Andrew J. Newell

British Geological Survey

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Michael J. Benton

University of Bristol

Andrew Farrant

Dickinson College

Mark A. Woods

University of California, San Diego

James Sorensen

British Geological Survey

Daren C. Gooddy

British Geological Survey

Richard J. Twitchett

University of Plymouth

R.A. Ellison

British Geological Survey

Alexander M. Dunhill

University of Leeds

R.J. Thomas

Universidad de Colima

Kathryn Goodenough

British Geological Survey

Cooperative Institutions

British Geological Survey

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

University of Bristol

Natural Environment Research Council

University of Nottingham

Croatian Geological Survey

Cardiff University

United States Geological Survey

University of Leicester

Environment Agency

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Geology of the Salisbury district : a brief explanation of the geological map sheet 298 Salisbury

P.M. Hopson Andrew Farrant Andrew J. Newell Richard Marks Kathryn A. Booth

Geologic map

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Citations (3)

Discrete wetland groundwater discharges revealed with a three-dimensional temperature model and botanical indicators (Boxford, UK)

Hydrogeology Journal (2015)

Andrew House James Sorensen Daren C. Gooddy Andrew J. Newell B. P. Marchant

Groundwater discharge

10.1007/s10040-015-1242-5

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Citations (21)

A preliminary 3D model of post-Permian bedrock geology in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK

Andrew J. Newell Rob Ward Mark Fellgett

The British Geological Survey (BGS), together with a number of partners is undertaking an independent environmental monitoring programme to characterise baseline conditions across the Vale of Pickering in North Yorkshire, in the vicinity of a site close to Kirby Misperton (Third Energy, KM8) proposed for shale-gas exploration and production. The monitoring will include measurement of: water quality (groundwater and surface water), seismicity, ground motion, air quality including radon, and soil gas. The programme aims to establish the environmental baseline before any shale-gas explorations begin. This report presents the results of a desk study to develop an initial summary of the post-Permian bedrock geology across the Vale of Pickering. It is a component and specific deliverable of the environmental baseline project. The bedrock deposits form a number of shallow aquifers that are used locally for drinking water supply and agriculture. A separate report considers the superficial geology. The geological information in this report will form the basis for identifying aquifer dimensions and configurations, groundwater flow paths and potential contaminant migration pathways, as well as determining optimum locations for sampling and monitoring. It will also provide information to support the locating of new borehole infrastructure (suitable for groundwater sampling and seismometers) and will underpin the interpretation of acquired hydrogeochemical data.

Bedrock

Baseline (sea)

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Mirfa : geological map

Andrew Farrant Kathryn Goodenough R.A. Ellison R.J. Thomas Andrew J. Newell

Geologic map

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Bromsgrove Aquifer Groundwater Modelling Study : results from Task 1.1 3D visualisation and geological framework of the Bromsgrove Aquifer

Andrew J. Newell Nicola Smith

The Bromsgrove Sandstone aquifer is over-abstracted. This has resulted in a long-term fall in groundwater levels, the reduction or loss of baseflow and the derogation of surface water features. To support flows in Battlefield Brook (a BAP site and notable amenity feature in Bromsgrove), Bow Brook (BAP site) and water levels in Hewell Grange Lake (SSSI), four alleviation of low-flow (ALF) boreholes are operated (one by the Environment Agency and three by Severn Trent Water). These ALF boreholes were installed as short term measures, prior to the implementation of a long-term solution to reduce the impacts of groundwater abstraction on surface water features which is under discussion between the water company and the Environment Agency. In 2001 an existing groundwater model of the Bromsgrove Sandstone aquifer (developed by Birmingham University in 1990) was adopted and updated as part of the Environment Agency Midlands Region Groundwater Modelling Strategy. However, monitoring data collected since 2002 has shown that this groundwater model does not accurately simulate groundwater flows and levels in critical areas. The Bromsgrove aquifer groundwater modelling project aims to develop a new groundwater model that will be used to determine a more optimal groundwater abstraction regime which benefits the surface water environment, with the minimum of overall groundwater abstraction reduction and affordability. The British Geological Survey (BGS) was contracted to undertake Environment Agency Task 1.1 of the Bromsgrove aquifer groundwater modelling study, namely the production of a three dimensional geological model of the investigation area. The model was specified to cover the outcrop of the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation, the outcrop of the Clent Formation to the north and the confined Sherwood Sandstone Group to the west. The geographical limits of the area are approximately Droitwich Spa and Astwood Bank in the south (Northing 261550) and Rubery in the north (Northing 279560), Elmley Lovett (Easting 387134) in the west and Redditch (Easting 405456) in the east. The outline of the project area is given in Figure 1. The 3D geological model will be used in a concurrent Task (Task 1.2) to develop the conceptual model of groundwater flow between the principal formations of the Bromsgrove Sandstone aquifer system, as well as providing the geometrical information for building the groundwater model (Task 2). This report outlines the methods used in the BGS 3D geological visualisation work and provides a brief summary of the stratigraphy, facies relationships and structure of the bedrock geology. Much of the information in the report has not been published before, and results from an extensive reinterpretation of existing borehole lithological descriptions and geophysical logs. The model integrates information from BGS 1:50000 geological sheets (E167 Dudley, E168 Birmingham, E182 Droitwich and E183 Redditch), borehole descriptions derived from core or cuttings, geophysical logs and NEXTMap digital terrain data. Published information on the regional geological framework was also incorporated into the model (e.g. Old et al., 1991, Old et al. 1987, Powell et al. 2000).

Groundwater model

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Thickness variations in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in southern and eastern Britain: implications for Late Jurassic basin evolution

Mark A. Woods Laura Burrel Andrew J. Newell

The Kimmeridge Clay Formation is a mudrock-dominated succession deposited during the Upper Jurassic –Kimmeridgian and Lower Tithonian stages– in a shallow shelf environment, below fair- weather wave base. With a maximum thickness of 712m onshore, and 1400m in the northern North Sea, the formation has several intervals of bituminous shales, rich in organic matter, that make it a major oil source rock in the North Sea.In the Late Jurassic, north-western Europe was part of the Laurasian Seaway, a shallow marine area underlain by a system of interconnected extensional basins. In Britain, sedimentation of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation took place in two main depo-centres; the onshore Wessex and Weald basins and adjacent Channel Basin in southern Britain, and the East Midlands Shelf and adjacent Cleveland Basin in north-eastern Britain, extending offshore into the North Sea. These depo-centres were bounded by normal fault systems. with significant syn-depositional activity associated with  Late Jurassic crustal extension allowing  development of thick sedimentary successions in the hangingwalls of these structures.The sedimentary patterns of the Kimmeridge Clay formation are rhythmic, with intervals of mudstones, organic-rich mudstones and carbonate-rich stone bands, that give characteristic inflection patterns to wireline logs. These patterns are very similar across the Wessex and Weald basins but differ slightly from those of the East Midlands Shelf and Cleveland Basin; perhaps a consequence of compartmentalisation of accommodation space by the Anglo-Brabant Massif.We present a new correlation of borehole geophysical logs (gamma & sonic) and associated thickness maps and structural maps for the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. They reveal lateral changes in thickness that reflect the influence of underlying basin structure on patterns of deposition and post-depositional erosion.

10.5194/egusphere-egu23-3143

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Some relationships between lithology, basin form and hydrology: a case study from the Thames basin, UK

Hydrological Processes (2011)

John P. Bloomfield Stephanie Bricker Andrew J. Newell

Abstract The role of lithology in influencing basin form and function is explored empirically by investigating correlations between a range of catchment variables, where the spatial unit of analysis is not surface catchments but lithologically coherent groundwater units. Using the Thames basin, UK, as a case study, nine groundwater units have been identified. Values for 11 hydrological and geomorphological variables, including rainfall, drainage density, Baseflow Index, aquifer porosity, storage coefficient and log‐hydraulic conductivity, aquifer and drainage elevation, river incision, and hypsometric integral have been estimated for each of the groundwater units in the basin, and Pearson correlation coefficients calculated for all pairs of variables. Seven of the correlation coefficients are found to be significant at a confidence level of > 99%. Negative correlations between drainage density and log aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and between drainage density and river incision, and positive correlations between log‐hydraulic conductivity and river incision, log‐hydraulic conductivity and Baseflow Index, and between Baseflow Index and river incision are inferred to have consistent causal explanations. For example, incision of rivers into aquifers leads to relative increases in hydraulic gradients in the vicinity of rivers which, in turn, promotes the development of secondary porosity increasing both aquifer hydraulic conductivity and, hence, Baseflow Index. The implication of this interpretation is that the geomorphological evolution of basins is intimately linked to the evolution of hydraulic conductivity of the underlying aquifers. This is consistent with, and supports the notion of a coupled complexly evolving surface water‐groundwater system. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Base flow

Drainage density

Lithology

Groundwater model

Aquifer properties

10.1002/hyp.8024

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Citations (86)

Improving paleoenvironment in North China aided Triassic biotic recovery on land following the end-Permian mass extinction

Global and Planetary Change (2022)

Zhi-cai Zhu Yongqing Liu Hongwei Kuang Andrew J. Newell Nan Peng

The driver of the Early–Middle Triassic biotic recovery on land following the end-Permian crisis is puzzling. Here, we show the biotic recovery was gradual and spanned up to 8 Myr after the end-Permian mass extinction, based on continuous, well-dated sections over large areas in the northeastern Ordos Basin, North China. Initial recovery began in the Olenekian, marked by the disappearance of microbially induced sedimentary structures and reappearance of bioturbation, and continued in the Anisian, with a bloom of plants and tetrapods and intense bioturbation. Sedimentary environments changed from Induan braided-eolian conditions to Olenekian–Anisian shallow lacustrine and meandering river systems, marking an overall deepening lacustrine system. Carbonate δ13C and geochemical proxies of weathering intensity, salinity and clayiness reveal an overall warm and semi-humid paleoclimate in the Olenekian–Anisian. This improved stable paleoenvironment of warm and semi-humid conditions likely contributed to the biotic recovery following the Permian-Triassic hyperthermal-related crisis.

Early Triassic

Permian–Triassic extinction event

Bioturbation

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.103914

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Geology of the Abu Dhabi 1:100 000 map sheet, 100-16, United Arab Emirates

Andrew Farrant R.A. Ellison J.W. Merritt J.E. Merritt Andrew J. Newell

This Sheet Description describes the Quaternary and solid geology of the Abu Dhabi 1:100 000 scale geological map. The Abu Dhabi district covers 3620 km2 along the Arabian Gulf coast including the northern part of Saadiyat island, Abu Dhabi, part of the Mussafah district and many of the islands to the west. These include Futaisi, Bu Kesheishah, Halat al Bharaini, Al Dabiya, Bu Qumah, Bu Shara, Al Qanatir and Al Rafiq. The sheet also includes a significant part of the coastal plain southwest of Abu Dhabi between Shunayyin in the east to Borquat al Rashid in the west, and south to Maharqah, across which the main E11 coastal highway runs. In the southeast of the district, an area of higher ground is formed of Miocene rocks draped by a variable sequence of cemented and unconsolidated dune sand. The region hosts several major oilfields including the Rumaitha, Shanayel, Al Dabb’iya, Umm al Dalkh, Al Mutarib and Umm al Lulu fields. The region is dominated by a series of offshore islands, part of a chain of barrier islands that extend from north of Abu Dhabi to Marawah Island, west of the present area. These islands, along with the sea-ward margin of the coastal plain are mostly comprised of a thin sequence of intensively studied Holocene marine carbonates termed the Abu Dhabi Formation. These sediments represent a transgressive-regressive sequence, and form the classic carbonate-evaporitic ‘sabkhas’ for which the region is justly famous. The Abu Dhabi Formation includes a range of marine and supratidal facies including coastal spits, bars and beach ridges, lagoonal muds, algal mats and ooidal tidal deltas deposited over the last 10 000 years. The southern limit of the Holocene transgression is marked by a beach ridge running parallel to the coast and clearly visible on satellite imagery. The barrier islands commonly have a core of well-cemented Pleistocene carbonate dune sand (Ghayathi Formation) around which the carbonate spits, bars and ridges of the Abu Dhabi Formation were accreted. The islands have been largely deflated down to the local water-table leading to the development of extensive sabkhas. Consequently, the islands are generally flat but punctuated by small Ghayathi Formation mesas and zeugen, forming mushroom-shaped outcrops rising up to 6 m above sea-level, locally capped with marine limestones of the Late Pleistocene Fuwayrit Formation. Offshore to the north of the island, below low water, is the Great Pearl Bank, an area of reefs and coralgal sands named after the former pearling industry in the region. South of the Holocene beach ridge, much of the onshore area is an extensive, very gently sloping coastal plain, dominated by a deflated planation surface developed on either unconsolidated quartzose aeolian sand or well cemented carbonate grainstones of the Ghayathi Formation. The deflation surface is commonly marked by secondary gypsum forming a sabkha. The Ghayathi Formation palaeodunes are locally well exposed, forming spectacular wind-sculpted mesas and zeugen both on the islands and within the lagoons, but also onshore draping the Miocene rocks in the southeast of the district.

Abu dhabi

Sabkha

Coastal plain

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Morphology and Quaternary geology of the Thames floodplain around Oxford

Andrew J. Newell

This report provides a summary of work undertaken on the geology and morphology of the River Thames floodplain around Oxford in the 13 km reach between Cassington in the northwest and Sandford-on-Thames in the southeast. The major part of the work was constructing 3D models and thickness maps of the valley gravels and alluvium using ArcGIS in conjunction with the 3D visualisation packages GSI3D and GOCAD. This work requires consideration of the available digital terrain models and how man-made features contribute toward the present-day floodplain topography. Surfaces were also constructed for areas of flooding based on their mapped extents from aerial photography. This allowed the interaction between terrain and flooding to be visualised in three dimensions.

Aerial photography

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Citations (3)