INTRODUCTION

General

The Bournemouth Cliffs and the Sandbanks Peninsula are part of Poole Bay, a broad shallow embayment on the central south coast of England. It is mostly a area of sandy beaches and, although occasionally the sea can be in stormy condition as shown in the right photograph, the coast is protected to some extent from the prevailing southwesterly winds by the promontories of the Isle of Purbeck, particularly that of Old Harry Rocks and Ballard Point (visible here). The Bournemouth cliffs (left photograph) are notable for sands and clays of Eocene age and in which some remarkable plant fossils have been found. Until about the beginning of the 19th century these cliffs were well-exposed, attractive yellow cliffs which supplied sand directly to the Bournemouth beaches. This area then became heavily developed and expanded into the present holiday town. A consequence of the development was the construction of a promenade and sea-wall which now covers the base of the cliffs. With lack of erosion are now quite largely vegetated and they are controlled and drained by civil engineering works. Although most of the cliffs are now generally inaccessible for detailed geological studies, some features of interest can still be seen. It is well-worth taking a walk along the foot of the cliffs and considering the geology. Furthermore an extension of this coast in relatively natural form still exists not far to the east at Hengistbury Head , described in a separate webpage. At the other (western) end of the bay, and at the entrance to Poole Harbour, is the |Sandbanks peninsula, once a sand-dune-covered sand spit, but now developed for expensive housing. The beach is of interest here and the rock groynes have relics of fossil trees, stromatolites and other fossils and structures from the Purbeck and Portland strata of the Isle of Portland, the source of the rocks. From Sandbanks there is a ferry across the narrow entrance to the natural and undeveloped Studland or South Haven Peninsula , also described in a separate webpage. This is a classic area for geomorphological and environmental studies.

Knowledge gained from the Bournemouth cliffs is of great interest and is relevant to understanding the geology of the Eocene strata in the region. In historic times the Bournemouth cliffs were once used for mining of copperas (alum-type sulphate minerals) because of the pyrite content. They are most famous, though, for their fossil leaves which seem to indicate that in Eocene times there was here an unusually warm environment even thought the palaeolatitude would normally suggest temperate rather tropical conditions .

STRATIGRAPHY:

Introduction

LOCALITIES - Sandbanks

Please go to: |Sandbanks Peninsula webpage.

PALAEOBOTANY - The Bournemouth Leaf Beds

LOCATIONS:

Poole Head, Branksome and West of Bournemouth Pier

See also:

Sandbanks Peninsula

Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour

The Branksome Sand Formation of the Bracklesham Group (Bristow, Freshney and Penn, 1991) is shown here in the isolated but quite good exposure at Canford Cliffs, west of Branksome Chine. These strata were once known as the Bournemouth Freshwater Beds of the Middle Bagshot Sands. The Branksome Sand is 70m in thickness and named after Branksome Chine (map reference SZ 069090) (Bristow, Freshney and Penn, 1991). The Branksome Sand occupies most of the cliff at Canford Cliffs and thence descends eastward in the cliff with the gentle easterly dip. The uppermost part (G), or the Bournemouth Marine Beds contain some marine molluscan remains. These strata extend as far as Southbourne at the foot of the cliff. The lower part, the Bournemouth Freshwater Beds (cycles A to F discussed below) contain plant remains but no marine macrofossils (but see the memoir re dinoflagellates). They have not been recognised far to the east of Bournemouth Pier. The age of the Branksome Sands may be disputed but is probably somewhere near Auversian or Upper Lutetian (equivalent to an upper part of the marine Bracklesham Group further east - perhaps the Selsey Formation).

The Branksome Sand Formation consists of seven fining-upward cycles, of which seven were lettered A to G in ascending order by Plint (1983b) . The right photograph above shows some of Plint's cycles, although the details are not clear without a close study of the section. An idealised cycle (and note well that is idealised and in practice not all parts may occur) commences with a very coarse-grained sand, often containing clay clasts, resting on an erosion surface. This is succeeded by coarse- to medium-grained sand showing large-scale, planar cross stratification (look at the photographs. You can clearly see planar cross-stratification. What was the general current direction here?). This passes up into medium-grained sand in which the cross-bedding is on only a decimetre scale. The cycle is capped by interbedded fine-grained sand and silty clay (Bristow, Freshney and Penn, 1991). Cross-bedding directions are surprisingly variable and it is a pity that they do not make a simple pattern.

In terms of composition the sands consist mainly of quartz, with some flint grains which are more noticeable in the coarser-grained sands according to (Bristow, Freshney and Penn, 1991). Remember that the palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment, although theoretically warm-temperate, was in some respects almost tropical in type. With this in mind you may not be surprised to observe that this particular quartz-arenite is mineralogically mature. However, this is probably not the complete explanation. Think, for example, about the Namurian "Millstone Grit" of the north of England. That came from an equatorial environment yet, containing much feldspar, is not as mature as the Branksome Sand. Apart from the palaeoclimate there was likely to be another factor with regard to the Eocene sand, and this was the extent of reworking. Jurassic and Cretaceous sand were probably exposed to the west in Eocene times and the Trias was an obvious source of quite mature sand. We will leave the maturity topic here but it can pursued, if required, by consulting the heavy mineral literature (is there garnet - a common New Red indicator?).

To see a very good section of the Branksome Sand elsewhere and an indication of just how the Bournemouth appeared before the construction of sea defences go to:

Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour webpage.

More on the Fossil Leaves

Gardner commented that cliffs consist of yellow or whitish sands containing occasional masses of clay or loam, in which were found lignite and rarely leaves of plants. The clay usually appears in lenticular masses, but occasionally occurs in dark carbonaceous beds, sometimes a hundred metres in extent (see illustration). Pockets of impure china clay occur frequently here, but become rarer as Bournemouth Pier is approached.

The left-hand image below shows the type of preservation of the leaves in clay, in this case white pipe clay. This particular specimen found in 1882, comes from the Bagshot Beds of Alum Bay and is about 8 cm in length (modified from Kirkaldy, 1967 ). The other illustrations below are provided to show some of the variety of leaves that have been found in the Middle Eocene strata; some come from Bournemouth, some from Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight and some from the Corfe Castle area of Dorset. They are modified from the work of De la Harpe and Salter (1862) . See Chandler's publications for modern identifications of similar fossil leaves. Apart from in the Natural History Museum in London, good specimens can be seen at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society's building. They can still be found in the region occasionally; a specimen was found a few years at Canford Heath, west of Bournemouth. Old clay pits are worth exploring and cliff sections which may contain leaves exist at Alum Bay and Studland Bay.
.

These beds were examined and described by Gardner in the late 19th Century, and a number of leaves of sub-tropical plants were obtained, also many net-veined ferns [see illustrations]. The main genera represented were Acacia (thorny shrup -source of gum arabic - note that the gum residue known as succinate occurs in the Bournemouth cliffs according to Ord, 1914), Smilax, Lygodium, Myrica, Eucalyptus (the gum tree now confined to the Australian region), and Araucaria (relatives of the Monkey Puzzle and Norfolk Island Pine). There are large collections in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington (see the work of Chandler for later descriptions). The collections are of special importance because, as Ord noted by 1914, these leaves were rarely met with by that date; the lenticular masses of clay from which collections were formerly made have long since fallen from the cliff and disappeared. The clay that was exposed in 1914 does not contain the same remains, but few fossils could be obtained then from this section of the cliff. At the present time the cliffs are greatly obscured by a promenade, sea-defence works and vegetation.

In his description of the beds between Poole Harbour and Boscombe Pier, Gardner published a diagram showing the position of the more important clay lenses, and the cliff-section above is based on later versions of this. From the west, the first important bed occurred near Canford Chine, where Lygodium and Laurel, together with Hornbeam and Willow leaves, were found. (The illustration here is of a leaf of a herb common in the region - Aralia of the gingseng "five-finger" family. The specimen is from Alum Bay.)

Proceeding from here to near Branksome Chine, Gardner recorded a dark bed of clay almost full of leaves massed together. Ord in 1914 was unable during the previous two years to trace any of these beds. About one hundred metres east of Branksome Chine, though, he found masses of friable yellow sandstone containing numbers of beautiful leaf impressions, amongst which were oak and willow. They were so well preserved that several circular holes which had been eaten out by insects could clearly be seen. These specimens were on display in the Museum of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society. For half a mile from this point no leaves have usually been found, but in a mass of carbonaceous sand near the beach level trunks of several coniferous trees was exposed, the wood being extensively bored by Teredo.

LOCATION:

Branksome Chine

LOCATION:

Branksome Dene Chine

The east side of Branksome Dene Chine provides a reasonable section of part of the Branksome Sands. In the lower part of the cliff there is a grey laminated bed, a type of leaf bed, developed at the margin of a channel. It consists of argillaceous silty sand and silty, sandy clay. There are alternating laminae of sand and clay. This is fluviatile unit C of Plint (1988).

Higher in the cliff is a fluviatile sand and sandstone on yellow and brownish colour with very little clay. A bed near the base is very coarse with particles of granule size or larger. These are mostly of vein quartz and are subangular. There are some darker clasts which may be of tourmalinised slate or tourmaline (the typical material of the Eocene fluvial deposits in the Dorset area is derived from southwest England). The sequence in the upper part of the cliff belongs to fluviatile unit D of Plint (1988). It is a fining-upwards sequence. In the top of the cliff is Pleistocene gravel.

lOCATION:

Alum Chine (Site of Copperas House)

Please go to Brownsea Island - Copperas, Melanterite for more information on production of copperas in this region in historic times.

The Bournemouth beaches, including those of Alum Chine have been extensively renourished with dredged sand. This in addition to sea defences and promenade means that there is little indication there now as to what was the original appearance of the beach.

Ord in 1914 reported that near Alum Chine hard masses of ferruginous sandstone could be seen at low water on the beach, extending for some distance eastward, being one of the few examples of any hard stone occurring in this section of the beds.

It is not known whether pyrite nodules were once exposed on the beach. It is quite likely because pyrite is needed for the production of alum and copperas. It is less likely to have been found in quantity in the cliffs above the water table because of easy oxidation.

LOCATIONS:

Durley Chine

At Durley Chine there have been occasionally found small masses of a hard dark grit known locally as 'Durley Rock.' It is composed of pyritised vegetable debris with carbonaceous sand. In Durley Chine masses of quartz grit cemented by iron are seen a little distance up the Chine. They form a continuous bed which extends, as far as can be traced, for some hundred yards inland. This gives the strike of the beds as roughly north-northeast (Ord, 1914).

By far the most interesting cliff-section palaeontologically is that from Durley Chine to the Pier. Here Gardner obtained many net-veined ferns, especially Gleichenia, also Aroids and a Eucalyptus. A great rarity found farther west was a fossil feather . Palm fronds have frequently been met with, and a magnificent specimen on a slab nearly three feet square is in the Natural History Museum, at South Kensington, London (Ord, 1914).

The conditions under which these strata were laid down are interesting. The deposits are of fluviatile or deltaic origin, and must have been formed in the bed of a great river coming from the west. The quartz sand, which forms the bulk of the cliffs and is of very pure, and together with the white china clay, has been considered to have originated in a granite country (Ord, 1914). Gardner thought that the Bovey Tracey Lignite Beds (now regarded as Oligocene) and the ball clays of Devon were laid down contemporaneously by the same river. He considered that the granites of Dartmoor, Cornwall, and probably an extent of land which has long since been eroded away or submerged in the Atlantic, supplied by its decomposition the quartz sand grains and the china clays. Somewhat similar clays are now worked extensively in the granite regions of Devon and Cornwall, but these are dominantly kaolinite clays, whereas the ballclays and pipeclays of the Bournemouth area are usually kaolinite and illite (and more plastic).

According to Ord (1914) the delicacy of the beautifully preserved leaves in the lenticular clay beds shows that these must have been deposited under tranquil conditions in shallow ponds and lagoons by the sides of the main stream. Through these a gentle stream of clay-hearing water continuously flowed, while the leaves were borne down by the stream or blown in from trees in the vicinity. Now and again the river would overflow its banks and temporarily swamp these side waters, covering them up with layers of sand and coarser material. From the thickness of the beds it is evident that the land was slowly sinking, so that the river channel probably remained at the same level for long periods. Together with the leaves, trunks of trees and water-logged masses of wood floated about; these were attacked by the Teredo shipworm and rapidly bored through and through. This shows that there were some marine incursions into the swamps of the delta. Occasionally there are sand casts of these borings imbedded in a matrix of sand or mud, the woody material having entirely perished, leaving only a dark discoloration where it formerly existed.

At Bournemouth Pier, incidently, traces of a much younger forest which could formerly be seen. The submerged forest, like many in the region (compare with Hayling Island submerged forest) was probably Neolithic in age Ord (1914). It was uncovered at low tides, stumps of coniferous trees being exposed abundantly, in their original sites.

LOCATION:

Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier (East Cliff etc)

Introduction

A view of an exposure in the lower part of the cliffs behind the wall, just west of Boscombe Pier, shows some conspicuously laminated beds of clayey silt and very fine-grained sand, the Branksome Sand (Bristow, Freshney and Penn, 1991, p. 62). There are some fine, brown clay layers and much fine-grained lignitic debris. This dark lignitic material marks out partings. Notice the wedge-bedding, a form of cross-bedding on a large scale. The uppermost part of these laminated beds is brown and ferruginous. Above Plint's T4 transgression surface (a major break in sedimentation according to Plint) comes the creamy-white Boscombe Sands which are medium-grained and lack the conspicuous lamination. The laminated sediments, the upper part of the Branksome Sand, belong to the Bournemouth Marine Beds on an older classification, and near here impressions of oysters (with bryozoa) have been found (Ord, 1914).

This old view of the cliffs before the promenade was constructed shows the excellent exposures which once existed and the natural supply of sand from the Eocene strata to the beach. At the top of the cliff there is a well-defined bed of Pleistocene Plateau Gravel (Boyn Hill Terrace of Green, 1946 or Terrace 10 of Bristow et al., 1991), formed in periglacial conditions. It is between 0.91m (3 feet). and 2.44m (8 feet) in thickness and rests on an eroded surface of Boscombe Sand (Ord, 1914, Bristow et al., 1991). A thin deposit of blown sand above the gravel is the result of wind action on the cliff raising sand onto the cliff top. This happens at the present time at Hengistbury Head, where even gravel is blown upwards.

As Ord (1914) commented, from Bournemouth Pier the cliffs rise gradually to the east averaging a height of 24m (80 feet) to 27m (90 feet), unbroken by any chine or valley until Boscombe Pier is reached. Between the Zizag and a point 200m east of the lift there are remains of marine molluscs (Ostrea, Arca, Modiola, Tellina, Natica and "Cerithium") and traces of a shore crab. These are in the 'Bournemouth Marine Beds' which are now classified as the uppermost part of the Branksome Sand. Teredo-bored wood occurs in the same area. There are clay lenses with leaves of Podocarpus(Podocarp tree), Lygodium, Hewardia and remains of some unidentified flowering plants (preserved at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society). Ferns, including Polypodium and Osmundia, have been found in the Bournemouth Freshwater Beds (lower part of Branksome Sand and the Poole Formation of Bristow et al., 1991). Some 200m east of the lift at the foot of the cliff some dark-grey, pyritic clay yielded many specimens of a fan-palm, probably a Sabal (Ord, 1914) a genus also found at Studland (Lyell, 1871). Nearby a 3m thick sand bed was seen to contain numerous irregular large mud-clasts ("irregular masses of brown clay"), presumably derived from the erosion of a river bank. Near this in white sand were rolled, thin, clay flakes that had preserved the impressions of leaves with good venation (Ord, 1914).

LOCALITIES:

Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier

Sulphide Oxidation in the Branksome Sands

In the lower part of the cliffs to the east of the East Cliff Lift some yellow or dirty white efflorescences of sulphate minerals are noticeable. These have resulted from the effects of sulphuric acid which was derived from the oxidation and leaching of pyrite in the clays. Although probably less conspicuous now, some is still visible above the promenade, as shown in the photograph above. In particular, the bright yellow mineral jarosite is a sulphate weathering product, often mistaken for sulphur. It is common on pyritic parts of the cliffs of Dorset and Hampshire (and has been found on Mars!). There is often some association with limonite or goethite which is hydrated ferric oxide derived from the oxidation of the ferrous sulphide. The white or greenish melanterite, (hydrated ferrous sulphate) has also been recorded here (Ord, 1914 ). It is associated with a gummy resinous relic of the vegetation of the Eocene and this is known as succinate. Alum Chine, further west, takes its name from the sulphates present on the cliff. The melanterite, formerly known as "copperas" (there is probably no copper within the sulphate, though) or "alum" was used by tanners, dyers and ink manufacturers, the working of these being an early Bournemouth industry (King, 1974). It was also worked on Brownsea Island and the source pyrite can still be found on the beach there.

LOCALITIES:

Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier

Chalybeate Springs (Ochre Springs) and Boscombe Spa

The quantity of pyrite in the Branksome Sand Formation has produced not only precipitated mineral encrustations, but also brown flowing springs (ochre springs) with ferrous sulphate concentrations. These are chalybeate springs, and are similar to those which have been in use in places such as Tunbridge Wells since the 17th century for medical purposes (supposedly for stomach complaints, constipation, tape worms and skin infections etc). They are common in the Bournemouth area and on the Isle of Wight. The most notable in the region is the Irons Well near Fritham in the New Forest (on Eocene strata of similar age). Shown above is seepage of ferrous sulphate solutions from pyritic, argillaceous sands in the Branksome Sand Formation of the cliffs to the west of Boscombe Pier, at the Zigzag. This seepage is like that which came from the same formation at Boscombe Chine and was used as a spa.

The Boscombe Spa was a ferruginous (chalybeate) spring near Boscombe Chine and Boscombe Spa Road. Physicians recommended their patients to drink the waters for their mineral content, which were said to contain properties similar to those of the Harrogate water (Edwards, 1981, p. 55, et. seq.). Sir Henry Drummond Wolff erected a small, thatched building around the spring, but this was destroyed in 1923. The water was also sold, bottled, as aerated table water and its taste was said to be similar to Seltzer's water, an effervescent mineral water that was considered a fashionable drink. Perhaps, dilution and carbonation rendered the natural brown, rather acid fluid, more agreeable!

See below, for information on the Southbourne Chalbeate Spring.

LOCATIONS:

Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier

Slumping in the Boscombe Sands

Just east of the East Cliff Lift there are well-developed slump structures in friable sandstones of the Branksome Sand Formation (Bournemouth Marine Beds). Channels have been cut and these are usually filled with carbonaceous, laminated sandy clays of a chocolate-brown colour. They seem to show some rhythmicity. Lignite is often present in these beds and in some cases they may be representives of the leaf beds in which the interesting and important Bournemouth Eocene flora has been found. This unit, was previously known as the 'Bournemouth Marine Beds' because of the limited assemblage of marine molluscs which have been found. Plint regarded this as his sedimentological unit G, and the British Geological Survey included these strata within the Branksome Sands, as the topmost part.

LOCATIONS:

Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier

The Beach

Upward Movement of Piles in Groynes

LOCATIONS:

Boscombe Pier and the Artificial Surfing Reef

Boscombe Pier provides a good view of the Bournemouth coast. The west side of the pier is like much of the Bournemouth beach area with an Undercliff Drive, and with a wide replenished beach of sand and pebbles. There is an exposure of the Branksome Sands in the lower part of the cliff, as discussed above.

The east side of the pier is very urban and there is even the construction, taking place in 2008, of a large block of flats on the cliff. The place is not without interest, though, and the geologist may wish to pause briefly before walking on. Although the natural features of the coast here have long been destroyed, the replenished beach contains some interesting pebbles. This sand and pebble deposit here has come from off the Isle of Wight. Most of the pebbles are of subangular flint, but there are many that are of a micritic limestone, probably a hard variety of Chalk. There are occasional bivalve shells present in this. In addition there is some Upper Greensand, and a few other, as yet unidentified rock types. The sand contains many dark grains, possibly of limonitic oolite derived from the Lower Greensand.

The main use of the beach here is by surfers, and it is good that they have a place where they can enjoy themselves. As a result of this recreational use, an artificial reef is to be built. The sand and gravel replenishment deposit, mentioned above, is to be used, at least in part, for filling large bags to be placed underwater. This should produce the appropriate type of waves required and greatly benefit the surfers.

Another aspect of the artificial dump of sand and gravel, intended for the new reef, is of interest. There is much aeolian action and sand is blown off the beach, and mostly transported in an easterly direction. As the sand departs the pebbles remain. This is a common feature of deserts showing deflation. If the process were to continue for long enough then there would be progressive development of dunes downwind in the Southbourne-Hengistbury Head area. At Boscombe the residual stones were beginning to form a reg, hamada or gibber like those of stony deserts. However, when the site was visited on the 26th January 2009, most of the sand and shingle had gone. I do not know how much was used for the incomplete artificial reef, but press reports claim that more sand is needed. Undoubtedly much of the sand and shingle has been blown and washed away to the east, towards Southbourne, where very wide beaches have accumulated in recent years.

LOCATION:

Boscombe Pier - Artificial Reef - Press Discussion (Condensed)

Bournemouth Makes Waves with Surf Plan (BBC News, Bournemouth, 19th August 2008. By Gavin Stamp, Business reporter, BBC News, Bournemouth.
Surfers and swimmers on Boscombe beach Bournemouth does not see itself competing directly with Cornwall. A balloon promoting the local Wave FM radio station hangs languidly over the centre of Bournemouth. Soon the town will be hoping to make a few waves of its own as it looks forward to finally welcoming Europe's first artificial surf reef. The plan to build the reef off Boscombe beach, just over a mile east of the town's main seafront, was first mooted nearly a decade ago. Weather permitting, the structure should finally be installed by the end of October, although Mother Nature is currently refusing to co-operate. "The weather has not been kind to us," says Jon Weaver, marketing and events manager at Bournemouth Tourism, reflecting on the recent windy conditions which have held up progress on the venture. Praying for calm: All concerned with the 2.6m pound project are hoping for a calm spell to allow the main phase of the complex engineering process - in which layers of matting half the size of a football pitch, with sandbags attached, will be laid on to the sea bed and then secured - to begin. "For laying each section of the reef, we need it perfectly flat," explains construction manager David Neilson. He heads a team of divers, boat crew and pump operators who have come over from his native New Zealand to do the work. Pile of sand on Boscombe beach waiting to be pumped The sand pile is an eyesore but it is all being pumped out to sea soon. Having installed two artificial reefs back home, he knows the pitfalls involved and says he is having to contend with "lots of variables". But he is confident it will be completed on schedule - the work will take up to eight weeks and his firm's contract with the town council stipulates that it must be finished by the end of 2008 - and will prove a success. "If we get a break in the weather, I don't see a problem at all," he says, adding that the reef "should be the best so far" in the world. Breaking the waves: Some of the more fevered speculation about the reef has claimed it will double the size of waves crashing onto the beach and bring a touch of Hawaii-style glamour to this rather genteel corner of the South Coast. This is nonsense, David Neilson points out, stressing that - unlike a dry ski slope - the quality of surfing will still depend on the weather. "The reef doesn't make waves. If there is no swell, it isn't going to do anything. It really breaks them where and how we want them." Michael Walcroft, manager of the Sorted Surf Shop - It is a novelty thing. People will want to see what all the hype is about Michael Walcroft, Sorted Surf Shop. Tidal and weather conditions mean that the best surfing will still be in the late autumn and early spring. Experienced surfers guard against hype when talking about the reef and the quality of sport it will deliver. But Andy Joyce, who runs the Bournemouth Surf School, says the experience should be quite "intense", with waves more than twice their current level of speed and power. "It will basically focus the wave's energy, amplify it and ensure no loss of power," he says. "You should get a more powerful, consistent wave and it will definitely improve the surfing we have got." Not for beginners: Nearly 250m out from shore and not in shallow water, the new reef will not be suitable for beginners. Likewise, professional surfers who go to Cornwall in peak summer and travel abroad during the winter in search of the best waves are unlikely to be lured to Bournemouth.

Reef and Spa Village to Cost 11m Pounds (BBC News, 22nd January 2009)
The cost of a development project in Dorset, which includes Europe's first artificial surf reef, has increased by nearly 2m pounds. Boscombe Village Spa Project in Bournemouth is now estimated to cost more than 11m pounds, including 3m pounds for the reef - double the first 1.4m pounds estimate. Additional costs including extra sand for the reef and delays caused by bad weather have been blamed. The project, originally due to open last month, will now open in September. The decision by Bournemouth Borough Council to approve an extra 1.81m pounds is expected next Wednesday just seven months after councillors assigned an extra 974,000 pounds to the project. The council predicts that anticipated income from the scheme will balance the additional costs, funded from the council's capital programme pot. April re-start: Roger Brown, Bournemouth council's service director for leisure, said part of the cost increase included a 100,000 pound council contribution to stopping and restarting the project over winter. "[Also] we've brought into the equation the cost for refitting the surf pods, that will be fully met by the sales of the units," he said. "We have to get a new licence from government to construct the reef as it was time limited and ran out in September." The reef, which will consist of 55 sand-filled bags, is 225m (740ft) out to sea, east of Boscombe Pier and covers the size of a football pitch. It will be one of four artificial reefs worldwide, including Narrowneck, Queensland, Cables, Western Australia and Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. Work on the scheme is due to resume in April.

Morris, S. (Steven). 2009 (23rd January 2009). Shifting Sands Swell the Cost of UK's First Artificial Reef. The Guardian Newspaper, Friday 23rd January, 2009.
If all had gone to plan surfers would by now be whizzing into a Bournemouth beach on waves boosted by Britain's first artificial surf reef. Instead, taxpayers face a bill of almost a quarter of a million pounds to stop the project blowing away. The reef at Boscombe, east of the main town of Bournemouth, in Dorset, was due to be completed in the autumn but rain and winds halted the construction. Work is due to resume in April and finish by the summer's end. But the delay has inflated the reef's price and Bournemouth borough council says 169,000 pounds has to be found to replace sand brought in for its construction on the seabed but lost to the elements over the winter [see photographs above]. Flattening the temporary dune to protect it from the wind and tides would cost a further 70,000 pounds, says a report due to be seen by the local authority next week. Besides this, 100,000 pounds is reportedly needed to help pay the contractors, ASR. Originally the price of the reef project was estimated at 1.4m pounds. By last summer it was up to 2.7m pounds and, following the winter delay, it is now at the 3m pound mark. It could also cost as much as 100,000 pound a year to maintain the reef, and the cost of the wider regeneration project for Boscombe has also risen, to 11m pounds. Basil Ratcliffe, a Tory councillor, said: "Someone should be given the bullet over this ... these are big sums that could have been spent on something else." The report defends the soaring price, saying the reef is a complex marine structure. A council spokeswoman said: "The council has set aside ... 169,000 pounds but it might not need to buy this much [sand]."

LOCATIONS:

Boscombe Pier to Southbourne

Introduction

This stretch of cliff shows Boscombe Sand over Branksome Sand (Bournemouth Marine Beds), with Plateau Gravel of Pleistocene age at the cliff top (western part is of Boyn Hill Terrace of Green, 1946 or Terrace 10 of Bristow et al., 1991). A mammoth tooth found near Boscombe Pier, is likely to have come from such gravel. It is in the Red House Museum at Christchurch (Lavender, 1985). Honeycombe Chine , a short distance east of Boscombe Pier, is of special interest and is dealt with below separately. The Boscombe Sand originated on a sea shore. It contains irregular layers of white and yellow sands mixed with beds of well-rolled flints. The shingle is banked up as if by waves coming from the east and King (1974) suggested the banks may have been formed offshore, as bars or shoals, and then driven inland as the sea flooded an area to the west.

Ord (1914) commented that in some of the lower beds (Branksome Sands - Bournemouth Marine Beds) there are occasional fruits resembling Petrophiloides, Cucumites and a Hightea (of Bowerbank) which were found by Gardner. Nearer to Southbourne Seqouia (i.e.related to the California Big Tree or Wellingtonia and the California Redwood Tree) has been recorded. In a bed of sand near the same spot an American form of Cactus has been found (Ord, 1914).

Plint (1980; 1982; 1983a; 1983b; 1988) has provided much information on the sedimentology of the strata and further detail. For this area, east of Boscombe Pier, Bristow et al. (1991, p. 62) have described three sections. Possible Ophiomorpha burrows occur in the lower part of some brown lignitic clay at Southbourne.

LOCALITIES: Boscombe Pier to Southbourne;

Honeycombe Chine - Nipa Palm Nuts

Honeycombe Chine was once a small and attractive chine about 200m to the east of Boscombe Pier. It is shown here as it was sometime before 1914. It has been destroyed by coastal development and is now an ugly car park. It was once notable for the interesting remains of nuts of the stemless palm - Nipa (Ord, 1914). This plant is related to coconut palms and to Pandanus, the screw-pine (Lyell, 1871). This plant is abundant in parts of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and other tropical and subtropical swamps, often associated with mangroves. At the present day Nipa is a plant highly valued by the villagers of coastal areas. It is found in river estuaries, tidal lands near the sea and on the soft muddy banks of small water-ways. It grows best in freshwater environments but can tolerate some level of salinity in modern deltas which may be rather like the ancient Eocene Poole Delta of Bournemouth area (Bamroongrugsa and Kwanjareon, 1998) .

The Nipa nuts occur in clays within the Branksome Sand, the Bournemouth Marine Beds in older terminology, at the foot of Honeycombe Chine. It is a bed of dark reddish sand, about 0.9 (3 feet) thick and situated about 7.m (23 feet) above beach level. The remains are of the Nipadites fruit, and consists of its remains mixed with rounded vegetable pellets and debris, occurring in layers, perhaps washed together by tidal action (Ord, 1914). The casts of the nuts rarely occur either east or west of this point. Elsewhere fruits of Nipadites occur in the (slightly older) Wittering Formation of the Bracklesham Group of Wittering, Bracklesham Bay, Sussex (Curry et al.) and in the London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey. The Bournemouth specimens are mostly of Nipadites parkinsoni . The fruits have germinated and only the hollow pericarp is found, filled with white sand (for more details see Morris, 1912). The Nipadites bed could be traced for a considerable distance eastward although it rapidly became unfossiliferous.

Lyell (1871) commented on Nipa mainly with reference to the occurrence in the London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. There the greatest number of fruits occur in the uppermost 15m (50 feet) of the formation and are mostly found on the beach where the sea has washed away the clay. Lyell stated that Nipa is now only found in the Molucca and Philippine islands, and in Bengal. Dr Hooker had apparently observed floating in the branches of the Ganges Delta such numbers of the large nuts of Nipa fructicans that they obstructed the paddle-wheels of the steam-boats.

LOCATIONS:

Boscombe Pier to Southbourne; An Ancient 'Chesil Beach'

In the upper part of the cliff, a moderate walk east of Boscombe Pier, there is an interesting bed of very rounded flint pebbles in the Boscombe Sand. These are characterised by the presence of percussion marks, showing that they have been thrown against each other and rolled in the surf of an Eocene storm beach. They resemble some of the largest pebbles of the Chesil Beach in shape, size and markings but are mainly flint and do have any obvious large quantity of exotic material (the Chesil Beach pebbles are mainly of chert, flint and quartzite). No systematic search for unusual material has been made, though. Some of the clasts exceed in size those of the Chesil Beach and the wave action mau have been even more severe.

The overall upward trend in the predominantly deltaic Bracklesham succession at Bournemouth is towards more marine conditions and culminates in the fossiliferous Barton Clay. Here, east of Boscombe Pier we see the remains of a barrier beach subject to significant storm waves. It is very unlikely that the beach had a similar orientation to the present Chesil Beach, because the palaeogeographic maps show that the sea was to the southeast. The Chalk supplied the flint and the storm waves from the southeast battered the clasts on this delta-front barrier.

Incidently, Curry ound Maestrichtian foraminifera in an Eocene flint pebble on this stretch of coast, and that may provide a further indication of the palaeogeography. It has probably been derived from the uplifted English Channel Inversion during Eocene times.

Another feature of interest in the cliffs between Boscombe and Southbourne is the presence of "decomposed" flints. These are flint pebbles which have undergone partial, internal, dissolution and have been reduced to a white amorphous powdery substance that will leave a white mark on cloth (Ord, 1914; King, 1974). The solubility of silica, of which flints are composed, increases at very high and very low pH values, that is in very alkaline or very acid conditions. Either of these conditions could have caused the partial dissolution. The oxidation of pyrite, producing sulphuric acid, is most likely the cause, but the topic has not been researched in detail.

LOCATIONS:

Southbourne; Chalybeate Spring

The chalybeate (iron) spring at Southbourne (Brownen, 1914; Kingzett, 1884) was discovered during excavations for a sea wall and esplanade and was situated about 3m. below the beach. It had an inky taste and resulted from the action of fresh water on the iron and aluminium in the strata. Its medicinal properties were said to be "of a pronounced and valuable character and would be beneficial in many cases of anaemia". A well was constructed and it was hoped that a successful spa would result (King, 1974 ). Another iron spring was situated at the southern entrance to Boscombe Gardens.

LOCALITIES:

Southbourne: Coast Erosion

An esplanade was constructed at Southbourne in 1885 and a pier in 1888. An exceptionally ferocious storm on the 28th December, 1900 breached the sea-wall and severely damaged the pier. Houses on the esplanade were subsequently demolished and the pier dismantled in 1907 (Young, 1989). By 1913 the relics of the esplanade were just rocks at the foot of beach and the cliffs had retreated. The coast here is more exposed to southwesterly storms because it has less protection from the Swanage promontory than has the central and western part of the Bournemouth coast, and therefore more coast erosion can be expected.

LINKS: Relevant Websites

Coastal Protection Works at Sandbanks - Borough of Poole. Extracts: "At the beginning of the century, the Sandbanks Peninsula area consisted entirely of sand dunes apart from two coastguard cottages built in 1850 and a few wooden holiday homes. Sandbanks was part of the Wimborne Estates and during the 1910’s, the first plots were sold off and a few permanent homes were built. In post war times, the building of luxury residence with their own waterfront and slipway has escalated with the final infilling of smaller houses, bungalows and blocks of flats. Less than half the dwellings are used throughout the year as permanent residences, the rest are used as holiday flats and second homes. In 1929, the whole of the beach and present recreation ground consisting of 13 acres were purchased from the Estate for the sum of £13." .. "Recent Coastal Protection Work. Phase 1. Due to the increase in the erosion rate and the perceived threat to properties, specialist consultant HR Wallingford was commissioned to produce a design for a coastal protection scheme to deal with the rapidly worsening situation. The scheme chosen built on the partial success of the Midway Path groyne and consisted of four addition rock groynes, one to the west of Midway Path and three to the east. [continues]. [This website is recommended. In case of any difficulty in obtaining it go to the Borough of Poole main website and use the search box. ]

References and Select Bibliography

See also Bibliography of the Geology of Hengistbury Head webpage.

See also Bibliography of the Geology of Barton-on-Sea and Highcliffe.

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Bamroongrugsa , N. and Kwanjareon, K. 1998. Effects of water salinity on growth of nipa palm seedlings. Internet site: http://wwwclib.psu.ac.th/acad_41/bnop1.htm. Abstract: The experiment was conducted to study the effects of water salinity on growth of nipa palm seedlings (Nypa fruticans Wurmb.) Nipa is a plant highly valued by the villagers of coastal areas. It is found in river estuaries, tidal lands near the sea and on the soft muddy banks of small water ways. Products were obtained from leaves, fruits and sugary sap from fruit or flower stalks. The study was carried out by arranging in groups of young and older seedling. Three levels of salinity were provided for watering the seedlings namely : the fresh water (0 ppt), the brackish water (18 ppt) and the salty water (35 ppt). The results showed that nipa seedlings required fresh water for good growth. The brackish water of 18 ppt caused less growth, while watering with the salty water of 35 ppt resulted in stunted growth and leaf wilting. It was also found that older seedlings appeared to tolerate more to salty water than the younger ones. The results implied that under the natural habitat, different levels of water salinity could control growth and establishment of nipa seedlings.
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Bray , M.J. and Carter, D.J. 1996. Poole Bay and Hengistbury Head. In: Allison, R. (ed) Landforms of East Dorset. Geologists' Association Guide, Geologists' Association, London.
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Bristow , C.R. and Freshney, E.C. 1986. Geology of the Poole - Bournemouth Area. Geological Report for DOE: Land Use Planning. British Geological Survey, Exeter.

Bristow, C.R., Freshney, E.C. and Penn, I.E. 1991. Geology of the Country Around Bournemouth. Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheet 329 (England and Wales). London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 116 pp. ISBN 0-11-884377-X. British Geological Survey. Natural Environment Research Council. (This is the key modern publication to the geology of the Bournemouth area. It is a large paperback, probably still in print and originally sold at £24.75p. It is likely to be available in good local libraries. It is intended for use with the Geological Survey map 329. The emphasis of the publication is on outcrops, lithology and sediments with palaeontological topics covered briefly. It is useful in containing a bibliography of more than 100 references, many of which are not repeated here.)
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Brownen , G. 1914. Chalybeate spas of Bournemouth cliffs. Proceedings of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society, vol. 5.
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Burnett , D. 1982. Dorset Before the Camera, 1539-1855. Dovecote Press, Stanbridge, Wimborne, Dorset. 134 illustrations. ISBN 0 9503518 7 3. By David Burnett.
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Bury, H. 1916. The physical geography of Bournemouth. Geological Magazine, 53, 133-134.

Bury, H. 1920a. Chines and cliffs of Bournemouth. Geological Magazine, 57, 71-76.

Bury, H. 1920b. The chines of Bournemouth. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Bournemouth, 57, 71-76.

Bury, H. 1925. The Bournemouth plateau and its palaeoliths. Proceedings of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society 16, 72-81.

Bury, H. 1933. The Plateau Gravels of the Bournemouth area. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 44, 314-335.
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Calkin , J.B. and Green, J.F.N. 1949. Palaeoliths and terraces near Bournemouth. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 15, 21-37.

Calkin, J.B. 1968. Ancient Purbeck: an account of the geology of the Isle of Purbeck and its early inhabitants. The Friary Press, Dorchester, 61pp. With 48 illustrations. Paperback booklet. Price 6 shillings. By J. Bernard Calkin, M.A., F.S.A. [With notes and illustrations regarding dinosaur footprints, fossil leaves, Roman mosaics, Purbeck Marble, Kimmeridge oil shale objects etc.]
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Chandler , M.E.J. 1960. Plant remains of the Hengistbury and Barton Beds. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology, 4, 191-238.

Chandler, M.E.J. 1962. The Lower Tertiary Floras of Southern England. 2. Flora of the Pipe-clay Series of Dorset (Lower Bagshot). British Museum (Natural History), London.

Chandler, M.E.J. 1963. The Lower Tertiary Floras of Southern England. 3. Flora of the Bournemouth Beds; the Boscombe and the Highcliff Sands. British Museum (Natural History), London.

Chandler, M.E.J. 1964. The Lower Tertiary Floras of Southern England. 4. A Summary and Survey of Findings in the Light of Recent Botanical Observations. British Museum (Natural History), London.

Chandler, M.E.J. 1978. Supplement to the Lower Tertiary Floras of Southern England, Part 5. 47p. Tertiary Research, Special Paper 4.
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Cochrane, 1970. Poole Bay and Pubeck 300BC -AD1660. Printed by the Friary Press, Longmans Ltd., Dorchester. 9pp. Paperback. By Mr. C. Cochrane of Bournemouth, also the author of: The Lost Roads of Wessex. [This is a good book with much useful detail on the area. It has a short bibliography and some maps, both old and new.]

[Example extract - p.9 - The Borders of Poole Harbour, introductory part.]

"Nowadays, in the 1970s, it would be hard to find a vacant plot of land from the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks, where the car ferry plies its incessant passage to Shell Bay, to Fleets Corner beyond Poole, or inland to Wimborne and Christchurch. Westward there is a slight gap between Lytchett Matravers and Sandford (for the lately vacated Admiralty cordite factory at Holton has not yet been turned over to building), but from Sandford the new housing estates run through to Wareham and Stoborough.

Only there, and thanks to the Purbeck landlords, can be found recognition of the open heath that still surrounds Corfe Castle and isolates Swanage; and that till lately provided the rather dreary, sometimes foreboding, background to the entirety-ninety-odd miles - of Poole Harbour. Till lately. . . the peninsula of Sandbanks, the North Haven as it was known, must include today some of the most expensive residential property in all England. Sixty years ago the whole spit of land was on offer for (could it be?) a thousand pounds. That is the measure of it.
Across the harbour entrance from Sandbanks, at Shell Bay or South Haven as is its proper name, there remains mile upon mile of untouched heath, a potential klondyke at which many a land speculator must have pursed his lips. The privately-owned toll road, built with the car ferry in the 1920s, runs from the point towards Studland. An unambitious building or two provide teas for summer visitors. A few houseboats nestle out of sight in a harbourside creek. The walker can wander some three miles along the broad sandy coastline to Studland; five miles, finding his way from track to track, to Corfe Castle; or eight to nine or more in a determined ankle-testing foray to Wareham. Away from the beaches he will meet little company other than an occasional farm or forestry worker, or naturalist. For this is a country beloved of botanists and birdwatchers whose rather pompous "keep off" signs are more plentiful than pedestrians."

BR> .
Cooper , N.J. and Harlow, D.A. 1998. Beach replenishment: implications for sources and longevity from the results of the Bournemouth schemes. Pp. 162-177 in: Hooke, J. 1998. Coastal Defence and Earth Science Conservation. The Geological Society of London, Burlington House, London. 270 pp. ISBN 1-897799-96-9. Abstract: Beach replenishment is an effective shoreline management tool which can restore immediately coast protection and amenity functions of a beach... Issues concerning sediment sources and replenishment schemes longevity need to be addressed as future scheme use proliferates... From analysis of a long-term beach monitoring record in Poole Bay, southern England, it is suggested that a viable trade-off can be made between tight particle size grading control and the presence of retention structures in the design of effective replenishment schemes... The conservation of sediment resources is essential if replenishment is to be a sustainable option in the longer term.
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Curry, D. 1976. The age of the Hengistbury Beds (Eocene) and its significance for the structure of the area around Christchurch, Dorset. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 87 (4), 401-407. Useful paper with fauna. Makes Hengistbury Beds equivalent to Lower Barton on limited evidence. He found a fauna of moulds 13m above the pebble bed and between the two ironstone nodule horizons.

Curry, D., Adams, C.G., Boulter, M.C., Dilley, F.C., Eames, F.E., Funnell, B.M., Wellis, M.K. (1978). A correlation of Tertiary rocks in the British Isles. Geological Society of London, Special Report No. 12, 72pp.
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Daley , B. 1972. Some problems concerning the early Tertiary climate of southern Britain.Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 11, 11-32. By Brian Daley, Portsmouth University, Portsmouth, UK. Author's abstract: Some of the problems of interpreting the Early Tertiary climate of southern England are reviewed. The London Clay flora is not thought to represent a true Tropical Rain Forest climate, but a climatic type not represented at the present day. The climate was seasonal, but frostless; rainfall was higher for the latitude than that of today; temperatures were elevated, though not necessarily as high as those in Tropical Rain Forest areas today. Tropical plants lived near low-lying rivers and lakes, where edaphic moisture supplemented rainfall and where higher atmospheric humidity occurred. If the extra-tropical plants from the London Clay were truely contemporaneous with the tropical forms, it is suggested that they grew further away from these bodies of water under less humid conditions, though not in higher altitudes. During the Oligocene, the climate of southern Britain was comparable to Eastern Margin Warm Temperate conditions of the present day. Its occurrence on the western margin of a continent reflects rainfalll distributed throughout the year, and introduced by a second belt of Westerlies or moisture bearing winds from the Tethys. Arid conditions in the Paris Basin, deduced from Oligocene gypsum deposits, could not have existed contemporaneously with such conditions in southern England. Alternating pluvial and dry climatic periods are therefore inferred.

Daley, B. and Crewdson, P. 1987. 'Bournemouth Cliffs'; a revised cliff profile and an account of the present distribution of the exposures. Tertiary Research, vol. 8, no. 4, 127-132.

Daley, B., Edwards, N. and Insole, A.N. 1979. Lithostratigraphical nomenclature of the English Palaeogene succession. Geological Magazine, 116, 65-66.
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De la Harpe , P. and Salter, J.W. 1862. Notes on the Eocene flora of Alum Bay etc. Pp 109-120 in:Bristow, H.W. 1862. The Geology of the Isle of Wight. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and the Museum of Practical Geology, for Sheet No. 10. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, published by Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. With a list of fossils revised by R. Etheridge. 138pp with Plates.
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Eaton , G.L. 1971. The use of microplankton in resolving stratigraphical problems in the Eocene of the Isle of Wight. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 127, 281-283.
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Edwards , E. 1981. A History of Bournemouth. The Growth of a Victorian Town. 164pp. Phillimore and Co. Ltd., Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, Sussex. ISBN 0-85033-412-8. [Not geological but an interesting history of Bournemouth with good historic photographs.]

Edwards, R. A. and Freshney, E.C. 1986. Lithostratigraphical classification of the Hampshire Basin Palaeogene deposits (Reading Formation to Headon Formation). Tertiary Research, 8 (2), 43-73.
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Gao , S. and Collins, M.B. 1994. Beach Profile Changes and Offshore Sediment Transport Patterns Along the SCOPAC Coast: Phase 1 Technical Report. Report No. SUDO/TEC/94/95/C. Department of Oceanography, University of Southampton.
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Gardner , J.S. 1879a. Description and correlation of the Bournemouth Beds. Part 1. Upper Marine Series. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 35, 209-228. By J. Starkie Gardner.

Gardner, J.S. 1879b. On the British Eocenes and their deposition. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 6, 83-106.

Gardner, J.S. 1879c. On the correlation of the Bournemouth Marine Series with the Bracklesham Beds, the Upper and Middle Bagshot Beds of the London Basin, and the Bovey Tracey Beds. Geological Magazine, 6, 148-154.

Gardner, J.S. 1880. Excursion to the Hampshire Coast. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, London, vol. 6, no. 7, July, 1880, pp. 316-320. Journal edited by J. Logan Lobley, F.G.S., University College, London. Price 1s, 6d.

This field report is of some interest particularly with regard to the cliffs of Bournemouth, which were then exposing good plant fossils, and also in relation to Hengistbury Head, Barton and eastwards. It has no diagrams but the text is reproduced in full, below:

EASTER MONDAY, MARCH 29TH, 1880 AND FOLLOWING DAY.

Gardner, J.S. 1882. Description and correlation of the Bournemouth Beds. Part 2. Lower or Freshwater Series. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 38, 1-15. By J. Starkie Gardner.

Gardner, J.S., Keeping, H. and Monckton, H.W. 1888. The Upper Eocene, comprising the Barton and Upper Bagshot Formations. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 44, 578-635.
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Gilkes , R. 1968. Clay mineral provinces in the Tertiary sediments of the Hampshire Basin. Clay Minerals, 7, 351-361.
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Goldring , R., Polland, J.E. and Taylor, A.M. 1992. Excursion A4. Sedimentology and ichnology of the shallow marine Barton Group (Eocene) at Hengistbury Head and Barton on Sea. Pp 53-65 in: BSRG 1992, Southampton, Field Excursion Guides, 65 p. Department of Oceanography, Southampton University.
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Green , J.F.N. 1945. The history of the Bourne and its valley. Journal?
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Halcrow , Sir William and Partners, 1980. Poole and Christchurch Bays Research Project, Phase One Report, 2 Volumes. Report to the Department of the Environment.
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Hinchcliffe , J. & Hinchcliffe, V. 1984. Dive Dorset. Underwater World Publications, Area 4 - Offshore Diving, p. 164-5 (extract seen which starts at earlier page unknown and finishes at a later page). Supposed "fossil trees" at Middle Poole Patch, Bournemouth Rocks and Durley Rocks. A Tertiary age is implied. The "trunks" stand up to 5 feet high above the sea-floor. These have subsequently been examined petrographically, by XRD and SEM (by a student of mine) and are, in fact, pipes of pyrite with central cavities. Comparison has been made with the limonitic pipes of Redend Point, Studland, which might have been oxidised pyrite pipes of similar character. (More information will be provided on this subject later).
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King , M.P. 1974. Beneath Your Feet: The Geology and Scenery of Bournemouth. The Purbeck Press, Swanage. 36pp, paperback booklet. By Michael P. King, B.A., County Borough of Bournemouth Education Committee.
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Kingzett , C. 1884. On a chalybeate water and saline deposit from Southbourne-on-sea. Journal?
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Kirkaldy , J.F. 1967. Fossils in Colour. 223pp. Blandford Press, Dorset. [including leaf remains from Alum Bay]
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Lavender , J. 1985. Land Shape and Geology. Pp. 9-13 in: Pepin, C. 1985. Hengistbury Head. Bournemouth Local Studies Publications, Roman Press Ltd., Bournemouth, 79pp.
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Lyell , C. 1827. On the strata of the Plastic Clay Formation exhibited in the cliffs between Christchurch Head, Hampshire and Studland Bay, Dorsetshire. Transactions of the Geological Society, London, Ser. 2, 2, 279-286.

Lyell, C. 1871. The Student's Elements of Geology. John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 624pp. By Sir Charles Lyell, Bart. F.R.S., Author of 'The Principles of Geology', 'The Antiquity of Man' etc. With more than 600 illustrations on wood. (Brief references to Bournemouth on pp. 237, 238).
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May , V. 1990. Replenishment of the resort beaches at Bournemouth and Christchurch, England. Journal of Coastal Research, SI (6), 11-15.
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Melville , R.V. and Freshney, E.C. 1982. British Regional Geology: the Hampshire Basin. Institute of Geological Sciences, H.M.S.O., London. (Good introduction to the geology of the region).
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Monckton , H.W. and White, H.J.O. 1910. Hampshire and Bagshot District. Chapter 12, pp. 277-292 in: Monckton, H.W. and Herries, R.S. (Eds.) 1910. Geology in the Field. The Jubilee Volume of the Geologists' Association (1858-1908). Edward Stanford, London. 916 pp. Illustrated by 32 plates and 138 figures in the text. ["The Association has on three occasions visited the cliffs of Bournemouth and Barton, viz., at Easter, 1880, Easter, 1888, and Easter, 1894, and Mr Starkie Gardner, who acted as director, or one of the directors, on these occasions, explained that he did not wholly agree with the classification of strata adopted by the Geological Survey. His views of the relationship of the Hampshire Eocene beds to those of the Isle of Wight are very clearly shown by the diagram ..." continues. It includes fig. 48. View of the cliffs between Poole Harbour and Boscombe, showing position of plant-beds etc., J. Starkie Gardner. In addition to discussion of the Bournemouth cliffs before the promenade was built, and of Hengistbury Head, and of the breaching of Mudeford Spit, there are description of the Barton and Hordle cliff sections.]

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Morris , D. 1912. Nipadites in Eocene beds at Bournemouth. Proceedings of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society, 3, 78-81.

Morris, S. (Steven). 2009 (23rd January 2009). Shifting Sands Swell the Cost of UK's First Artificial Reef. The Guardian Newspaper, Friday 23rd January, 2009.
If all had gone to plan surfers would by now be whizzing into a Bournemouth beach on waves boosted by Britain's first artificial surf reef. Instead, taxpayers face a bill of almost a quarter of a million pounds to stop the project blowing away. The reef at Boscombe, east of the main town of Bournemouth, in Dorset, was due to be completed in the autumn but rain and winds halted the construction. Work is due to resume in April and finish by the summer's end. But the delay has inflated the reef's price and Bournemouth borough council says 169,000 pounds has to be found to replace sand brought in for its construction on the seabed but lost to the elements over the winter [see photographs above]. Flattening the temporary dune to protect it from the wind and tides would cost a further £70,000, says a report due to be seen by the local authority next week. Besides this, £100,000 is reportedly needed to help pay the contractors, ASR. Originally the price of the reef project was estimated at 1.4m pounds. By last summer it was up to 2.7m pounds and, following the winter delay, it is now at the 3m pound mark. It could also cost as much as 100,000 pound a year to maintain the reef, and the cost of the wider regeneration project for Boscombe has also risen, to 11m pounds. Basil Ratcliffe, a Tory councillor, said: "Someone should be given the bullet over this ... these are big sums that could have been spent on something else." The report defends the soaring price, saying the reef is a complex marine structure. A council spokeswoman said: "The council has set aside ... 169,000 pounds but it might not need to buy this much [sand]."

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Ord , W.T. 1910. In: Hovenden, F., Monkton, H.W., Ord, W.T. and Woodward, A.S. Excursion to Swanage, Lulworth Cove and Bournemouth. Report by the Directors. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 21, 510-521.

Ord, W.T. (Dr William T. Ord) 1914. Geology. Pp. 303-356 in: Morris, D, 1914. (Editor - Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G, J.P., M.A., D.C.L., D.Sc., F.L.S., F.R.H.S., President of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society). A Natural History of Bournemouth and District; including Archaeology, Topography, Municipal Government, Climate, Education, Fauna, Flora and Geology. By the Members of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society. 400pp. Published by the Natural Science Society. Sold by Horace G. Commin, 100, Old Commercial Road and Bright's Stores Ltd., The Arcade, Bournemouth. [This is an interesting account written when much was still visible in the cliffs and with some good points not discussed much elsewhere.]

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Pepin , C. 1985. Hengistbury Head. Bournemouth Local Studies Publications, Roman Press Ltd., Bournemouth, 79pp.

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Plint , A.G. 1980. Sedimentary Studies in the Middle Eocene of the Hampshire Basin. Unpublished D.Phil. Thesis, University of Oxford, 3 volumes.

Plint, A.G. 1982. Eocene sedimentation and tectonics in the Hamphire Basin. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 139, 249-254.

Plint, A.G. 1983a. Sandy fluvial point-bar sediments from the Eocene of Dorset, England. Special Publication of the International Association of Sedimentologists, No. 6, 355-368.

Plint, A.G. 1983b. Facies, environments and sedimentary cycles in the Middle Eocene, Bracklesham Formation of the Hampshire Basin: evidence for global sea-level changes? Sedimentology, 30, 625-653.

Plint, A.G. 1983c. Liquifaction, fluidization and erosional structures associated with bituminous sands of the Bracklesham Formation (Middle Eocene) of Dorset, England. Sedimentology, 30, 525-535. (Carbonaceous rather than bituminous sands?).

Plint, A.G. 1988. Sedimentology of the Eocene strata exposed between Poole Harbour and High Cliff, Dorset, UK. Tertiary Research, 10, 107-145.

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Poole and Christchurch Bays, Shoreline Management Plan - SMP - Key Publications

See these important documents on the plans for the coastal management or shoreline management of the area. Summarised contents of a version are given below and look for the section of interest. However, this SMP is not the final version, and there will be an update. If you do not find it directly from the links here, search by Google etc for the latest version, using the keywords - "Poole Christchurch SMP".

Poole and Christchurch Bays Coastal Management Group. 2010. (SMP - Shoreline Management Plan)
Poole and Christchurch Bays Coastal Management Plan (or SMP - Shoreline Management Plan). Draft SMP2. Draft version of the SMP, later to be replaced by final version (see this when it is available. SMP2 is due to be published in April 2010.). Available online as PDFs at Poole and Christchurch Bays Coastal Management Plan.

Contents: Draft SMP2
Section 1, Introduction
Section 2, Environmental Assessment
Section 3, Basis for Development of the Plan
Section 4, Appraisal of Options and Rationale for Preferred Plan:
Section 4.1, Introduction.
Section 4.2, Policy Development Zone 1 Central and Eastern Sections of Christchurch Bay (Hurst Spit to Friars Cliff).
Section 4.3, Policy Development Zone 2 Christchurch Harbour and Central Poole Bay (Friars Cliff to Flag Head Chine).
Section 4.4, Policy Development Zone 3 Poole Harbour and Associated Coastline (Flag Head Chine to Handfast Point, including Poole Harbour).
Section 4.5, Policy Development Zone 4 Swanage (Handfast Point to Durlston Head).
Section 5, Summary of Preferred Plan and Implications
Section 6, Policy Summary, including Policy Summary Map.
Appendices (all documents open in a new window)
Appendix A, SMP Development.
Appendix B, Stakeholder Engagement.
Appendix C, Baseline Process Understanding, including Coastal Process Report and Flood and Erosion Mapping. Accessible from a separate page including No Active Intervention (NAI) and With Present Management (WPM) assessments, and summaries of the data used in assessments.
Appendix D, Natural and Built Environment Baseline (Thematic Review).
Appendix E, Issues and Objective Evaluation.
Appendix F, Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Appendix G, Scenario Testing.
Appendix H, Economic Appraisal.
Appendix I, Estuary Assessment.
Appendix J, Habitat Regulation Assessment - Appropriate Assessment.
Appendix K, The Metadatabase, GIS and Bibliographic Database is provided to the operating authorities on CD. It will be included in the final SMP.
Appendix L, Water Framework Directive (WFD)
Appendix M, Review of Coastal Processes and Associated Risks at Hengistbury Head.

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Prestwich , J. 1846. On the Tertiary or Supracretaceous Formations of the Isle of Wight, etc. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 2, 255-259.

Prestwich, J. 1849. On the position and general character of the strata exhibited in the coast section from Christchurch Harbour to Poole Harbour. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, London, 5, 43-49.
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Reid , C. 1898. Geology of the Country round Bournemouth. Memoir of the Geological Survey. Sheet 329 (England and Wales). By Clement Reid.

Reid, C. 1916. Ancient rivers of Bournemouth. Proceedings of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society, 7, 73-82.

Reid, C. and Chandler, M.E.J. 1933. The Flora of the London Clay. British Museum, Natural History, London, 561pp.
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Smith , A.G. and Briden, J.C. 1977. Mesozoic and Cenozoic Paleocontinental Maps. Cambridge Earth Science Series, Cambridge University Press, 63 pp. ISBN 0 521 29117 8 (paperback).
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Stinton , F.C. 1975. Fish otoliths from the English Eocene. Palaeontographical Society (Monogr.) : (1), pp.1-56.

Stinton, F.C. and Curry, D. 1979. Lithostratigraphical nomenclature of the English Palaeogene succession. Geological Magazine, 116, 66-67.

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Velegrakis , A.F. 1994. Aspects of the Morphology and Sedimentology of a Transgressional Embayment System: Poole and Christchurch Bays, Southern England. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Oceanography, Southampton University, 319pp.

Velegrakis, A.F., Dix, J.K. and Collins, M.B. 1999. Late Quaternary evolution of the upper reaches of the Solent River, southern England, based on marine geophysical evidence. Journal of the Geological Society, London, vol. 156, pp. 73-87. Authors' address: School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (then Southampton Oceanography Centre), European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK. [This is a key paper with a map showing the offshore buried channels in Poole Bay and Christchurch Bay.]
Abstract: Geological evidence suggests that during the Late Quaternary, a river system (the Solent River) drained a large part of central Southern England. Its upper reaches flowed in a west-east direction, flanked to the south by a Chalk ridge (the Purbeck-Isle of Wight Chalk Ridge). Today, only part of the upper reaches of the river's tributary channels remain, as the area was inundated during the Flandrian Transgression, forming. an embayment system (Poole and Christchurch Bays). In order to map the offshore buried channels of the upper reaches of the Solent River an extensive set of shallow-marine geophysical data was analysed and interpreted. The results of this investigation show that the Solent River system was disrupted irreversibly by southerly capture of its upstream section before the Flandrian Transgression. This disruption was the result of the fluvial breaching of the southern barrier of the system (the Purbeck-Isle of Wight Ridge) at three points, probably during Late Devensian time. Poole Bay was first to be submerged during the transgression. The estuaries which resulted from the drowning of the fluvial palaeovalleys of Poole Bay were infilled with transgressive facies sequences which have been preserved within the buried palaeovalleys. In contrast, Christchurch Bay was submerged at a later time, but because of the abrupt manner of its inundation, no transgressive facies have been preserved within its buried palaeovalleys. [end of abstract]
[Example extract from the introduction] The Isle of Wight, southern England, is separated from the mainland by a stretch of water known as the Solent (Fig. I). The Solent is located at the southern margin of the Hampshire Basin, an elongated asymmetrical downwarp of Tertiary deposits, the southern limb of which exhibits a near-vertical northern dip, whilst the beds on its northern limb slope gently southward (Melville & Freshney 1982). It has been widely proposeq that, during Pleistocene lowstands, the Solent formed a segment of a major axial stream (the 'Solent River'), which integrated all the consequent rivers of the basin (Fox 1862; Reid 1905; Everard 1954; West 1980). It has been suggested that this river constituted one of the principal northern tributaries of the English Channel River, a major river system established over northwestern Europe early in the Middle Pleistocene Epoch (Gibbard 1988). The Solent River flowed along a large W-E-trending valley incised into Tertiary arenaceous and argillaceous sediments and surrounded by high Chalk country (the Wiltshire and North Dorset Downs to the north and the South Dorset Downs and the Purbeck-Wight Chalk Ridge to the south). Much of the catchment area of the river was drowned during the last eustatic sea-level rise. Only parts of the tributary river systems are still intact; these form the modern drainage network of the area (Fig. 2).
Evidence for the existence of the Solent River system is distributed throughout the area. Onshore, extensive deposits of Pleistocene sands and gravels occur, forming terraces along the present river valleys (Keen 1980; Freshney et al. 1985; Allen & Gibbard 1993), and underlying the Flandrian deposits of some of the estuaries of the area (Nicholls 1987). Offshore, marine geophysical surveys have revealed systems of buried river valleys under the present seafloor, incised to a maximum depth of 46 m below OD to the east of the Isle of Wight (Hamblin et al. 1992). [continues for more than 14 pages, with maps and diagrams].

Velegrakis, A.F., Dix, J.K. and Collins, M.B. 2000. Late Pleistocene - Holocene evolution of the upstream section of the Solent River, Southern England. Pp. 97-99 in: Collins, M. and Ansell, K. 2000. Solent Science - A Review. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 385pp. [Using shallow seismic and echo-sounder profiles, seven palaeovalleys have been recognised offshore in Poole and Christchurch Bays. In Poole Bay, Palaeovalleys I, II and III appear to cut southward through the Purbeck-Wight ridge. In contrast Palaeovalleys IV, V, VI and VII in Christchurch Bay do not appear to cut through the Ridge. Valley-filling sediment of significant thickness are found only within Palaeovalleys I and II (Incidently Palaeovalley I has recently been intersected by a civil engineering borehole on the Sandbanks Peninsula)]
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Webster Smith , B. 1931. The World in the Past: A Popular Account of What it was Like and and What it Contained. 2nd Edition. Frederick Warne and Co. Ltd. London. 365pp.
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West , G.H. 1886a. in: Report of the committee ... appointed for the purpose of inquiring into the rate of erosion of the sea coasts of England and Wales, and the influence of the artificial abstraction of shingle or other material in that action. 6 Christchurch to Poole. Topley, W. (editor). Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for 1885, 427-428.

West, G.H. 1886b. The geology of Bournemouth. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 7, pp ?.
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White , H.J.O. 1917. Geology of the Country around Bournemouth: Explanation of Sheet 329 [Geological Survey 1 inch to one mile sheet for Bournemouth]. 2nd Edition. Memoirs of the Geological Survey, England and Wales. Published by order of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury. Printed by J. Truscott and Son, Ltd, under the authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office. 79 pp. [This is an old edition of the Geological Survey Memoir - see also - Bristow, C.R., Freshney, E.C. and Penn, I.E. 1991. Geology of the Country around Bournemouth. Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheet 329 (England and Wales). British Geological Survey, London, 116p. There is also the first edition of 1898 by C. Reid. Prefacxe to the Second Edition by A. Strahan, Director: "The first edition of this Memoir, which was written by the late Mr. Clement Reid, was exceptionally brief, a general memoir descriptive of the Hampshire Basin as a whole having been at that time in contemplation. Circumstances have prevented the preparation of the larger work, and opportunity has now been taken ot the exhaustion of the stock of the original pamphlet to produce a memoir on the lines of other New Series Sheet Explanations... continues .. Much of the ground has been re-examined by Mr. White in order to bring the memoir up to date, but the map remains unaltered as the edition published in 1895 and colour-printed (Drift) in 1904."]
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Young , J.A. 1989. The Story of Southbourne. Bournemouth Local Studies Publications, The Professional Education Centre, 40 Lowther Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8NR. No. 695. 50pp.