GeoLog

Natural Hazards

Geosciences column: Shelter island – building a barrier to protect the coast

The latest Geosciences Column features recent research into tsunami hazards and explains how island building out to sea can help protect buildings on the shore… Barrier reefs are well known for holding off the wrath of the ocean and sheltering the serene lagoons that stretch between them and the mainland. Barrier islands possess the same protective power, taking the impact of waves that have built ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Shaken, not stirred – sediment shows signs of past earthquakes

Nore Praet, a PhD student from Ghent University in Belgium, brings us this week’s Imaggeo on Mondays. She sets the scene for an investigation into past earthquakes and explains how peering through a lake’s icy surface and its murky waters, and into the sediment below can help scientists find out more about the impact of earthquakes in the future… Early this year, I set off with a group of scientis ...[Read More]

It’s not my fault

A line on a map is important. In the Beverly Hills region of Los Angeles a series of mapped fault lines are now the cause of a major controversy. Communities have been alarmed, money has been lost and legal proceedings are ongoing. It started in 1992. James Dolan and Kerry Sieh, two earthquake geologists at the California Institute of Technology, published a map in a field trip guidebook about the ...[Read More]

GeoTalk: Steven Smith on fossil faults and fantastic faulting

This week in GeoTalk, we’re talking to Steven Smith, a Lecturer from the University of Otago. Steven takes us on an Earth-shaking journey, explaining how ancient faults reveal what’s happening under the Earth’s surface and delving into the future of fault zone research. First, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you are currently working on? Last September I started as a L ...[Read More]