Great Dib Wood
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE199443 | — | Favourable | 0.97 | 2023-03-24 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Limestone, Mudstone, Sandstone
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Description A natural cliff section displaying two Namurian sandstones separated by an extremely fossiliferous series of mudstones and limestones, constituting the Otley Shell Bed. This bed of presumed Kinderscoutian age contains a very broad selection of fossils, with virtually all marine groups represented. It is of particular interest as the Otley Shell Bed is one of the stratigraphically youngest horizons to yield trilobites at surface exposures in Britain. In layman's terms, the interest of this site may be expressed more simply and such a statement is provided below. This should not be taken as definitive and further information as to details of the interest can be obtained from the Nature Conservancy Council. This site provides exposures of rocks of the Namurian Series, formed during the Carboniferous Period of geological history about 320 million years ago. Two sandstone layers are exposed, separated by a layer of mudstone and limestone known as the Otley Shell Bed which is rich in the fossilised remains of the animals that inhabited the Carboniferous sea. This fossil rich bed is of great geological interest principally because of the variety of fossils it contains, but also because it is one of the youngest rock layers known to contain the remains of a now extinct group of animals known as tribolites.