West, Ian. M. 2013. Bibliography of the Geology of the Solent, as Topics ; Geology of the Wessex Coast. Internet site: wessexcoastgeology.soton.ac.uk/Solent-Bibliography-Topics.htm. Version: 19th December 2013.


Solent Bibliography - Topics (Second Section)


Ian West,
Romsey, Hampshire

and Visiting Scientist at:
Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences,
Southampton University,
Webpage hosted by iSolutions, Southampton University

Home and Contents | Field Trips Introduction |Lepe Beach and Stone Point |Map of the Solent River Buried Valley |Borehole Data - Solent Estuarine System |Fawley Power Station |Highcliff, Barton and Hordle Cliff

Go to the Solent Bibliography - Undivided

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Archaeology

McGrail, S. 1994. The University's medieval warship. Hartley News, Spring 1994, No. 8, p. 8-9. Hull in mud in Hamble River. Henry V's ship Grace Dieu - struck by lightning and burnt to waterline in 1439. Settled in river bed upstream of M27 bridge. Now a designated historic wreck.

Moore, J. 1993. Research proposal submitted to the Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, May 1993. 2 pp. Aim to find archaeological sites in the Holocene sediments, particularly the peats around the Solent estuarine system.

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Beaulieu Estuary

(including Warren House Spit and Needs Ore Point)

Algan, O., Clayton, T., Tranter, M. and Collins, M.B. 1994. Estuarine mixing of clay minerals in the Solent region, southern England. Sedimentary Geology, 92, 241-256. The clay mineral composition of the fine fraction (less than 2 microns) of sediments from the Solent Estuarine System was determined by X-ray diffraction, in order to understand the origin, distribution and transport pathways of fine-grained sediments within this environment. The spatial distribution of clay minerals in the region is shown to be due to estuarine mixing processes. Riverine input from the rivers Itchen, Test, and Hamble is characterised by high smectite content and a low kaolinite plus chlorite to illite ratio. This input is believed to contain a substantial contribution of clays minerals derived from the Chalk. These fluvially derived clay minerals are mixed with a second clay mineral suite of marine origin, containing lower smectite and a higher kaolinite plus chlorite to illite ratio. The clays minerals in the marine suite are believed to be derived mainly from Tertiary and/or Recent sediments by the reworking of bed material within the estuaries, or by tidal currents and wave erosion of coastal outcrops. Mixing between these two sources occurs as a result of estuarine circulation dynamics.

Codd, K.A. 1972. A Study of Clay and Silt of Beaulieu River Bottom Sediment. M.Sc. Dissertation, Southampton University. Oceanography Dept.

Defoe, D. 1705 (Probable date) A Collection of the Most Remarkable Casualties Disasters which happen'd in the Late Dreadful Tempest both by Sea and Land on Friday the Twenty-fixth of November, Seventeen Hundred and Three. (The salt marsh between Inchmerry and Exbury may have been partly built up from sediment deposited in the 1703 great storm and the old beach with shells may lie landward of this ).

Hooke, J.M. and Riley, R.C. 1992. Historical changes on the Hampshire coast 1870-1965. Proc. Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society for 1991, v. 47, pp. 203-224.

Houghton, S.D. 1986. Coccolith Assemblages in Recent Marine and Estuarine Sediments from the Continental Shelf of Northwest Europe. Thesis submitted in the University of Southampton, July 1986. 465p. (See Beaulieu Estuary p. 240-243.)

Human, M. 1961. Preliminary survey of the Warren Farm Spit at the mouth of the Beaulieu River, Hampshire. Wessex Geographer, 2, 22-30.

Manners, J.G. 1975. Die-back of Spartina in the Solent. Pp. 7-13 in: Stranack, F. and Coughlin, J. 1975. (Patchy degeneration in Beaulieu Estuary in 1928. By mid 1950s about 150 acres lost in the Hampshire Basin. Lymington badly affected. Spartina marshes built up on top of pre-existing tidal flats colonised partly by Zostera. Rapid build up of sediment on Zostera. Channel die-back below levees. Pan die-back in and around pans. Die-back areas have a higher water content associated with high organic matter. Die-back areas have highly anaerobic sediment with high sulphide. Lack of oxygen causes die-back. Discussion - original sediment may have been coarser but Spartina has accumulated fine sediment leading to less oxygen.)
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Mathers, S.J. 1982. The Sand and Gravel Resources of the Country Around Lymington and Beaulieu, Hampshire: description of parts of 1:25,000 sheet SU 20,30 and 40 and SZ 29, 39 and 49. 58 pages, diagrams, tables etc. 0 11 887417 9. Mineral Assessment Reports No 122. British Geological Survey.
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Umnuay, G. 1981. The Behaviour of Dissolved Phosphate during Mixing in the Beaulieu Estuary and its relation to that of Iron and Other Elements. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. Southampton University. .
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Wilson, P.J. 1982. Environmental and analytical studies of dissolved cadmium in the Beaulieu Estuary. M.Sc. dissertation, University of Southampton.
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West, R.G. and Sparks, B.W. 1960. Coastal interglacial deposits of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B., Biological Sciences, No. 701, Vol. 243, pp. 95-133, 27th October, 1960, with an Appendix on the Mammalia by A.T. Sutcliffe. Published by the Royal Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1. Communicated by H. Godwin, F.R.S. Addresses of authors: R.G. West - Subdepartment of Quaternary Research, University of Cambridge; B.W. Sparks, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. Abstract: Fossiliferous Late-Pleistocene deposits on the foreshore of the English Channel at Selsey (Sussex), Stone (Hampshire), and near Arromanches (Calvados), have been investigated. At each site analyses of pollen, macroscopic plant remains and Mollusca have been made and from these vegetational, faunal, environmental and climatic conditions have been reconstructed. ... At Selsey, it is shown that the deposits, which lie in a channel cut in Eocene rocks, are of Ipswichian (Eemian or Last) Interglacial age. Pollen analysis of the sediments of the channel filling show that they formed during zones b, c, d, e and f of this interglacial, which show the succcession from open parkland vegetation to birch-, to pine, to oak-dominated forests. Analysis of the macroscopic plant remains and of the molluscs suggests a rapid climatic amelioration at the beginning of the interglacial, so that by the beginning of zone f there are indications of summer warmth exceeding that of the present day in the area. In the upper part of the channel filling, estuarine deposits overlie freshwater deposits. It is shown that the marine transgression causing the change was taking place in zone f and was probably responsible later for the raised beach deposits which overlie the channel deposits and form the cliff at Selsey Bill. ... At Stone pollen analysis shows that brackish water deposits, below present high tide level were formed in zone f of the Ipswichian Interglacial. At that time Quercus, Pinus, and Acer were the chief trees forming the forest in that region. The macroscopic plant remains and the Mollusca indicate that the deposit was formed under saltmarsh conditions. As at Selsey, the raised beach gravel found overlying the interglacial deposit is related to the same marine transgression that produced the brackish water conditions... Near Arromanches, at St Come de Fresne and Asnelles-Belle-Plage, two deposits showing a change from marine to freshwater sediments were investigated. The analysis of pollen and the Mollusca showed the prevalence of pine forest and its replacement by open steppe-like conditions as the marine regression occurred. After the regression, limon covered the freshwater deposits. The fossiliferous deposits are tentatively correlated with zone i of the Eemian Interglacial... The relative land and sea-level changes indicated by the deposits are considered. It is concluded that in the English Channel, during the Ipswichian (Eemian) Interglacial, sea-level rose above its present height in zone f and fell below it during zone i. The Selsey-Brighton raised beach and the Normannien II raised beach are correlated with the same marine transgression. It is pointed out that if the Selsey-Brighton raised beach is to be correlated with the Monastirian II level of 7-8m, then this level should be correlated with the Ipswichian (Eemian) Interglacial. [end of abstract.]

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Boreholes

See borehole note at the beginning about more than 1400 boreholes from the Solent area.

Anonymous, 1997. Tunnel under harbour to improve water treatment. Southern Water Conservation Matters (Newsletter), Issue No. 24, Winter, 1997 . Distributed by Southern Water, a Scottish Power Company. P. 13 only. An eight-kilometre long tunnel, three metres in diameter, is to be built beneath Langstone Harbour in Hampshore as part of an £100 million Operation Seaclean project. The tunnel will transfer wasterwater from Portsmouth to a new treatment works to be built at Budds Farm, Havant. Part of the tunnel will be below the sea bed. Southern Water began work earlier this year by drilling almost 90 50 metre deep boreholes to test the geological conditions in the area. A drilling rig sank boreholes up to 40 metres deep to examine the route of the tunnel. Boreholes were sunk approximately every 100 metres along the tunnel line and provided very good confirmation of the geology. Drilling was due to last for several months and the new treatment works are expected to be completed by the end of 2000.

Whitaker, W. 1910. The water supply of Hampshire. Memoirs of the Geological of Survey of Great Britain.

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Boxgrove and Slindon Raised Beaches

(See also Raised Beaches)

Preece, R.C. 1995. Island Britain; a Quaternary Perspective. Geological Society of London, Special Publication No. 96.

Preece, R.C., Scourse, J.D., Houghton, S.D., Knudsen, K.L. and Penny, D.N. 1990. The Pleistocene sea-level and neotectonic history of the eastern Solent, southern England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 425-477.

Radford, T. 1994. First European unearthed in Sussex. The Guardian, Wednesday, May 18, 1994, p. 20 only. In Boxgrove Quarry near Halnaker in West Sussex the shin bone of a man who lived 500,000 years ago has been found. Oldest find of human in western Europe. Storm beach at foot of Chalk cliff. Remains of elephants, rhinoceras and deer. Britain was peninsula, not island. Channel was a gulf. Interglacial. Flint hand axe manufacture on site. Scrapers. Between 485,000 and 515,000 years BP. Many wolf jaws. Hominid comparable to Homo heidelbergensis which lived later elsewhere. English heritage had funded a 10 year dig. See Nature late May 1994 for full report.

Roberts, M.B. 1986. Excavation of the Lower Palaeolithic site at Amey's Eartham pit, Boxgrove, West Sussex: a preliminary report. Proc. of the Prehistoric Society, 52, 215-245.

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Bracklesham Bay

(see also Bracklesham Group and West Wittering.)

Bone, A. and Bone, D. A. 1985. Fossils from Bracklesham to Selsey. Published by Chichester District Council and D.A. Bone. ISBN 0 903970 06 6. 32 pages. A map, text and 8 plates of fossils.

Bone, D.A. and James, J.P. 1975. Report of field meeting to Chichester Harbour, Sussex. Tertiary Times, 2/3, 99-100.
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Cordiner , R. 2006. The Cretaceous and Palaeocene Geology of Chichester Harbour. By Roger J. Cordiner of Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Geode Publications, Bognor Regis, September 2006. A copy can be ordered from Roger Cordiner, 3 Devonshire Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2SY for £6 plus 1.50 p & p.
Cordiner, R. 2006. The Quaternary Geology of Chichester Harbour. By Roger J. Cordiner of Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Geode Publications, Bognor Regis, September 2006. A copy can be ordered from Roger Cordiner, 3 Devonshire Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2SY for £5 plus 1.50 p & p.

British Geological Survey. 1:50,000 Sheet 331. Portsmouth. (Titchfield Haven to East Wittering, some of Bracklesham Bay, but not the end of Selsey Bill for which see Sheet 332).

Curry, D., King, A.D., King, C. and Stinton, F.C. 1977. The Bracklesham Beds (Eocene) of Bracklesham Bay and Selsey, Sussex. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 88, 243-254.

Dixon, F.1850. The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex. London.

Godwin-Austen, R.A.C. 1857. On the Tertiary deposits of the Sussex coast. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 13, 40-47.

Heron-Allen, E. 1911. Selsey Bill: Historic and Prehistoric. London

Ordnance Survey Map. 1:50,000 Sheet 197. Chichester and the Downs. (includes Selsey Bill, Bracklesham Bay, West Wittering, Chichester Harbour and Hayling Island.

Reid, C. 1897. The Geology of the Country around Bognor. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales. H.M.S.O., London.

West, R.G. and Sparks, B.W. 1960. Coastal interglacial deposits of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B. 306, 137-157.

White, H.J.O. 1915. The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales, H.M.S.O. London, pp.v + 78.

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Bracklesham Group, Eocene

Anderson, F.W. 1933. The new docks excavations, Southampton. Pap. Proc. Hampsh. Fld. Club, 12, 169-176.

Aubry, M.P., Hailwood, E.A. and Townsend, H.A. 1986. Magnetic and calcareous-nannofossil stratigraphy of the lower Palaeogene formations of the Hampshire and London Basins. J. Geol. Soc. , 143, 729-735. Brief but good key paper for references.

Barker, D. 1974. Eocene ostracods from the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proc. Geol. Ass., 85, 387-389.

Barton, M.E. 1978. Engineering geology applied to dock and harbour engineering in Southampton Water. Read at Regional meeting of the Engineering Group of the Geol. Soc., Lond., 21pp.

Berggren, W. , Kent, D.V. and Flynn, J.J. 1985. Palaeogene geochronology and chronostratigraphy. In Snelling, N.J. Ed. Geochronology of the Geological Record. Memoir of the Geological Society, London. , 10, 141-195.

Bone, A. and Bone, D. A. 1985. Fossils from Bracklesham to Selsey. Published by Chichester District Council and D.A. Bone. ISBN 0 903970 06 6. 32 pages. A map, text and 8 plates of fossils.

Bone, D.A. and James, J.P. 1975. Report of field meeting to Chichester Harbour, Sussex. Tertiary Times, 2/3, 99-100.

Bone, D.A., Todd, J.A. and Tracey, S. 1991. Fossils from the Bracklesham Group exposed in the M27 Motorway excavations, Southampton, Hampshire. Tertiary Research, 12, 131-137. Dummer's Copse between Allington Lane and Quob Lane northeast of Southampton. Wittering and Earnley.

Bone, A. & Bone, D. 1985. Fossils from Bracklesham and Selsey. 32p. Chichester District Council and D.A. Bone.

Bristow, C.R., Freshney, E.C. and Penn, I.E. 1991. Geology of the Country around Bournemouth. Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheet 329 (England and Wales). British Geological Survey, London, 116p.

Bristow, H.W. (1862). The Geology of the Isle of Wight. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.xix + 138.

Bristow, H.W., Reid, C. and Strahan, A. (1889). The Geology of the Isle of Wight (2nd Edition). Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.xiv + 349.

Chatwin, C.P. (1960). British Regional Geology: The Hampshire Basin and Adjoining Areas (3rd Edition). Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.iv + 99. (See new edition, revised by Melville).

Cooper, J. (1976). British Tertiary stratigraphical and rock terms formal and informal, additional to Curry, 1958, Lexique Stratigraphique International; with a stratigraphical table. Tertiary Research Group, Special Paper No. 1.

Costa, L.I. and Downie, C. (1976). The distribution of the dinoflagellate Wetzeliella in the Palaeogene of North-Western Europe. Palaeontology, 19, 591-614. Curry, D. (1966). Problems of correlation in the Anglo-Paris- Belgium Basin. Proc. Geol. Ass., 77, 437-467.

Crane , M.D. & Quayle, J. 1986. Two hexapod crabs of the genus Goniocypoda Woodward ( Crustacea, Decapoda) from the Hampshire Basin. Tertiary Research, 7, 101-105.

Curry, D., Adams, C.G., Boulter, M.C., Dilley, F.C., Eames, F.E., Funnell, B.M., Wellis, M.K. (1978). A correlation of Tertiary rocks in the British Isles. Geol. Soc. Lond. Special Report No. 12, 72pp.

Curry, D., Adams, C.G., Boulter, M.C., Dilley, F.C., Eames, F.E., Funnell, B.M., Wellis, M.K. (1978). A correlation of Tertiary rocks in the British Isles. Geol. Soc. Lond. Special Report No. 12, 72pp.

Curry, D., Hodson, F. and West, I.M. (1968). The Eocene succession in the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proc. Geol. Ass. 79, 179-206.

Curry, D., Daley, B., Edwards, N., Middlemiss, F.A., Stinton, F.C. and Wright, C.W. (1972). The Isle of Wight. Geologists' Association Guides No. 25 (3rd edition), pp27.

Curry, D., Daley, B., Edwards, N., Middlemiss, F.A., Stinton, F.C. and Wright, C.W. (1972). The Isle of Wight. Geologists' Association Guides No. 25 (3rd edition), pp27.

Curry, D., King, A.D., King, C. and Stinton, F.C. (1977). The Bracklesham Beds (Eocene) of Bracklesham Bay and Selsey, Sussex. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 88, 243-254.

Daley, B., Edwards, N. and Insole, A.N. (1979). Lithostratigraphical nomenclature of the English Palaeogene succession. Geol. Mag., 116, 65- 66.

Dixon, f. 1850. The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex. London.

Eaton, G.L. (1971). The use of microplankton in resolving stratigraphical problems in the Eocene of the Isle of Wight, Q. Jl. geol. Soc. Lond., 127, 281-282.

Eaton, G.L. (1976). Dinoflagellate cysts from the Bracklesham Beds (Eocene) of the Isle of Wight, Southern England. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), Geology, 26, No. 6, 230-332.

Edmunds, F.H. (1928). Wells and Springs of Sussex. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.viii + 263.

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. Geology of the Country around Southampton. Mem. Br. Geol. Surv., Sheet 315. 111p.

Evans, C. (1873). Geology of the neighbourhood of Portsmouth and Ryde. Proc. Geol. Ass., 2, 61-76, 149-174.

Fisher, O. (1962). On the Bracklesham Beds of the Isle of Wight basin. Q. Jl. geol. Soc. Lond., 18, 65-94.

Gardner, J.S.H., Keeping, H. and Monckton, H.W. 1888. The upper Eocene, comprising the Barton and upper Bagshot Formations. Q. Jl. Geol. Soc. Lond., 44, 578-635.

Gilkes, R. (1968a). Clay mineral provinces in the Tertiary sediments of the Hampshire Basin. Clay Miner., 7, 351-361.

Gilkes, R. (1968b). Clay mineralogy of selected specimens from the Transmission Tunnel excavations. Appendix to Curry, Hodson and West: The Eocene succession in the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proc. Geol. Ass., 79, 203-206.

Gilkes, R. (1968b). Clay mineralogy of selected specimens from the Transmission Tunnel excavations. Appendix to Curry, Hodson and West: The Eocene succession in the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proc. Geol. Ass., 79, 203-206.

Godwin-Austen, R.A.C. 1857. On the Tertiary deposits of the Sussex coast. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 13, 40-47.

Hodson, F. and Shelford, P.H. (1964). Geology, In "A Survey of Southampton and its Region" (F.J. Monkhouse, ed.) pp.15-36. British Association for the Advancement of Science, Southampton.

Hodson, F. and West, I.M. (1970). Calcareous nannoplankton from an Upper Bracklesham horizon at Fawley, Hampshire. Revue Micropaleont., 13, 165-187.

Hodson, F. and Shelford, P.H. (1964). Geology, In "A Survey of Southampton and its Region" (F.J. Monkhouse, ed.) pp.15-36. British Association for the Advancement of Science, Southampton.

Hodson, F. and West, I.M. (1970). Calcareous nannoplankton from an Upper Bracklesham horizon at Fawley, Hampshire. Revue Micropaleont., 13, 165-187.

Kemp, D.J. (1976). Account of excavations into the Campanile Bed (Eocene, Selsey Formation) at Stubbington, Hants. Tertiary Research 1, 41-45.

Kemp, D.J. (1976). Account of excavations into the Campanile Bed (Eocene, Selsey Formation) at Stubbington, Hants. Tertiary Research 1, 41-45.

Kemp, D, Kemp, L. and Ward, D. 1990.. An illustrated guide to the British middle Eocene vertebrates. Published by David Ward, London, October 1990. Sold in the Southsea Museum. 59p. .

King, A.D. and Kemp, D.J. 1982. Stratigraphy of the Bracklesham Group in recent exposures near Gosport, (Hants). Tertiary Research, 3, no.4, 171-187. . Peel Common to Browndown pipeline.

King, A.D. & King, C. (1977). The stratigraphy of the Earnley 'division' (Bracklesham Group) at Copythorne, Hampshire. Tertiary Res., 1, 115-118.

Odin, G.S., Curry, D. and Hunziker, J.C. (1978). Radiometric dates from NW European glauconites and the Palaeogene time-scale. Jl. geol. Soc. Lond., 135, pp.481-497. Cambridge.

Odin, G.S., Curry, D. and Hunziker, J.C. (1978). Radiometric dates from NW European glauconites and the Palaeogene time-scale. Jl. geol. Soc. Lond., 135, pp.481-497. Cambridge.

Townsend, H.A. and Hailwood, E.A. 1985. Magnetostratigraphic correlation of Palaeogene sediments in the Hampshire and London Basins, southern UK. J. geol. Soc., 142, 957-982. Alum Bay, Whitecliff Bay, Lee on Solent etc.

Plint, A.G. 1988. Global eustacy and the Eocene sequence in the Hampshire Basin, England. Basin Research, vol. 1, 11-22. WRC. Good paper. Transgressions. Highstands, lowstands, Exxon chart. Important for palaeoenvironments and sequence stratigraphy of the Brackleshams and other Tertiary.

Quayle, W. J. 1987. English Eocene Crustacea (Lobsters and stomatopod). Palaeontology, 30, 581-612.

Reid, C. and Whitaker, W. (1902). The Geology of the Country around Southampton. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.iv + 30. 644. University Press, Cambridge.

Stinton, F.C. (1975). Fish otoliths from the English Eocene. Palaeontogr. Soc. (Monogr.) : (1), pp.1-56.

Stinton, F.C. and Curry, D. (1979). Lithostratigraphical nomenclature of the English Palaeogene succession. Geol. Mag., 116, 66-67.

Stinton, F.C. and Curry, D. (1979). Lithostratigraphical nomenclature of the English Palaeogene succession. Geol. Mag., 116, 66-67.

West.I.M. 1980. Geology of the Solent Estuarine System In "The Solent Estuarine System: an assessment of present knowledge", N.E.R.C. Pub. Ser. C. No. 22: 6-18.

Whitaker, W. (1873). List of works on the Geology, Mineralogy and Palaeontology of the Hampshire Basin. Journal of Proceedings of the Winchester and Hampshire Scientific Literary Society 1875, 108-127.

Whitaker, W. (1910). The Water Supply of Hampshire. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.v + 252.

White, H.J.O. (1915). The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.v + 78.

White, H.J.O. (1921). A Short Account of the Geology of the Isle of Wight. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.v + 219 (reprinted in 1968).

White, H.J.O. (1915). The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Mem. Geol. Surv. U.K., pp.v + 78.

Wrigley, A. (1934). A Lutetian fauna at Southampton docks. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 45, 1-16. Account of the Eocene fossils from the Western Docks (Graving Dock), Southampton. A collection by St. John Burton is kept at Southampton Oceanography Centre.

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Building Stone in the Solent Area

Bone, D. and Bone, A. 2000. Lavant Stone: a late Roman and medieval building stone from the Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of West Sussex. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 111, 193-203. A previously unknown building stone that had been extensively used around the Chichester area of West Sussex was recognised in 1991. This was named 'Lavant Stone' after the village near the original quarry site. Lavant Stone is a partially cemented spicular chalk from the Early Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) phosphatic chalk deposits at Stoke Clump, north of Chichester. Lavant Stone was used extensively within a 15 km radius of Chichester between the twelth and fourteenth centuries, but has also been recognised in third/fourth century Roman masonry. The geology, use, distribution and dating of Lavant Stone is reviewed. (A greyish-white spicular chalk, noticeably rich in megasclere monaxon sponge spicules and scattered grains of brown phosphate. Sharks' teeth are not uncommon. Used in Chichester Cathedral, Arundel Castle and elsewhere.)

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Chichester Harbour and Chichester Area

Algan, O., Clayton, T., Tranter, M. and Collins, M.B. 1994. Estuarine mixing of clay minerals in the Solent region, southern England. Sedimentary Geology, 92, 241-256. Limited amount of information on sediments and particularly clays from Chichester Harbour. The estuary is mostly mapped as clayey sand. High smectite occurs near the head of Thorney Channel.

Bone, D. and Bone, A. 2000. Lavant Stone: a late Roman and medieval building stone from the Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of West Sussex. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 111, 193-203. A previously unknown building stone that had been extensively used around the Chichester area of West Sussex was recognised in 1991. This was named 'Lavant Stone' after the village near the original quarry site. Lavant Stone is a partially cemented spicular chalk from the Early Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) phosphatic chalk deposits at Stoke Clump, north of Chichester. Lavant Stone was used extensively within a 15 km radius of Chichester between the twelth and fourteenth centuries, but has also been recognised in third/fourth century Roman masonry. The geology, use, distribution and dating of Lavant Stone is reviewed. (A greyish-white spicular chalk, noticeably rich in megasclere monaxon sponge spicules and scattered grains of brown phosphate. Sharks' teeth are not uncommon. Used in Chichester Cathedral, Arundel Castle and elsewhere.)
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Cordiner , R. 2006. The Cretaceous and Palaeocene Geology of Chichester Harbour. By Roger J. Cordiner of Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Geode Publications, Bognor Regis, September 2006. A copy can be ordered from Roger Cordiner, 39 Devonshire Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2SY for £6 plus 1.50 p & p.
Cordiner, R. 2006. The Quaternary Geology of Chichester Harbour. By Roger J. Cordiner of Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Geode Publications, Bognor Regis, September 2006. A copy can be ordered from Roger Cordiner, 39 Devonshire Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2SY for £6 plus 1.50 p & p.

Edmunds, F.H. 1928. Wells and Springs of Sussex. Memoir Geological Survey U.K., pp.viii + 263.

Reid, C. 1903. The Geology of the Country near Chichester. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain.

West, I.M. 2000. Erratics of the Hampshire-Sussex Coast. - wessexcoastgeology.soton.ac.uk/erratic.htm. - Erratics, including sarsen stones and granodiorite like that of the Channel Islands, are found associated with Ipswichian (late Pleistocene interglacial) deposits on the low-level coastal plain. They are usually attributed to deposition from stranded floating ice.

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Clays and Clay Minerals

Algan, O., Clayton, T., Tranter, M. and Collins, M.B. 1994. Estuarine mixing of clay minerals in the Solent region, southern England. Sedimentary Geology, 92, 241-256. The clay mineral composition of the fine fraction (less than 2 microns) of sediments from the Solent Estuarine System was determined by X-ray diffraction, in order to understand the origin, distribution and transport pathways of fine-grained sediments within this environment. The spatial distribution of clay minerals in the region is shown to be due to estuarine mixing processes. Riverine input from the rivers Itchen, Test, and Hamble is characterised by high smectite content and a low kaolinite plus chlorite to illite ratio. This input is believed to contain a substantial contribution of clays minerals derived from the Chalk. These fluvially derived clay minerals are mixed with a second clay mineral suite of marine origin, containing lower smectite and a higher kaolinite plus chlorite to illite ratio. The clays minerals in the marine suite are believed to be derived mainly from Tertiary and/or Recent sediments by the reworking of bed material within the estuaries, or by tidal currents and wave erosion of coastal outcrops. Mixing between these two sources occurs as a result of estuarine circulation dynamics.

Gilkes, R.J. 1968a. Clay mineral provinces in the Tertiary sediments of the Hampshire Basin. Clay Minerals, 7, 351-361.

Gilkes, R. J. 1968b . Clay mineralogy of selected specimens from the Transmission Tunnel excavations. Pp 203-206 in Curry, D., Hodson, F. and West, I.M. 1968. The Eocene succession in the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 79, 179-206.

Carter, R.W.G., Allen, J.R.L., Carr, A.P., Nicholls, R.J. and Orford, J.D. 1991. Coastal sedimentary environments of southern England, south Wales and southeast Ireland. 13th International Sedimentological Congress, Nottingham U.K. 1990, Field Guide No. 2. 86p.

Clayton, T. 1994 . See Algan et al.

Colenutt, G.W. 1938. Fifty years of Island coast erosion. Proceedings of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society., 3, 50-57.

Hooke, J.M. and Riley, R.C. 1992. Historical changes on the Hampshire coast 1870-1965. Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society for 1991, v. 47, pp. 203-224.

Tubbs, C.R. 1980. Processes and impacts in the Solent. In Burton (ed.), The Solent Estuarine System: An Assessment of Present Knowledge, N.E.R.C. Publications Series C, No. 22, Nov. 1980, 100 p., pp.1-5.

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Coccoliths

Houghton, S.D. 1986. Coccolith Assemblages in Recent Marine and Estuarine Sediments from the Continental Shelf of Northwest Europe. Thesis submitted in the University of Southampton, July 1986. 465p.

Houghton, S.D. 1988. Thermocline control on coccolith diversity and abundance in Recent sediments from the Celtic Sea and English Channel. Marine Geology, 83, 313-319.

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Dibden Bay (in Southampton Water - Proposed Container Port Dispute)

Associated British Ports - Developments at Southampton. The Port of Southampton is planning to develop a self-contained terminal at Dibden Bay. Dibden Bay is a 280-ha reclaimed site directly opposite the Port of Southampton, formed from the dredgings of Southampton Water. Currently used as low-grade agricultural land it was acquired by the port authority in the 1960's for the purpose of future development. In July 1997, ABP launched its proposals for the development of new port facilities and container berths at Dibden Bay. After two years of data collection and analysis, and several months of discussions with local authorities and interest groups, an outline proposal has been produced which balances the needs of the port with environmental mitigation for the development.

RADBP. Residents against Dibden Bay Port. Dibden Bay in Southampton Water is under threat from a proposal by Associated British Ports (ABP) to build a huge £ 70 million port on part of Dibden Bay. Hampshire County Council, several local authorities and many groups of local residents have indicated their opposition. -- RADBP will strenuously oppose ABP's Dibden Bay Port planning applications and stop the project proceeding. It will do this by ensuring that the public is aware of the effects of the proposals and mobilize opinion against these. It will make government and other bodies fully aware of the strength of public feeling against the development and assist other areas and organizations that are competing for the same port development. RADBP will communicate, work with and support all interested official and other bodies who are opposed to the development and ensure that all possible mitigation measures are taken into account when the proposals are formally evaluated.

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Engineering Geology

Barton, M.E. 1978. Engineering geology applied to dock and harbour engineering in Southampton Water. Paper presented at - The 1978 Regional Meeting of the Engineering Group of the Geological Society, 18-22 September, 1978, Southampton University.

Barton, M.E. and Roche, M.H. 1984. A geological appraisal of the site of the foundation failure of the giant oil tanks at Fawley, Hampshire. Q. Jl. Eng. Geol. Lond., 17, 307-318.

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Environment of Solent - General

Austin, R.L.A. and Cosgrove, M.E. 1975 Excursion: The Environmental Geology of the Southampton Area. 60 pages. Comments on soil types, slopes, lithology, Gainsborough Road, Netley Shore etc.

Burton, M. 1980. The Solent Estuarine System: an Assessment of Present Knowledge. N.E.R.C. Publications Series C, No. 22 November 1980, ed. M. Burton, 100 p. pp. 62-63. NERC.

Clark, M.J. and Gurnell, A. 1987. The Solent Estuary: Environmental Background. A Report for Shell UK Ltd. Geodata Unit. Southampton University, Southampton. 54p. + maps. (Gravel dredging 12 million tons annually, 50 vessels. 13% of UK total marine aggregate. Map. Aggregate dredging must be deeper than 18m.)

Hampshire County County Council. 1991. A Strategy for Hampshire's Coast. The Castle, Winchester, 95pp.

Kennett, M. 1991. Coast in Danger. Hampshire: the County Magazine, Sept 1991., Vol. 31, No. 16, pp 43-46.

Tubbs, C.R. 1991. The Solent: A Changing Wildlife Heritage. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Romsey. 40 p. (Brief account of sediments, fauna, history.)

Tubbs, C. R. 1999. Ecology, Conservation and History of the Solent. Packard Publishing Lt., Forum House, Stirling Road, Chichester, West Sussex. PO19 2 EN. Tel 01243-537977. Available in hardback and paperback. Price of paperback in 1991, £35. Published in June, 1999, reprinting in November, 1991. By the late Colin Tubbs. This seems like a much larger and more detailed version of Tubbs, 1991, booklet.

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Erratics

Reid, C. 1903. The Geology of the Country near Chichester. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain.

West, I.M. 2000. Erratics of the Hampshire-Sussex Coast. - wessexcoastgeology.soton.ac.uk/erratic.htm. - Erratics, including sarsen stones and granodiorite like that of the Channel Islands, are found associated with Ipswichian (late Pleistocene interglacial) deposits on the low-level coastal plain. They are usually attributed to deposition from stranded floating ice.

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Fawley - B Power Station

(a new coal-fired power station was once proposed at Fawley. The original power station - Fawley A provided much geological information)

C.E.G.B. 1988. Proposed Fawley "B" coal-fired power station: environmental statement. Central Electricity Generating Board, Feb. 1988.

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Flandrian Transgression

Oakley, K.P. 1943. A note on the postglacial submergence of the Solent margin. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, New Series, 9, 56-59.

Velegrakis, A.F. 1994. Aspects of the Morphology and Sedimentology of a Transgressional Embayment System: Poole and Christchurch Bays, Southern England. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, Southampton University, 319pp.

Velegrakis, A.F., Dix, J.K. and Collins, M.B. 1999. Late Quaternary evolution of the upper reaches of the Solent River, southern England, based on marine geophysical evidence. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 156, 73-87.

Velegrakis, A.F., Dix, J.K. and Collins, M.B. 2000. Late Pleistocene - Holocene evolution of the upstream section of the Solent River, Southern England. Pp. 97-99 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

Velegrakis, A. 2000. Geology, geomorphology and sediments of the Solent System. Pp. 21-43 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

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Gilkicker Point

Harlow, D.A. 1979. The littoral sediment budget between Selsey Bill and Gilkicker Point and its relevance to coast protection works at Hayling Island. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology., 12, 257-265.

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Gosport

Godwin, H. 1945. A submerged peat bed in Portsmouth Harbour. Data for the study of Post-Glacial History. IX. New Phytologist, 44, Cambridge, pp 152-155.(On Weevil Lake, Gosport. See also an exhibit in the Southsea Natural History Museum relating to this. It states - Weevil Lake, Gosport, bed of peat 2 m thick found at "16m" (should be 18m) below S.L. This was dug up in 1943. Formed 8,000 years ago in a marshy hollow beside the forerunner of the Wallington River. Birch and willow with pine and a few hazel and oak. Article states peat obtained from59ft below OD near the Weevil Lake, Gosport, in Portsmouth Harbour. 0 - 7ft black silt and stones, - 7 to -54 ft blue organic silty clay, -54 to -60 ft peat and peaty clay, - 60 ft flint pebbles. Much birch and pine. Some oak, a trace of alder, and some hazel. Willow abundant. Climatic zone IV of England and Wales.)

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Gravel

Central Dredging Association. 1993. Meeting at the Geology Department, Southampton University 27th January, 1993. (Not a publication but some notes from lectures given. Aggregate Mining companies with south coast licences - ARC Marine Ltd, Kendall Bros (Portsmouth) Ltd., Northwood (Fareham) Ltd., South Coast Shipping Ltd., United Marine Dredging Ltd., Volker Dredging. Talk by Richard Pearson, ARC Marine Ltd., South Coast areas - 1. Hastings Area, SW of Dungeness, 2. Owers Bank, S. of Littlehampton, poor quality, much oversize 40 mm. Not much 10 mm, 3. East of I.O.W. 25m depth, relatively thin, not ARC, 4. Southwest of the Isle of Wight, 28m of water, light flinty gravels with too much coarse sand. Blended with other material. 5. Originally much working of Solent Bank in West Solent and also Prince Consort Bank. Nowadays - screening on board dredger but silt etc returned to sea floor. Environmental disputes over this. About 1 million tons discharged annually at Southampton. Probably about 3 million on all south coast. Bracklesham green sands dredged in Southampton Water. The septarian nodules are not normally dredged now because bucket dredgers have been replaced by suction dredgers. The nodules are left on sea-floor or buried.)

Clark, M.J. and Gurnell, A. 1987. The Solent Estuary: Environmental Background. A Report for Shell UK Ltd. Geodata Unit. Southampton University, Southampton. 54p. + maps. (Gravel dredging 12 million tons annually, 50 vessels. 13% of UK total marine aggregate. Map. Aggregate dredging must be deeper than 18m.)

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. Geology of the Country around Southampton. Mem. Br. Geol. Surv., Sheet 315 (England and Wales). .

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England and Wales), Southampton, Solid and Drift, 1:50,000 (new edition).

Edwards, R.A., Scrivener, R.C., and Forster, A. 1987. Applied geological mapping: Southampton area. Volume 1, Main report and Appendix. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/2. (The 10 following volumes contain 62 maps, mostly 1:25,000 on drift, solid, made ground, old workings, sites of special scientific interest etc.)

Laxton, J.L. 1987. Computer databases of geological, borehole and geotechnical information for applied geological mapping of the Southampton area. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/4.

Loudon, T.V.,and Mennim, K.C. 1987. Mapping techniques, using computer storage and presentation, for applied geological mapping of the Southampton area. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/3.

Hampshire County Council. 1987. Hampshire Minerals Local Plan. Hampshire County Council. 128p + map. ISBN 1870651200. (Gravel distribution shown on the map. Protected special areas adjacent to Solent etc are marked.)

Velegrakis, A.F. and Collins, M.B. 1992. Marine Aggregate Evaluation of Shingles Bank, Christchurch Bay. Southampton University Technical Report, SUDO/TEC/92/14C, 13pp.

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Gravel (Aggregate) Extraction

Collins, M. 1994. Coastal management and offshore aggregate abstraction: South Coast, U.K. Abstract for a course at Reading University - Environmental Sedimentology- 7-8th April 1994.

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Hamble Estuary

Cundy, A.B. 1994. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Geology (now School of Ocean and Earth Sciences), University of Southampton. By Andrew B. Cundy. Supervised by Dr. Ian Croudace and Dr. Ian West. [Determines recent sea-level rise of about 4mm per annum, an increase on the usual Holocene figure of about 1 to 2 mm per annum. Radionuclide markers, including those from Chernobyl and Winfrith are found at certain levels in salt marsh sediments of Southampton Water and elsewhere, and can be used for dating.]

Cundy, A.B. and Croudace, I.W. 1995. Sedimentary and geochemical variations in a salt marsh/mud flat environment from the mesotidal Hamble estuary, southern England. Marine Chemistry, 51, 115-132. By Andrew B. Cundy and Ian W. Croudace, Department of Geology (now SOES), Southampton University, Southampton. Abstract: The sediment record in a salt marsh contains valuable information on anthropogenic and natural inputs. The reliability of this record for a single core depends on how representative the sample is for the whole marsh and whether the various indicator elements are immobile. A detailed radiometric and geochemical study has been carried out on a series of salt marsh cores from the Hamble estuary, southern England, a temperate mesotidal estuary. Cores have been taken in two transects to assess cross-marsh variations in sediment accretion, trace element deposition and early diagenesis. From this, conclusions are drawn about variations in sedimentary processes and marsh stability, trace element focusing and the effect of early diagenetic movements on historical pollution records. Sediment accumulation rates across the salt marsh vary between 4 and 8 mm per annum (137 Cs and 210 Pb dating) and are apparently independent of elevation in the marsh. 210 Pb, 137 Cs and anthropomorphic Cu data show that the fronting mud is eroding, which may lead to increased wave attack and erosion at the marsh edge. The salt marsh itself, however, is accumulating at a rate significantly higher than the local rate of mean sea-level rise. The atmospheric deposition record of 210 Pb xs is not well-preserved in the more organic-rich sediment at the rear of the salt marsh. 210 Pb and Pb are apparently mobilised in highly reduced sediments beneath the permanent water table and precipitate in overlying partially reduced sediment with hydrous Mn and Fe oxides. Such diagenetic movement of 210 Pb and Pb is localised and not laterally continuous. At sites showing possible early diagenetic remobilisation of 210 Pb the accuracy of 210 Pb dating is reduced. Remobilisation of 210 Pb does not preclude 210 Pb dating, however, if peaks arising from redox mobility are identified and eliminated by comparison with other geochemical data (Fe, Pb, S, etc). Of the trace elements examined, Cu shows a clear pollution spike. Anthropogenic Cu introduced into the Hamble estuary from the Esso refinery at Fawley, Southampton Water peaked around 1970 and has significantly reduced since 1971. Cu, 210 Pb xs and 137 Cs are focused to some degree at the front end of the marsh due to input of material labelled with these elements which has since been eroded from the surrounding mud flat areas. [End of abstract. Notice particularly the statement on p. 116 "Salt marshes on the central south coast of England (Hampshire and Dorset) are vertically accreting in response to a recent sea-level rise of c. mm per annum (Cundy, 1994).]

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Hayling Island

Anonymous. 1855. The new Portsmouth, Southsea, Anglesey & Hayling Island guide: comprising a description of the Dockyard...: to which is added a complete handbook to the beauties of the Isle of Wight. 1855. 8th ed. Southampton University, Cope Collection,Cope POR 03.5 1855 /52290239

Harlow, D.A. 1979. The littoral sediment budget between Selsey Bill and Gilkicker Point and its relevance to coast protection works at Hayling Island. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 12, 257-265.

Palmer, L.S. and Cooke, J.H. 1923. The Pleistocene deposits of the Portsmouth district and their relation to man. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 34, 253 - 282.

Reid, C. 1892. The Pleistocene deposits of the Sussex coast, and their equivalents in other districts. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 344-364.

Thomas, F.G.S. 1961. The King Holds Hayling. Publisher: Pelham, Havant. 340pp. Discussion of church rocks mainly contained pp 41-43,66,67.(I am grateful to Dave Shotton for information on this).

White, H.J.O. 1915. The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales. H.M.S.O., London. Explanation of Sheets 330 and 331 (mainland).

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Hurst Calstle - History and Topography

Coad, J.G. 1985. Hurst Castle, Hampshire. An English Heritage Handbook. London: Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England. 32p. (In 1541 following Henry VIII break with Rome and with threat of invasion from Catholic France the building of Hurst Castle was started and a garrison established. The small old castle had a moat. Bricks for improvement in 1803 (-6) came from the Board of Ordnance's own brickfield at Stokes Bay on the Gosport Peninsula. Various interesting maps and photographs.)

Coad, J.G. 1986. Hurst Castle: The Evolution of a Tudor Fortress 1790-1945. Post-Medieval Archaeology (forthcoming - as stated in Coad 1985).

Craster, O.E. 1949. Hurst Castle. London. H.M.S.O

James, J. 1986. Hurst Castle: An Illustrated History. Dovecote Press, Wimborne. 134p. (Useful maps, diagrams and aerial photograph. Interesting text including comments on proposed quarrying of some bituminous substance from the bank)

Tubbs, C.R. 1991. The Solent: A Changing Wildlife Heritage. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Romsey. 40 p. (Aerial photo of Hurst - p. 16.)

Tubbs, C. R. 1999. Ecology, Conservation and History of the Solent. Packard Publishing Lt., Forum House, Stirling Road, Chichester, West Sussex. PO19 2 EN. Tel 01243-537977. Available in hardback and paperback. Price of paperback in 1991, £35. Published in June, 1999, reprinting in November, 1991. By the late Colin Tubbs. This seems like a much larger and more detailed version of Tubbs, 1991, booklet.

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Hurst Castle Spit - Coastal Processes

Carter, R.W.G., Allen, J.R.L., Carr, A.P., Nicholls, R.J. and Orford, J.D. 1991. Coastal sedimentary environments of southern England, south Wales and southeast Ireland. 13th International Sedimentological Congress, Nottingham U.K. 1990, Field Guide No. 2. 86p.

Heyworth, A. and Kidson, C. 1982. Sea-level changes in southwest England and Wales. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association., 93, 91-111.
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Nicholls, R.J. 1985. The stability of shingle beaches in the eastern half of Christchurch Bay. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Southampton.

Nicholls, R.J. 1987. Evolution of the upper reaches of the Solent River and the formation of Poole and Christchurch Bays: In Barber, K.E. (Ed) Wessex and Isle of Wight Field Guide, pp 99-114. Cambridge. Quaternary Research Association.

Nicholls, R. 1988. Profile characteristics of shingle beaches. Proc. 2nd European Workshop on Coastal Zones, Loutraki, Greece, Sept. 26-30th 1988. ( ed. C.I. Moutzouris). National Technical University, Athens, Greece, p. 2.17-2.37.

Nicholls, R. J. 1990. Managing erosion problems on shingle beaches: examples from Britain. Proc. 3rd European Workshop on Coastal Zones, Paralimni, Cyprus, 23-29th Sept. 1990. Proc. edited by Prof. C.I. Moutzouris, Dept. of Civil Eng., Nat. Tech. University, Athens, Greece. q. 2.35 2.56. 22 typewritten pages incl. diagrams. (Hurst Castle Spit referred to) .

Nicholls, R.J. and Clarke, M.J. 1986. Flandrian peat deposits at Hurst Castle Spit. Proceedings of Hampshire Field. Club and Archaeological Society, 42, 15-21.

Nicholls, R.J. and Webber, N.B. 1987a. The past, present and future evolution of Hurst Castle Spit. Progress in Oceanography, 18, 119-137. Abstract: Previous models of the evolution of Hurst Castle Spit over-emphasised longshore growth at the expense of other processes, particularly rise in sea-level. Initially, a Pleistocene valley system was submerged creating a tidal strait, the West Solent, between Christchurch Bay and the East Solent. this almost certainly caused a major hydrodynamic change, transforming much of Christchurch Bay and the West Solent from a low to a high energy environment. Hurst Castle Spit and the Shingles Bank then began to form due to a combination of easterly littoral drift, offshore gravel movement due to the high tidal energy, a rising sea-level, the transformation of Hurst Beach due to overwashing and the formation of recurves due to waves in the West Solent. The growth of the Shingles Bank due to offshore sediment movement from Hurst Castle Spit was of particular importance because of the influence of wave energy along Hurst Beach. Significant local supplies of shingle in the vicinity of Hurst Castle Spit, reworked from Quaternary deposits were also of importance. Thus, it is not a classic multi-recurved spit and the transgressive segment, Hurst Beach, has much in common with barrier coastlines... The same processes are are continuing to shape Hurst Castle Spit at present, with additional effects of human interference in the coastal sediment system. The construction of sea defences at Milford-on-Sea in the period 1936 to 1968 has modified the sediment budget and Hurst Castle Spit is experiencing a phase of rapid evolution: maximum recession rates have increased from 1.5 metres per annum (1867-1968) to 3.5 metres per annum (1968-1982). It is difficult to quantify the exact role of sea-level rise in the present evolution of Hurst Castle Spit... The future evolution of Hurst Castle Spit will depend largely on man. If there is no further interference, which is highly unlikely, the beach will continue to decline, resulting in a further increase in the rate of recession. Ultimately, a true tidal breach will probably form, marking a new phase in the evolution of Hurst Castle Spit and its environs. However, shingle renourishment on another coastal engineering solution will probably be undertaken. The future rate of sea-level rise will have important long-term influences on all these options.

Nicholls, R. J. and Webber, N.B. 1987b. Aluminium pebble tracer studies on Hurst Castle Spit. In Proceedings of Coastal Sediments, 87, ASCE, New York, 1563-1577.

Nicholls, R. and Webber, N. 1989. Characteristics of shingle beaches with reference to Christchurch Bay, S. England. Chapter 142, p. 1922-1936. In: Proceedings of the 21st Coastal Engineering Conference, Malaga, Spain, Ed. by B.L. Edge. A.S.C.E., New York. (Rapid recession of shingle bank of Hurst Beach, up to 3.5m/yr, makes it an excellent natural laboratory for study of factors which influence the stability of shingle beaches. Mention of marine source renourishment at Hayling Island. Hurst Castle Spit starved by coast protection works. A subcell boundary ( a minimum in the rate of net littoral drift) at Hordle Cliff. Tidal range 2.2 m. Details of overwashing, a type of failure, unlike overtopping. Throat confined overwashing - where localised. Saltmarsh is depressed by 1 m by settling because of the weight of beach deposits when the beach overides the marsh. Dredged material dumped on Hurst Beach but because of a sand content this caused small scarps to be developed.)

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Isle of Wight

Go to Bibliography of the Geology of the Isle of Wight

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Isle Of Wight - Solent Coast

Colenutt, G.W. 1938. Fifty years of Island of coast erosion. Proceedings of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society, 3, 50-57.

Dowell, M. 1993. Coastal erosion at Wooton Creek: Implications for the Isle of Wight and Maritime Archaeology. Undergraduate Project, Oceanography Department.

Harlow, D.A. 1980. Sediment Movements in Wooton Creek and the Likely Effects of the Proposed Dredging. Report for the Fishbourne and Wooton Creek Protection Association, 26p.

Hydraulics Research Ltd. 1980. Wooton Creek, Isle of Wight. Effects of Sealink Operations. Report EX932, 4p.

Hydraulics Research Ltd. 1988. Wooton Hard, Fishbourne, Isle of Wight: Factors Causing Erosion of a Shingle Bank. Report EX1723, 25p.

Norman, M.W. 1887. A Popular Guide to the Geology of the Isle of Wight: with a note on its relation to that of the Isle of Purbeck. Knight's Library, Ventnor, 237 pp. [Section on Denudation and Landslips - p. 177. Comments on widening of the Solent - p. 192.]

Robert West and Partners, 1990. Wooton Creek, Fishbourne, Isle of Wight. Evaluation of Ferry Induced Erosion. Consultant's Report to Medina Borough Council, 39p.

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Langstone Harbour

Allen, M.J. and Gardiner, J. 2002. Langstone Harbour. Shorter Contributions in: Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, vol. 123 for 2001, pp. 101-121. [Notes on an archaeological survey of the Harbour, with references. Submerged forests 3350-2910 cal BC and 2310-1950 cal. BC. The old river system was shallow and existed in the Bronze Age.]

Anonymous, 1997. Tunnel under harbour to improve water treatment. Southern Water Conservation Matters (Newsletter), Issue No. 24, Winter, 1997 . Distributed by Southern Water, a Scottish Power Company. P. 13 only. An eight-kilometre long tunnel, three metres in diameter, is to be built beneath Langstone Harbour in Hampshiore as part of an £100 million Operation Seaclean project. The tunnel will transfer wasterwater from Portsmouth to a new treatment works to be built at Budds Farm, Havant. Part of the tunnel will be below the sea bed. Southern Water began work earlier this year by drilling almost 90 50 metre deep boreholes to test the geological conditions in the area. A drilling rig sank boreholes up to 40 metres deep to examine the route of the tunnel. Boreholes were sunk approximately every 100 metres along the tunnel line and provided very good confirmation of the geology. Drilling was due to last for several months and the new treatment works are expected to be completed by the end of 2000.

Codrington, T. 1870. On the superficial deposits of the south of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 26, 528-551.

Reid, C. 1892. The Pleistocene deposits of the Sussex coast, and their equivalents in other districts. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 344-364.

Reid, C. 1903. The Geology of the Country near Chichester. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain.

White, H.J.O. 1915. The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales. H.M.S.O., London. Explanation of Sheets 330 and 331 (mainland).

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Lee-on-the-Solent

Reynolds, P.J. and Fisher, G.C. 1985. Loessic soils near Hook, south-east Hampshire. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 41, 51-62.

White, H.J.O. 1915. The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales. H.M.S.O., London. Explanation of Sheets 330 and 331 (mainland).

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Lepe Beach

See also Lepe Beach and Stone Point webpage.


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Brown, R.C., Gilbertson, D.D., Green, C.P. and Keen, D.H. 1975. Stratigraphy and environmental significance of Pleistocene deposits at Stone, Hamphire. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, London, 86, (3) 349-363. Abstract: The stratigraphy of the Pleistocene deposit at Stone is described. A threefold division of the deposits is apparent, providing evidence of two separate phases of aggradation. The earlier phase is represented by the fluvial Lower Gravel, occupying a depression cut in Tertiary rocks to below present sea-level. This aggradation predates the rise of sea-level in the Ipswichian interglacial. Ipswichian organic deposits rest on the dissected surface of the Lower Gravel. Alternating brackish and freshwater horizons suggest an intermittent rise of sea-level in Zone f of the interglacial. The fluvial Upper Gravel appears to overlie the Zone f deposits, and may indicate deteriorating climatic conditions towards the end of the interglacial.
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Fisher , O. 1871. Portland wood, on the coast of Sussex. Reply to Mr. Perceval. Geological Magazine, 8, 524-525.
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Keen, D.H. 1980. The environment of deposition of the south Hampshire Plateau Gravels. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 36, 15-24.
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Kellaway , G.A. 1971. Glaciation and the stones of Stonehenge. Nature, London, vol. 233, September 3, pp. 30-35.

Kellaway, G.A., Redding, J.H., Shephard-Thorn, E.R. and Destombes, J-P. 1975. The Quaternary history of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, Series A, 279, 189-218. In: Dunham, K., and Smith, A.J. 1975. A Discussion on the Geology of the English Channel. The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG.
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Mathers, S.J. 1982. The Sand and Gravel Resources of the Country Around Lymington and Beaulieu, Hampshire: description of parts of 1:25,000 sheet SU 20,30 and 40 and SZ 29, 39 and 49. 58 pages, diagrams, tables etc. 0 11 887417 9. Mineral Assessment Reports No 122. British Geological Survey.
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Reid, C. 1892. The Pleistocene deposits of the Sussex coast, and their equivalents in other districts. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 344-364.

Reid, C. 1893. A fossiliferous deposit at Stone on the Hampshire Coast. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 49, 344.
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Sanders, I. 1927. Ancient road from Purlieu to Lepe. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 10, Pt. 1, 35-39 with sketch map. By Ingalton Sanders, F.R.I.B.A. [Notes - Roman Road evidence and interpretation with a sketch map. The author refers to ancient gravel excavation at Pits Copse near Stone Farm. There was formerly a small estuary here which is now infilled. Note that Dr Anthony Long has worked on the similar infilled estuary at Stanswood. Sanders suggested that the flats up to Stone Farm were once an open estuary up which vessels laden with stone were able to sail. After unloading they required balast for the return voyage and they took gravel from pits, the extent of which is evidence of of the large amount of traffic according to the author.
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Stuart, A.J. 1976. The history of the mammal fauna during the Ipswichian/last Interglacial in England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series B. vol 276, No 945. [This includes discussion of fauna from Stone Point.]
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West, I.M. 1980. Geology of the Solent Estuarine System In: The Solent Estuarine System: an assessment of present knowledge , N.E.R.C. Pubication Series C. No. 22: 6-18.

West, I.M. 2000. Erratics of the Hampshire-Sussex Coast. - wessexcoastgeology.soton.ac.uk/erratic.htm. - Erratics, including sarsen stones and granodiorite like that of the Channel Islands, are found associated with Ipswichian (late Pleistocene interglacial) deposits on the low-level coastal plain. They are usually attributed to deposition from stranded floating ice.

West, R.G. and Sparks, B.W. 1960. Coastal interglacial deposits of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B., Biological Sciences, No. 701, Vol. 243, pp. 95-133, 27th October, 1960, with an Appendix on the Mammalia by A.T. Sutcliffe. Published by the Royal Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1. Communicated by H. Godwin, F.R.S. Addresses of authors: R.G. West - Subdepartment of Quaternary Research, University of Cambridge; B.W. Sparks, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. Abstract: Fossiliferous Late-Pleistocene deposits on the foreshore of the English Channel at Selsey (Sussex), Stone (Hampshire), and near Arromanches (Calvados), have been investigated. At each site analyses of pollen, macroscopic plant remains and Mollusca have been made and from these vegetational, faunal, environmental and climatic conditions have been reconstructed. ... At Selsey, it is shown that the deposits, which lie in a channel cut in Eocene rocks, are of Ipswichian (Eemian or Last) Interglacial age. Pollen analysis of the sediments of the channel filling show that they formed during zones b, c, d, e and f of this interglacial, which show the succcession from open parkland vegetation to birch-, to pine, to oak-dominated forests. Analysis of the macroscopic plant remains and of the molluscs suggests a rapid climatic amelioration at the beginning of the interglacial, so that by the beginning of zone f there are indications of summer warmth exceeding that of the present day in the area. In the upper part of the channel filling, estuarine deposits overlie freshwater deposits. It is shown that the marine transgression causing the change was taking place in zone f and was probably responsible later for the raised beach deposits which overlie the channel deposits and form the cliff at Selsey Bill. ... At Stone pollen analysis shows that brackish water deposits, below present high tide level were formed in zone f of the Ipswichian Interglacial. At that time Quercus, Pinus, and Acer were the chief trees forming the forest in that region. The macroscopic plant remains and the Mollusca indicate that the deposit was formed under saltmarsh conditions. As at Selsey, the raised beach gravel found overlying the interglacial deposit is related to the same marine transgression that produced the brackish water conditions... Near Arromanches, at St Come de Fresne and Asnelles-Belle-Plage, two deposits showing a change from marine to freshwater sediments were investigated. The analysis of pollen and the Mollusca showed the prevalence of pine forest and its replacement by open steppe-like conditions as the marine regression occurred. After the regression, limon covered the freshwater deposits. The fossiliferous deposits are tentatively correlated with zone i of the Eemian Interglacial... The relative land and sea-level changes indicated by the deposits are considered. It is concluded that in the English Channel, during the Ipswichian (Eemian) Interglacial, sea-level rose above its present height in zone f and fell below it during zone i. The Selsey-Brighton raised beach and the Normannien II raised beach are correlated with the same marine transgression. It is pointed out that if the Selsey-Brighton raised beach is to be correlated with the Monastirian II level of 7-8m, then this level should be correlated with the Ipswichian (Eemian) Interglacial. [end of abstract.]

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Maps

Bellin, J.N. 1762. Carte reduite de l'Isle de Wight et costes voisines depuis Selsey jusqua la Pointe Peveril [Paris]. Ministre de la Guerre et de la Marine . Cope X cf 43.11. Archives.

British Geological Survey 50N 02W. Wight. Sea bed sediments + Quaternary.

British Geological Survey 50N 02W. Wight. Solid

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England and Wales), Southampton, Solid and Drift, 1:50,000 (new edition).

British Transport Docks Board, Southampton Hydrographer. 1975. Chronological file of charts of Southampton Water and the Docks.

David and Charles. 1970 (reprinted 1980). Reprint of the first edition of the one-inch Ordnance Survey of England and Wales: Winchester & the Solent.

Hanley, J.B. & O'Donoghue, Y. 1981. The Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales. Scale 1 inch to 1 mile. A Reproduction of the 110 sheets of the Survey in Early State in 10 Volumes. Volume 3 South-central England. lv + 80 maps. Cope q 90.5 (181017) on shelves.

Hooke, J.M. and Riley, R.C. 1992. Historical changes on the Hampshire coast 1870-1965. Proc. Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society for 1991, v. 47, pp. 203-224.

Ordnance Survey, 1981. The old series Ordnance Survey maps of England and Wales.Vol. III: Southcentral England (Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and parts of Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire). 1981.

Other maps - see Cope card catalogue. For charts etc - 43.1 and for maps of Hampshire - cf 90.5.

Tubbs, C.R. 1991. The Solent: A Changing Wildlife Heritage. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Romsey. 40 p. Brief account of sediments, fauna, history. Colour photographs. Includes small 17C map.

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Neotectonics

Preece, R.C., Scourse, J.D., Houghton, S.D., Knudsen, K.L. and Penny, D.N. 1990. The Pleistocene sea-level and neotectonic history of the eastern Solent, southern England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 425-477.

Shennan, I. 1989. Holocene crustal movement and sea-level changes in Great Britain. Journal of Quaternary Science, 4, 77-89.

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Netley

Austin, R.L.A. and Cosgrove, M.E. 197? Excursion: The Environmental Geology of the Southampton Area. 60 pages. Comments on soil types, slopes, lithology, Gainsborough Road, Netley Shore etc. .

Lyell, Mrs (no initial given) 1881. Life, Letters and Journals of Sir Charles Lyell, Bart.: author of "Principles of Geology" etc. Edited by his sister-in-law, Mrs Lyell. In two volumes. Vol. 2 - this reference, see pages 366,367. 489p total. Lyell went to Netley from Southampton saw the Military Hospital. Saw Bracklesham fossils from an Artesian well (Cardita planecostata, Fusus longaevus), 180 feet deep, which they have dug. Beautiful site on gravel, not on a bog. No problem with smell of mud. Short mention only.

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Newtown Estuary

Jackson, 1939

Munt and Burke, 1986. Referred to in Allen and Gibbard -

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Pennington Marshes and Pennington Area (includes Ipswichian Interglacial Sediments)

Allen, L.G. 1991. The Evolution of the Solent River System during the Pleistocene. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge. Referred to in Allen and Gibbard (1994). Pennington Gravel. Borehole at Pennington - on bedrock 1.8m of sand and gravel, 90cm of silty clay and peat (at depth of -5m), 3-5 m. of gravel and sand. Silty clay and peat have plant and animal remains. Ipswichian Substage IpIIa. Like Lepe Ipswichian IpIIb (cf. West and Sparks re Lepe). Gravels separated into the Pre-Ipswichian (most) and the post-Ipswichian (Pennington Gravel, North End Copse Gravel - formerly - Valley Gravel).

Allen, L.G., Gibbard, P.L., Pettit, M.E., Preece, R.C. and Robinson, E.J. 1996. Late Pleistocene interglacial deposits at Pennington Marshes, Lymington, Hampshire, southern England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 107, 39-50. Boreholes 1977, organic seds within gravel, Pennington organic bed. Deeper than the Stone Point deposits. Pennington Organic Bed is at -3.9 to -5.3 m. Stone interglacial is +1 to -2.7 m . Thus authors claim that Pennington O B is Ispswichian but Stone is earlier.

Keen, D.H. 1980. The environment of deposition of the south Hampshire Plateau Gravels. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 36, 15-24. Sarsens at Pennington.

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Pleistocene

(Much else under other listings. See gravels, Solent River etc)

Keen, D.M. 1975. Some aspects of the Pleistocene succession in areas adjoining the English Channel. Ph.D. Thesis, University of London.

Keen, D.H. 1980. The environment of deposition of the south Hampshire Plateau Gravels. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 36, 15-24.

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Portsmouth Harbour

Godwin, H. 1945. A submerged peat bed in Portsmouth Harbour. Data for the study of Post-Glacial History. IX. New Phytologist, 44, Cambridge, pp 152-155.. On Weevil Lake, Gosport. New Phytologist, 44. . (An exhibit in the Southsea Natural History Museum relating to this states - Weevil Lake, Gosport, bed of peat 2 m thick found at "16m" (should be 18m) below S.L.. This was dug up in 1943. Formed 8,000 years ago in a marshy hollow beside the forerunner of the Wallington River. Birch and willow with pine and a few hazel and oak. Article states peat obtained from -59ft OD near the Weevil Lake, Gosport, in Portsmouth Harbour. 0 - 7ft black silt and stones, - 7 to -54 ft blue organic silty clay, -54 to -60 ft peat and peaty clay, - 60 ft flint pebbles. Much birch and pine. Some oak, a trace of alder, and some hazel. Willow abundant. Climatic zone IV of England and Wales. )

Privett, K.D. 1990. Photographic feature: Port Solent Marina, Portsmouth, UK. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 23, 191-192. Paulsgrove Lake lowered and silt excavated. Probably soliflucted chalk underneath. Groundwater was artesian. Lock constructed and marina built using chalk for foundations.

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Radioisotopes, Radioactivity in Sediment etc. .

Chafer, F. 1985. Radiation pollution: a case study of the threat to the English Channel and Solent areas. A report prepared byTony Chafer for the Portsmouth group of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association.

Cundy, A.B. 1994. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Geology (now School of Ocean and Earth Sciences), University of Southampton. By Andrew B. Cundy. Supervised by Dr. Ian Croudace and Dr. Ian West. [Determines recent sea-level rise of about 4mm per annum, an increase on the usual Holocene figure of about 1 to 2 mm per annum. Radionuclide markers, including those from Chernobyl and Winfrith are found at certain levels in salt marsh sediments of Southampton Water and elsewhere, and can be used for dating.]

Cundy, A.B. and Croudace, I.W. 1995. Sedimentary and geochemical variations in a salt marsh/mud flat environment from the mesotidal Hamble estuary, southern England. Marine Chemistry, 51, 115-132. By Andrew B. Cundy and Ian W. Croudace, Department of Geology (now SOES), Southampton University, Southampton. Abstract: The sediment record in a salt marsh contains valuable information on anthropogenic and natural inputs. The reliability of this record for a single core depends on how representative the sample is for the whole marsh and whether the various indicator elements are immobile. A detailed radiometric and geochemical study has been carried out on a series of salt marsh cores from the Hamble estuary, southern England, a temperate mesotidal estuary. Cores have been taken in two transects to assess cross-marsh variations in sediment accretion, trace element deposition and early diagenesis. From this, conclusions are drawn about variations in sedimentary processes and marsh stability, trace element focusing and the effect of early diagenetic movements on historical pollution records. Sediment accumulation rates across the salt marsh vary between 4 and 8 mm per annum (137 Cs and 210 Pb dating) and are apparently independent of elevation in the marsh. 210 Pb, 137 Cs and anthropomorphic Cu data show that the fronting mud is eroding, which may lead to increased wave attack and erosion at the marsh edge. The salt marsh itself, however, is accumulating at a rate significantly higher than the local rate of mean sea-level rise. The atmospheric deposition record of 210 Pb xs is not well-preserved in the more organic-rich sediment at the rear of the salt marsh. 210 Pb and Pb are apparently mobilised in highly reduced sediments beneath the permanent water table and precipitate in overlying partially reduced sediment with hydrous Mn and Fe oxides. Such diagenetic movement of 210 Pb and Pb is localised and not laterally continuous. At sites showing possible early diagenetic remobilisation of 210 Pb the accuracy of 210 Pb dating is reduced. Remobilisation of 210 Pb does not preclude 210 Pb dating, however, if peaks arising from redox mobility are identified and eliminated by comparison with other geochemical data (Fe, Pb, S, etc). Of the trace elements examined, Cu shows a clear pollution spike. Anthropogenic Cu introduced into the Hamble estuary from the Esso refinery at Fawley, Southampton Water peaked around 1970 and has significantly reduced since 1971. Cu, 210 Pb xs and 137 Cs are focused to some degree at the front end of the marsh due to input of material labelled with these elements which has since been eroded from the surrounding mud flat areas. [End of abstract. Notice particularly the statement on p. 116 "Salt marshes on the central south coast of England (Hampshire and Dorset) are vertically accreting in response to a recent sea-level rise of c. mm per annum (Cundy, 1994).]

Cundy, A., Croudace, I.W., West, I.M. and Clayton, T. 1993. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. Abstracts (posters). BSRG (British Sedimentological Research Group), Southampton, 1992. 1 page.

Cundy, A., Croudace, I.W., West, I.M. and Clayton, T. 1993. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. European Union of Geosciences Biennial Meeting (VII). Terra Abstracts, 5.

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Raised Beaches

(Slindon, Boxgrove and Ipswichian)

For references to erratics in the Ipswichian Raised Beach of the Hampshire - West Sussex coastal plain see Erratics website . This also contains references to the raised beach in general.

Codrington, T. 1870. On the superficial deposits of the south of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 26, 528-551.

Hodgson, J.M. (1964). The low-level Pleistocene marine sands and gravels of the west Sussex coastal plain. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association., 75, 547-561.

Johnson, J.P. 1901. The Pleistocene fauna of West Wittering. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, London, 17, 261-264.

Kellaway, G.A., Redding, J.H., Shephard-Thorn, E.R. and Destombes, J-P. 1975. The Quaternary history of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, Series A, 279, 189-218. In: Dunham, K., and Smith, A.J. 1975. A Discussion on the Geology of the English Channel. The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG.

Preece, R.C., Scourse, J.D., Houghton, S.D., Knudsen, K.L. and Penny, D.N. 1990. The Pleistocene sea-level and neotectonic history of the eastern Solent, southern England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 425-477.

Prestwich, J. 1892. The raised beaches, and 'Head' or rubble-drift, of the south of England: their relation to the valley drifts and to the Glacial Period; and on a late post-Glacial submergence. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 263-343.

Radford, T. 1994. First European unearthed in Sussex. The Guardian, Wednesday, May 18, 1994, p. 20 only. Article not retained In a quarry in West Sussex the shin bone of a powerfully built man weighing more than 12 stone, who lived 500,000 years ago has been found. Scientists of University College, London and confirmed by palaeontologists at Nat. Hist Mus. Oldest find of human in western Europe. Excavation at Boxgrove Quarry near Halnaker. Storm beach at foot of Chalk cliff. Remains of elephants, rhinoceras and deer. Britain was peninsula, not island. Channel was a gulf. Interglacial. Flint hand axe manufacture on site. Scrapers. Between 485,000 and 515,000 years BP. Change in vole teeth at 500,000. Prior to this voles had molars with roots. This type was found. Many wolf jaws. Hominid comparable to Homo heidelbergensis which lived later elsewhere. English heritage had funded a 10 year dig. See Nature for late May 1994 to see full report.

Reid, C. 1892. The Pleistocene deposits of the Sussex coast, and their equivalents in other districts. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 344-364.

Roberts, M.B. 1986. Excavation of the Lower Palaeolithic site at Amey's Eartham pit, Boxgrove, West Sussex: a preliminary report. Proc. of the Prehistoric Society, 52, 215-245.

Boxgrove Raised Beach - link

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Salterns, Saltworks and Salt

Bradley, R. 1975. Salt and settlement in the Hampshire Sussex Borderland. p. 20 -25 in de Brisay, K.W. and Evans, K.A. 1975. Salt: the study of an ancient industry. Report on symposium held at the University of Essex, 20,21,22 September, 1974. . In this reference to Portsmouth , Langstone and Chichester Harbours, Southampton Water and Hengistbury Head.

Farrarm R.A.H. 1975. Prehistoric and Roman saltworks in Dorset. Pp. 14-20 in de Brisay, K.W. and Evans, K.A. 1975. Salt: the study of an ancient industry. Report on symposium held at the University of Essex, 20,21,22 September, 1974. . Kimmeridge, Wyke Regis, Hamworthy etc. See also Bradley, R. 1975. Salt and settlement in the Hampshire Sussex Borderland. p. 20 et seq in same volume - de Brisay and Evans. In this reference to Portsmouth , Langstone and Chichester Harbours, Southampton Water and Hengistbury Head.

Lloyd, A.T. 1967. The salterns of the Lymington area. Proc. Hants. Fld. Club., 24, 86102. Open Cope level 4, Main Library, borrowable. Details of the process with diagrams. Photos at end of bound volume. Calcareous crust developed and was broken and thrown back in ponds. The Lymington Brine Shrimp thrived. In 1966 Amey and Co. were given approval to excavate for sand and gravel on Pennington and Oxey Marshes. This suggests that the gravel must lie just beneath the surface. Aerial photograph of the Salterns near Lymington include the Nature Reserve and Oxey Marshes in Plate V. It is interesting to note that the nature reserve marsh is not shown in the 1811 map.

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Salt Marshes and Salt Marsh Sediments

See also Salt Marshes - Spartina Salt Marshes

Barnes, R.S.K. 1977. The Coastline. Wiley.

Churchill, D.M. (1965). The displacement of deposits formed at sea level 6500 years ago in southern Britain. Quaternaria 7, 239-249.

Colebourn, P. 1984. Hampshire's Countryside Heritage: The Coast. Hampshire County Council, County Planning Department, 47p. .

Cundy, A.B. 1994. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Geology (now School of Ocean and Earth Sciences), University of Southampton. By Andrew B. Cundy. Supervised by Dr. Ian Croudace and Dr. Ian West. [Determines recent sea-level rise of about 4mm per annum, an increase on the usual Holocene figure of about 1 to 2 mm per annum. Radionuclide markers, including those from Chernobyl and Winfrith are found at certain levels in salt marsh sediments of Southampton Water and elsewhere, and can be used for dating.]

Cundy, A.B. and Croudace, I.W. 1995. Sedimentary and geochemical variations in a salt marsh/mud flat environment from the mesotidal Hamble estuary, southern England. Marine Chemistry, 51, 115-132. By Andrew B. Cundy and Ian W. Croudace, Department of Geology (now SOES), Southampton University, Southampton. Abstract: The sediment record in a salt marsh contains valuable information on anthropogenic and natural inputs. The reliability of this record for a single core depends on how representative the sample is for the whole marsh and whether the various indicator elements are immobile. A detailed radiometric and geochemical study has been carried out on a series of salt marsh cores from the Hamble estuary, southern England, a temperate mesotidal estuary. Cores have been taken in two transects to assess cross-marsh variations in sediment accretion, trace element deposition and early diagenesis. From this, conclusions are drawn about variations in sedimentary processes and marsh stability, trace element focusing and the effect of early diagenetic movements on historical pollution records. Sediment accumulation rates across the salt marsh vary between 4 and 8 mm per annum (137 Cs and 210 Pb dating) and are apparently independent of elevation in the marsh. 210 Pb, 137 Cs and anthropomorphic Cu data show that the fronting mud is eroding, which may lead to increased wave attack and erosion at the marsh edge. The salt marsh itself, however, is accumulating at a rate significantly higher than the local rate of mean sea-level rise. The atmospheric deposition record of 210 Pb xs is not well-preserved in the more organic-rich sediment at the rear of the salt marsh. 210 Pb and Pb are apparently mobilised in highly reduced sediments beneath the permanent water table and precipitate in overlying partially reduced sediment with hydrous Mn and Fe oxides. Such diagenetic movement of 210 Pb and Pb is localised and not laterally continuous. At sites showing possible early diagenetic remobilisation of 210 Pb the accuracy of 210 Pb dating is reduced. Remobilisation of 210 Pb does not preclude 210 Pb dating, however, if peaks arising from redox mobility are identified and eliminated by comparison with other geochemical data (Fe, Pb, S, etc). Of the trace elements examined, Cu shows a clear pollution spike. Anthropogenic Cu introduced into the Hamble estuary from the Esso refinery at Fawley, Southampton Water peaked around 1970 and has significantly reduced since 1971. Cu, 210 Pb xs and 137 Cs are focused to some degree at the front end of the marsh due to input of material labelled with these elements which has since been eroded from the surrounding mud flat areas. [End of abstract. Notice particularly the statement on p. 116 "Salt marshes on the central south coast of England (Hampshire and Dorset) are vertically accreting in response to a recent sea-level rise of c. mm per annum (Cundy, 1994).]

Devoy, R.J.N. (1972). Environmental changes in the Solent area during the Flandrian Era. Unpublished dissertation for the B.A. Honours Degree in Geography. University of Durham, pp 47.

Everard, C.E. (1954b). Submerged gravel and peat in Southampton Water. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club, 18, 263-285.

Geographical Association. 1971. Industrial Development on the Western Side of Southampton Water. Geographical Association, Southampton Branch.

Godwin, G. and Godwin, M.E. (1940). Submerged peat at Southampton; data for the study of Postglacial history. New Phytologist, 39, 303-307.

Goodman, P.J. 1959. Investigations into "die-back" in Spartina townsendii H. and J. Groves. Ph.D. thesis, University of Southampton.

Hubbard, J.C.E. and Stebbings, R.E. 1967. Distribution, dates of origin and acreage of Spartina townsendii marshes in Great Britain. Proceedings of the Botanical Society of the British Isles. 7, 1 - 7.

Hodson, F. and West, I.M. (1972). The Holocene deposits of Fawley, Hampshire and the development of Southampton Water. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 83, 421-444.

Holmes, N.A. and Bishop, G.M. 1980. Survey of the littoral zone of the coast of Great Britain. no.5: Report on the sediment shores of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; N.A. Holme and G.M. Bishop. 1980. Main Library QH 95.7 (in box) / 46015002

Long, S.P. 1981. An introduction to saltmarshes. In Solent Saltmarshes.

Oakley, K.P. (1943). A note on the postglacial submergence of the Solent margin. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, New Series, 9, 56-59.

Pannell, J.P.M. 1967. Old Southampton Shores. David and Charles.

Ranwell, D.S. 1981. Saltmarsh - Uses and Restoration. In Solent Saltmarshes.

Reid, C. (1913). Submerged Forests, pp.viii + 129, University Press, Cambridge.

Shore, T.W. (1893). Hampshire mudlands and other alluvium. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club. , 2, 181-200.

Solent Protection Society. 1981. Solent Saltmarshes. Proceedings of a Symposium organised by the Solent Protection Society.

Stranack, F. and Coughlin, J. 1981. Solent Saltmarshes. Solent Protection Society. Solent Saltmarsh Symposium. 1981. Winchester.

Tubbs, C.R. 1977. Muddy foreshores. In Barnes, 1977, The Coastline.

Tubbs, C.R. 1980. Processes and impacts in the Solent. In Burton (ed.), The Solent Estuarine System: An Assessment of Present Knowledge, N.E.R.C. Publications Series C, No. 22, Nov. 1980, 100 p., pp.1-5.

Tubbs, C.R. 1991. The Solent: A Changing Wildlife Heritage. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Romsey. 40 p. Brief account of sediments, fauna, history. Salt marshes.

West.I.M. Geology of the Solent Estuarine System In "The Solent Estuarine System: an assessment of present knowledge", N.E.R.C. Pub. Ser. C.22: 618, 1980.

Webber, N.B. 1981. Coastal and estuarine processes in the Solent. In: Stranack, F. and Coughlin, J. 1981. Solent Saltmarshes. Solent Protection Society. Solent Saltmarsh Symposium. 1981. Winchester.

Wright, S.L. 1980. The pollution load entering Southampton Water and the Solent. In the Solent Estuarine System.

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Salt Marshes - Spartina Salt Marshes and Sediments

See also Salt Marshes

Colebourn, P. 1984. Hampshire's Countryside Heritage: The Coast. Hampshire County Council, County Planning Department, 47p.

Dicks, B. and Iball, K. 1982. Saltmarsh vegetation survey, Fawley, January 5-8, 1982. Field Studies Council, Orielton (Orielton Field Centre, Pembroke, Dyfed, SA71 5EZ), 18p. The vegetation survey of the Fawley marsh, recording the extent and abundance of the main saltmarsh plant species present in January 1982, is discussed. The marsh continues to recover, althouth changes noted around the outfalls have persisted. Not seen.

Dicks, B. and Iball, K. 1982. Saltmarsh vegetation survey, Fawley, August 5-7, 1982. Field Studies Council, Orielton (Orielton Field Centre, Pembroke, Dyfed, SA71 5EZ), 22p. This survey continues to monitor the recovery of this saltmarsh. Tertiary transplants of Spartina have proved most successful, and will help to accelerate the recovery of the areas around the outfalls. Changes in the effluent from the two outfalls have occurred and subsequent changes in vegetation have been observed.

Goodman, P.J. 1959. Investigations into "die-back" in Spartina townsendii H. and J. Groves. Ph.D. thesis, University of Southampton.

Haynes, F.N. and Coulson, M.G. 1982. The decline of Spartina in Langstone Harbour, Hampshire. Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 38, 518. Changes in distribution of Spartina in Langstone Harbour are mapped from a series of aerial photographs taken over the past forty years by Geography Department, Portsmouth Polytechnic. Sudden spread of Spartina after 1900 has become textbook example of invasion. Vegetation survey of Langstone Harbour for 1974 with 75m square grid. 2700 sample points. Die back. Produces mud surface lacking plants but bound by tough underground rhizomes. Referred to as "moribund". Mixed or general saltmarsh. Recently - algal mats stimulated by nutrients in effluents. Some Zostera eel-grass beds. Early in the century it formed large productive beds over the muds. If all the Spartina which has gone once formed high-level marsh, then vast quantities of mud have been redistributed within or lost from the harbour. Standard explanation of Spartina die-back in Solent - gradual rise in mud-level which follows rapid accretion current is slowed, finer material deposited, pore spaces decreased and aeration worsened. Thus Spartina should colonise coarser sediment, there should be fining upwards and aeration along clifflets should enhance growth. These effects are not seen in Langstone Harbour. Use of a Pilcon, direct reading, hand vane tester. Spartina marshes develop a 10cm compact surface crust. Forms monoclimax. Spartina aerates upper mud via its tissues.

Holmes, N.A. and Bishop, G.M. 1980. Survey of the littoral zone of the coast of Great Britain. no.5: Report on the sediment shores of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; N.A. Holme and G.M. Bishop. 1980.

Hubbard, J.C.E. and Stebbings, R.E. 1967. Distribution, dates of origin and acreage of Spartina townsendii marshes in Great Britain. Proc. bot. Soc. Br. Isl., 7, 1 - 7.

Long, S.P. 1981. An introduction to saltmarshes. In Solent Saltmarshes.

Manners, J.G. 1975. Die-back of Spartina in the Solent. Pp. 7-13 in: Stranack, F. and Coughlin, J. 1975. Spartina in the Solent. (Patchy degeneration in Beaulieu Estuary in 1928. By mid 1950s about 150 acres lost in the Hampshire Basin. Lymington badly affected. No correlation with pollution. No strongly pathogenic fungi. Spartina marshes built up on top of pre-existing tidal flats colonised partly by Zostera. Rapid build up of sediment on Zostera. Levees form - higher near channels. Channel die-back below levees. Pan die-back in and around pans. Die-back areas have a higher water content associated with high organic matter. Aerobic soils are healthy with +200 mV. In die-back highly anaerobic. Die-back has high sulphide. Lack of oxygen causes die-back. Discussion - original sediment may have been coarser but Spartina has accumulated fine sediment leading to less oxygen.)

Pannell, J.P.M. 1967. Old Southampton Shores. David and Charles.

Ranwell, D.S. 1981. Saltmarsh - Uses and Restoration. In Solent Saltmarshes. Stranack, F. and Coughlin, J. 1981. Solent Saltmarshes. Solent Protection Society. Solent Saltmarsh Symposium. 1981. Winchester. Cope. Quarto 52.5.
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Stranack, F., Coughlin, J. and Rothschild, E. de. 1975. Spartina in the Solent. In: Spartina in the Solent. (Rothschild Symposium). Milford on Sea. Solent Protection Society, 1973 Exbury).
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Tubbs, C.R. 1980. Processes and impacts in the Solent. In Burton (ed.), The Solent Estuarine System: An Assessment of Present Knowledge, N.E.R.C. Publications Series C, No. 22, Nov. 1980, 100 p., pp.1-5.

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Sea-Levels in Solent Estuaries


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Akeroyd, A. 1972. Archaeological and historical evidence for subsidence in southern Britain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, A272, 15169.
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Bray, M.J., Hooke, J.M. and Carter, D.J. 2000. Sea level rise in the Solent region. Pp. 101-102 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.
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Cundy, A.B. 1994. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Geology (now School of Ocean and Earth Sciences), University of Southampton. By Andrew B. Cundy. Supervised by Dr. Ian Croudace and Dr. Ian West. [Determines recent sea-level rise of about 4mm per annum, an increase on the usual Holocene figure of about 1 to 2 mm per annum. Radionuclide markers, including those from Chernobyl and Winfrith are found at certain levels in salt marsh sediments of Southampton Water and elsewhere, and can be used for dating.]

Cundy, A.B. and Croudace, I.W. 1995. Sedimentary and geochemical variations in a salt marsh/mud flat environment from the mesotidal Hamble estuary, southern England. Marine Chemistry, 51, 115-132. By Andrew B. Cundy and Ian W. Croudace, Department of Geology (now SOES), Southampton University, Southampton. Abstract: The sediment record in a salt marsh contains valuable information on anthropogenic and natural inputs. The reliability of this record for a single core depends on how representative the sample is for the whole marsh and whether the various indicator elements are immobile. A detailed radiometric and geochemical study has been carried out on a series of salt marsh cores from the Hamble estuary, southern England, a temperate mesotidal estuary. Cores have been taken in two transects to assess cross-marsh variations in sediment accretion, trace element deposition and early diagenesis. From this, conclusions are drawn about variations in sedimentary processes and marsh stability, trace element focusing and the effect of early diagenetic movements on historical pollution records. Sediment accumulation rates across the salt marsh vary between 4 and 8 mm per annum (137 Cs and 210 Pb dating) and are apparently independent of elevation in the marsh. 210 Pb, 137 Cs and anthropomorphic Cu data show that the fronting mud is eroding, which may lead to increased wave attack and erosion at the marsh edge. The salt marsh itself, however, is accumulating at a rate significantly higher than the local rate of mean sea-level rise. The atmospheric deposition record of 210 Pb xs is not well-preserved in the more organic-rich sediment at the rear of the salt marsh. 210 Pb and Pb are apparently mobilised in highly reduced sediments beneath the permanent water table and precipitate in overlying partially reduced sediment with hydrous Mn and Fe oxides. Such diagenetic movement of 210 Pb and Pb is localised and not laterally continuous. At sites showing possible early diagenetic remobilisation of 210 Pb the accuracy of 210 Pb dating is reduced. Remobilisation of 210 Pb does not preclude 210 Pb dating, however, if peaks arising from redox mobility are identified and eliminated by comparison with other geochemical data (Fe, Pb, S, etc). Of the trace elements examined, Cu shows a clear pollution spike. Anthropogenic Cu introduced into the Hamble estuary from the Esso refinery at Fawley, Southampton Water peaked around 1970 and has significantly reduced since 1971. Cu, 210 Pb xs and 137 Cs are focused to some degree at the front end of the marsh due to input of material labelled with these elements which has since been eroded from the surrounding mud flat areas. [End of abstract. Notice particularly the statement on p. 116 "Salt marshes on the central south coast of England (Hampshire and Dorset) are vertically accreting in response to a recent sea-level rise of c. mm per annum (Cundy, 1994).]

Cundy, A.B. and Croudace, I.W. 1996 Sediment accretion and recent sea-level rise in the Solent, southern England: inferences from radiometric and geochemical studies. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 43 (4), 449-467.
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Devoy , R.J.N. 1972. Environmental changes in the Solent area during the Flandrian Era. Unpublished dissertation for the B.A. Honours Degree in Geography. University of Durham, 47pp.

Devoy, R.J.N. 1982. Analysis of the geological evidence for Holocene sea-level movements in Southeast England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association , 86, 239-245.
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Emery , K.O. and Aubrey, D.G. 1985. Glacial rebound and relative sea levels in Europe from tide-gauge records. Tectonophysics, 120, 239-255. Downwarping in the English Channel area.


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Leatherman , S.P. and Nicholls, R.J. 1991. Difficulties in measuring and predicting sea-level rise. Proceedings of the Conferance - "Oceans, Climate, Man", Turin, Italy, April 1991. 11p. Best estimates for global sea-level rise made in 1990 are for a rise of 0.66m by 2100.
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Preece , R.C., Scourse, J.D., Houghton, S.D., Knudsen, K.L. and Penny, D.N. 1990. The Pleistocene sea-level and neotectonic history of the eastern Solent, southern England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 425-477.


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Walden , A.T. 1981. The statistical analysis of extreme high sea-levels utilising data from the Solent area. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. S.U. Theses 1982.
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Waller , M.P. and Long, A.J. 2003. Holocene coastal evolution and sea-level change on the southern coast of England: a review. Journal of Quaternary Science, 18, 351 - 359. Special Issue: The Quaternary History of the English Channel. Issue Edited by P.L. Gibbard, J.P. Lautridou. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. By Dr. Martyn P. Waller (Kingston) and Dr. Antony J. Long (Durham).
Abstract: Data collected recently from select areas within the eastern, central and western English Channel are used to reconstruct the Holocene evolution and sea-level history of the southern coast of England. Rapid sea-level rise in the early Holocene produced a ubiquitous vertical and lateral expansion in the marine influence. From ca. 6800 cal. (calendar) yr BP the rate of sea-level rise declined and a shift from minerogenic to organogenic sedimentation is also widely recorded. A further decline in the rate of sea-level rise occurred in the late Holocene, during which time the eastern and central English Channel experienced coastal inundation and a return to minerogenic sedimentation. Explanations for this apparent contradiction include the effects of this decline on the accumulation of minerotrophic peat and changes in sediment supply. Sea-level index points from the eastern Channel generally plot below those from the central and western Channel, indicating differential crustal movement, although sediment compaction and tidal range also may be responsible for apparent altitudinal variation between these areas. Despite an increase in the quantity and quality of the data available from this region over the past 20 yr these, and a number of other important issues, require further clarification. [Relevant to the history of the Chesil Beach and Fleet Lagoon.]

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Sediments - General

Harlow, D.A. 1979. The littoral sediment budget between Selsey Bill and Gilkicker Point and its relevance to coast protection works at Hayling Island. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology., 12, 257-265.

Lacey, S. 1985. Coastal Sediment Processes in Poole and Christchurch Bay and the Effects of Coast Protection Works. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Southampton.

Lonsdale, B.J. 1969. A Sedimentary Study of the Eastern Solent. M.Sc. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, University of Southampton.

Tubbs, C.R. 1991. The Solent: A Changing Wildlife Heritage. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Romsey. 40 p. Brief account of sediments, fauna, history. Nice colour photographs. Sediments - p. 12 fairly brief.

Velegrakis, A.F. 1994. Aspects of the Morphology and Sedimentology of a Transgressional Embayment System: Poole and Christchurch Bays, Southern England. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, Southampton University, 319pp.

Velegrakis, A.F. and Collins, M.B. 1992. Marine Aggregate Evaluation of Shingles Bank, Christchurch Bay. Southampton University Technical Report, SUDO/TEC/92/14C, 13pp.

Velegrakis, A. 2000. Geology, geomorphology and sediments of the Solent System. Pp. 21-43 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

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Sediment Geochemistry

Cundy, A., Croudace, I.W., West, I.M. and Clayton, T. 1993. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. European Union of Geosciences Biennial Meeting (VII). Terra Abstracts, 5.

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Sediment - Suspended

Harlow, D.A., 1979. The littoral sediment budget between Selsey Bill and Gilkicker Point, and its relevance to coast protection works on Hayling Island. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 12, 257-265.

Harlow, D.A., 1982. 1982. Sediment Processes, Selsey Bill to Portsmouth. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southampton.

Strisaengthong, D. 1983. Suspended sediment dynamics and distribution in the Solent using Landsat M.S.S. data. Ph.D. thesis, University of Southampton.

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. Sedimentation, Recent

Cundy, A., Croudace, I.W., West, I.M. and Clayton, T. 1993. Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system. European Union of Geosciences Biennial Meeting (VII). Terra Abstracts, 5.

Dyer, K.R. 1971. The distribution and movement of sediment in the Solent, southern England. Marine Geology, 11, 175-187.

Dyer, K.R. 1980. Sedimentation and sediment transport. NERC, Publication Series C, 22, The Solent Estuarine System, 20-24.

Dyer, K.R. 1986. Coastal and Estuarine Sediment Dynamics. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 342 pp.

Dyer, K.R. and King, H.L. 1975. The residual water flow through the Solent, South England. Geophy. J.Royal Astron. Society, 42, 97-106.

Harlow, D.A., 1979. The littoral sediment budget between Selsey Bill and Gilkicker Point, and its relevance to coast protection works on Hayling Island. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 12, 257-265.

Harlow, D.A., 1982. 1982. Sediment Processes, Selsey Bill to Portsmouth. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southampton.

Holmes, N.A. and Bishop, G.M. 1980. Survey of the littoral zone of the coast of Great Britain. 5. Report on the sediment shores of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Dunstaffnage: SMBA/MBA Intertidal Survey Unit. 80pp. NOL Library .

Hooke, J.M. and Riley, R.C. 1992. Historical changes on the Hampshire coast 1870-1965. Proc. Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society for 1991, v. 47, pp. 203-224.


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Quaresma , V. da S. 2007. Sedimentary Processes over an Intertidal Flat: A Field Investigation at Hythe Flats, Southampton Water (U.K.). Marine Geology. By Valéria da S. Quaresma (Departamento de Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, UFES, Av. Fernando Ferrari s/n Vitória-ES, Brazil), Alex C. Bastos and Carl L. Amos (NOCS, Southampton University, UK). Accepted Manuscript.
Abstract:
The sedimentary processes acting over an intertidal flat (Hythe, UK) located in Southampton Water, Hampshire, UK are investigated on the basis of hydrodynamic, morphological and sediment transport field measurements. Bed level changes, patterns of suspended sediment transport and shell movement over the tidal flats were examined in order to identify sediment transport pathways and salt marsh-mudflat morphological changes. Overall, sediment transport patterns at Hythe can be described in terms of suspended sediment and bedload-shell transport. The hydrodynamic complexity of the tidal flow over the flats determines the patterns of suspended sediments transport. During the young flood phase, tidal currents present a SW orientation (shoreward). About one hour into the flood, a change occurs and the currents start flowing in a SE direction (estuary mouthward). This veering of the tidal current controls the hydrodynamic pattern over the mudflat inducing sediment transport towards the estuary mouth. Conversely, shell tracer experiment showed a net landward movement. Shells are transported over the mudflat, deposited at the base of the cliff, and eventually transported over the salt marsh where they form extensive chernier deposits. Shell transport rates can reach up to 0.7m/tide over the upper mudflat. Shell movement over the salt marsh (on cheniers) occurred only during storms (up to 3 m in a storm event). Shell-induced erosion can become an important parameter on morphological changes of a coastal area. Shell transport and deposition over the salt marsh surface can contribute to vegetation deterioration, as shell deposits migrate over the marsh surface. As a result, the seaward limit of the salt marsh showed deteriorated vegetation, which leads to scouring and consequent surface lowering. In terms of bed level changes, no seasonal pattern was observed. A relationship between mudflat bed erosion and cliff retreat is suggested. During periods of high cliff erosion there was a tendency for the mudflats to be stable and, conversely, mudflat bed erosion was greatest when cliff retreat rates were lowest. Hence, morphological characteristics of Hythe intertidal area appear to be controlled by a combination of prevailing hydrodynamic conditions and shell transport over the salt marsh.

Wright, P. 1982. Aspects of the Coastal Dynamics of Poole and Christchurch Bays. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Southampton, U.K. 201 pp.

SCOPAC, 1991. Coastal Sediment Transport Study. The Solent and the Isle of Wight, Vol 3. Portsmouth Polytechnic (now Portsmouth University).

Tosswell, P. 1984. A study of the siltation of marinas with particular reference to Port Hamble. Ph.D. Thesis, Southampton University.

Velegrakis, A.F. 1994. Aspects of the Morphology and Sedimentology of a Transgressional Embayment System: Poole and Christchurch Bays, Southern England. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, Southampton University, 319pp.

Velegrakis, A.F. and Collins, M.B. 1992. Marine Aggregate Evaluation of Shingles Bank, Christchurch Bay. Southampton University Technical Report, SUDO/TEC/92/14C, 13pp.

Velegrakis, A. 2000. Geology, geomorphology and sediments of the Solent System. Pp. 21-43 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

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Selsey Bill

Selsey Bill, in the distance, and the broad sweep of Bracklesham Bay on the right, as seen from the air. The edge of Pagham Harbour is just visible at the coast on the far left. Bracklesham Bay, the type locality for the Eocene Bracklesham Group has very fossiliferous exposures on the foreshore, usually visible only at very low tide. A thin bed of alveolina limestone occurs at Selsey Bill (notice a trace of waves breaking to the right of the point). The low coastal plain has been submerged in the last interglacial and is effectively a raised beach. A sinuous system of old stream channels partly cut off by the sea is visible to the southeast (beyond) of the urban area of East Wittering (to the right).

Boardman, J. 1982. Quaternary Geology in Sussex - problems and possibilities. West Sussex Geological Journal, No. 1, 3-9. Goodwood - Slindon raised beach is pre-Hoxnian. (Useful Sussex, Selsey references.)

Fisher, O. 1871. Portland wood, on the coast of Sussex. Reply to Mr. Perceval. Geological Magazine, 8, 524-525.

Godwin-Austen, R.A.C. 1857. On the newer Tertiary deposits of the Sussex coast. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 13, p.56.

Harlow, D.A. 1979. The littoral sediment budget between Selsey Bill and Gilkicker Point and its relevance to coast protection works at Hayling Island. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 12, 257-265.

Hodgson, J.M. (1964). The low-level Pleistocene marine sands and gravels of the west Sussex coastal plain. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association., 75, 547-561.

Kellaway, G.A., Redding, J.H., Shephard-Thorn, E.R. and Destombes, J-P. 1975. The Quaternary history of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, Series A, 279, 189-218. In: Dunham, K., and Smith, A.J. 1975. A Discussion on the Geology of the English Channel. The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG.

Preece, R.C., Scourse, J.D., Houghton, S.D., Knudsen, K.L. and Penny, D.N. 1990. The Pleistocene sea-level and neotectonic history of the eastern Solent, southern England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 425-477.

Prestwich, J. 1892. The raised beaches, and 'Head' or rubble-drift, of the south of England: their relation to the valley drifts and to the Glacial Period; and on a late post-Glacial submergence. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 263-343.

Reid, C. 1892. The Pleistocene deposits of the Sussex coast, and their equivalents in other districts. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 48, 344-364.

Reid, C. 1903. The Geology of the Country near Chichester. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain.
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Wallace, H. 1996. The Vanished and Forgotten Estuary of the Lavant, and its Iron-Age and Roman Port off and under the Present Selsey East Beach. Sea Level and Shoreline Between Portsmouth and Pagham for the Past 2500 Years. Part 2, Chapter 2. Pages 2-2-2 to 2-2-31. Unpublished text with figures by Major Hume Wallace (ret.). "The fact that there was a depression in the otherwise shallow seabed off Selsey East Beach, used as a summer anchorage by several hundred fishing boats and pleasure craft, was brought to our attention by air photographs in 1968, as detailed in the previous chapter, which also gives the reasons for believing that this was the estuary of the River Lavant, before that river was diverted westward through Chichester into Chichester Harbour by the Romans... Here we set out the additional evidence that it was indeed a river valley, dating back at least two glaciations, revealed by our underwater investigations which were started as soon as we had seen the photos... These investigations were usually combined with those in the Mixon gorge, which we dived at slack water two hours before low, and then on our way back to our embarkation point at the north end of East Beach, we would drift dive NE with the tide up the anchorage. By these means we built up over several years the picture of this former estuary and its remarkable seasonal changes..." [continues]...About 100 yards offshore he found the remains of Beacon House and a hollow brick pillar. The son of the head gardener of the house told him "That will be the base of the gallows tree where they hanged me grandfather, for killing a preventative man with a cutlass in the last great battle between the Selsey men and the Preventatives"... The most exciting of the finds in this [Ipswichian Interglacial] deposit came in 1957, when the erosion of the raised beach, and the modern beach derived from it, exposed a rhinoceras skeleton in pit on the low tide line, only visible at the lowest Springs, so there was a great rush to examine it and excavate it while the opoportunity lasted. [The rhinoceras bones are in the Natural History Museum. E.M. Venables interpreted the remains as those of a deadfall pit which Wallace discusses as due to Neandethal hunting. Location of a mammoth find is also given.]

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Sharks Teeth (fossils in Bracklesham strata)

Kemp, D.J. 1982. Fossil Sharks, Rays and Chimaeroids of the English Tertiary Period. Published by Gosport Museum, printed by Gosport Borough Council, by David John Kemp. First Edition - 1977. Second Edition - 1982. 12 pages plus frequency data and 16 plates. (original price £1.50p)

Kemp, D., Kemp, L. and Ward, D. 1990. An Illustrated Guide to British Middle Eocene Vertebrates. Published by David Ward, London, October, 1990. 59pp, with 21 plates and reference list. (at one time sold in Portsmouth City Museums for £4).

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Solent River

Allen, L.G. and Gibbard, P.L. 1994. Pleistocene evolution of the Solent River of Southern England. Quaternary Science Reviews, 12, 502-508. Named gravel deposits of the Bournemouth - Southampton area. Holmsley Ridge Gravel with Jurassic chert and Upper Greensand chert. Western supply postulated (but note the Reid - Wardour theory).

Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

Everard, C.E. 1954. The Solent River: a geomorphological approach. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers , 20, 41-58.

Fox, W.D. 1862. When and how was the Isle of Wight separated from the mainland? Geologist, 5, 452. Initial theory of the Solent River. By the Reverend Fox.

Gibbard, Phil. 1994. (Research seminar of Geography Department at Southampton University). A new look at the Solent river. Talk given on 11.05.94 in lect. th. The terraces of Dorset around the Piddle and the Frome have been investigated. Also work in the New Forest. The Frome - Piddle terraces are at a steeper gradient than the New Forest Solent terraces. He suggested that neotectonics might be involved and separate the areas. In the discussion I referred to the discovery of channels by the Oceanography Dept. (M.Sc or Undergraduate Project of about 1991, also and earlier Rob Nichols was aware of a channel ) south of Bournemouth and to the - 11 m deposits recorded by Devoy at Hamworthy. A channel to the south, in my opinion, explains the different slope of the Frome Piddle terraces, or, at least, the later of these. " Jurassic chert " occurs in the New Forest and Gibbard suggested that this show derivation from the Frome Piddle system. I drew his attention to Clement Reid's comment that Purbeck fossil wood occurs at Stoney Cross and may have come from the Vale of Wardour.
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Nicholls , R.J. 1985. The stability of shingle beaches in the eastern half of Christchurch Bay. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Southampton.

Nicholls, R.J. 1987. Evolution of the upper reaches of the Solent River and the formation of Poole and Christchurch Bays: In Barber, K.E. (Ed) Wessex and Isle of Wight Field Guide, pp 99-114. Cambridge. Quaternary Research Association.

Nicholls, R.J. and Webber, N.B. 1987. The past, present and future evolution of Hurst Castle Spit. Progress in Oceanography, 18, 119-137. Abstract: Previous models of the evolution of Hurst Castle Spit over-emphasised longshore growth at the expense of other processes, particularly rise in sea-level. Initially, a Pleistocene valley system was submerged creating a tidal strait, the West Solent, between Christchurch Bay and the East Solent. this almost certainly caused a major hydrodynamic change, transforming much of Christchurch Bay and the West Solent from a low to a high energy environment. Hurst Castle Spit and the Shingles Bank then began to form due to a combination of easterly littoral drift, offshore gravel movement due to the high tidal energy, a rising sea-level, the transformation of Hurst Beach due to overwashing and the formation of recurves due to waves in the West Solent. The growth of the Shingles Bank due to offshore sediment movement from Hurst Castle Spit was of particular importance because of the influence of wave energy along Hurst Beach. Significant local supplies of shingle in the vicinity of Hurst Castle Spit, reworked from Quaternary deposits were also of importance. Thus, it is not a classic multi-recurved spit and the transgressive segment, Hurst Beach, has much in common with barrier coastlines... The same processes are are continuing to shape Hurst Castle Spit at present, with additional effects of human interference in the coastal sediment system. The construction of sea defences at Milford-on-Sea in the period 1936 to 1968 has modified the sediment budget and Hurst Castle Spit is experiencing a phase of rapid evolution: maximum recession rates have increased from 1.5 metres per annum (1867-1968) to 3.5 metres per annum (1968-1982). It is difficult to quantify the exact role of sea-level rise in the present evolution of Hurst Castle Spit... The future evolution of Hurst Castle Spit will depend largely on man. If there is no further interference, which is highly unlikely, the beach will continue to decline, resulting in a further increase in the rate of recession. Ultimately, a true tidal breach will probably form, marking a new phase in the evolution of Hurst Castle Spit and its environs. However, shingle renourishment on another coastal engineering solution will probably be undertaken. The future rate of sea-level rise will have important long-term influences on all these options.
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Preece , R.C., Scourse, J.D., Houghton, S.D., Knudsen, K.L. and Penny, D.N. 1990. The Pleistocene sea-level and neotectonic history of the eastern Solent, southern England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 425-477.
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Velegrakis , A.F. 1994. Aspects of the Morphology and Sedimentology of a Transgressional Embayment System: Poole and Christchurch Bays, Southern England. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, Southampton University, 319pp.

Velegrakis, A.F., Dix, J.K. and Collins, M.B. 1999. Late Quaternary evolution of the upper reaches of the Solent River, southern England, based on marine geophysical evidence. Journal of the Geological Society, London, vol. 156, pp. 73-87. Authors' address: School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (then Southampton Oceanography Centre), European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK. [This is a key paper with a map showing the offshore buried channels in Poole Bay and Christchurch Bay.]
Abstract: Geological evidence suggests that during the Late Quaternary, a river system (the Solent River) drained a large part of central Southern England. Its upper reaches flowed in a west-east direction, flanked to the south by a Chalk ridge (the Purbeck-Isle of Wight Chalk Ridge). Today, only part of the upper reaches of the river's tributary channels remain, as the area was inundated during the Flandrian Transgression, forming. an embayment system (Poole and Christchurch Bays). In order to map the offshore buried channels of the upper reaches of the Solent River an extensive set of shallow-marine geophysical data was analysed and interpreted. The results of this investigation show that the Solent River system was disrupted irreversibly by southerly capture of its upstream section before the Flandrian Transgression. This disruption was the result of the fluvial breaching of the southern barrier of the system (the Purbeck-Isle of Wight Ridge) at three points, probably during Late Devensian time. Poole Bay was first to be submerged during the transgression. The estuaries which resulted from the drowning of the fluvial palaeovalleys of Poole Bay were infilled with transgressive facies sequences which have been preserved within the buried palaeovalleys. In contrast, Christchurch Bay was submerged at a later time, but because of the abrupt manner of its inundation, no transgressive facies have been preserved within its buried palaeovalleys. [end of abstract]
[Example extract from the introduction] The Isle of Wight, southern England, is separated from the mainland by a stretch of water known as the Solent (Fig. I). The Solent is located at the southern margin of the Hampshire Basin, an elongated asymmetrical downwarp of Tertiary deposits, the southern limb of which exhibits a near-vertical northern dip, whilst the beds on its northern limb slope gently southward (Melville & Freshney 1982). It has been widely proposeq that, during Pleistocene lowstands, the Solent formed a segment of a major axial stream (the 'Solent River'), which integrated all the consequent rivers of the basin (Fox 1862; Reid 1905; Everard 1954; West 1980). It has been suggested that this river constituted one of the principal northern tributaries of the English Channel River, a major river system established over northwestern Europe early in the Middle Pleistocene Epoch (Gibbard 1988). The Solent River flowed along a large W-E-trending valley incised into Tertiary arenaceous and argillaceous sediments and surrounded by high Chalk country (the Wiltshire and North Dorset Downs to the north and the South Dorset Downs and the Purbeck-Wight Chalk Ridge to the south). Much of the catchment area of the river was drowned during the last eustatic sea-level rise. Only parts of the tributary river systems are still intact; these form the modern drainage network of the area (Fig. 2).
Evidence for the existence of the Solent River system is distributed throughout the area. Onshore, extensive deposits of Pleistocene sands and gravels occur, forming terraces along the present river valleys (Keen 1980; Freshney et al. 1985; Allen & Gibbard 1993), and underlying the Flandrian deposits of some of the estuaries of the area (Nicholls 1987). Offshore, marine geophysical surveys have revealed systems of buried river vaJIeys under the present seafloor, incised to a maximum depth of 46 m below OD to the east of the Isle of Wight (Hamblin et al. 1992). [continues for more than 14 pages, with maps and diagrams].

Velegrakis, A.F., Dix, J.K. and Collins, M.B. 2000. Late Pleistocene - Holocene evolution of the upstream section of the Solent River, Southern England. Pp. 97-99 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

Velegrakis, A. 2000. Geology, geomorphology and sediments of the Solent System. Pp. 21-43 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

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. Solent Sea-Levels (See Sea Levels

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Southampton - General

Anonymous, 1799. A companion in a tour round Southampton...and a tour of the Isle of Wight.... 1799. Cope xx 03.5 1799 / 85030723

Edwards, R.A. & Freshney, E.C. 1987. Geology of the Country around Southampton: Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheet 315 (England and Wales). 111 p.; R.A. Edwards and E.C. Freshney; contributors I.F. Smith ... [and others]. Natural Environment Research Council, H.M.S.O. 1987.

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England and Wales), Southampton, Solid and Drift, 1:50,000 (new edition).

Edwards, R.A., Scrivener, R.C., and Forster, A. 1987. Applied geological mapping: Southampton area. Volume 1, Main report and appendix. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/2. The 10 following volumes contain 62 maps, mostly 1:25,000 on drift, solid, made ground, old workings, sites of special scientific interest etc. Applied geological mapping. Vol.1: Main report and appendix. 1987.

Laxton, J.L. 1987. Computer databases of geological, borehole and geotechnical information for applied geological mapping of the Southampton area. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/4.

Laxton, J.L. 1987. Computer databases of geological, borehole and geotechnical information for applied geological mapping of the Southampton area/ J.L. Laxton. 1987.

Loudon, T.V. & Mennim, K.C. 1987. Mapping techniques using computer storage and presentation for applied geological mapping of the Southampton area.

Loudon, T.V.,and Mennim, K.C. 1987. Mapping techniques, using computer storageand presentation, for applied geological mapping of the Southampton area. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/3.


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Quaresma , V. da S. 2007. Sedimentary Processes over an Intertidal Flat: A Field Investigation at Hythe Flats, Southampton Water (U.K.). Marine Geology. By Valéria da S. Quaresma (Departamento de Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, UFES, Av. Fernando Ferrari s/n Vitória-ES, Brazil), Alex C. Bastos and Carl L. Amos (NOCS, Southampton University, UK). Accepted Manuscript.
Abstract:
The sedimentary processes acting over an intertidal flat (Hythe, UK) located in Southampton Water, Hampshire, UK are investigated on the basis of hydrodynamic, morphological and sediment transport field measurements. Bed level changes, patterns of suspended sediment transport and shell movement over the tidal flats were examined in order to identify sediment transport pathways and salt marsh-mudflat morphological changes. Overall, sediment transport patterns at Hythe can be described in terms of suspended sediment and bedload-shell transport. The hydrodynamic complexity of the tidal flow over the flats determines the patterns of suspended sediments transport. During the young flood phase, tidal currents present a SW orientation (shoreward). About one hour into the flood, a change occurs and the currents start flowing in a SE direction (estuary mouthward). This veering of the tidal current controls the hydrodynamic pattern over the mudflat inducing sediment transport towards the estuary mouth. Conversely, shell tracer experiment showed a net landward movement. Shells are transported over the mudflat, deposited at the base of the cliff, and eventually transported over the salt marsh where they form extensive chernier deposits. Shell transport rates can reach up to 0.7m/tide over the upper mudflat. Shell movement over the salt marsh (on cheniers) occurred only during storms (up to 3 m in a storm event). Shell-induced erosion can become an important parameter on morphological changes of a coastal area. Shell transport and deposition over the salt marsh surface can contribute to vegetation deterioration, as shell deposits migrate over the marsh surface. As a result, the seaward limit of the salt marsh showed deteriorated vegetation, which leads to scouring and consequent surface lowering. In terms of bed level changes, no seasonal pattern was observed. A relationship between mudflat bed erosion and cliff retreat is suggested. During periods of high cliff erosion there was a tendency for the mudflats to be stable and, conversely, mudflat bed erosion was greatest when cliff retreat rates were lowest. Hence, morphological characteristics of Hythe intertidal area appear to be controlled by a combination of prevailing hydrodynamic conditions and shell transport over the salt marsh.

Reid, C. 1902. The geology of the country around Southampton: (explanation of sheet 315); by Clement Reid with contributions by W. Whitaker. 1902.

Wadham, A.W. 1994. Building Stones of Southampton. Four Geological Walks around the City Centre. Produced by the Southampton Geology Field Study Group. Excellent field guide with much details on Southampton Building Stones and also notes on Docks excavations, chalybeate spring, railway tunnel etc.

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Southampton Docks

Anderson, F. W. 1933. The New Docks excavations, Southampton. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club, 12, 169-176. This is a record of deposits encountered during the construction of the Western Docks, Southampton, with cross-sections, a map and photographs of fossils, including a vertebra, found in the diggings. Large concretions referred to are now preserved by the roadside through Dock Gate 4, Eastern Docks, Southampton. Incidently, Dr F.W. Anderson was the first lecturer in geology at Southampton University College, now Southampton University.

Godwin, G. and Godwin, M.E. 1940. Submerged peat at Southampton; data for the study of Postglacial history. New Phytologist, 39, 303-307. "It has been known for a long time that fresh-water deposits are submerged in the estuary at Southampton, and extensive peat beds have been described during excavationjs of the numerous great docks of this Harbour. In March 1932, through the kind agency of Mr O.G.S. Crawford and Mr H.G. McHaffie, we were allowed to examine the last remaining section of the peat beds cut through in digging out the new (George V) Graving Dock of the Southern Railway... " Beneath estuarine alluvium at minus 6.2 feet was found a succession of 13 feet, 7 inches of clay, peat and shell marl (tufa). This overlies Pleistocene gravel, and represents parts of pollen zones IV, V, VI and VII. The marine transgression at about minus 6 feet took place not before the middle of zone VII of the scheme of forest succession.

Hodson, F. and West, I. M. 1972. Holocene deposits of Fawley, Hamphire and the development of Southampton Water. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 83, 421-442.

Shore, T.W. and Elwes, J.W. 1889. The new docks excavations at Southampton. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club, 1, 43-56. This is on the Eastern Docks, site of the SOC building, and deals with fossiliferous Bracklesham strata etc.

West, I.M. 1980. Geology of the Solent Estuarine System In "The Solent Estuarine System: an assessment of present knowledge", N.E.R.C. Pubications, Series C, No. 22: 6-18. The estuaries of the Solent, Southampton Water and of Portsmouth, Langstone and Chichester Harbours lie at the centre of the Hampshire Basin. They are the latest of a series of shallow-water bodies that have existed here since the relatively deep Chalk sea-floor was uplifted about 65 million years ago. In the Palaeogene Period (Eocene and Oligocene) a wide variety of sediments accumulated in shallow seas, estuaries, lakes and lagoons and these frequently contain abundant plant and animal remains. These deposits now exist beneath and around the modern estuaries. After their deposition there was a long phase of folding, uplift and erosion during the Neogene (Miocene and Pliocene). Relatively recently, during glacial phases of the Pleistocene, the valleys of the local rivers were excavated to well below the present sea-level before being finally flooded during the Flandrian Transgression which thus created the modern estuaries. It is the Eocene, Oligocene, Pleistocene and Holocene (Flandrian) sediments of the region that are discussed in this account. .... continues

Wrigley, A. (1934). A Lutetian fauna at Southampton docks. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 45, 1-16. Account of the Eocene fossils from the Western Docks (Graving Dock), Southampton. A collection by St. John Burton is kept at Southampton Oceanography Centre.

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Southampton - Geothermal

Allen, D.J., Barker, J.A. and Downing, R.A. 1983. The production test and resource assessment of the Southampton (Western Esplanade) Geothermal Well. Rep. Inst. Geol. Sci., Investigation of the Geothermal Potential of the UK.

Barker, J.A., Rowe, W.G.E., Bird, M.J. and Darling, W.G. 1991. Monitoring and modelling of the Southampton Geothermal reservoir. V. Final Report WD/91/51. 71p .Req. for lib. Aug. 92.

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England and Wales), Southampton, Solid and Drift, 1:50,000 (new edition). Brief summary on page 88.

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Stone Point

(See also Lepe Beach )

Brown, R.C., Gilbertson, D.D., Green, C.P. and Keen, D.H. 1975. Stratigraphy and environmental significance of Pleistocene deposits at Stone, Hamphire. Proceedings of the Geologists's Association, 86, 349-363.

Reid, C. 1893. A fossiliferous deposit at Stone on the Hampshire Coast. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 49, 344.

Sanders, I. 1927. Ancient road from Purlieu to Lepe. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club, 10, Pt. 1, 35-39. Roman Road. Ancient gravel excavation at Pits Copse near Stone Farm. There was formerly a small estuary here now infilled. Note that Dr Anthony Long has worked on the similar small estuary now infilled at Stanswood. Sanders suggested that the flats up to Stone Farm were once an open estuary up which vessels laden with stone were able to sail. After unloading they required balast for the return voyage and they took gravel from pits, the extent of which is evidence of of the large amount of traffic.

Stuart, A.J. 1976. The history of the mammal fauna during the Ipswichian/last Interglacial in England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series B. vol 276, No 945. (This includes discussion of fauna from Stone Point.)

West, R.G. and Sparks, B.W. 1960. Coastal interglacial deposits of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B., No. 701, Vol. 243, pp. 95-133, 27th October, 1960.

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Storms

Defoe, D. 1705 (Probable date. Refers to 1703 storm which was obviously then recent and contains many letters dated 1704. Date not seen on the title page. A Collection of the Most Remarkable Casualties Disasters which happen'd in the Late Dreadful Tempest both by Sea and Land on Friday the Twenty-fixth of November, Seventeen Hundred and Three. To which is added Several Suprising Deliverances. The Natural Causes and Original of Winds. Of the Opinion of the Ancients that this Island was More Subject to Storms than Other Parts of the World. With Several Other Curious Observations upon the Storm. The Whole Divided into Chapters under Proper Headings. 2nd Ed. George Sawbridge, London, 272 pp. Andy Cundy and I were told by a resident at the salt marsh between Inchmerry and Exbury that the salt marshes were built up from sediment deposited in the 1703 great storm and that the old beach with shells lies landward of them. A local historian at Exbury may have further information. See also paper on Needs Ore Point. Notes which follow are from the book. Wed. 24th Nov. 1703. Start of storm. Mercury abnormally low. Wind direction SW by S or near S in the beginning and veered WSW towards end. Reports of earthquake. Spring tide high at 4 am when storm blowing ("a prodigious tide happen'd the next day but one, and was occasion'd by the fury of the winds" ). By the flowing of the sea over Hurst Beach, two salterns were almost ruin'd belonging to one Mr. Perkins" (reported by James Baker, Lymington, 1704 in the Defoe book).

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Submerged Forests

Anonymous, 1999. Back to the future - submerged forest holds clues to coastal erosion and climate change. University of Southampton, New Reporter, a newsletter for staff and students of the University of Southampton. Vol. 16, issue 11. pp 4-5. Bouldnor Cliff on the north coast of the Isle of Wight is an underwater cliff made up of layers of clay and sediment deposits interspersed with peat. Despite its composition and location, where it is subjected to strong currents of the Western Solent, the cliff has survived erosive activity. At the foot of the cliff, which measures up to seven metres high, tree stumps, trunks and root systems are sitting in a seabed of peat. These tree remains have been carbon dated and are over 8,000 years old. (Gary Momber of the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology, based at Southampton Oceanography Centre. The Trust team are partners in a three year project funded by the European Commission under their LIFE programme. Using a combination of geotechnical and archaeological techniques, the project aims to examine how predicted climate change might affect unstable coastal areas and landslide systems)

Sanders, I. 1927. Ancient road from Purlieu to Lepe. Papers and Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club, 10, Pt. 1, 35-39. Roman Road. Ancient gravel excavation at Pits Copse near Stone Farm. There was formerly a small estuary here now infilled. Note that Dr Anthony Long has worked on the similar small estuary now infilled at Stanswood. Sanders suggested that the flats up to Stone Farm were once an open estuary up which vessels laden with stone were able to sail. After unloading they required balast for the return voyage and they took gravel from pits, the extent of which is evidence of of the large amount of traffic.

Garrow, D. 1825. The History of Lymington and its immediate vicinity in the county of Southampton containing a brief account of its animal, vegetable and mineral production etc. etc. Simkin and Marshall, London, 144pp. Fossil shells and bone in clay at Walhampton Brick Pit. Pyle-well Lake - a creek intersecting a vast extent of waste mud. Tree stumps of a submerged forest are present.

West, I.M. 1997. Note by the compiler - Peat, probably of Holocene age is present on the foreshore below high-tide level, west of Lepe Beach.

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Theses

Velegrakis, A.F. 1994. Aspects of the Morphology and Sedimentology of a Transgressional Embayment System: Poole and Christchurch Bays, Southern England. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, Southampton University, 319pp.

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Topography and Geography of the Solent Estuarine System

Anonymous. 1853. The Hand-book for the Town of Lymington, the New Forest and the Surrounding Neighbourhood. To which is added a list of the Resident Gentry etc. etc. With a map of its environments. R. King, Lymington, 169 p. Cope 97.035 small blue book. The map shows the Pennington salterns etc but not the nature reserve marsh which was sampled.

Bray, A. and Roach, P. 1989. South Coast from the Air. Andrew Bray and Patrick Roach. Dorchester. 112 p. Cope q.79.9. Some useful Solent aerial photographs.

Chesterton, E. 1969. The north west Solent shore estates: a study and plans. .

Coles, K.A. and Sylvester-Bradley, D. 1981. Creeks and Harbours of the Solent. .

Garrow, D. 1825. The History of Lymington and its immediate vicinity in the county of Southampton containing a brief account of its animal, vegetable and mineral production etc. etc. Simkin and Marshall, London, 144pp. Fossil shells and bone in clay at Walhampton Brick Pit. Pyle-well Lake - a creek intersecting a vast extent of waste mud. Tree stumps of a submerged forest present. (Another Lymington book in the Cope Collection refers to use of mud-pattens by wild-fowlers and dangers of being caught by the tide).

Hilliker, I.J. 1990. A Solent Flight. Kingfisher Publications. Southampton. 127p. (About flying boats with some old and new aerial photographs including Calshot with sheds but without much development on the landward side and the New Docks area after reclamation but before major development. )

Hooke, J.M. and Riley, R.C. 1992. Historical changes on the Hampshire coast 1870-1965. Proc. Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society for 1991, v. 47, pp. 203-224.

Pannell, J.R.M. 1967. Old Southampton Shore. David and Charles. Newton Abbot. (Well-illustrated book on certain aspects of Southampton Water.)

Velegrakis, A. 2000. Geology, geomorphology and sediments of the Solent System. Pp. 21-43 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp.

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Tufa, Travertine and Shell-Marl

Kemp, J.T,. The tufaceous deposits of the Test and Itchen. Papers and Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, 1, 83-89.

Pentecost, A. 1993. British travertines: a review. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 104, 23-39. Mentions the "shell marls" or tufas of the Itchen and Test.

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Tunnels beneath the Solent Estuarine System

Anonymous, 1997. Tunnel under harbour to improve water treatment. Southern Water Conservation Matters (Newsletter), Issue No. 24, Winter, 1997 . Distributed by Southern Water, a Scottish Power Company. P. 13 only. An eight-kilometre long tunnel, three metres in diameter, is to be built beneath Langstone Harbour in Hampshiore as part of an £100 million Operation Seaclean project. The tunnel will transfer wasterwater from Portsmouth to a new treatment works to be built at Budds Farm, Havant. Part of the tunnel will be below the sea bed. Southern Water began work earlier this year by drilling almost 90 50 metre deep boreholes to test the geological conditions in the area. A drilling rig sank boreholes up to 40 metres deep to examine the route of the tunnel. Boreholes were sunk approximately every 100 metres along the tunnel line and provided very good confirmation of the geology. Drilling was due to last for several months and the new treatment works are expected to be completed by the end of 2000.

Curry, D., Hodson, F. and West, I.M. (1968). The Eocene succession in the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 79, 179-206.

Gilkes, R. (1968b). Clay mineralogy of selected specimens from the Transmission Tunnel excavations. Appendix to Curry, Hodson and West: The Eocene succession in the Fawley Transmission Tunnel. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 79, 203-206.

Hodson, F. and West, I.M. (1972). The Holocene deposits of Fawley, Hampshire and the development of Southampton Water. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 83, 421-444.

Merritt, M. 1994. Study hope into £61m tunnel link with Island. The Daily Echo, Wed. Aug.17, 1994. p. 6 only. .

Turton, F. 1953. A Solent Tunnel: the History of the Solent Tunnel Scheme and Railways associated with it. Southampton. G.F. Wilson, 1953.

West.I.M. 1980. Geology of the Solent Estuarine System. In "The Solent Estuarine System: an Assessment of Present Knowledge", N.E.R.C. Pub. Ser. C.No. 22 , November 1980. pp 6-18.

West, I.M. 1975. Unpublished report on sewage tunnels for the South Hampshire Plan. (with Solent cross-section etc , confirmed by boreholes)

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Waste Disposal in the Solent Region

Edwards, R.A., Scrivener, R.C., and Forster, A. 1987. Applied Geological Mapping: Southampton Area. Volume 1, Main report and Appendix. Research Report of the British Geological Survey, ICSO/87/2. (The 10 following volumes contain 62 maps, mostly 1:25,000 on drift, solid, made ground, old workings, sites of special scientific interest etc.)

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England and Wales), Southampton, Solid and Drift, 1:50,000 (new edition).

Elkins, J.D.K. 1993. Dealing with Hampshire's Waste - The Way Forward. Hampshire County Council.

Hampshire County Council, 1992 (and later editions?). Hampshire Minerals and Waste: Local Plan. Hampshire County Council, September 1992. County Planning Officer Robert Savage. ISBN 1-87359-551-4.

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Wells (for water not oil)

See borehole note at the beginning about more than 1400 boreholes from the Solent area.

Allen, D.J., Barker, J.A. and Downing, R.A. 1983. The production test and resource assessment of the Southampton (Western Esplanade) Geothermal Well. Rep. Inst. Geol. Sci., Investigation of the Geothermal Potential of the UK.

Barker, J.A., Rowe, W.G.E., Bird, M.J. and Darling, W.G. 1991. Monitoring and modelling of the Southampton Geothermal reservoir. V. Final Report WD/91/51. 71p .Req. for lib. Aug. 92.

Edwards, R.A. and Freshney, E.C. 1987. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England and Wales), Southampton, Solid and Drift, 1:50,000 (new edition). Brief summary on page 88.

Lyell, Mrs (no initial given) 1881. Life, Letters and Journals of Sir Charles Lyell, Bart.: author of "Principles of Geology" etc. Edited by his sister-in-law, Mrs Lyell. In two volumes. Vol. 2 - this reference, see pages 366,367. 489p total. Lyell went to Netley from Southampton saw the Military Hospital. Saw Bracklesham fossils from an Artesian well (Cardita planecostata, Fusus longaevus), 180 feet deep, which they have dug. Beautiful site on gravel, not on a bog. No problem with smell of mud. Short mention only.

Reid, C. 1902. The geology of the country around Southampton: (explanation of sheet 315); by Clement Reid with contributions by W. Whitaker. 1902.

Whitaker, W. 1910. The water supply of Hampshire. Memoirs of the Geological of Survey of Great Britain.

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West Wittering

(see also Bracklesham Group and Bracklesham Bay.)

Bone, A. and Bone, D. A. 1985. Fossils from Bracklesham to Selsey. Published by Chichester District Council and D.A. Bone. ISBN 0 903970 06 6. 32 pages. A map, text and 8 plates of fossils.

Bone, D.A. and James, J.P. 1975. Report of field meeting to Chichester Harbour, Sussex. Tertiary Times, 2/3, 99-100.

British Geological Survey. 1:50,000 Sheet 331. Portsmouth. (Titchfield Haven to East Wittering, some of Bracklesham Bay, but not the end of Selsey Bill for which see Sheet 332).

Curry, D., King, A.D., King, C. and Stinton, F.C. 1977. The Bracklesham Beds (Eocene) of Bracklesham Bay and Selsey, Sussex. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 88, 243-254.

Dixon, F.1850. The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex. London.

Godwin-Austen, R.A.C. 1857. On the Tertiary deposits of the Sussex coast. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 13, 40-47.

Heron-Allen, E. 1911. Selsey Bill: Historic and Prehistoric. London

Ordnance Survey Map. 1:50,000 Sheet 197. Chichester and the Downs. (includes Selsey Bill, Bracklesham Bay, West Wittering, Chichester Harbour and Hayling Island.

Reid, C. 1897. The Geology of the Country around Bognor. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales. H.M.S.O., London.

West, R.G. and Sparks, B.W. 1960. Coastal interglacial deposits of the English Channel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B. 306, 137-157.

White, H.J.O. 1915. The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England and Wales, H.M.S.O. London, pp.v + 78.

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Wootton Creek, Isle of Wight

Edwards, R.J. 1994 The Palaeo-morphology of the Nearshore Environment East of Wootton Creek : A High Resolution Geophysical Investigation. Undergraduate Dissertation, Soton Univ. Unpubl. 81pp.

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Copyright © 2013 Ian West, Catherine West, Tonya Loades and Joanna Bentley. All rights reserved. This is a purely academic website and images and text may not be copied for publication or for use on other webpages or for any commercial activity. A reasonable number of images and some text may be used for non-commercial academic purposes, including field trip handouts, lectures, student projects, dissertations etc, providing source is acknowledged.

Disclaimer: Geological fieldwork involves some level of risk, which can be reduced by knowledge, experience and appropriate safety precautions. Persons undertaking field work should assess the risk, as far as possible, in accordance with weather, conditions on the day and the type of persons involved. In providing field guides on the Internet no person is advised here to undertake geological field work in any way that might involve them in unreasonable risk from cliffs, ledges, rocks, sea or other causes. Not all places need be visited and the descriptions and photographs here can be used as an alternative to visiting. Individuals and leaders should take appropriate safety precautions, and in bad conditions be prepared to cancell part or all of the field trip if necessary. Permission should be sought for entry into private land and no damage should take place. Attention should be paid to weather warnings, local warnings and danger signs. No liability for death, injury, damage to, or loss of property in connection with a field trip is accepted by providing these websites of geological information. Discussion of geological and geomorphological features, coast erosion, coastal retreat, storm surges etc are given here for academic and educational purposes only. They are not intended for assessment of risk to property or to life. No liability is accepted if this website is used beyond its academic purposes in attempting to determine measures of risk to life or property.

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Dr Ian West, author of these webpages

Webpage - written and produced by:


Ian West, M.Sc. Ph.D. F.G.S.

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at his private address, Romsey, Hampshire, kindly supported by Southampton University,and web-hosted by courtesy of iSolutions of Southampton University. The website does not necessarily represent the views of Southampton University. The website is written privately from home in Romsey, unfunded and with no staff other than the author, but generously and freely published by Southampton University. Field trips shown in photographs do not necessarily have any connection with Southampton University and may have been private or have been run by various organisations.