Abstract The last 40 years of the 19th century saw a great expansion in the study of fossil plants. This was, in part, brought about by the growth of coal mining and the consequent increase in the discovery of plant remains from the Carboniferous Coal Measures. The interest in the evolution of life forms following Darwin’s theories, together with the development of the petrological microscope, also had their effect on the growth of this discipline. Among the pioneers of this growth of palaeobotany was the Canadian John William Dawson, who was the first to have a clear understanding of some of the earliest land plants from the Devonian. William Crawford Williamson, another of the 19th century pioneers, was also instrumental in forwarding the interests and careers of the two great palaeobotanists with which this paper is concerned — Dukenfield Henry Scott and Sir Albert Charles Seward. Scott was the son of a distinguished architect, who studied botany as a boy and returned to the science after studying in Germany. Through Williamson’s influence he later took up palaeobotany, a field in which he was to distinguish himself, eventually becoming Honorary Director of the Jodrell Laboratory at Kew. His contributions to the science of palaeobotany were considerable. So were those of Albert Charles Seward, his near contemporary, who attained a high position and influence in palaeobotany through his own hard work and undoubted talents. He was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1898, and received a knighthood in 1936. He was Master of Downing College, Cambridge for 21 years from 1915, and in 1924 he became Vice Chancellor of the university. He wrote of the palaeobotany of many parts of the world, including Antarctica. Both Scott and Seward can be regarded as the forerunners of the great growth of the palaeobotanical work during the 20th century.

Abstract Marie Stopes (1880–1958) is best known for her controversial writings on sex, marriage and birth control, but during her 20s and 30s she carved out a successful career as a palaeobotanist. Here, we discuss her work on the Fern Ledges of Saint John, New Brunswick. The age of these fossil beds had long been shrouded in controversy. The eminent 19th-century geologist, Sir William Dawson, had argued that they were Devonian and represented remains of the oldest known terrestrial ecosystem. In 1910, Stopes was commissioned by the Geological Survey of Canada to reassess the taxonomy and age of this fossil flora. We provide the first detailed chronology of this 18-month long research project and highlight some of the most important aspects of the study. Her outstanding monograph, characterized by precise observation and interpretation, cut through decades of muddled thinking to prove that the beds were, in fact, Pennsylvanian. In addition, her palaeoecological inferences were well ahead of their time and also had biostratigraphical implications. Although she continued to intermittently publish geological works until the mid-1930s, the Fern Ledges project, which coincided with her disastrous first marriage to Reginald Gates, marked the beginning of the end of her palaeobotanical career and the start of her more extraordinary and enduring contribution to society.

Abstract The Central Sumatra basin contains the Pematang-Sihapas(!) petroleum system, the most prolific petroleum system in southeastern Asia. A chronostratigraphic framework based on well logs and cores provides insights concerning the occurrence of seals, reservoirs, and the distribution of hydrocarbons. Oil sourced from lacustrine lithofacies of the Pematang Group ( i.e. , the Brown Shale) in the underlying rift sequence migrated vertically until reaching a thick paleosol horizon (representing the 25.5 Ma sequence boundary). Thereafter, oil migrated toward the eastern margin of the basin charging the giant Minas and Duri fields. Erosional truncation (incised valley development) of paleosols and faults provided “windows” for migration of oil into overlying Miocene (Sihapas Group) marine, sandstone reservoirs. Well log correlations and core data reveal the common presence of incision along the 25.5, 22, 21, and 17.5 Ma sequence boundaries. Oil accumulated preferentially in basal transgressive sandstones. Approximately 80 percent of the recoverable oil resides in the lower part of the 21 Ma depositional sequence. These well sorted, medium-grained sandstones (Bekasap Formation) record deposition in estuarine (presumably macro-tidal) settings. Marine sandstones within the overlying 16.5 and 15.5 Ma depositional sequences are oil-saturated; however, they are very fine-grained and have inherently low permeability. The regional top seal for Sihapas reservoirs is formed by calcite-cemented, glauconitic shales and siltstones (Telisa Group) that record the maximum Miocene transgression. Relatively small oil accumulations in the underlying alluvial-fluvial and lacustrine sandstones of the Pematang Group are sealed by paleosols. The permeability of the fluvial reservoirs is degraded by poor sorting and pervasive authigenic kaolinite. In distinct contrast, Sihapas sandstones have undergone minimal diagenesis. This newly developed sequence stratigraphic framework has dramatically improved the understanding of the correlation and distribution of Miocene hydrocarbon reservoirs and seals in Central Sumatran oil fields.

The Cenomanian-Turonian Eagle Ford Group crops out along a broad belt in central and northern Texas. It has been suggested that this unit was a primary source for the 6 billion barrels of oil in East Texas Field. The unit was deposited during a major shoreline transgression. Although the unit may be viewed as representing a single “condensed” section, it displays considerable variability at several different scales. This study is based on detailed descriptions and geochemical analyses of Eagle Ford strata at two outcrop localities in central Texas, West Bouldin Creek (Austin) and Midway Park (Waco). The lower portion (South Bosque Member) of the measured sections of Eagle Ford at both localities is dominated by dark shales with a massive character. On detailed examination, these shales exhibit little bioturbation and are well-laminated. A few bentonites are evident in this portion of the section but are not as significant as in the overlying section. Above this interval, the Eagle Ford changes character dramatically. The upper section (Bouldin Member) is composed of a series of interbedded carbonate resistive layers and recessive shales with numerous bentonites. Geochemical analyses clearly establish differences in source rock quality between localities and within individual localities. If either locality was examined independently or as a representative sampling of the Eagle Ford there would be substantial differences in the estimated amounts of generated hydrocarbons as well as differences in the gas/oil ratios even if thermal maturity histories were considered comparable and differences in stratigraphic thickness were removed. Three basic organ ic-lithologic facies were determined at the Waco locality, based on the stratigraphy observed, the amount of organic carbon present, and expected products (oil and/or gas). At the Austin locality, two organic-lithologic facies were observed. An attempt is made to place the Austin outcrop in a sequence stratigraphic framework, although correlation to the Waco outcrop is ambiguous.

Abstract In 1884, Arthur Smith Woodward first met Charles Dawson, a solicitor and industrious amateur collector, antiquarian, geologist, archaeologist and palaeontologist. This began a long association and friendship centred on their mutual interest in palaeontology and human evolution. Dawson devised a complicated plot focused around the ancient river gravel deposits at Barkham Manor near the village of Piltdown, Sussex. In these gravels he planted stone tools and fossil mammal remains together with the lower jaw of an ape and numerous modern human cranial bones to deceive the scientific establishment into believing an early human ancestor had been found in his own back yard. Cleverly devised to provide anatomists and archaeologists with evidence for concepts that they wanted to believe were true, Dawson fuelled numerous contentious debates among scientists that quickly attracted international attention. Nothing could be more unfortunate than such a respectable scientist as Arthur Smith Woodward being taken in by the events of 1912, and then subsequently swept along by them well into his retirement right up to the time of his death in 1944.