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Our scientists are analysing drill cores from throughout the UK and will also analyse the new cores from Prees in the Cheshire Basin (Shropshire, England). See information on this new site!
Our team are interested in studying the climate and environment of the Early Jurassic (201-174 Million years ago). The results will help to answer questions such as “What type of organisms were thriving at the time? Which ones were less common? What does this tell us about what the climate, sea level and ocean circulation were like? How do these observations relate to other events, for example volcanic eruptions or variations in the position of the Earth’s orbit relative to the sun? And can any of this help us to understand climate change that is occurring now and is predicted for the future?”
How long is the drilling/coring going to take?
We expect drilling/coring to take around 55 days (24 hours per day, 7 days per week), hopefully starting in September/October 2019.
Can we go and watch the drilling?
Yes, hopefully! We are planning to have a visitor centre with information about the drilling process and the project. More information can be found here.
Is this project related to fracking?
No, the project has nothing to do with fracking, or the oil/gas industry more generally. The main goal of drilling is to bring up rock cores that were deposited millions of years ago to help us answer scientific questions about the climate and ecosystem in the Early Jurassic.