As many of you know, the West Yorkshire RIGS (Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites) Group has produced a leaflet which guides members of the public around two walking trails near Castle Hill.     The leaflet is designed to show how the geology has affected the landscape and the development of the industrial history of Huddersfield.     The leaflet is at the printers at the moment and we hope to launch it in the spring, with the help of the warden of Castle Hill.
We also have to place way marks on the routes of the two walking trails, using markers fixed to stiles and specially erected way mark posts.     Sheila Dyson would like some help with the organisation of the way marking, though we will employ someone else to erect the posts themselves.     Please volunteer if you would like to walk the trails with Sheila and think about how they could be most effectively way marked.

Peter Kennett, representing ESEU (the Earth Science Education Unit), entertained us hugely at the well-attended October meeting.     He provided sand, rocks, putty and lots of other materials, to show how geological processes could be demonstrated in a laboratory.     We were much entertained by having to do the experiments ourselves and then explaining them to the rest of the group.     We all enjoyed our play session and it would be wonderful if all primary and secondary schools had the facilities and time to teach geology in such dramatic and interesting ways.

The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer would be grateful for more active help during the next year.     Committee meetings will take place every two to three months so more volunteers as general committee members would be useful.
Offers to provide refreshments for the January and March meetings would be appreciated.
If you want to come to the meal afterwards please let Alison know at least a week in advance, by email or phone 01484 608004.

Hydrothermal vents are extreme environments in the deep-sea where cold sea water seeps down through volcanic rocks, is heated by magma, reacts with the rocks and rises back to the surface of the ocean as hydrothermal vent fluid.     Vent fluid is very hot, oxygen poor, acidic and full of metals (especially iron, zinc, copper and manganese) and hydrogen sulphide.     When this fluid reacts with cold sea water there is a rapid precipitation of sulphate and sulphide minerals.
Surprisingly, hydrothermal vents are home to large numbers of extraordinary animals, many of which are completely dependent on symbiotic bacteria to live.    These bacteria use hydrogen sulphide in the vent fluid as their energy source.     Vent communities are thus dependent on geochemical rather than solar energy sources and this buffers them from almost all major events (e.g. mass extinctions, global climate change) affecting all other photosynthesis-based marine and terrestrial ecosystems.     Thus, the evolutionary history of vent animals and communities is likely to be very different to almost all other marine biotas.    The only direct evidence for this evolutionary history comes from the fossil record of vent animals.     This presentation will review this fossil record.