The St George's Down : the plateau gravel : a preliminary discussion

The British Geological Survey is currently completing a new survey of the whole of the Isle of Wight at the 1:10 000 scale. The team has been surveying in short sessions since the autumn of 2006 with a final session to be completed in April and May 2009. This survey will provide a modern appraisal of the Bedrock and Superficial Deposits and publish a new 1:50 000 scale geological map and supporting texts for this classic area of British Geology. Quite obviously the published interpretation of the Superficial Deposits on the island is at a very basic level (BGS, 1976; White, 1921 [1994]) reflecting the lack of study that most of the deposits have had since the original surveys. It is to be hoped that the current survey, and the melding of this data with the studies already undertaken in the wider community, will go a long way in unravelling the Quaternary history of the Island.