Fieldwork is vital to understanding all sorts of Earth processes, but that doesn’t make it easy! James King, a researcher from the University of Oxford, describes what it takes to set off on a scientific expedition… Although the classic text on sediment transport by wind by Sir Ralph Bagnold was written way back in 1941, the mechanics of dust storms and their effects on the climate are still ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Beautiful Badlands
This week’s Imaggeo on Mondays is brought to you by Gert Verstraeten, who takes us through the formation of some of the striking landscapes in the Mediterranean – the badlands. For more than 7 years I have been performing research on reconstructing historic erosion rates in the Taurus Mountains in Southwest Turkey. Badlands are heavily eroded landscapes, where soft, clay-rich rocks and soils have ...[Read More]
GeoTalk: Simon Mudd
Today in GeoTalk, we’re talking to Simon Mudd, an exceptional and forward-thinking geomorphologist. First, could you introduce yourself and let us know a bit about what you are currently working on? I am lecturer in Landscape Dynamics at the University of Edinburgh, where I have been since 2007. Before that I was a post-doc at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville Tennessee. I received my PhD from V ...[Read More]
Muon musings – how penetrating particles could let us peer beneath Mars’ surface
Muons are penetrating particles generated by cosmic rays. Muon radiography – or muography – is the large-scale equivalent of using x-rays to generate images. Except, instead of using x-rays to take a closer look at your broken arm, we can use showers of muons to take a look inside large geological structures – we’re talking several kilometres in size here! When cosmic rays meet the atmospher ...[Read More]