Dorset Geologists' Association Group
Promoting the inland and coastal geology of Dorset, and the surrounding area, for all
Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Tuesday 22nd April 2025.
Title: The Variscan Orogeny; it’s Causes and Consequences
Speaker: Alan Driscole (DGAG member) who has forty plus years in exploration geology (Oil/Gas) in many parts of the globe including the Atlantic margin.
Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm
Venue: Activity Meeting Room: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR
Lecture Entry Cost: All welcome: £6 non-members (£5 for DGAG members) cash
Booking a seat: contact Chris Webb at email: events@dorsetgeologistsassociation.org
Talk Description: The talk is another from Alan and on a topic that there have been discussions on at previous talks and field trips. If you’re exploring geology in the southern UK, Ireland or much of Europe it is a subject that comes up regularly so it is timely to review the orogeny, it’s causes, history & influence on later structure through the Mesozoic and Tertiary age rocks.
The Variscan orogeny culminated in final consolidation of the Pangea supercontinent, with closure of the Rheic Ocean and collision between Laurasia and Gondwana. Rather than a simple single collision, the Variscan incorporates several tectonic phases as small micro-continents, originally split off from the margin of Gondwana, which then collided with Laurasia during a 100 million year period from the early Devonian to the end of the Carboniferous. As can be imagined, these events had a profound influence on the structural and environmental development of southern and central Europe during late Palaeozoic, including in England, Wales and Ireland. In this talk we will look at the story of this prolonged orogeny in Europe; how it influenced Carboniferous geology in the southern UK and its subsequent geological development through to the Alpine orogeny, from the mid Cretaceous to mid Tertiary.
Photo: Courtesy of the speaker –is from Millock Haven, Cornwall & shows Variscan chevron folds in Carboniferous Culm. (Can you spot the “Z” or “S” folds! – Editor)
Additional Links:
1. A good summary by the geological society of UK main orogenic phases
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Plate-Tectonics/Chap4-Plate-Tectonics-of-the-UK/Variscan-Orogeny
2. An introduction for geological enthusiasts to SW England and the wonderfully named Variscan Coast.
