Undergraduate Course: Helmsdale 3rd Year Field Excursion and Interpretation Exercise (EASC09041)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Earth Science |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | To study the structural, sedimentological and stratigraphic relationships exposed in Mesozoic strata along the NW shore of the Moray Firth. The follow-up exercise focuses on the joint interpretation of seismic reflection profile and exploration well data tied into and constrained by your knowledge of the structures and sedimentary succession at the basin margin near Helmsdale. It will be carried out in groups of four students working as a team, each team member will carry out part of the work and then integrating his/her results with team-mates. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Any 3rd Year Earth Science student would have the experience to take this elective. |
| Additional Costs | The cost of this fieldtrip in 2013/14 was £100. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 100 |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Class Delivery Information |
For 2013/14 field excursion runs from Tuesday 3 September to Sunday 8th September. NOTE this is before the start of Semester 1.
Residential excursion, with 5 nights in the Belgrave Arms Hotel, Helmsdale (Tel. 01431 821 242), bed, breakfast and evening meal. You buy your own lunches.
The weather can be cold and wet, please bring warm and waterproof clothing.
Notebook, hand lens, tape measure etc required. |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
98 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Use onshore outcrops to build up an overall picture of a sedimentary basin - how and when rifting initiated, sedimentary facies, susidence history, etc.
2. Understand the effect of fault segmentation of the Helmsdale Fault on sediment dispersal within the basin.
3. Understand how geological constraints impact on the seismic interpretation.
4. Practice and enhance basic field geology skills including field observation; keeping a notebook; synthesis of observations into geological history. |
Assessment Information
| A final report covering both the field and seismic exercises, with 50:50 weighting of the 2 components. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Collection of basic geological field data (grain size, sorting, bed thicknesses and styles, sedimentary structures, field relationships) is a core skill for Earth Scientists including geophysists who may well have to work with (more field oriented) geologists in their careers. Understanding of sedimentary facies, and relationship to controls such as faulting and sea level change may be vital for interpretation of complex geophysical data, as performed as part of an asset team in a typical working environment. It is also the fundamental basis of geology - field data is the ultimate source of knowledge concerning Earth history, and the interaction of processes and their controls. |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Report writing; working in groups |
| Reading list |
*** PALEOECOLOGY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY ACROSS A JURASSIC FAULT SCARP, NE SCOTLAND, 1993, WIGNALL, PB; PICKERING, KT
Source: JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Volume: 150 Pages: 323-340
** Geology of East Sutherland and Caithness, ed Trewin NH and Hurst A. 1993 and 2009 for colour photos!
** Edwards, H.E., Becker, A.D. & Howell, J.A., 1993, Compartmentalization of an aeolian sandstone by structural heterogeneities: Permo-Triassic Hopeman Sandstone, Moray Firth, Scotland. In: North, C.P. & Prosser, D.J. (eds), Characterisation of Fluvial and Aeolian Reservoirs, Geological Society, London, Special Publications; v. 73; p. 339-365
** The structural and diagenetic evolution of injected sandstones: examples from the Kimmeridgian of NE Scotland
Jonk, et al. 2003, JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, v.160, p.881-894.
** Mass-wasting of ancient aeolian dunes and sand fluidization during a period of global warming and inferred brief high precipitation: the Hopeman Sandstone (late Permian), Scotland, Hurst, A; Glennie, KW, 2008
TERRA NOVA, v.20, p.274-279
** THE UPPER JURASSIC BOULDER BEDS AND RELATED DEPOSITS - A FAULT-CONTROLLED SUBMARINE SLOPE, NE SCOTLAND, PICKERING, KT, 1984, JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, v.141 p.357-374
* SMALL-SCALE SYN-SEDIMENTARY FAULTS IN THE UPPER JURASSIC BOULDER BEDS
PICKERING, KT, 1993, SCOTTISH JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY, v.19, p. 169-181
ORIGIN OF QUARTZ CEMENTS IN SOME SANDSTONES FROM THE JURASSIC OF THE INNER MORAY FIRTH (UK, VAGLE, GB; HURST, A; DYPVIK, H, 1994, SEDIMENTOLOGY v.41 p. 363-377
MID JURASSIC STRATIGRAPHY AND FACIES AT BRORA, SUTHERLAND, HURST, AR, 1991, SCOTTISH JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY, v.17, p.169-177
Mixed marine and lacustrine input to an oil-cemented sandstone breccia from Brora, Scotland
Peters, KE; Clutson, MJ; Robertson, G, 1999, ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY v. 30 p.237-248
Stratigraphic control on mudrock chemistry, Kimmeridgian boulder bed succession, NE Scotland
Davies, SJ; Pickering, KT, 1999, CHEMICAL GEOLOGY v.156 p. 5-23
Review of the Kimmeridgian flora of Sutherland, Scotland, with reference to the ecology and in situ pollen and spores
vanKonijnenburgvanCittert, JHA; vanderBurgh, J 1996, PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION, v.107 p.97-105
***Suggested reading for Geophysisists:***
The excursion always has students with a wide range of field expertise, we do expect some people without much geology.
Books: there is a guide book to the area (Excursion guide to the geology of East Sutherland and Caithness), as above
Otherwise, Geological field Techniques by Angela Coe (not in library?) is good (the sedimentary section, not the rest of it).
There are also:
Sedimentary Rocks in the Field (Geological Field Guide) by Maurice E. Tucker,
The Field Description of Sedimentary Rocks (Geological Society of London Handbook Series) by Maurice E. Tucker (same book but older?)
Otherwise books on general sedimentology, e.g. these are in library:
Understanding the Earth:
Chapter 15, Sedimentary Basins
Chapter 16, Clastic Sediments
Earth¿s Dynamic Systems 9th Edition:
Chapter 5, Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 10, Weathering
Sedimentology & Sedimentary Basins, from Turbulence to Tectonics (M. Leeder)
Part 6: Continental seds
Part 7: Marine seds
Elements of Petroleum Geology, Selley, R.C., 2nd Edition, 1998, Chapter 6: The Reservoir.
Finally, there are a number of papers on the area, which are a bit more tricky but might help, the best (from the list above) is:
PALEOECOLOGY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY ACROSS A JURASSIC FAULT SCARP, NE SCOTLAND, 1993, WIGNALL, PB; PICKERING, KT JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY v. 150 p.23-340 |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Helmsdale_Field_trip,Interpretation, geophysics, exploration, geology, |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mark Wilkinson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5943
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Katie Leith
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: |
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