Lady Down Quarry
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST960306 | — | Unfavourable Recovering | 0.3 | 2012-03-26 |
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
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Cretaceous, Jurassic
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Description The lady Down Quarry affords the only section across the Jurassic Cretaceous boundary presently available, away from the Dorset coast. Its section through mid Purbeck limestones and clays, including the Cinder Bed, shows a mixture of lithologies and faunas consistent with the changeable environmental situation pertaining at the close of the Jurassic Period. Salinity fluctuations are reflected by the change from the marine 'Trigonia' oyster assemblage of the Cinder Bed to the non marine Ostracod and Isopod limestones above. A key stratigraphic and palaeontological locality.