All landscapes are built on rock: from hard stone for building with, to the softest clay or sand. Each piece of rock is a storehouse of prehistorical information; even a simple pebble from the garden has its own complex tale to tell. Geology is the great detective science that can unlock these secrets. In this entertaining and eye-opening book, the authors take a deep dive – quite literally – into their home county of Essex.
We are all living in an ice age, an ongoing event that has hugely affected Essex over the last 3 million years. Yet this county was born more than 500 million years ago. Our story begins when the land we know as Essex was part of a large continent close to the South Pole, tracing the geological processes that continue to shape the countryside around us. The form of the land, boulders on village greens, road cuttings, cliffs, stones in church walls – they can all bring geology to light in unexpected and fascinating ways.
Aimed at a general readership with no scientific background but equally appealing to the seasoned geologist, chapters progress from fundamentals to intricate details of geological investigations and cutting-edge research. Richly illustrated with photographs and colour diagrams, here the geology of a county is visualised and brought to life as never before, along with pertinent environmental insights in the light of climate change that is happening now.
Table of Content
1. Reconstructing Essex
2. The rocks of Essex
3. The deep history of Essex
4. The geological structure of Essex
5. The drowning of the island
6. Seashores and swamps
7. Palm trees and crocodiles
8. Giant sharks and shell banks
9. Ice age Essex
10. Looking into the Essex landscape
11. Uncovering Essex geology
12. Rock and people
13. The future of Essex rock
Sites and views of Essex
Geological collections and displays
Index
Maps and charts
About the authors
About the author
Ian Mercer worked for the British Geological Survey and Geological Museum for 25 years and was Director of Education for the Gemmological Association of Great Britain for nearly two decades. Ros Mercer was a geology and physics teacher for more than 20 years. They have been leaders for the Essex Rock and Mineral Society for many years; UK national advisors for U3A Geology; and officers for Geo Essex – the county geoconservation steering group. In 2020, together they were awarded the Halstead Medal by the Geologists’ Association for their achievements as ‘ambassadors in the promotion of geology, contributing to education at all levels’. Ian Mercer is the author of several books on related subjects.
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