Bristol- & British Channel, UK

This one-week MSc field seminar Reservoir-Geology on the coasts of the Bristol- and British Channel is part of our Reservoir-Geology course, the follow-up of our MSc Basic Geology module (courses Structural Geology and Depositional Systems). Its goal is a fundamental understanding of reservoir geology concepts, including sedimentary, diagenetic and structural aspects and a general understanding of the Meso- to Cenozoic basins of the region.

We visit the famous cliffs along the Bristol- and the British Channel, covering Triassic to Cretaceous rocks. Students work out the geology of these world class exposures, covering several structural and diagenetic aspects of different depositional settings. The subsurface is interpreted by seismic interpretation, and the regional geology correlated with the stratigphy around Karlsruhe.

  • day 1 Lilstock, Kilve (fractured carbonates I)
  • day 2 Watchet (porous rocks, depositional systems, faults)
  • day 3 Budleigh Salterton & Orcombe Point (porous, depo, faults), Lyme Regis (fractured carbonates II)
  • day 4 Kimmeridge Bay (top seal and source rocks), Lulworth Cove (mapping project)
  • day 5 West Bay (reservoir rocks and depositional systems), Osmington Mills (diagenesis)

group_2008group_2012_Watchetgroup_2017group_2017_KilveKilve_normal_faultWest_Bay

Literature:

  • BGS, 2011. Geology of south Dorset and south-east Devon and its World Cultural Heritage. 161 pp. 
  • BGS, 1958. Geology of the country around Bridport and Yeovil. 239 pp. 
  • BGS, 1979. Geology of Bideford and Lundy Island 143 pp
  • BGS, 1947. Geology of the coutnry around Weymouth. Swanage, Corfe and Lulworth. 386 pp.