The Earth Story

The famous Carrara Marble quarry in Northern Italy

lucalocatelliphoto

Breaking lose a large chunk of rock at the famous marble quarry of Carrara, Italy

Neat, trip through a granite and marble mining company and processing operation, Nigeria

Architectural Geology

It’s difficult sometimes having a geologist’s brain. I recently found myself at my local pub, stood at the bar struggling to get served on a very busy night. As my brain started to wander I noticed the polished stone that the bar itself was made from and, as you do, I started to try to identify it. (I was drunk, humour me!!) I became so engrossed by this question that I completely missed the bar staff trying to get my attention and had to wait another 15 minutes for them to circle back!!

It is easy to forget sometimes that the immaculately polished stonework that make up our buildings has all been dug out of the ground, perhaps thousands of miles away, before taking up residence on the facade of a bank or under your feet. The shear variety of rock types, structures and even fossils found in the buildings of an entire city could baffle even the most seasoned geologist, and finding and identifying them all would be a gargantuan task. Fortunately, as long as you live in London, someone has already done the leg work.

London Pavement Geology is a project to catalogue the rich selection of rock types and fossils and make the locations freely available for the enjoyment of both professional and amateur geologists. Initially conceived by geologist Dave Wallis, the project gained traction when joined by Dr Ruth Siddall, of University College London. Dr Siddall brought with her an extensive list of sites from her personal research which were generously volunteered to the site and as of June 2015, included over 940 locations!

Each site has a wealth of information associated with it, all researched by Dr Siddall, from the age of the rock and where it was quarried from, to the nearest tube station. The colonial nature of Britain’s past has led to a vast collection of rocks originating from countries around the world being concentrated within a single city, making London “a geologists dream”.

The project is currently accessible via a website (link at the bottom of page) where users can submit their own finds but eventually the hope is for an App across various operating systems to make the project “truly interactive”.

RJW

More Info London Pavement Geology - http://bit.ly/1MdtaDt Image Credits – Dr Ruth Siddall - http://bit.ly/1lootOy