Monthly CGS talks in Cambridge

We have a programme of 10 talks running from September to June, held on the second Monday of every month. All talks (unless specified otherwise) are at 7.30 pm (doors open 7.00 pm). Everyone welcome, free to CGS members, £3 for non members.

Our programme for the Sep 2020 – June 2021 season will start on Monday 14th September 2020 with an online talk (using Zoom) that is free to watch and open to everyone (you just need to register to get the link).

The monthly talks from September onwards will be by Zoom for the time being and details will be announced when they are confirmed – contact us to be notified of their details.

Monday 9th November 2020 7.30pm

(by Zoom – please register by contacting us)

‘The relationship between life and sedimentary environments‘

Dr Neil Davies, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge

This talk will look at the influence life forms had on the creation and development of sedimentary environments from the Precambrian to the Triassic. We will see how life influenced sedimentation patterns and so created new habitats for evolving organisms.

Monday 14th December 2020 7.30pm

(by Zoom – please register by contacting us)

‘The Making of the Mendip Hills‘

Dr Doug Robinson, University of Bristol

‘Somerset is a unique county with more geological periods present than any other English County. The city of Wells is well known as England’s smallest city but within its immediate backdrop the rocks record a longer geological history than any other English city – a 200 million year (Devonian to Jurassic), 6,000 km journey from the southern tropics across the equator into northern latitudes.’

Dr Doug Robinson is a research fellow at Bristol University Dept of Earth Sciences, now retired. His research is in the field of very low-grade metamorphism, and aims to establish if geochemical and mineralogical changes at low temperatures – in the range 100- 300°C – can be understood in terms of equilibrium order and/or kinetically-controlled reaction progress.

Monday 11th January 2021 7.30pm

(by Zoom – please register by contacting us)

‘Remote Monitoring of an Urban Mud Volcano’

Dr Andrew Hart, Chief Engineering Geomorphologist at Atkins

‘On 29 May 2006, a mud volcano erupted in the Sidoarjo regency of East Java, Indonesia.  Unlike other mud volcanoes, this one has been erupting almost continuously since then, burying villages, factories and farmland to now cover an area of almost six square kilometres. Atkins has been monitoring and assessing these risks since early 2007.  This work has included using a combination of remote sensing techniques to map and monitor the growth of the mud volcano as well as ground surface movements and deformation around the mud volcano area.  To date, the remote sensing work has shown that while the flow of mud from the crater area is now being constrained by the earth embankments surrounding the mud volcano, the ground movements are effecting a much larger area, and are potentially also being heavily influenced by anthropogenic factors.  This presentation will provide an overview of the ongoing eruption and how it has developed since 2006.  It will also highlight how the use of remote sensing mapping techniques has allowed for the risks posed by the eruption to be monitored over an extended period of time in an innovative but cost-effective manner, as well as the importance of field verification in such work.’

Dr Andrew Hart is a Chief Engineering Geomorphologist working for Atkins, where is also the Discipline Lead for Engineering Geomorphology, Geohazards and Ground Modelling.  Andrew has over 23 years of experience assessing the impacts of Geohazards and other geo-engineering constraints while working on a wide variety of infrastructure projects.  This has included O&G pipelines and facilities, iron ore railways, highways and mountain roads and offshore wind farms, as well as Geohazard Assessment and Disaster Risk Reduction projects.  This means that Andrew has been lucky enough to work in many interesting parts of the world, with a wide range of client organisations and project teams.

Monday 8th February 2021 7.30pm

(by Zoom – please register by contacting us)

‘The Evolution of the Iceland Plume‘

Prof Nicky White Dept of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge

The mantle plume beneath Iceland is highly unusual: instead of the typical dome-shape at its top it has a number of fingers that stretch as far away as Scotland and Norway, over 1000 km away. The talk will explore the reasons for the existence of these fingers and also the influence they have on the geography of Scotland and Norway.

Monday 8th March 2021 7.30pm

(by Zoom – please register by contacting us)

‘A word on the Anthropocene‘

Prof Philip Gibbard Dept of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge

Phil was awarded the Digby McClaren medal at the International Commission on Stratigraphy’s STRATI 2019 Congress in Milano, Italy on 4 July 2019. The Digby McLaren Medal is awarded to honour a significant body of internationally important contributions to stratigraphy sustained over a number of years. Hear his thoughts on the Anthropocene and its place in our consideration of stratigraphy.