we must employ a council worker and hire shuttering to prevent hole collapse.  This is a costly undertaking, so it is hoped that all active participants will make an appropriate donation ( in the order of £10) to help cover this necessary expense.  To those who have done so previously, our gratitude for their generosity.


Saturday 17th  November 2001.  Southleigh Landfill Site

·         Leader: David Bone

·         This is provisional on permission being obtained.  More details will be available nearer the time.  Children under 16 years of age are not allowed in the site.


Other field meetings

·         Members may like to take advantage of two Geologists’ Association field meeting (1) Saturday 31st March 2001 to the Coralline Crag exposed at Broom Pit, near Orford, Suffolk. Leader: Alan Lane. (2) a weekend on the Isle of Wight from 14th to 16th September, courtesy of the Museum of Isle of Wight Geology. Further details from David Bone or the GA Circular nearer the time.

 

·         If you hear of any other trips that may be of interest to TRG members, please let us know so that they can be put on the TRG website.