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Exercise 1 - Discovering Ireland’s Geology – GEOL 20220

Geological data: maps, stratigraphic columns and cross sections

Exercise Aims
This first exercise serves as an introduction to some of the types of information you will be using in
later exercises and on field trips. How do geologists show geological data to help them understand
the geological record? Here we will introduce geological maps, stratigraphic columns and cross
sections which are essential tools used by geologists to help them visualise the Earth’s crust. Today
much of this information is viewed on computers using Geographical Information System (GIS)
applications and we will use the Geological Survey of Ireland’s online GIS platform to view and
explore Irish geology.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this exercise you should know:

- the basics elements of a geological map and what it shows;

- what is meant by map scales and which scales contain more detail;
- what the dip and strike of a plane is and how it is shown on a map;
- what a stratigraphic column tells you;
- what a geological cross section shows;
- the different types of faults and folds;
- how to use the Geological Survey Ireland Spatial Resources webpage.

What do you need?

GSI 1:1,000,000 scale geological map of Ireland (GSI_BedrockGeologyOfIreland_A4_&_Legend.pdf).

Computer with internet connection. Note the Geological Survey Ireland Spatial Resources webpage
we will be using can be accessed from the link below or from this web address:
https://www.gsi.ie/en-ie/data-and-maps/Pages/default.aspx

What to do?
Follow the steps below and give yours answers to questions in the grey answer boxes making these
bigger if you need extra space. Once you have finished review your work using the worked exercise
sheet (…Qs&Ans.docx).

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- Look at the GSI 1:1,000,000 scale geological map of Ireland. Geological maps whether on paper
or on computer usually comprise a number of different elements: i) the map itself showing
geological units in different colours; ii) geographical information (coordinate information, scale
bar, north arrow, locations, etc); iii) legend for geological units and symbols and iv) map
information (see black box). Who produced this map and on what other maps is it based on?
How do you think this map was made?

ANSWER

The producer of the maps is geologists in collaboration with cartographers. The map is based
on topographic maps and structural maps of rock. It was made based on the recording and
description of field data in which rocks, outcrops, faults, and bedholes were located and
measured.

- What do the different colours on the map tell us? Look at the map legend which is shown as a
simplified stratigraphic column. How is the legend organised?

ANSWER

The colors describe the main rock types including the era when the rock was formed in a
certain area. The legend is organized by putting the oldest types of rock at the bottom of the
column, and the recent ones on top. There might be a similarity in terms of main rock types,
but the age of the rocks might differ.

- Consider the scale of the map. As with all maps it is generally a good idea to understand how the
distance on the map relate to distances in the real world. Calculate the scale of your printed map
using the scale bar.

ANSWER

1:50,000

- Production map scale. The scale stated on the map is 1:1,000,000 refers to the scale at which the
map was produced (you can see this map at the right scale in the Earth Science’s foyer). This is
different to what you calculated since your map has been printed at a smaller size. At a scale of
1:1,000,000 how many kilometres are represented by 1 cm?

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ANSWER

10 km

- Now let’s take a look at this map and some others in an online GIS application. Click here to
take you to the Geological Survey Ireland Spatial Resources webpage. This page allows you to
view various types of geological data. Different types of data can be selected from the “Layer
List” on the right-hand side noting layers (collections of data) are organised like folders and can
be expanded to reveal further layers and the layer legend. In the Layer List make sure the
“Bedrock Geology 100k” is checked on and other layers are turned off. Zoom in a little and click
on a geological unit on the map: what information does it tell you? Zoom in some more and click
on some of the black lines to find out what these represent?

ANSWER

It explains the rocky type, formation, description, age, etc. in a certain location. In addition, the
black lines represent the fault between geological units.

- Compare the 1:1,000,000 and 1:100,000 maps. Simplify the layer list by clicking on the Geology
tab at the top left of the page. Take a look at the different scale maps starting with the GSI
Bedrock Geology 1 Million (which is what we were looking at before albeit the online version has
slightly different colours). What information does the ‘larger’ 1:100,000 scale map (more
detailed) show not included on the larger scale maps? Is the geology as simple when you view it
on a larger scale map? Note the information displayed is dependent on how zoomed in you are!

ANSWER

The 1:1,000,000 scale map only provide Geological Unit Name and Geological Age. It means
that there are lots of information that is not included on the maps such as, rock type,
formation, and description. Therefore, it is true that geology is simpler on a larger scale map.

- Go to UCD’s location on the 1:100,000 map. What bedrock is the university sitting on, how old is
it?

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ANSWER

Limestone – it is formed approximately 330.9–346.7 million years ago

- Structural orientation of bedding. The symbol on the map to the west of UCD at Milltown gives
information about the orientation of the rocks. Expand the “Structural Symbols” sub-layer of the
GSI Bedrock Geology 100k layer to find the legend for structural symbols . Dip refer to the
maximum angle from horizontal of a geological surface (e.g., bedding plane) whereas the strike
refers to where the angle from horizontal is zero which is at 90 o to the dip direction. Looking at
the diagram below will help visualise this. Dip and strike are shown on maps to help understand
the geological structure.

Source: https://geology.fandom.com/wiki/Strike_and_dip

What is the dip and strike of the bedding at Milltown? Given this structural orientation and
assuming beds are the correct way up and were originally deposited horizontally before being
titled, in which direction would you expect to find younger rocks?

ANSWER

The dip of the bedding at Milltown is 45, whereas the strike is 21.44. The dip direction of
younger rocks would be right way up.

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- Geological cross sections: Maps show the organisation of geological units in two dimensions
projected upon a horizontal plane. Cross sections show the organisation of geological in a two
dimensional vertical plane. Zoom out so you can see the whole of Ireland and turn off the
bedrock geology map. Next Turn on the layer called “Bedrock 100K Sections”. This will show the
location of geological cross sections. There is one section that goes across the whole island in a
NW-SE transect from near Waterford to near Westport: click on this line to see its metadata and
then click on the “Link to the cross section PDF” to view it. Take a look at the cross section. What
depth does this cross section go to? How thick approximately is the Carboniferous sequence to
the west of Dublin? What features complicate the stratigraphy separating units of markedly
different age and lithology (rock type)?

ANSWER

The cross-section is 5 km in depth. The Carboniferous sequence to the west of Dublin is

approximately 2 km in depth. Unconformity is the feature that complicates the stratigraphy.

- Vertical exaggeration. Cross sections often have different vertical and horizontal scales. What is
the vertical exaggeration of the cross section i.e. how much has the cross section been stretched
in the vertical? What does this do to the angle of faults?

ANSWER

Vertical exaggeration is a scale that is used to emphasize vertical features. The cross section
has been stretched 2 times. Angle of faults are calculated based on the vertical exaggeration.

- Geological structure. In a few words, how would you describe the structure of the stratigraphy?
Simple or complicated? Continuous or discontinuous? What structural features complicate the
stratigraphy?

ANSWER

Stratigraphy is complicated and continuous. The unconformity complicates the stratigraphy.