uring the spring of 1960; an uncle showed me a lsquo;petrifying springrsquo; near Plaxtol in Kent Dwhere twigs had been encased in a calcareous jacket. A twig was collected and having - cently been given I. Evanrsquo;s Observerrsquo;s Book of Geology by my parents; I found a photograph of another petrifying spring and an explanation of its origin. In those days; Derbyshire was too far for a holiday destination; and I took little further interest until a research studentship with Professor G. E. Fogg became available in 1971. Tony Fogg had recently moved to the University College of North Wales; Bangor and the research was to be into cyanobacterium mats; with fieldwork along the Red Sea coast. The fieldwork never materialised but my interest in algal mats had been aroused. A chance stroll along the Bangor shore revealed beautifully calcified cya- bacterium mats; and Tony generously allowed me to investigate these instead. The old Plaxtol collection was retrieved and yielded abundant cyanobacteria. It became apparent that here was a wealth of information about a rock whose formation was so rapid; that the process could be studied in days rather than years ndash; an exceptional state of affairs. A search of the literature also revealed that the rock; a form of travertine; had other unusual features.
#3732303 in eBooks 2015-08-12 2015-08-12File Name: B013TYKJU4
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