ALBERT

Description: Cambrian limestone clasts containing a rich, well-preserved archaeocyathan fauna have been recovered from the late Carboniferous Fitzroy Tillite Formation of the Falkland Islands. Since neither Cambrian strata nor limestone are present anywhere in the indigenous rock succession, the clasts are regarded as exotic erratics introduced during the Permo-Carboniferous Gondwana-wide glaciation. Most recent reconstructions of Gondwana rotate the Falklands into proximity with the Eastern Cape, South Africa and the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. In both of these areas, Permo-Carboniferous diamictites correlated with the Fitzroy Tillite Formation also contain rare, exotic clasts of archaeocyathan limestone. The Transantarctic Mountains seem the most likely source for all of these unusual erratics. This interpretation sustains the requirement for substantial rotation of the Falklands microplate into Gondwana reconstructions and illustrates the extent of the late Carboniferous ice sheet. Apparent differences in the tillite clast assemblages between East and West Falkland suggest variable provenance within the regional ice-flow regime.

Description: The nature of the southern margin of the Anatolian microplate during the Neogene is complex, controversial and fundamental in understanding active plate-margin tectonics and natural hazards in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Our investigation provides new insights into the Late Pleistocene uplift history of Cyprus and the Troodos Ophiolite. We provide isotopic (14C) and radiogenic (luminescence) dates of outcropping marine sediments in eastern Cyprus that identify periods of deposition during marine isotope stages (MIS) 3, 4, 5 and 6. Past sea-levels indicated by these deposits are c. 95±25 m higher in elevation than estimates of worldwide eustatic sea-level. An uplift rate of c. 1.8 mm/year and possibly as much as c. 4.1 mm/year in the past c. 26–40 ka is indicated. Holocene marine deposits also occur at elevations higher than those expected for past SL and suggest uplift rates of c. 1.2–2.1 mm/year. MIS-3 marine deposits that crop out in southern and western Cyprus indicate uniform island-wide uplift. We propose a model of tectonic wedging at a plate-bounding restraining bend as a mechanism for Late Pleistocene to Holocene uplift of Cyprus; uplift is accommodated by deformation and seismicity along the margins of the Troodos Ophiolite and re-activation of its low-angle, basal shear zone.Supplementary material: An expanded description of the procedures used in determining OSL ages for samples given in Table 2 is available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18533.

Description: To utilize the full potential of hydrogen energy in the UK a number of economic, technical and environmental factors must be considered. An important factor in replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen will be the practicality of storing a sufficient quantity to smooth out fluctuations in demand and provide a strategic reserve. This paper investigates the potential for large-scale underground hydrogen storage in the UK by considering the technical, geological and physical issues of storage, the locations of salt deposits, legal and economic aspects. In addition, reference is made to the equations of state applicable to this type of storage. The results of this investigation show that the UK has a number of potential locations where underground storage would provide a strategic reserve of hydrogen.

Description: Groundwater models are used to manage water resources in carbonate aquifers throughout the UK. These models often utilize non-linear modifications of equivalent porous media (EPM) assumptions to simulate the observed head-flow relationships. This paper describes the application of similar principles to time-variant water balance modelling of a karstified aquifer: the Carboniferous Limestone in SW England. The non-linear model successfully simulates the large changes in bulk hydraulic conductivity required to adequately model flows from two karstic spring catchments. Model results illustrate that the rate of drainage from the vadose zone is affected by the extent and thickness of soil cover. In a catchment with mixed soil cover, vadose zone drainage is shown not to be significant in sustaining summer low flows at the spring. The performance of the model is limited in some cases: summer storm flows in particular are poorly simulated. The limitations suggest that the true response of the system is dependent on recharge intensity (rate) as well as antecedent water levels and that the EPM assumption of good connection between conduits and the diffuse flow zone is not always valid in this aquifer. This may have implications for groundwater model design in other carbonate aquifers.