Britain has some of the most extensive and fossiliferous exposures of marine Lower Jurassic rocks seen anywhere in the world. They include remarkably complete stratigraphical successions and a great diversity of facies, forming the basis for many detailed investigations. Knowledge accrued at many of these sites has contributed enormously to enhancing our understanding of the factors that influenced these Early Jurassic sediments, such as sea level, basin subsidence, climate and diagenesis.

 

British Lower Jurassic strata have also long been famed for its wealth of fossils, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Many species were first described from sites described in this volume, and these sites continue to contribute important new taxa and specimens. Numerous palaeontological case studies based on such material have contributed immensely to our understanding of biological diversity, evolutionary patterns and processes, marine palaeoevironments, and the processes of fossilization during early Jurassic times. Rich ammonite faunas at many sites have formed the basis for one of the highest resolution stratigraphies of any part of the geological column. Several GCR sites described in this volume have been either designated or proposed as the Global Stratotype Section and Point for various Lower Jurassic Stage boundaries.

 

Described here are 45 sites, from small disused quarries to magnificent coastal cliffs, which represent the entire British outcrop, from north-east Scotland to south Wales and south-west England. Together they demonstrate the diversity of Lower Jurassic stratigraphy and facies in Britain. All are of considerable importance within a British and western European context, while many unquestionably are of international significance.