Geology of the catchement areas of the Glencullen, Lug Duff, Avoca and Campus rivers.

The Clencullen river The Clencullen river rises in the wicklow mountains at Tibradden. It flows in a south easterly direction through Glencullen to Enniskerry where it becomes the Cookstown river. It meets the Dargle river just north of Kilcroney which continues northeastwards meeting the Irish sea at Bray harbour. (Grid refs to be added). The bedrock over which the Glen Cullen river flows is predominantly Granite, part of the Leinster Granite Batholith. This is the largest batholith in Ireland and Britain and forms the core of the Wicklow mountains. It comprises 5 plutons which intruded simultaneously during the Acadian orogeny. The Glen Cullen river flows across the Northern Pluton (which extends over an area of approximately 440 km2 extending from Dun Laoghaire southwestwards to the Wicklow Gap area), then across the Maulin Formation, dark blue-grey slate, phyllite and schist to the east of the granitic plutons, and then across a formation comprising volcanic tuffs and silt rocks (called the Glencullen formation) further east. The other 4 plutons are the Upper Liffey Valley pluton, the Lugnaquilla pluton, the Tullow pluton and the Blackstairs pluton. The granite is cut by several major north west to south east trending fractures. Subsequent erosion (both fluvial and glacial) of these fractures formed several deeply incised valleys. The Glen Cullen valley along with Glencree, Glendasan and Glenmalure were formed in this way. The Northern pluton and the Upper Liffey Valley pluton contain 6 varieties of granite representing different locations and pulses of formation within the pluton. The Glencullen river flows through 5 types before reaching the Glencullen formation. It rises in type 4, a Muscovite-microcline porphoritic granite, then type 3, a granite with muscovite phenocrysts, then type 2e, pale grey fine to coarse grained granite, then type 2p, granite with microcline phenocrysts, then type 1, a fine grained granodiorite to granite. The river exploits a fault line for all of its course through the granites to the Glencullen formation. The geology of an area through which a river flows affects its conductivity. Siliceous rocks such as granite which is composed of inert materials which dont ionize or dissolve into ionic compounds, will produce a lower conductivity. This means that other metals washed into the river can be held in suspension due to their chemical interactions. For example the aluminium content in acidic rivers can be very high. Granites produce acidic rivers. The variations in chemistry in the different granite bodies will have an effect on the chemistry in the river. The Lugduff Brook The Lugduff brook rises between Mullacor and Cullentragh Mountain and flows north between The Spink and Derrybawn Mountain to join the Glenealo River as it flows from the upper to the lower lake in Glendalough. (Grid refs). The bedrock here is the Maulin Formation, dark blue-grey slate, phyllite and schist. These are mostly fine grained metamorphosed sediments, laminated siltstones and shales. They were produced when the sediments were subjected to high pressures and temperatures when buried to great depths prior to exhumation. As the contact with the granite is approached, (called the aureole, produced by metamorphism associated with the intrusion if the granite pluton) the rock becomes more phyllitic and then schistose, with increasing biotite, muscovite and garnet. The Glenealo river rises in the Lugnaquilla pluton in the Glendaloudh Adamellite (an ademellite with microcline

phenocrysts), so once the Lugduff Brook joins the out flow from the Glendalough lake, the water will have the chemical signature of both rock types. (Where exactly were the chemically analysed samples taken?) Avoca Tributary The avoca river begins at the meeting point of the Avonmor and Avonbeg rivers (called The Meeting of the Waters). The Avonbeg rises between Camenabologue and Conavalla mountains in west Wicklow. At first it exploits the Glenmalure Valley fracture in the Lugnaquilla granite pluton flowing southeastwards. It then passes over the mica schists that border the pluton (the aureole), and then over Ordovician sandstones siltstones and shales (the Ribband group which are interpreted as distal turbidites with minor mid Ordovician volcanics) untill it meets with the Avonmore. The Avonmore flows out of Lough Dan winding its way southwards also over the Maulin Formation at first and then over intermediate to acidic volcanic rocks, the Duncannon group. There is a significant outcrop of the Duncannon group between Rathdrum and Arklow which also hosts the Avoca mineralized sequence of stratiform ore bodies. The Avoca copper deposit is a volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit. Massive sulfides occur in association with subaquaeous volcanoclastics. Here rhyolitic, andesitic and dacitic tuffs occur with interbedded clastic sediments. The volcanic material is frequently reworked and seems to have been deposited from turbidity currents. Lots of brecciated ignimbrite and rhyolite is contained within proximal units of slumped volcanic mud flows. Intrusive rhyolite bodies exhibit intense brecciation which is associated with hydrothermal mineralization. The mining activities at Avoca continued for over two centuries during which the ore deposits were exploited for copper and iron pyrite. The Avoca river continues flowing south to the vacinity of Woodenbridge where it turns southeast and is joined by the Auchrim river. It continues in a southeasterly direction and meets the sea at Arklow. The Campus stream. The campus stream is a culverted stream. It has been modified by artificial channelling, some open, some covered. At present its exact source is not known. The Dublin basin is composed mostly of Calp limestone, a varied dark grey to black, fine grained, graded basinal limestone with interbedded black poorly fossiliferous shales. It is of Chadian to Brigantian age and was deposited in warm shallow seas possibly poor lagoonal settings. It occurs in faulted contact with Caladonian granites very close to the south of Belfield. The higher geography of Mount Merrion is the northern most edge of the Northern Granite pluton mentioned above. Between it and the Calp limestone at Belfield lies a major east-west trending fault bringing the 2 rock types in contact with each other. The chemistry of the Campus stream though highly polluted, may contain a signature of the rock types over which it flows. If its source is in the higher ground to the south, acidity due to the granite should be evident. If it comes from the north, limestone signatures will be evident. It is most likely that even though it is a culverted stream, it will have picked up some limestone material as it probably flows over bedrock in some of the limestone areas along its course. Glaciation

Ireland experienced 2 separate glaciations during the last ice age. Present day glacial deposits are from the 2nd of these. The lowlands of the Wicklow mountains are filled with glacial and glaciofluvial deposits of various thicknesses (30m in places). Ice sourced in the midlands pushing eastwards onto and skirting northwards of the Wicklow hills, deposited huge volumes of till in its path. Ice from the Irish sea basin fed from both northeast Ireland and southwest Scotland pushed southwards also depositing till. These 2 ice sheets vied with each other for occupation of the coastal area between Kilcool and the Dublin basin. The Wicklow ice cap also deposited locally derived till and gravels in the valleys and lower ground. The limestone signature found in the Clencullen river is probably due to the fact that it flows through glacial till in places along its course. The limestone content in the till in this case probably came from the north from the Dublin basin ice sheet.