SSP
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Ramon Lopez

Ramon is a senior geologist with 15 years of research (PhD) and industry experience in sedimentology, ore deposits and hydrogeology. He is currently providing consultancy and training for the oil industry (running field trips, teaching online courses). He has expertise in collecting field data on a wide range of environments and converting it into multiple formats depending on the client and purpose: from just text and images to 3D models and videos filmed with drones. He is also senior consultant for R&D military projects at Inspiralia USA. More info: www.channelsgeo.com / LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/ramon-lopez-jimenez) / Twitter (@Montxolopez)

Winning a modern war is much about sedimentology

Russia has invaded Ukraine. We have been reading and watching in the news how some pieces of high-tech equipment and weapons are being determinant for Ukraine to push back Russia’s invasion. Guided missiles, drones or new generation satellites heavily relie on rare-earth elements for development and production. The aggressor and the invaded country crave for weapons and military equipment to ...[Read More]

Psychology in outcrop studies: heuristic biases – our ‘best’ enemies?

Psychology in outcrop studies: heuristic biases – our ‘best’ enemies?

There are not many scientific publications that tackle the issue of subjectivity in geological studies and its impact. In one of them, Baddeley et al. (2004), they state it clearly in some sentences: “the judgements of experts can be biased by their use of heuristics to guide the formation of their opinions” or “accepted or prior opinions of existing experts certainly affect the judgement of other ...[Read More]

Sediment in the deep ocean. Part 2: thermohaline currents that shape the seafloor

Sediment in the deep ocean. Part 2: thermohaline currents that shape the seafloor

In Part 1 we differentiated between (1) shallow-marine tide-related currents from (2) purely gravitational sediment-laden currents. We could add that the former are periodic, as they are controlled by the effect of the Moon and Sun gravitational fields on the oceanic water as the Earth revolves, while the latter are sort of ‘spontaneous’ currents driven by the Earth gravitation field on sedi ...[Read More]

Sediment in the deep ocean, Part 1: flows that shape the seafloor.

Sediment in the deep ocean, Part 1: flows that shape the seafloor.

Most of us know about the existence of waves and tides. We can see them along our coasts and, even if we do not pay much attention, we also know that waves and tides move sediment that rests on the seafloor: sand, mud, shells and…plastics. We all can see ripples and small channels on beaches or estuaries created by the movement of water from waves and tides. If we scuba dive down to a few tens of ...[Read More]