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British Lower Jurassic Stratigraphy (Geological Conservation Review Series No. 30) 2004

Abstract

Volume 30 of the Geological Conservation Review series, British Lower Jurassic Stratigraphy, describes 45 sites which represent the entire British outcrop of British Lower Jurassic strata, from north-east Scotland to south Wales and south-west England, and from small disused quarries to magnificent coastal cliffs.

Britain has some of the most extensive and fossiliferous exposures of marine Lower Jurassic rocks seen anywhere in the world. They include remarkably complete stratigraphical successions and a great diversity of facies, forming the basis for many detailed investigations. Knowledge accrued at many of these sites has contributed enormously to enhancing our understanding of the factors that influenced these Early Jurassic sediments, such as sea level, basin subsidence, climate and diagenesis.

British Lower Jurassic strata have also long been famed for its wealth of fossils, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Many species were first described from sites described in this volume, and these sites continue to contribute important new taxa and specimens. Numerous palaeontological case studies based on such material have contributed immensely to our understanding of biological diversity, evolutionary patterns and processes, marine palaeoevironments, and the processes of fossilization during early Jurassic times. Rich ammonite faunas at many sites have formed the basis for one of the highest resolution stratigraphies of any part of the geological column. Several GCR sites described in this volume have been either designated or proposed as the Global Stratotype Section and Point for various Lower Jurassic Stage boundaries.

The contents of the volume include:

  • Prelims – including an introduction to the Geological Conservation Review (GCR) and the list of sites discussed in the volume.
  • Chapter 1 – British Lower Jurassic stratigraphy: an introduction
  • Chapter 2 – The Wessex Basin (Dorset and central Somerset)
  • Chapter 3 – The Mendip and South Wales massifs
  • Chapter 4 – The Severn Basin
  • Chapter 5 – The East Midlands Shelf
  • Chapter 6 – The Cleveland Basin
  • Chapter 7 – The Moray Firth Basin
  • Chapter 8 – The Hebrides Basin
  • References, Glossary, Fossil Index and General Index

Please note: this volume has been produced from a scan of an original document. You may therefore experience fluctuations in quality.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Environment

Reference date 2004··

Citation
Simms, M.J., Chidlaw, N., Morton, N. & Page, K.N. 2004. British Lower Jurassic Stratigraphy. Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 30, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, ISBN 1 86 107 495 6.

Lineage
Volume 30 of the Geological Conservation Review Series.

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC publisher

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2022·07·08

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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