We will hold our Annual General Meeting at 18:15 (GMT) on Thursday 7th November (doors open at 18:00), in-person at The Geological Society of London.

Charter Members (Members who are Professional Members of the SPWLA, in addition to the LPS) are requested to vote on the three actions listed below:

1) Approve the minutes of the 2023 AGM, as attached to this email
2) Approve the 2023 accounts, as attached to this email
3) Re-appoint our current auditors Ellis Atkins for 2024

Please note that the President and the Executive Committee recommend that you approve all three of these.
*To proxy vote you need to let the President, Jack Willis, know your preference for the actions (1,2,3) listed above or you can vote online here.

Vote Here

The AGM is your opportunity to hear from the President and members of the Executive Committee on the activities and progress of our society over the past year and highlight forthcoming events for 2025.

The AGM will be followed by an “off-topic” Evening Lecture

“Drilling for subglacial rock samples in Antarctica”

By: Tom Lees, Principal Engineering Geologist, Geo-Environmental Services Ltd.

The AGM and lecture will be held in person at the Geological Society, Council Room, Burlington House, Piccadilly

Calendar reminder here

This event is free of charge and there is no need to register

About the speaker:

Tom Lees is a Chartered Geologist working in the civil engineering industry and is a Principal Engineer with Geo-Environmental Services Ltd. Tom has extensive experience of investigating the shallow rocks and soils of the UK for construction projects, particularly within the south-east and within London. He is also working on a PhD in rock mechanics at Durham University. Tom recently had the opportunity to travel to Antarctica to assist in a scientific research project, using his experience of ground investigations to help the project’s field work succeed.

Summary:

There is evidence to suggest that the Antarctic ice sheet was smaller in the early Holocene than it is today. The climate in the early Holocene was cooler than it is at present, and significantly cooler than current forecasts suggest it will become as climates change around the world. It is possible that the ice sheets could shrink significantly, but it is not known how quickly or extensively this could happen. The rate and magnitude of change has important implications for global climate and sea level. This research project, undertaken by Durham University, was designed to help constrain these unknowns.

The research team visited Antarctica over two Antarctic summers to obtain geological samples from below the glacier. Using a combination of desk-based information, on-site observations, and geophysical methods, we developed a conceptual ground model for each drill site to target the boreholes. The boreholes were drilled using a specially adapted lightweight drilling rig capable of drilling through the ice and into the rock below. In total we recovered eight cores from depths of up to 32 m below the ice surface.

This talk gives a brief overview of the science behind the project, of the methods used to obtain the samples, and of life in the ‘deep field’ of Antarctica 400 miles from the south pole.