Wit & Wisdom

Geodynamics – What does it really mean?

Iris van Zelst April 22, 2020

What happens in the core, stays in the core. Credit: Andres Moreno, Flickr

We are all studying geodynamics, but what does that really mean? Do we limit ourselves to the mantle? The lithosphere? The equations we solve? In this Wit & Wisdom post, Colin Hardy, PhD student in fluid dynamics at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, makes his case for an often forgotten boundary condition of mantle geodynamicists: the core. Let us start with the basics and break down th ...[Read More]

The challenges (and the perks) of being academic nomads

Editorial team 1 April 8, 2020

It has become inevitable for scientists to move abroad for their jobs. Moving to and living in a new country can be a very exciting, yet also tough experience. In today’s blog post, Irene Bonati (PhD Student at the Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo) discusses the challenges and perks that come with the nomad lifestyle of many academics. Research provides a kind of freedom that almost no ...[Read More]

The spikey end of geodynamics: The story of the echidna and plate tectonics

Editorial Team 3 April 1, 2020

Echidna (Source: National Geographic).

This week, Craig O’Neill, Associate Professor and director of the Planetary Research Center at MacQuarie University shows that not only humans are suffering from the consequences of global warming. The recent Australian bushfire season has precipitated a shift in the Australian – and the world’s – perception of the urgency of addressing climate change. With most of the east ...[Read More]

Should we still study LLSVPs?

Iris van Zelst March 4, 2020

Tomography model S40RTS (Ritsema et al., 2011) at the CMB with velocity contours from -2 to 2 % δVs with increments of 0.5 % δVs.
Normally I’d add some kind of clever remark here, but it’s just a figure full of blobs. What can I say about that? Maybe that dogs are better? Scroll down for a dog! So proud that we finally have dog content on this blog.

All blobs are equal, but some blobs are more interesting than other blobs. In this new Wit & Wisdom post, Jamie Ward, PhD student in seismology at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, explores this age-old saying and discusses whether or not LLSVPs are the most important blobs in our lives. Also, there is a picture of a dog. It makes sense, I promise. Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LL ...[Read More]