The most sustained steep increase in marine biodiversity took place during the Ordovician. The variety of biogeographical and palaeoecological settings in the British Isles, the historical type area for the Ordovician, makes this a crucial area for understanding the patterns and processes of biodiversity change. Databases on well-constrained spatial and temporal distributions of organisms will be compiled and analysed to answer a series of pertinent questions on the timing, patterns and controls of biodiversity increase and also its implications for the end-Ordovician extinction event. The understanding of these issues will contribute directly and significantly to the global analysis of Ordovician biodiversity change

High-presicion Ar- Ar and U-Pb dating of magmatic events in the British Tertiary igneous province is difficult to reconcile with the magnetostratigraphy. The normally maganetised rocks of Mull Centres 2 and 3 are too old for C26N, much too young for C25N, and of too long a duration to fit into normal cryptpchrons in C26R. The most likely reason for this discrepancy is that the accepted time range of C26N (58-57.6 Ma) is too young by at least 0.5m.y. We propose to resolve the problem by re-determining the age of the Palaeocene-Ecocene boundary by Ar-Ar dating of sanidine from ash layers in northern Jutland. Our Ar-Ar dates will be checked against U-Pb ages of zircon and sphen from the Danish ashes and from the Hebrides.

This award was made as a sailing participant of IODP Expedition 346, an international ocean drilling programme that NERC subscribe to. As such there was a lot of data generated that is owned and kept by IODP and which is freely available at: web.iodp.tamu.edu/UWQ/. Published Paper: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 346 Scientific Prospectus - Asian Monsoon Onset and evolution of millennial-scale variability of Asian monsoon and its possible relation with Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau uplift. doi:10.2204/iodp.sp.346.2013

The nature of ice-sheet flow between Ridge B and the Vostok sub-ice lake will be determined from a series of measurements and numerical models. Datasets available foe measurements include airborne radar(for ice thickness, internal ice layering, crystal orientation fabric development, and sub-ice conditions), ERS-1 altimetry (for the ice-surface elevation) and interferometric SAR (for the ice-surface velocity). The measurements will form boundary conditions for state-of-the-art models of ice flow. Model results will establish the true nature of ice flow in this region of Antartica. Results will be fundamental to (1) the depth-chronology of the Vostok ice core (2) the examination of the ice-water interaction above the large Vostok subglacial lake and (3) developing traditional models of ice flow in central regions of ice sheets that currently do not replicate the true glaciology.

The 'snowball Earth' theory has been the subject of widespread media attention, particularly its lively defence by key proponent, Prof. Paul Hoffman. This period of earth history from 750 to 540 million years ago contained perhaps as many as 5 extreme events of climatic fluctuation. During the coldest of these the globe may have been entirely covered in ice. Until recent years research into the rocks of this age had focussed mainly on cold or hot desert areas of the world with very good outcrop and undeformed piles of sediments, but some of the most complete, but poorly exposed rock sections of this age are in more accessible areas such as Scotland and Ireland. Sediments are extremely difficult to date and ages of these rock sequences rely on the rare occurences of volcanic rocks. There is now the makings of a global framework of these glacial periods based on the isotopes of carbon in limestones, but without other dating evidence this can only say that the rocks are related to a glacial event, not which one. The isotopes of sulphur are constrained during this period by the rapid increase in the oxygen content of earth's oceans and atmosphere which resulted in the rapid evolution of many species and the development of vertebrate animals. This sulphur signal changed rapidly after the largest 'snowball Earth' event and recent studies suggest that this distinct signal might be globally recognisable. In Scotland and Ireland 3 glacial periods have been recognised in a seqence of rocks aged approximately 800 million years old at the base, 600 million about 75% of the way up from the base and containing 540-520 million year old vertebrate fossils close to the top. Linking the glacial periods to a particular global event in this 260 million year period has proved difficult. Combining new sulphur isotope data for the mineral pyrite from limestone and black shale rocks, with carbon isotope data and organic carbon content will allow these glacial events in Scotland and Ireland to be correlated and put into global context. This new data will place better age constraints on these rocks in Scotland and Ireland and improve the global understanding of this period of Earth history. Man's influence on the planet might have destabilised the climate system, so it is important that we understand the causes and effects of extreme climate variation in the past.

To determine the seasonality and inter-annual variability of rainfall from the variations in annual luminescence laminations for multiple samples of recently deposited stalagmites from two monitored cave systems. a) extend this for the last 2000 years of climate change for multiple sites in the UK and continental Europe to establish regional palaeoprecipitation records. Measurement of variations in the structure of laminae luminescence using UV microscope and laser techniques for samples from England and France with parallel monitoring of seasonal variations of luminescence. UV techniques as above with additional samples to extend the project spatially (to Belgium, Scotland, England & France) and temporally (last 2000 years)

Geochemical and isotopic data presented here cover the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (~56 Ma ago) and were produced to assess the degree of carbon cycle perturbations, ocean acidification and the origin of the emitted carbon added to the atmosphere-ocean system during this major carbon cycle perturbation event. For further details on the analytical approach please refer to the original publication (Gutjahr et al., 2017, Nature). Data contained within the two tables comprise foraminiferal carbonate based stable boron, carbon and oxygen isotopic results from DSDP Site 401 located within the Bay of Biscaye in the NE Atlantic (Table 1). This table also contains B/Ca, Mg/Ca and Al/Ca data from the same samples. Depth in core is presented alongside two alternative relative age models setting ages in relation to the Carbon Isotope Excursion observed during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum. Table 2 contains high-resolution bulk carbonate stable carbon and oxygen isotopic results that were produced to establish a new age models for this core.

The data set consists of rock samples collected from Burnmouth, a core drilled at Norham, from Crumble Edge, Willie's Hole and Nova Scotia from 2012-2016; milled material is included. There is an Excel spreadsheet of sample numbers with location, sample height on log, lithology and fossil content. Scans of field logs from Burnmouth, Crumble Edge, Edington Mill, Pease Bay (UK) and locations in Nova Scotia, and overview drawn-up logs from Burnmouth, Norham, Crumble Edge and Willie's Hole are included. Scans of thin section scans are also included. There is a spreadsheet containing geochemistry data - sample numbers with lithology and %C, %S, d13C. These data were used to interpret the environment in which early tetrapods have been found in the early Carboniferous. Publications include: Bennett et al., 2016 (doi: 10.1111/sed.12280); Bennett et al., 2017 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.12.018 0031-0182); Clack et al., 2016, (DOI: 10.1038/s41559-016-0002); Kearsey et al., 2016 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.05.033) ; Clack et al., 2018, (doi:10.1017/S1755691018000087); Millward et al., 2018 (doi: 10.1111/sed.12465); Ross et al., 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755691018000142)

A series of technical palaeontological and biostratigraphical reports produced in the London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Keyworth offices of BGS between 1953 and March 2000. The reports provide information on fossils collected during Geological Survey mapping or supplied by clients. Fossils are collected in order to date (relative age) the rocks in which they occur and/or to provide evidence for the conditions of deposition, so the information contained in each report usually includes determinations of the fossils present in a collection and an interpretation of their stratigraphical and/or their palaeoenvironmental/palaeogeographical significance.Individual reports vary enormously in scope, depending on the reasons for the investigation. Some reports may be site specific, documenting the fossil fauna/flora from a particular locality or borehole, whereas others may deal with material from a number of localities on a 1:10 000, 1:25 000 or 1:50 000 sheet, or from several boreholes. Other reports may be in the form of reviews. Geographical coverage is wide, covering the UK and Northern Ireland onshore, UK offshore and overseas localities.All reports are held as hardcopy only. Each report bears a unique identifying number in the form SS/YY/NN, where 'SS' identifies the series, 'YY' identifies the year in which it was written and 'NN' is a serial number. Reports were numbered sequentially, regardless of whether they dealt with material from the UK and Northern Ireland onshore, UK offshore, or overseas, and a sequential set is held by BGS. Reports are also filed by 1:50 000 sheet, (UK onshore), offshore quadrant and foreign country, as appropriate.

Occurrence data for fossil fishes in British record and associated R code. From: Lloyd, G. T., & Friedman, M. (2013). A survey of palaeontological sampling biases in fishes based on the Phanerozoic record of Great Britain. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 372, 5-17.