Professor Nigel H Trewin

Nigel Trewin Professor of Geology
Honorary Curator of Geology Collections
Research interests
The Rhynie Research Group

The Group is researching the geology, palaeoenvironments, palaeontology and mineralisation of the Early Devonian Rhynie hot spring system. Over the past few years the group has discovered new arthropods in the Rhynie and Windyfield cherts that have increased the known faunal diversity of the deposits by 40%, making this the most diverse Early Devonian terrestrial / freshwater assemblage on Earth. Comparative studies concentrate on modern analogues in Yellowstone National Park, USA, and New Zealand. The Group has research links with workers in Germany, France and the USA on the biota of the cherts, and with groups in the USA, Canada and NZ studying modern hot springs.

For further details on the Rhynie chert, see the website at www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie, a learning resource funded by JISC.

A conference on:- The Rhynie Hot Spring System: Geology, Biota and Mineralisation was held at Aberdeen in September 2003. Details and abstracts will be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie. Papers arising from the Conference are published as Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 94, part 4 2004. This volume can be purchased from the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Rhynie Research Group personnel

Nigel Trewin, Project Leader: Palaeontology, palaeoenvironments
Clive Rice, Project Leader: Structure, mineralisation
Steve Fayers, Honorary Lecturer: The Windyfield chert, Arthropods
Lyall Anderson , Honorary Lecturer: Arhropods

Grand Prismatic spring, Yellowstone National Park
Orange bacterial growth on sinter outwash area of Grand Prismatic spring, Yellowstone National Park, USA
(Double click on image for larger version)


Old Red Sandstone of Scotland

Work continues on the cyclicity of the Caithness Flagstones, and interpretations of climatic changes with Milankovitch periodicities (Stephen Andrews, PhD student). Work on the faunas and palaeoenvironments of the classic ORS fish beds of the Midland Valley and Orcadian Basin proceeds in collaboration with Bob Davidson.

Tynet
Cheiracanthus in a nodule from the Tynet fish bed, Fochabers, Moray.

The Tumblagooda Sandstone, Western Australia

A questionmark still hangs over the age of this sandstone. Is it Late Silurian or as old as Early Ordovician? If the latter age is correct, the trackways represent large arthropods walking out of water! Investigation to continue with Ken McNamara of the WA Museum in Perth.

Permian of the Falkland Islands

Work on the onshore geology of the Falkland Islands, through the South Atlantic Project of CASP with David Macdonald and Chris Thomas, has resulted in the description of the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Permian section. Comparison with the sequence exposed in South Africa reveals strong similarities that confirm that the Falklands represent the 'missing' eastern end of the Karoo Basin.

A spectacular assemblage of deep water lacustrine trace fossils is in the process of analysis. A paper on the fish-produced trace fossil Undichna has been published.

Turbidite channel fill in delta-derived sandstones
Turbidite channel fill in delta-derived sandstones, Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands

Clastic Hydrocarbon Reservoirs, sedimentology, diagenesis and quality

Combination of sedimentology, diagenetic and geochemical studies on sandstone reservoirs and ancient field analogues aids reservoir description. Work on Triassic red beds (Shell Funded) is aimed at improving reservoir architecture description. Mesozoic turbidites from the North Sea, and the Tumblagooda Sandstone of WA, have provided results relating to fluid movement and cementation during burial, particularly quartz budget in diagenesis.

Trace Fossils

My trace fossils research theme is mainly directed at terrestrial and lacustrine environments. Areas of study are the Old Red Sandstone of northern Scotland, Permian of the Falkland Islands, and the Tumblagooda Sandstone of WA.

The Permian ichnology of the Elgin area, particularly the reptile trackways is the subject of research with Carol Hopkins (PhD student). This research includes comparisons with the Coconino Sandstone of Arizona.

Permian Hopeman Sandstone bearing reptile trackways on display at Clasach Quarry
Slabs of Permian Hopeman Sandstone bearing reptile trackways on display at Clasach Quarry, Hopeman, NE Scotland

The Geology of Scotland

The 4th Edition of this title was published in 2002 and can be ordered from the Geological Society of London

Papers and book contributions published 1995 to present

TREWIN, N.H. and McNAMARA, K.J 1995. Arthropods invade the land: trace fossils and palaeoenvironments of the Tumblagooda Sandstone (?late Silurian) of Kalbarri, Western Australia. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. 85, 177-210.

AHLBERG, P.E. and TREWIN, N.H. 1995. The postcranial skeleton of the Middle Devonian lungfish Dipterus valenciennesi. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. 85, 159-175.

RICE, C.M., ASHCROFT, W.A., BATTEN, D.J., BOYCE, A.J., CAULFIELD, J.B.D., FALLICK, A.E., HOLE, M.J., JONES, E., PEARSON, M.J., ROGERS, G., SAXTON, J.M., STUART, F.M., TREWIN, N.H. and TURNER, G. 1995. The geology of an Early Devonian hot spring system near Rhynie, Scotland. J. Geol. Soc. Soc. London, 152, 229-250.

CARROLL, S. and TREWIN, N.H. 1995. Cornulatichnus: a new trace fossil from the Old Red Sandstone of Orkney. Scott. J. Geol. 37, 37-41.

WATSON, R.S., TREWIN, N.H. and FALLICK, A.E. 1995. The formation of carbonate cements in the Forth and Balmoral fields, Northern North Sea: a case for biodegradation, carbonate cementation and oil leakage during early burial. Sp. Publ. Geol. Soc. London, 94, 175-198.

HENDRY, J.P. and TREWIN, N.H. 1995. Authigenic quartz microfabrics in Cretaceous turbidites: evidence for silica transformation processes in sandstones. Sedimentary Research, A65, 380-392.

BOUCH, J.E., HOLE, M.J., TREWIN, N.H. and MORTON, A.C. 1995. Low temperature aqueous mobility of the rare-earth elements during sandstone diagenesis. J. Geol. Soc. London, 152, 895-898.

ORR, P.J., BENTON, M.J. and TREWIN, N.H. 1996. Deep-marine trace-fossil assemblages from the Lower Carboniferous of Menorca. Geol. J. 31, 235-258.

HENDRY, J.P., TREWIN, N.H. and FALLICK, A.E. 1996. Low-Mg calcite marine cement in Cretaceous turbidites: origin, spatial distribution, and relation to seawater chemistry. Sedimentology, 43, 877-900.

VAN PANHUYS-SIGLER, M., TREWIN, N.H. and STILL, J. 1996. Roscoelite associated with reduction spots in Devonian red beds, Gamrie Bay, Banffshire. Scott. J. Geol. 32, 127-132.

TREWIN, N.H. and DAVIDSON, R.G. 1996. A Lower Devonian lake and its associated biota in the Midland Valley of Scotland. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. 86, 233-246.

TREWIN, N.H. 1996. The Rhynie Cherts: an early Devonian ecosystem preserved by hydrothermal activity. In: Evolution of hydrothermal ecosystems on Earth (and Mars?) Eds Bock, G.R. and Goode, J. (Ciba Foundation Symposium 202) p.131-149.

BOUCH, J.E., HOLE, M.J. and TREWIN, N.H. 1997. Rare earth and high field strength element partitioning in diagenetically precipitated titanites. Neues Jahrebuch fur Mineralogie Monatschefte. 172, 3-21.

TREWIN, N.H. and DAVIDSON, R.G. 1999. Lake level changes, sedimentation and faunas in a Middle Devonian basin-margin fish bed. J. Geol. Soc. London. 156, 535-548.

TREWIN, N.H. and KNOLL, A.H. 1999. Preservation of Devonian chemotrophic filamentous bacteria in calcite veins. Palaios 14, 288-294.

TREWIN, N.H. and FALLICK, A.E. 2000. Quartz cement origins and budget in the Tumblagooda Sandstone, W. Australia. In: Worden, R.H. and Morad, S. (Eds.) Quartz cementation in sandstones. Int. Assoc. Sedimentologists Special Publication 29, 219-229.

HENDRY, J.P., WILKINSON, M., FALLICK, A.E. and TREWIN, N.H. 2000. Disseminated 'jigsaw-piece' dolomite in Upper Jurassic shelf sandstones, Central North Sea: an example of cement growth during bioturbation? Sedimentology 47, 631-644.

ANDERSON, L.I., DUNLOP, J.A. and TREWIN, N.H. 2000. A Middle Devonian chasmataspid from Achanarras Quarry, Caithness, Scotland. Scott. J. Geol. 36, 151-158.

POWELL, C.L., TREWIN, N.H. and EDWARDS, D. 2000. Palaeoecology and plant succession in a borehole through the Rhynie cherts, Lower Old Red Sandstone, Scotland. In: Friend, P.F. and Williams, B.P.J. (Eds.) New perpectives on the Old Red Sandstone. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 180, 439-458.

POWELL, C.L., EDWARDS, D. and TREWIN, N.H. 2000. A new vascular plant from the Lower Devonian Windyfield chert, Rhynie, NE Scotland. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. 90, 331-349.

TREWIN, N.H. 2000. The ichnogenus Undichna, with examples from the Permian of the Falkland Islands. Palaeontology 43, 979-997.

HUTCHINSON, J.N., MILLAR, D.L. and TREWIN, N.H. 2001. Coast erosion threat to a nuclear waste shaft at Dounreay, Scotland. Q. J. Engineering Geology and Hydrology, 34, 245-268.

TREWIN, N.H. 2001. The Rhynie Chert. In. Briggs D.E.G. and Crowther, P.R. (eds). Palaeobiology II. Ch 3.4.5. Blackwells. 342-346.

TREWIN, N. H. 2001. Scotland's foundations: our geological inheritance. In: Gordon, J. E. and Leys, K.F. (eds) Earth science and the natural heritage: interactions and integrated management. Scottish Natural Heritage, Edinburgh. 59-67.

NEWMAN, M.J. and TREWIN, N.H. 2001. A new agnathan from the Middle Devonian of Scotland. Palaeontology 44, 43-51.

BOUCH, J.E., HOLE, M.J., TREWIN, N.H., MORTON, A. and CHENERY, S. (2002). Authigenic apatite as an indicator of heavy mineral dissolution during sandstone diagenesis. J. Sed. Res.

TREWIN, N. H., MACDONALD, D.I.M. and THOMAS, C.G.C. 2002. Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Permian of the Falkland Islands: lithostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental links with South Africa. J. Geol. Soc. London, 159, 5-19.

BOUCH, J.E., HOLE, M.J., TREWIN, N.H., CHENERY, S. and MORTON, A.C. 2002. Authigenic apatite as an indicator of heavy mineral dissolution during sandstone diagenesis. J. Sedimentary Research, 72, 59-67.

RICE, C.M., ANDERSON, L.I. and TREWIN, N.H. 2002. Stratigraphy and structural setting of the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert, Aberdeenshire, Scotland: an early terrestrial hot-spring system. J. Geol. Soc. London, 159, 203-214.

TREWIN, N. H. (ed) 2002. The Geology of Scotland. (4th Edn). The Geological Society, London.

TREWIN, N. H. and ROLLIN, K. E. 2002. Geological History and Structure of Scotland. In: Trewin, N. H. (ed) The Geology of Scotland. (4th Edn). The Geological Society, London. 1-25.

HUDSON, J.D. & TREWIN, N.H. 2002. Jurassic. In: TREWIN, N.H. (ed.) The geology of Scotland. 4th edition. Geological Society, London, 323-350.

TREWIN, N.H. & THIRLWALL, M.F. 2002. Old Red Sandstone. In: TREWIN, N.H. (ed.) The geology of Scotland. 4th edition. Geological Society, London, 213-249.

ANDERSON, L.I. & TREWIN, N.H. 2003. An Early Devonian arthropod fauna from the Windyfield cherts, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Palaeontology, 46, 467-509.

MACDONALD, D.I.M., GOMEZ-PEREZ, I., FRANZESE, J., SPALLETTI, L.A., LAWYER, L.A., GAHAGAN, L., DALZIEL, I., THOMAS, C.G.C., TREWIN, N.H., HOLE, M.J. & PATON, D.A. 2003. Mesozoic break-up of SW Gondwana: implications for regional hydrocarbon potential of the southern South Atlantic. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 20, 287-308.

MARSHALL, P., TREWIN, N.H. & HARTLEY, A.J. 2003. Ichnofossils of the Psilonichnus Ichnofacies and their paleoecological and paleoenvironmental significance in the Scottish Middle Jurassic. Ichnos, 9, 95-108.

TREWIN, N.H., FAYERS, S.R. & KELMAN, R. 2003. Subaqueous silicification of the contents of small ponds in an Early Devonian hot spring complex, Rhynie, Scotland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 40, 1697-1712.

TREWIN, N.H., FRYBERGER, S.G. & KREUTZ, H. 2003. The Auk Field, Block 30/16, UK North Sea. In: GLUYAS, J.G. & HICHENS, H.M. (eds) United Kingdom oil and gas fields, commemorative Millenium volume. Geological Society Memoir 20, London, 485-496.

FAYERS, S.R. & TREWIN, N.H. 2004. A new crustacean from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 93, 355-382.

TREWIN, N.H. & WILSON, E. 2004. Correlation of the Early Devonian Rhynie chert beds between three boreholes at Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology, 40, 73-87.

TREWIN, N. H. and FAYERS, S. R. 2004. Chert. In: Selley, R. C., Cocks, L. R. M. and Plimer, I. R. (eds) Encyclopaedia of Geology. Academic Press.

TREWIN, N. H. 2004. History of research on the geology and palaeontology of the Rhynie area, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 94, 285-297.

FAYERS, S. R. and TREWIN, N. H. 2004. A review of the palaeoenvironments and biota of the Windyfield chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 94, 325-339.

KERP, H., TREWIN, N. H. and HASS, H. 2004. New gametophytes from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 94, 411-428.

KELMAN, R., FEIST, M., TREWIN, N, H. and HASS, H. 2004. Charophyte algae from the Rhynie chert. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 94, 445-455.

FAYERS, S. R., DUNLOP, J.A. and TREWIN, N. H. 2005. A new Early Devonian trigonotarbid from the Windyfield chert, Rhynie, Scotland. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 2, 269-284.

FAYERS, S. R. and TREWIN, N. H. 2005. A hexapod from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert, Rhynie, Scotland. Palaeontology, 48, 1117-1130.

DAVIDSON, R. G. and TREWIN, N, H. (in press). Unusual preservation of the internal organs of acanthodian fish in the Middle Devonian of Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology

Contact Details
Office: Meston 140
Tel: (0)1224 273448
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