Monday 18 July 2022

Thermogravimetric Analysis of Essex Loess

 A new review shows the extent and nature of the UK and Irish loess; this note is designed to complement that excellent compiliation- it concerns the loess in south east Essex

C.Bunce, T.Stevens, I.Smalley, A.Assadi-Langroudi  2022   Loess in Britain and Ireland; formation, modification and environmentsl significance, a review in memory of John Catt 1937-2017.  Proceedings of the Geologists Association




The loess is concentrated in the south-east of the county, near to Southend on Sea. The Greater Essex Mineral Resource map shows the location with reasonable precision.



Grenville Lill managed to obtain brickearth samples from the Star Lane and Cherry Orchard Lane brickworks. These were possibly the last two brickearth producers in Essex. As far as we know the only substantial TG analysis on London Brickearth was carried out on these samples.

Monday 11 July 2022

LL65: Notes for a History of INQUA


 The history of INQUA which was presented in LL65 (April 2011) can be accessed in two places: on the official INQUA website- the LL history has become the official history- go to www.inqua.org>about>history, nicely laid out but lacking pictures. If you want the pictures of the logos etc go to the Michigan State University presentation of the whole collection of LL and call up LL65: loessletter.msu.edu. If you have access to an original hardcopy of LL65 preserve it- no doubt it will become a bibliographical treasure.

Friday 1 July 2022

The P.D.Tilley map of the loess in southeast England

 Colin Bunce has produced a new version of the map which P.D.Tilley presented at the 1961 INQUA meeting in Poland. Tilley participated in the Loess Symposium organised by Julius Fink. The new map supplements the new paper on the loess in Britain and Ireland by Bunce et al (2022). in Proc.Geol.Assoc- available online- should appear in hard copy in the October issue of PGA.