EDC 10: Manse Burn, Bearsden

Grid reference: [NS 52951 73295]

Site type: Natural section

Site ownership: Not known

Current use: Recreational land

Field surveyor: Sarah Arkley & Luis Albornoz-Parra

Current geological designations: SSSI Date visited: 6th March 2009

Site map

(Figure 10) Manse Burn Location Map

Summary description

Manse Burn, SSSI. Carboniferous fossil sharks found in 1980's with 14 species of fish. Carboniferous black shale outcrops found in stream bed and banks. Bedrock exposures up to 1.5 m high in stream banks. Top of Lower Limestone Formation, Top Hosie Limestone and base of Limestone Coal Formation are exposed along the burn.

Small rivulet flowing out of bank (?at rockhead), very iron-rich, coating bank sediments in bright orange - ?mine waters. Site is interesting/important scientifically but not very impressive for public. Being a SSSI, public passing by and trying their luck at fossil picking should not be encouraged. Manager of Douglas Muir quarry informed BGS that local residents are hoping to pull together some information for the public after someone turned up at Milngavie Railway Station with a rifle asking where he had to go to shoot the sharks! Tarmac is supporting the 'Shark Project'. Exposure of the Wilderness Till Formation at the western end of the burn.

EDC 10: Stratigraphy and rock types

Age: Upper Carboniferous Formation: Limestone Coal Formation

Rock type: Sedimentary Rock Cycles of the Clackmannan Group Type

Age: Lower Carboniferous Formation: Top Hosie Limestone, Lower Limestone Formation

Rock type: Limestone

Age: Lower Carboniferous Formation: Lower Limestone Formation

Rock type: Sedimentary Rock Cycles of the Clackmannan Group Type

Assessment of site value

Access and safety

Aspect/Description

Road access and parking Ample street parking in the housing estate surrounding the site

Safety of access Burns runs through an area of open ground in the estate, small informal footpath runs alongside the burn allowing access, although frequently crosses the burn. Wooded along the burn. A higher path exists along the edge of the woodland above the burn

Safety of exposure Low outcrops within the burn or in the banks. Some of the dipping strata underwater is slippery

Permission to visit No permission sought possibly Council property

Current condition A few small exposures in the stream are kept fresh by flowing water, bank side exposures could become overgrown with shrub very easily

Current conflicting activities Although protected, fossil collecting does appear to be happening on a large scale

Restricting conditions None

Nature of exposure Natural stream exposures

Culture, heritage & economic

Historic, archaeological & literary associations None known. Rating: 0.

Aesthetic landscape Valuable open space with urban environment. Rating: 2.

History of earth sciences None known. Rating: 0.

Economic geology Non recorded. Rating: 0.

EDC 10: Geoscientific merit

EDC 10: Manse Burn, Bearsden. Geoscientific merit.

Total Geoscientific merit score 74

Current site value

Community Frequent use by local residents. Rating: 9.

Education One of the best Carboniferous fish sites in the world. Most of the recovered material is now in a collection at the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. We believe there is currently a 'Shark Project' underway, initiated by local residents to inform the public of the importance of the site. Rating: 10.

Fragility and potential use of the site. Rating: 4.

Fragility Erosion, Natural Overgrowth, Over-collecting, Dumping, Development

Potential use Research, Higher/Further Education, School, On-site Interpretation, Multidisciplinary

Geodiversity value

The significance of this site has already been recognised in designating it a SSSI. The site is of major international importance for its Carboniferous age fossils. Fossil fish of this age (approximately 330 Ma) are rare throughout the world, the Bearsden sharks have exceptional preservation and eleven new bony fish species have been found here. The quality and variety of the Carboniferous assemblage found at this site is unrivalled worldwide. However the site's value for geoconservation is currently lessened by dumping, litter, erosion, over-collecting and natural overgrowth. Rating: 8.

Photographs

(Photo 40) General view looking ESE along the western end of the Manse Burn site.

(Photo 41) Exposure of glacial till in the banks of the Manse Burn, at the western end of the site.

(Photo 42) Gently dipping sedimentary strata belonging to the Limestone Coal Formation, exposed in the base and banks of the Manse burn. Looking ESE.

(Photo 43) Outcrop of black mudstones, part of the Limestone Coal Formation. Looking NE across the Manse Burn.

(Photo 44) Close-up of the exposed section of organic-rich black mudstones. Looking NE.

(Photo 45) Fossil shell fragments revealed when layers of the black mudstone are split apart. For many people, especially children, finding a fossil plant or animal that no person has ever seen can be a special experience.

(Photo 46) Iron-rich water issuing from the rocks into the burn. Looking SW.

(Photo 47) Abundant mudstone fragments recently turned over, probably by fossil hunters. Looking WNW.

(Photo 48) Uncontrolled over-collecting of fossils, either by amateurs who store finds in their own private collections or professionals who sell finds to private collectors, could be the biggest threat to the geology of the Manse Burn site. Looking N.

Bibliography