Geology And Environment In Britain And Ireland

270 Pages·1994·6.83 MB·English

by  Nigel Woodcock

GEOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT IN BRITAIN
AND IRELAND

GEOLOGY AND
ENVIRONMENT IN
BRITAIN AND IRELAND
Nigel H.Woodcock
University of Cambridge
© Nigel H.Woodcock 1994
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.
First published in 1994 by UCL Press
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
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The name of University College London (UCL) is a registered trade mark used by UCL
Press with the
consent of the owner.
ISBN 0-203-49890-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-56102-3 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN: 1-85728-054-7 (Print Edition)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
CIP data for this book is available from the British Library.
CONTENTS

Preface vii
Sources of illustrations x
I
Environmental geology 1
1 Environmental geology 2
II
Geological influences on society 7
2 Geology and landscape 8
3 Geology and human geography 20
4 Geological hazards 32
III
Earth resources for society 50
5 Resources 51
6 Land 58
7 Water 69
8 Construction materials 81
9 Industrial and metallic minerals 94
10 Coal and peat 108
11 Petroleum 120
12 Energy perspectives 143
IV
Human impacts on the Earth 157
13 Environmental impacts 158
14 Resource extraction 164
15 Engineering geology 177
16 Land and water pollution 194
17 Atmospheric pollution 204
V
Geology and society 214
18 Geology and society 215
Glossary 225
List of references 234
Index 240
PREFACE
This book is derived from a course that I teach to first year undergraduate students taking
geology as part of the Natural Sciences degree in Cambridge. When I first prepared this
course, I found that most available textbooks on environmental geology were published
in the United States. Excellent though most of these books are, they focus on North
American examples that seem remote to a student audience in the British Isles. When I
came to compile more relevant data, I found them to be widely dispersed, some in
publications not easily accessible to most students or to many of their teachers.
Geology and environment in Britain and Ireland is my attempt to outline the ways in
which geology relates to human society, and to illustrate these themes with data and case
studies from the British Isles. I have assumed some knowledge of basic geological
principles, but no more than a student will acquire in an A-level Geology course or from
a first-year subsidiary course at university level. The book can therefore complement or
form the basis for taught courses on environmental geology at these levels, or can be used
as supplementary reading by students interested in the relevance of geology to the
environment. The book should also be useful to professional and amateur geologists in
the British Isles and to other environmental scientists who need a compact geological
perspective. The compilations of data and their sources provide a concise reference for
scientists outside the British Isles needing statistics for comparative purposes.
The focus on the British Isles in this book provides a route into the wider field of
environmental geology for readers familiar with this region. However, this focus is meant
to obscure neither the general applicability of environmental geology, nor the global
nature of some of its related problems. Accordingly, appropriate chapters contain both an
introduction to relevant geological processes and a global perspective which broadens the
view outwards from the British Isles examples. Suggestions for further reading on both
regional and global issues are provided at the end of each chapter. Primary sources of all
data are listed separately, so that these can be used for more detailed studies if necessary.
Relevant data from the Irish Republic are given where possible, although such data are
not always available or directly comparable with those from the UK.
Environmental geology is a broad subject, impinging by its very nature on many other
disciplines. I have attempted to distil the subject into a short book that could be afforded
by its intended readers. This has resulted in a high density of information on each page.
However, I have used three devices to make both the text and figures clear and
understandable. First, the purpose-drawn figures carry as much of the information as
possible, some of which is not repeated in the text. Secondly, the figures always appear
on the same page-spread as the relevant text, which is itself divided into page-fitted
topics. Thirdly, I have provided a glossary of technical terms, including the words that
appear in bold type in the main body of the book but which are not expicitly defined
there.
To keep the book to its intended length, I have omitted some non-geological material
which would have helped to put environmental geology in its full social context. Part I of
the book delimits more precisely what has been included or omitted. The lists of further
reading suggest ways of following up the non-geological themes.
The figures in this book have been specially designed and drafted. Sets of selected
figures are available as coloured transparencies, as an aid to teachers or other lecturers.
Details are available from the author at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of
Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK.
I have had much help and encouragement during the preparation of this book. The
University of Cambridge and Clare College granted me a period of leave during which
much of the book was drawn and written. The Department of Earth Sciences provided
essential computing facilities, to whose complexities Ashley Meggitt and Eric Browne
were willing guides. Ruth Banger and Dudley Simons gave efficient bibliographic and
photographic help. Valuable comments at the outset of the project came from Philip
Allen, Bob Allison, Derek Coussell and Dorrik Stow. Encouragement and advice during
the book’s preparation came particularly from Jeremy Leggett, Polly O’Hanlon, Douglas
Palmer and Kevin Pickering. Chris Stillman and Tim Atkinson both read a complete draft
of the book to a tight schedule, and suggested invaluable improvements. Roger Jones
provided wise guidance throughout, and was especially tolerant of an author who wanted
to design as well as write a book.