All observations are entered into the notebook which serves as a permanent record that can be revisited at any time . Here , Myles has sketched out some features to accompany his notes .
Mapping ancient basins
Tom Kennedy reports that two young award-winning geologists headed out to south east France to examine how some ancient sedimentary basins had been pushed about and deformed as Africa drifted north .
Mapping rocks is like a rite of passage for young geologists . By going out into the field they gain confidence and return better equipped to see the connection between theory and practice . As Aoife Blowick , now studying for her PhD at UCD observed , geological charts and book illustrations can create the impression that everything is neat and tidy , but the reality is not so well defined .
Aoife was one of the two winners of the Cunningham Award presented each year to those who had completed the most outstanding geological mapping projects . Like the other winner , Myles Watson , Aoife had chosen to map an area in the Haute Provence of south-east France . What makes this area so interesting , and at the same time so challenging to geologists , is that sedimentary basins were formed millions of years ago while the underlying rocks were being pushed and deformed by movement of the earth ’ s crust .
In simple terms , said Myles , Africa had started to push up against Europe , so the crust began to flex . Where the crust went down , sediments poured in , and this did not happen all at once , but in
Myles Watson displaying his Cunningham Award mapping project . waves , so the geological structure now is complex .
After submitting his maps and field notebooks , Myles had started working in an oil exploration company , Providence Resources , and was soon so immersed in the business that he had almost forgotten about his mapping project when news that he had won the Cunningham Award came out of the blue . The company is small enough for Myles to become involved in different aspects of the business . “ I have tried my hand at seismic interpretation and I am getting to grips with geomodelling software ,” he said . “ It is an interesting business to be in and you get lots of opportunities to do really fun geological stuff .”
Geology has always appealed to Myles , ever since he picked up a rock near his home in County Monaghan and wondered why there seemed to be something shaped like a spring embedded inside . Years later he found out that this was not a spring , but a fossilized crinoid .
At UCD he began studying science , and after remarking that “ I really liked the broad approach ,” he added that “ I always gravitated towards modules that were geology based .” Partly this was because he had a strong preference for field work , and he still has no desire to embark on a career that would turn him into a “ desk jockey .”
Aoife ’ s interest in geology began with geography and chemistry , both subjects she enjoyed at school in Wexford , and like Myles , she was glad to have the opportunity to keep up with chemistry and biology up to second year at UCD . That meant she could hold off on making a final decision in favour of geology , rather than chemistry which she had been considering . Now , with a good grounding in both , she can combine the two .
Like Myles , Aoife spent six or seven weeks tramping around an area of about 54 square kilometres . “ I love hiking and trekking ,” she said , so was in her element , even if appearing as an oddity in the landscape . At first the local farmers