Geology of London, UK

Katherine R. Royse, Mike De Freitas, William G. Burgess, John Cosgrove, Richard C. Ghail, Phil Gibbard, Chris King, Ursula Lawrence, Rory N. Mortimore, Hugh Owen, Jackie Skipper

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The population of London is around 7 million. The infrastructure to support this makes London one of the most intensively investigated areas of upper crust. However construction work in London continues to reveal the presence of unexpected ground conditions. These have been discovered in isolation and often recorded with no further work to explain them. There is a scientific, industrial and commercial need to refine the geological framework for London and its surrounding area. This paper reviews the geological setting of London as it is understood at present, and outlines the issues that current research is attempting to resolve.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)22-45
Number of pages24
JournalProceedings of the Geologists' Association
Volume123
Issue number1
Early online date10 Aug 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2012

Keywords

  • Chalk
  • Eocene thames group
  • Geological structures
  • Ground engineering impacts
  • London basin Forum
  • Paleogene lambeth group and thanet sand formation
  • Pre-gault and gault sediments
  • Quaternary clay-with-flints and river deposits

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