United Kingdom offshore regional report. The coastline used on many maps and diagrams in this book is based on Ordnance Survey mapping. View to the north-east showing Permian breccias with abundant limestone clasts derived from the south-west, and interbedded aeolian sands deposited under the influence of north-easterly winds. G Warrington. This report describes the geology of the eastern and central portions of the English Channel from the Dover Strait in the east, to Start Point in the west.
It is one of a series of Offshore Regional Reports covering the continental shelf of the United Kingdom UK , and complements the series of scale geological and geophysical maps already published by the British Geological Survey BGS. The report concentrates on UK waters, but mention is made of the geology of both French waters and the coastal areas on either side of the English Channel.
The report will provide important background information to the engineer planning offshore structures, the academic geologist, and the exploration geologist seeking offshore minerals or hydrocarbons. It will also be invaluable for students or others with a more general interest in the geology of the area. The report includes a chapter on the Quaternary geology. The area featured in pioneering offshore geological exploration, with Brunel's survey for a Channel Tunnel in and Dangeard's sampling surveys of the whole English Channel in the s.
However, less work has been carried out by the oil industry in this area than in the adjacent North Sea and South Western Approaches. To date, limited, and so far unsuccessful oil exploration has been carried out only in part of the area. However, surveys related to both aggregate studies and the Channel Tunnel have been important sources of data, and the area has been the subject of much academic research.
Geophysical, sampling and drilling operations have been carried out in the area by the BGS since , largely funded by the Department of Energy. The report has been compiled by R J O Hamblin, and responsibilities of individual authors during the production of the report have been as follows:. In addition to the named authors, the report draws on the pool of expertise in BGS, not only in the Marine Units but also in the Land Survey and particularly in the specialist fields of biostratigraphy, sedimentology and stratigraphy.
