Promoting interest in the geology of Cambridgeshire, the UK and worldwide
MONTHLY MEETINGS
A programme of 10 monthly meetings, each including a talk, is held every year, running from September to June. These are held on the second Monday of the month at St Andrew’s Centre, Histon. Doors open 7 pm and talks start (unless stated otherwise) at 7.30 pm. Everyone welcome, free to CGS members, £3 non members. Refreshments (coffee/tea/biscuits £1) available on arrival.
NEXT MEETING
Monday 13th May 2024 7.30pm
Potential for carbon dioxide sequestration in volcanic rocks of the North Atlantic Igneous Province
by Dr Simon Passey, CASP
In the quest to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, which aim to restrict anthropogenic warming to 1.5–2.0°C this century, carbon capture and storage (CCS) plays an indispensable role. The majority of CCS projects are focussed on the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into porous sedimentary rocks at greater than 1 km depth; these require impermeable overlying rocks to stop the CO2 escaping to the surface. An alternative approach, however, involves the injection of CO2 into reactive rocks (e.g. mafic or ultramafic lithologies) leading to carbonate mineralisation; this process permanently locks carbon away with minimal risk of it re-entering the atmosphere. The CarbFix project in Iceland has made significant strides in demonstrating the viability of this approach by injecting CO2 into basalt lava flows. The project is, however, on a relatively small scale and there are uncertainties regarding the feasibility of scaling up this technology for widespread commercial use, such as utilising the large volumes of volcanic rock formations of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). These volcanic rock formations vary significantly in terms of facies, mineral composition, porosity and permeability, all factors that need to be addressed in adopting the CarbFix approach. The potential of carbon mineralisation within the NAIP will be explored and the challenges faced will be discussed.
Another Walk Guide published on the Fen Edge Trail
‘an iconic fen island – monks, marshes and a model village’
In January 2023 the Walk Guide for the Thorney Fen Edge Trail walk was published. This walk is a good introduction to the geology of the northern part of the Cambridgeshire Fens, including silt from extensive tidal marshes and ancient river beds (roddons), the River Terrace Gravels of the Nene and the complex ’March’ Gravels. The latter created the island itself, raising it above the low fenland; these gravels also form the islands of Whittlesey, March and Chatteris.
All Walk Guides can be downloaded from the Fen Edge Trail website.
The walk has been designed in partnership with Thorney Museum and the Thorney Society. We hope to organise a guided walk on the route later in the year.
4 New Walk Guides published on the Fen Edge Trail
December 2022,has seen the publication of 4 new Walk Guides including two with a difference: we have now expanded into the realms of podcasts and YouTube videos! Thanks to Paul S, Paul M (especially for the video) and Jeff for their work on the first three. Also thanks to Peter from the Word Garden who designed the fourth walk and produced the accompanying history podcast.
Earith: Old Bedford and 100 Foot with the Word Garden
This makes a total of 15 Guides published with at least another 7 due in 2023. An additional 21 are being put together leaving only 6 or so to be started. All Walk Guides can be downloaded from the website and there are also links to the podcast and videos. We hope to have guided walks on these and other Fen Edge Trail walks in 2023.
Previous Events
Field Trip Report – Burwell Local Geological Sites
The society organises occasional field trips to view important geological sites within the county and hopefully further afield in post pandemic times. These trips are primarily for our members.
In early summer 2021 we had a popular visit to the Burwell Local Geological Sites and are scheduling some others to East Pit, Cherry Hinton, a walk along the Fen Edge from Swaffham Bulbeck to Reach, a visit to Nine Wells chalk spring and a tour of the building stones of Cambridge city center. These are primarily for the benefit of members: any member wishing to participate should contact us.
A write up for this trip may be found here.
Newsletters
Our Autumn 2023 newsletter is now available to members.
Our previous newsletters are available to everyone (download below). They have plenty of ideas for some virtual geology!
Email updates
Sign up for our email updates to hear about future talks, events and news of our projects.
Contact us
Cambridgeshire Landscapes
Cambridgeshire has a fascinating landscape and an interesting geology. See our Landscapes page for more details and download the excellent leaflet ‘The Mapping of Landscapes, Geology and Soils of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire’ by Timothy Farewell, Peter Friend, Martin Whiteley and Joanna Zawadzk.
© Cambridgeshire Geological Society