Norham West Mains Farm borehole : operations report

A borehole was drilled to a total depth of 501.33 m by Drilcorp Ltd at Norham West Mains Farm, near the village of Norham, Berwick upon Tweed. Work was commenced on the 27th of March 2013 and completed on 7th Obtaining cores from the Norham West Mains Farm Borehole is a major task within the TW:eed Project, which is investigating how limbed vertebrates adapted to walk on land around 360 million years ago (see June 2013. The borehole was fully cored from 10.22 m to its total depth through rocks of the Lower Carboniferous Inverclyde Group. http://www.tetrapods.org/). This was a key stage in the evolution of life on Earth and shaped the future evolution of vertebrates, including the eventual appearance of humans. The project builds on some unique new fossil finds made recently in the Scottish Borders and adjacent areas. Analysis of the borehole will provide a framework upon which this research is to be pinned. This scientific research programme is being undertaken by a consortium of organisations led by the University of Cambridge, and including the universities of Southampton and Leicester, the National Museums of Scotland and the British Geological Survey, and funded through the Natural Environment Research Council.