Thursday 2nd October 2025
It's all Relative: the Ups and Downs of Sea Level over Geological time

This talk by Wyn Hughes is based on micropalaeontological analysis of over 150 oil well and field samples from the Gulf of Suez, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia. The purpose was to provide an age and deposition environment of the sedimentary rocks that range mostly from the Miocene to Pliocene. Microfacies analysis provides additional sedimentological data and the first, but preliminary, indication of possible source, reservoir and seal properties of the young and rapidly subsiding Red Sea basin.

Wyn obtained BSc, MSc, PhD and DSc from the University College Aberystwyth. Specialising in micropalaeontology he has worked for the BGS mapping the Solomon Islands and as a micropalaeontologist for Robertson Research Singapore and UK. He has recently completed over 20 years as micropalaeontologist and Chief Geologist for Saudi Aramco's Technical Services Department supporting exploration and development. He has published over 120 papers, is a professor at the King Fahd University and continues to tutor PhD students.

Image copyright: NASA/Stratfor 2017

We are delighted to welcome Peter to deliver a talk to the Association. Peter is Professor of Computational Geoscience, Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool. He has a diverse research interest in sedimentology, sequence and seismic stratigraphy, basin analysis, sea-level change, geological data science, and numerical forward modelling, all using a quantitative approach.

Peter has experience in both academia and industry and is currently an associate-editor for the Journal of Sedimentary Geology, Basin Research and Sedimentologik

Image copyright: Jonathan Wilkins, 2023

Preparing a bid was an exacting process, and if successful, requires that the inscribed area be appropriately managed.

The inscription of The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2021 was the culmination of a twelve-year project to acknowledge the global significance of the quarries and mines where slate was extracted within the region, as well as the houses of the workers with their families and the slate-carrying transport systems.

This talk explores both the 'before' and 'after' of inscription.

Dr David Gwyn is a Bangor-born archaeologist and historian with a long-standing interest in the Industrial and Modern period. He was advisor to Gwynedd Council on their bid for UNESCO World Heritage status for The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales. He has a number of publications including "Welsh Slate – Archaeology and History of an Industry" and "Gwynedd, Inheriting a Revolution: The Archaeology of Industralisation In North West Wales".

To help us plan, please let us know if you intend to come with a brief email.
For those attending who are not members of Cymdeithas Daeareg Gogledd Cymru / North Wales Geology Association we ask for a donation of £2 towards venue cost. It will be possible to join on the evening. If you would like the membership form and information on how to pay by BACS, please use the above email link. In association with GeoMôn and University of Bangor GeoSoc.

Image copyright: Jonathan Wilkins, 2024.

A public lecture delivered by Dr Katy Chamberlain, Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool.
In association with GeoMôn and University of Bangor GeoSoc.

Ascension Island is a volcanic island situated 90km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – (MAR), where its formation began ~ 6-7 Myr ago. The island exhibits multiple rock types that represent its varied volcanic history, with differences not only in composition, but also in eruptive style – from lava flows and domes to thick pumice and scoria deposits.

The origins of the island and its volcanism are as of yet not fully resolved. Katy will give us some information on the volcanic origins of Ascension Island, why we should care, and introduce us to some unique aspects of this volcanologists' playground.

Katy began studying Ascension Island during a postdoctoral role at Durham University in 2014- and has continued this research ever since. She is particularly interested in where and how magmas form at Ascension Island, and what this means for future eruptive activity at this remote ocean island.

Excellent information on Ascension Island volcanology can be accessed online: Ascension-Island-Volcanology.com
If you would like to attend the talk, to help us plan for the evening, we would appreciate a brief email.
For students travelling from Bangor, please liaise with Charlie (Geog Soc) about obtaining a lift. Refreshments available from 7pm. For those attending who are not members of the North Wales Geology Association we ask for a small donation of £2 towards venue cost.

Image copyright: Travel-Tour-Guide.com

Please join us for a sociable and interesting evening at Pensychnant. We have three short talks lined up and time for socialising. Please bring something edible to share e.g. savoury nibbles, mince pies (and please mark if it include nuts, wheat etc. if possible).
More information is available on the event on our Facebook page

Contributions
John: The Pipe Rock of Quinag
Charlie: Soils of Tenerife
Jonathan: The Causeway Coast of Antrim

Please bring along anything that you would like to discuss or identify. There will also be a petrological microscope and sections of interest.

Diolch!
We Look forward to seeing you there.

Image copyright: Rein Wellhead Equipment

A public lecture delivered by Dr. Jordan Phethean, Department of Environmental Science, University of Derby.
In association with GeoMôn and University of Bangor GeoSoc.

The understanding of magma-rich continental breakup is undergoing a revolution. How many continents do you think there are?

In this talk, Dr Jordan Phethean draws on a variety of his work including geodynamic simulations, Icelandic fieldwork, and tectonic modelling, to unravel new ideas in continental rifting and "hotspot" magmatism. To wrap up the talk, a debate will be solicited exploring how many continents are present on Earth: 7, 6, 8, or some other number?

Jordan's primary research areas include ultra-deep groundwater resources and plate tectonic theory. With a strong background in Earth sciences, geophysics, and numerical geodynamics, he is able to investigate Earth and environmental problems using a multi-disciplinary approach. Many of his current research projects are of interest to society, industry, and academia, including: Understanding ultra-deep groundwater resources for the next generation, unveiling the world's lost 8th continent beneath Iceland and drinking water exploration for Gaza's 2 million inhabitants.

Image copyright: phys.org

A public lecture delivered by Simon Kendall, a Geoscientist specialising in Energy Transition.
In association with GeoMôn and University of Bangor GeoSoc.

When we use the term Geothermal, most of us probably imagine a power station in Iceland set against backdrop of volcanoes …. However you may be surprised to learn that substantial energy is also available from within the Earth at shallow depth and in non-volcanic regions. And there are considerable reserves of geothermal energy in North Wales.

Unlike wind and solar, geothermal energy is a 24x7 energy source so is always “on”. 50% of energy demand in the UK is from space heating and cooling. Heat networks utilising geothermal energy can provide heat on a local or regional basis such as those in Gateshead in the UK. In the UK early “wins” are exemplified by local heat networks based on mine water abstraction which is a possible opportunity in North Wales around Wrexham, Point of Ayr and Anglesey. By the time of this talk I am hopeful that through Microsoft’s Minecraft a set of education modules supporting the UNESCO mandate that was agreed during the Paris accord will be in production.

Simon has a BSc in Geology and an MSc in Organic Geochemistry. He is Executive Director of E&P Data, specialising in building datasets and basin modelling in supporting geothermal, coupled carbon storage and white hydrogen.

This meeting is organised in conjunction with Geomon in order to promote partnership between the organisations.

We will examine the excellent exposures of karsts of late Dinantian age. The geometries of these karsts are unique within the Carboniferous Limestones of the British Isles. We will consider how these features may have formed. Recently, many workers have favoured a link to global climatic and eustatic sea level changes.

However, more local, tectonic controls of the sedimentary basin margin cannot be ruled out.

Please contact Oighrig Rieder by email or telephone to register your interest, and receive joining instructions.
Booking is essential since space is limited.

The point at which the Association is open to scrutiny by its members, followed by our invited speaker, Alastair Baird.

Chairman's Note:
The 2024 Annual General Meeting is a potential turning point in the fortunes of our Association. We have not been immune to the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 emergency, in the same way that the national way of life has taken a severe knock. Other societies, religious congregations and interest groups have also felt the effects of changing patterns of socialisation, and indeed the Geologists' Association in London have seen their meetings sink well below a truly viable attendance. In the history of our Association it has been evident that the most important function of the committee has been to organise meetings, and the position of Meetings Secretary has been functionally vacant for several years, notwithstanding Keith Nicholls' co-option to the position on a temporary basis. We do urgently seek a volunteer meetings secretary, whose position will be to liaise with potential speakers and field leaders, maintain a calendar and oversee the process of setting-up meetings at appropriate venues. Support will also come from the Treasurer and other committee members. Outside of the regular business, it will be the principal function of the AGM to appoint a suitable candidate, or decide on the future path of the Association.

The Geology of the Ogwen valley, northern Eryri: Why change the status quo?

Recently, it has become obvious that the published geological history of the Ogwen valley (Late Ordovician volcanism followed by Late Caledonian (Acadian) polyphase deformation), requires significant revision.
Sequential removal of the Caledonian deformation phases shows that the published geometry of the Ordovician volcaniclastic deposits and calderas is erroneous. Unfortunately these published interpretations are now influencing ideas about tectono-sedimentary evolution Eastern Avalonia, the continent on the SE side of the subducted Iapetus Ocean.

Image from geograph.org.uk (CC BY-SA 2.0).

We look forward to hearing from Tom regarding his work on the "Fossil Forest" of Brymbo, nr. Wrecsam.

In association with Bangor University, a KESS 2 East Scholarship project was started, supported partly by European Social Funds through the Welsh Government and partly by the Brymbo Heritage Trust. This is a PhD project based in the Molecular Ecology and Evolution lab in Bangor (MEEB) and Tom Hughes is researching how these ancient plants lived around each other and how they interacted with their environment.

The Brymbo fossil forest is internationally important for its in-situ, growth position Carboniferous plant fossils. My PhD research has aimed to unlock even more information from the rocks and fossils of Brymbo by studying their geochemistry. Stable isotope analysis has allowed us to understand more about the ecology of these plants and how they were so well preserved.

The image originates from the first field meeting to be held at the Brymbo open-cast mine by CDGC/NWGA, before its fossil riches were fully realised. Image © J.Wilkins, 23-Jan-2002

We hope that you will give a warm welcome to Louise, who is Lead Specialist Advisor at Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / Natural Resources Wales. She has worked for several years in pollution control, contaminated land and remediation and has for three years worked for CNC/NRW.

Louise will describe current Welsh Government funded studies dealing with liability issues arising from past metal mining activity. She will focus on current projects in North Wales particularly – including Parys Mountain and Parc mines.

The image shows Parc Mine No 3 Level (Richard Bird, cc-by-sa/2.0) Parc Mine was a most productive working for lead and zinc from around 1860 and was worked up until the 1950s. Apart from a short mineral dressing experiment in 1962-3, by the mid 60s all had come to an end. This picture was taken in 1974, before a major remediation programme to mitigate metalliferous, airborne dusts.