Scotland’s Geological Heritage
Lessons from the past for a sustainable future
Scotland is at the frontier of geoscience innovation in the context of the transition to a decarbonised world. It is redeploying the skills developed at great expense during the petroleum age to develop industries that put carbon back into the subsurface. It has major infrastructure projects that provide a step change in the provision of zero carbon power. Along with innovative tidal research, and major onshore and offshore wind farms, Scotland hosts the world’s first public research facility in coal mine geothermal, and is at the heart of innovative plans for using rock weathering dispersed in soils to remove carbon direct from the atmosphere.
All of this forward-looking activity is built on a foundation that dates back to the origin of our science, that has grown ever since, and been carried out by a diverse workforce drawn from all over the world. It is therefore appropriate that Scotland acts as a focal point, on behalf of the UK and Europe, to bring together the world’s geoscientists. The country provides a geological narrative from the Archaean and the formation of continental crust through to Holocene sediments deposited since the last glacial advance. Not only does this provide a record through geological time that, for the land area, is unparalleled anywhere in the world, it also charts a range of internal and environmental Earth processes that have inspired geological breakthroughs, discoveries, and insights. These start from James Hutton’s formulation of geological time and resolution of the neptunism-plutonism debate, Nevil Maskelyne’s experiments in gravity at Schiehallion, Charles Lyell’s formulation of uniformitarianism, George Barrow documenting metamorphic zonations, Alfred Harker and James Richey developing understanding igneous petrogenesis and the structure beneath volcanoes, and Charles Lapworth, Arthur Holmes, and John Ramsay advancing structural geology and tectonics. In the 19th century, the Scottish Highlands inspired debates about Quaternary glaciations. Two locations, Siccar Point and the Moine Thrust Belt, are recognised in the IUGS “First One Hundred Geological Heritage Sites”. But there are many hundreds of geosites across the country that are internationally important – and world-famous.
There is a centuries-old tradition of sharing geological knowledge – with the popular writings of John Playfair, Hugh Miller, Archibald Geikie, and many since. There are four geoparks in Scotland, two are part of the global UNESCO Network (NW Highlands and Shetland) while two are aspirant (Lochaber, Arran). These geo-heritage resources underpin our suite of field excursions, including multiple day-trips to world-famous sites during the Congress itself.
Find out more about our field excursions >
Indigenous earth resources fuelled Scotland as a crucible of the first industrial revolution – where local iron ore was smelted with wood/charcoal and later by deep-mined coal. These energies have evolved through nuclear power and extensive oil and gas exploitation to now, with increasing use of renewables: wind now makes Scotland self-sufficient in renewable electricity generation. Its landscape hosts dams for pump-storage and conventional hydro-electric power. Considering the potential global demands of new earth resources, geology has never been so important. But the past remains – a source of information on the societal impacts of industrial transitions – along with new opportunities, such as re-occupying deep mines for pump-storage or geothermal energy, and for learning how to remediate places of past exploitation. Knowledge of the subsurface gained during oil and gas development can now by applied to safely store hydrogen and CO2, the imaging techniques applied to manage subsurface water resources and for designing foundations for offshore wind and other infrastructure. Exploration concepts and strategies from hydrocarbon industries can be repurposed to target new mineral deposits and to reduce environmental impacts in their exploitation. Old mine tailings can be exploited again for the residual critical minerals they still hold. Scotland sits on the cusp of all this potential. Sharing these stories lies at the heart of our ambition to host the 38th International Geological Congress.
Find out more about Scotland’s geology and supporting resources >