Geology 2
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Members of Geology 2 have had an active, informative session, enjoying field visits, presentations and some research.
In September we met to discuss and formulate a plan for the coming session. The first field visit was to the Scottish Limestone Centre at Charlestown where Dr Katie Strang gave us an excellent introduction to Carboniferous rocks and fossils before we ventured out to find specimens in the ballast at Preston Island.
Back to base in November, Tom gave us an insight into South African geology when explaining mining of resources – gold, diamonds, platinum, coal and antimony. Stunning examples of Fuchsite, Stibnite, and a drill core containing gold were examined.
‘Hands on rocks’ was the theme for December, when members brought in samples for identification and discussion. These included world-wide examples of fossils, igneous and metamorphic exhibits, and extra-terrestrial iron and stony meteorites.
In January, group members gave five-minute talks covering topics from Iceland, Skye, Ben Lawers, and Perth, contrasting limestone landscapes and pyrite.
In February, Tom led us through the stages of field mapping in the Comrie area from many individual records to the final map and interpretation.
Members investigated available information about local SSSI sites in the Perth area for the March meeting. They reported on the accessibility and availability of information, ease of access to the site and whether the published site description reflected reality.
In April the group enjoyed a field visit to the historic silver mine at Alva.