Abstract The UK is perhaps unique globally in that it presents the full spectrum of geological time, stratigraphy and associated lithologies within its boundaries. With this wide range of geological assemblages comes a wide range of geological hazards, whether geophysical (earthquakes, effects of volcanic eruptions, tsunami, landslides), geotechnical (collapsible, compressible, liquefiable, shearing, swelling and shrinking soils), geochemical (dissolution, radon and methane gas hazards) or related to georesources (coal, chalk and other mineral extraction). An awareness of these hazards and the risks that they pose is a key requirement of the engineering geologist. This volume sets out to define and explain these geohazards, to detail their detection, monitoring and management, and to provide a basis for further research and understanding, all within a UK context.

Abstract With its rich lithological variation, upland, lowland and coastal settings, and past climatic changes, the UK presents a wide variety of landslide features that can pose significant hazards to people, construction and infrastructure, or simply add to landscape character and conservation value of an area. This chapter describes and defines the nature and extent of this landsliding; the causes, effects and geological controls on failure; and their mitigation and stabilization. A risk-based approach to landslide management is outlined with qualitative and semi-quantitative methodologies described. Numerous case studies are presented exemplifying landslide and slope stability hazards in the UK.

Abstract The story of UK onshore exploration goes back to the days of World War I and was prompted by the increasing use of oil for the war effort. The war was drawing to a close as the campaign commenced in 1918. The UK government sponsored the drilling with a budget of £1 000 000 and the work was undertaken by S. Pearson & Sons, a UK engineering company owned by Lord Cowdray (Weetman Pearson). Pearson also had oil interests and he owned the Mexican Eagle Company that had had exploration success in Mexico. Pearson hired a team of American geologists to select suitable drilling locations in the UK. The Carboniferous rocks in the area surrounding the Derbyshire Dome in England and the Midland Valley in Scotland were chosen because of their similarity to the oil-producing areas of Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the USA. Eleven wells were sunk: seven in Derbyshire, two in North Staffordshire and two in Scotland. The first well to be spudded was at Hardstoft in Derbyshire in October 1918 and it was also the first oil discovery. The geological reasoning behind the selection of the drilling sites will be compared with the actual results from 1918–22.

Abstract Following an adventitious oil flow into a coal mine in 1847 in the Riddings area of the county of Derbyshire in the English Midlands, the young Scottish chemist James Young carried out seminal work into the development of oil refining technology. In Derbyshire, by the end of 1848, he set up an early refinery to exploit this oil commercially by distillation, producing both lighting and lubrication fractions which he sold directly to end customers. His findings in Derbyshire led him to move on to investigate production and refining of oil from coal by destructive distillation, technology for which he gained his global reputation; Young’s patented technology was adopted by the commercial refineries that were to follow in many countries as the world’s oil fields sprang to life.

Abstract It is only in the last 100 years or so that most of Britain has been covered by accurate, published, topographic and geological maps. Although travellers’ guides were available from the late seventeenth century, they lacked adequate maps. Whilst fairly accurate maps of the major roads were published in the early seventeenth century as strip maps, topographic maps were not generally available until the nineteenth century. Cartographers, usually when preparing county maps, struggled with the representation of Britain’s varied topography. In the nineteenth century, medium-scale (1-inch-to-the-mile) topographic maps initially developed through the agency of the prizes offered by the Royal Society of Arts but primarily due to the Ordnance Survey. Geological maps benefitted from improved base maps – those of John Cary and the Ordnance Survey. This paper especially explores and illustrates the development of maps and the role they played in the depiction and understanding of landscape and promotion of the major early geotourism region of the Peak District from 1780 to 1930.

Abstract The limestone caves of Stoney Middleton Dale are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for features of geological interest, but have been open access since at least the eighteenth century and have a documented history of geotourism. Using the examples of Carlswark Cavern and Merlin Cavern, this chapter sets out evidence that 300 years of open access has resulted in significant disturbance to the features of geological interest. In particular, the integrity of the overall site for scientific research was affected by historical removal of speleothem formations long before it became a SSSI, with damage still occurring today. As most cave SSSIs in Derbyshire have historically had similar open-access arrangements, the examples presented highlight that there is potential for the integrity of less well historically documented caves elsewhere to have been disturbed. This article highlights the importance of establishing a baseline of historical disturbance to recognize whether the integrity of cave SSSIs have been affected and help monitor if disturbance is still occurring. For cave SSSIs to be useful for geological research, it is suggested that there is a need for the historical legacy of open access to individual caves elsewhere to be better understood.