After a nice break from field work and after looking through our notebooks we have decided that we need to return to our mapping area to get a few more days work in. We lost a lot of time due to the horrendous weather in the Capel Curig area of Wales whilst we were there. It was actually recorded as the wettest area in the UK for that month with over 30cm of rain.

The wettest place was Capel Curig, in Wales, where 340mm of rain fell in July, according to the provisional figures.

The Guardian

So, in light of this we’re heading back for three or four hard working days to round a few rough edges off the maps!  A few more areas of exposure being mapped will help us to define contacts much better and a few more strike/dips surely can’t hurt the overloaded stereonets!

We’re hoping to be in Wales relatively early on Monday the 6th so we can get a partial days work in after we’ve set up camp! Wish us luck! We’re going to need it with the Welsh weather!

… field wise that is. We had our last field day yesterday and didn’t really know what to do. We feel we have been to all the maps and there was not much to do. We ended up doing a stratcolumn and have a long lunch. Later on we celebrated the end of 6 weeks with some alcohol.

6 weeks of field work and we found one big antiform, one big synform, one small antiform, two thrusts which belong to the same nappe, one small fault, and a lot of grey rocks. Its been fun and interesting to see. However, now we see geology everywhere! which is annoying but you can get a degree without getting knowledge.

All we have to do now is to finish maps and notebooks before handing it in early in the semester. I already know that I have to redo three of my maps as I’ve used the wrong symbol…! Boring, but thats just the way it is.

Here is a list over things to think over for future mappers:

Things to do:

• Ink stuff in in the field, saves you a lot of time in the evenings and you are never behind with work.
• Make a plan over things to do and places to go (geologywise), and changes it throughout the 6 weeks. This way you always know where to go in the morning and dont have to spent the first two hours finding that out.
• If camping bring a tent that can stand agains wind, strong wind and tornadoes.
• Make friends with the barmen and woman
• If renting car, rent a car that can go “off-road” or a car that will last! Like a golf or jeep.
• Buy a barbecue when you are there, saves you cooking time and money.
• Be prepared to climb Himalaya or K2 and you will be fine

Things not to do:

• Don’t forget you wallet/purse in Paris!
• Don’t prepare for 40degrees at day and night! its not. 10degrees at night or lower.
• Don’t bring to much! (Girls!) You don’t need it. One bag is enough.
• Don’t forget hiking boots!
• Don’t go “off-road” with a low car…

For more fun stuff check out tiiuivy.wordpress.com

Well the sun has come out and I am surprised just how much work i am doing and how much more time i am spending in the field!

Long days spent in the field have greatly improved my maps and fieldbooks.

The rhyolite in My area is starting to get on my nerves as it is so confusing (to just me…am pretty sure) The different textures seem to start merging into one another in one area.  Plus that i happened to stumble across an area where the rhyolite formed massive cooling columns which i hadn’t seen here yet.

Cooling columns in the Rhyolite

I climbed up the bottom of this rather huge ridge in anticipation of not being able to climb all the way to the top (as it was very steep in places), although once i started working it became very apparent very quickly that I was going to end up climbing to the top whether it was steep or not!

Xenoliths within the rhyolite, some were bigger than my rucksack and down to thumb nail size!!

The rhyolite in my area makes me both hate geology for confusing me so much, and its got to a point where i try not to think about it and just note the textures and size/shape etc, but at the same time it makes me love it, as it makes me more inquisitive to find out what it is , where it goes and how it formed; even if that ends up being a day researching on the internet to no avail!

The sediments where are driving me mad a little as they change so much within the formations.  Between two exposures that are geographically next to each other, and geologically lay on top of one another.  They Can look like the same rock formation but slightly different as the weathering may round the bedding planes off and make them look all washed out and heavily corroded like old statues that you see with no defined features.  Then right next to it you will have a very very similar set of strata that has eroded differently with an orangey oxidation and nicer cut bedding surfaces, but fresh samples and taking a few steps back confirms that they are the same. This stops you being able to take big steps around the map, but keeps you focused.

Today I am going to focus on filling in the small remaining gaps and establishing contacts. I am going to plot in the slate along the top surface of the rhyolites and then I can establish the best places to do full logs through the formations in the area. Which will be fun as much of the rhyolite here makes huge steep ridges.

Also I am curious as to how large flame structures can be as I am still rather undecided about a structure that can be seen in the cross section of a inter-bedded slate and sandstone formation that lies between two bands of tuff.  It is around 4m wide by around 3m tall and is either one hell of a flame structure or a tight fold in sediments that havent been folded like this….unless it is soft sediment deformation, unfortunately the picture that i have is too dark but here is a quick sketch of the shape!

Sorry About the poor attempt, but the orange is a more resistant sandstone layer and they grey are fissile slate layers

Well time to go out and get some more work done!

For more detail on the weeks look at http://jenniferbroster.wordpress.com/

After a weekend at home I realised that I actually quite like this and the time in the field; all be it alone, was quite a nice break from the hustle, bustle and  rush of a city!

I have returned with a new vigour that has seen me forget all about my blog and enjoy being out in the sunshine!  Sorry did I not mention that the sun is out and that has had a lot to do with the spurt of mapping energy!!

The map is coming along nicely now and seems to be making a bit of sense, but there is nothing quite like working all day, walking the best part of a couple of KM’s up and down hill to have just a tiny trail of coloured blobs to prove it! That’s a bit soul-destroying but I am learning to spend less time at the outcrops and move on asap!! This Helps when you have got your eye in for a certain formation and have been doing it for a few days….not so good when you move across to something slightly different!!

I also seem to be getting better at my rocks too…

I now have a grey slates and metasiltstones formation(currently un-named!),

Interbedded Slates, Pssamites and in places Silty stuff! Which has some lovely big crystals of pyrite! That have taken on really cool stripes and metamorphic spots!!

Rocks that are now spotty and have stripes!!

I have the Massive Microgranite Intrusion which is hard to miss!!

Tuffs/Ignimbrites although am not quite sure the difference between the terms when applied in the field!

Plus the Wonderful world of the Rhyolites, a name that cheers me up when looking at an exposure and you get the overwhelming feeling of impending doom!  I actually quite like my rhyolites though it doesn’t sound it! The problem I have is that the Rhyolite unit changes about 7 times which keeps me on my feet, even though I haven’t quite decided how to group them or how to colour the outcrops etc!!

One Rhyolite ridge in the beautiful sunshine!!

Further Up the Rhyolite ridge

I also know I have some Sandstones in between two layers of tuff but I haven’t been up that high in the last few days as I have been mapping lower exposures due to the weather!!!

All in all enjoying the mapping and i am slowly getting used to trusting my instinct and having some confidence in myself to make a decision what is what at a really weathered and vegetated exposure not to mention the ridiculous amounts of sheep poo on absolutely every surface you can see!

Finally sorry to keep people waiting but this is the best picture I have managed to get of my mapping area, well the majority of it!!

Some My Area looking South West

Slightly Further up the Mountain!

I have just realised how rubbish these are so I will get some better ones asap!!!

To follow my week in a little more detail click on here…..http://jenniferbroster.wordpress.com/

So we’ve had around 7 weeks here in Wales and we’re just coming to the end of our project so we’re rounding off all of our work and getting a few last sections on our maps filled in. We’ve lost a fair few days due to very bad weather but we’re getting back on track now!

So far this week we spent two long days above 800 metres around Glyder Fach which was very hard work but quite rewarding at the same time. We found a rock type we didn’t expect bringing our total number of lithologies upto around 8.

Our maps are coming on well and we’ve got all of the major structures (hopefully). There’s still a fair bit of copying up to do from rainy days but we’re getting there!

Another tip for this mapping in Wales next summer, bring some wasp killer, there’s been a hell of a lot at the campsite!

Photos will be added when we get back!

Well another week has flashed past in a blur of sandstones, rhyolite and tuff..

I can now look at the grey mountain and distinguish between the ever so slightly different shades of grey!! Which Mandy promised would happen but to be honest I really doubted it!

After looking At Rhyolites for a few days and doing a rather long log through an ignimbrite I decided I needed a change for a few days and though for a crazy moment that i should look at the sandstones with interbedded slates and siltstones. Yea I am pretty sick of them now and will start on the rhyolites again soon!!!

I think I am on track but its really hard to tell when you are contending with the weather and poor motivation when it comes to climbing a mountain day  in day out in the rain on your billy todd!

The rest of the week is focused on volcanics in the area, so lots of logs through the confusing rhyolites- which show textures I have never seen before, nor the text books describe or picture- and up through the ignimbrites!! So wish me luck because I am Really going to need it!

I’m back home now in cold clowdy england after walking around topless for 7 weeks gettin the most bangin tan there was ever known to man. I’m so happy to be home seein my rents and my lil bro, gonna go out and play some basketball later and then chill. But even though i’ve been lookin forward to all this, bein back now it’s bare weird not bein with my new family anymore.  That being the people i was with in Spain for the last 7 weeks, waking up with them every day at stupid o’clock, mappin, havin dinner, all the jokes and all the tears i already kinda miss them. Just wanna say Roro, Raz, Ste lid, Lee, Hatty n Downsy i love you guys.

So the easy bit is over, now time to start researching what I’m gonna put in my report and start writin all the rock descriptions. I can’t wait! The trip was a mixed one, there were times when i thought this mapping is actually okay and its not that bad but at times i hated it and wanted to get the next plane home to London. Having to motivate yourself to wake up every day at 6am and to work in 35 degree weather til 3-4pm was very hard. Sometimes we only made it til 11.30am but other days we would work til 6pm. Both bein pretty rare. Then coming home to ink in our notebooks for 2 hours, do stereonets and overlays would take up like 3 hours so sometimes we’d barely have any time to chill. The worst thing is going to bed just after doing work for 3 hours and then waking up to go out in the field knowing you’re gonna be doin work for the whole day. It’s the worst thing ever. The best bit of the trip was probably the night Spain won the world cup, it was pretty sick celebrating with the locals, something I think I’ll probably never do with people in my own area! The worst bit was probably about a week after Ernie and Alison had left we were so confused about our mapping area we thought we could never get things d0ne and had no idea what was goin on, but we got over those 3 days thankfully. Just wanna say thanks to Ernie and Alison for all their help, i know i’m gonna be comin to their offices for a lot more help next year that’s for sure. So i guess this is it then, no more blogs, i hope all you people who’ve been reading them which is probably no one that you’ve enjoyed them.

Safe

Well week 2 has gone by in a flash of half-worked days of wet and soggy work and boots.  Nothing quite prepared you for ‘rite in the rain’ paper that refuses to comply!!

The week has consisted of making to the best of the weather and trying to work around it as best as I could, and this plan was going well apart from the occasional new rock type and very confusing but pretty ignimbrites.  O and the flat tyre I had to change on the side of the road. It’s a bloody good job I was taught a long time ago how to do it on my own and how to do it properly!!

Well all was going ok until i hit the volcanics really, and I think I am going to avoid them for the next few days to hit them with a fresh and happier outlook.

I think  I am getting a better feel for the area in terms of the geology and it was pretty confusing before the intrusion came in and baked everything.

So the week ahead i am going to focus on sediments and try to get them in order even if they have been metamorphosed and fiddled about a hell of a lot!

To follow my ‘adventure’ in a little more detail see               http://jenniferbroster.wordpress.com/

So we’ve had just over two weeks here in Wales and we’ve all settled in pretty much. The main problem we’re having at the moment is the weather! It’s so changeable it’s unbelievable. When it’s dry we work suprisingly well, but as soon as the rain starts we have to call it a day because we quite literally end up swimming! We’ve had to rewaterproof all of our equipment and we’ll likely have to do it again in a week or so. The terrain is pretty hard going on the gear as well, i’ve spent a fair few nights doing repair work on gaiters and coats but it’s all good fun, just hard work!

We took the last weekend off for Ben’s 20th birthday. A few of his friends joined us at the campsite for what ended up being a pretty messy gathering. We also took a day trip to the local slate mine as well, so we were still geologising on days off! It was suprisingly interesting but pretty expensive! We’re hoping to try either the ‘Go Ape!’ or an underground assault course that’s based in another mine the next weekend we take off, either should be pretty good fun!

As for the geology around Tryfan, Ben and I have made some pretty decent progress when we’ve been able to get out. We’ve scouted round the area and identified what we think are all of the main rock formation and have good basic descriptions of them all. The next few weeks are going to be focussed on mapping the exposures, finding the contacts between them all and tracing a few folds that we think are in the area across the map if possible. We’re also hoping to take a few days out to do some quaternary mapping (yay? ), some soil/peat analysis (if we can figure out how) and do more indepth rock descriptions. I’m also hoping to do a few statistical analyses of some features in the area too.

All in all we’ve settled in pretty well, but having to work around the weather is hindering progress!

Ps.

– Dont try and reunite lambs with their mums if they’ve been separated by a fence. It gets bloody…
- Also, I will actually upload some pictures of the trip at some point! It’s pretty hard without decent wifi!

So theres 10 days to go and still quite a bit to do. Yesterday we did our compass and pace map of an area where theres too much detail of the faults to go on the map. It took absolutely agessssss putting all the faults on but in the end we did a pretty good job. Its actually pretty fun , I enjoy it a lot more than the actual mapping which can be a bit stressful at times after 6 hours in the field and not understanding whats going on at times. But its all jiggy tho. We still have quite a lot of the Pliocene to map in but that shouldn´t be too bad, I´ve been told you can do that all in a day by Ernie but thats at his speed so it will probably take us like 3 days! It would be quite funny to see what Ernie thinks about our work, whether he thinks we´ve done a decent job or not. I think we have though, not gonna lie we could do a lil better but we´ve done well though.

Tomorrow we might do a couple stratigraphic logs of the Pliocene and the Messinian which should be quite fun i guess. Hopefully it won´t take too long because after that we still need to touch up what we´ve done on the fault zone and make sure we´ve got all the boundaries put in coreectly. The stratigraphic logs will bring back memories of the Wales trip which was no where near as bad as the Scotland trip in April. Boy that trip was tough, it made us into some tough geologists so we can handle anything that comes across us. At times this trip has been a bit hard and everyone have missed home but I think by the end of it we´ll realise we had a really good time. Living together seeing everyone every day, mapping and going to the beach and cooking together we´ve become a bit of a lil family.

Take it easy.