GeoLog

Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Who do you think most deserves the title of the Mother of Geology?

Who do you think most deserves the title of the Mother of Geology?

Much ink is spilled hailing the work of the early fathers of geology – and rightly so! James Hutton is the mind behind the theory of uniformitarianism, which underpins almost every aspect of geology and argues that processes operating at present operated in the same manner over geological time, while Sir Charles Lyell furthered the idea of geological time. William Smith, the coal miner and canal b ...[Read More]

New study of natural CO2 reservoirs: Carbon dioxide emissions can be safely buried underground for climate change mitigation

New study of natural CO2 reservoirs: Carbon dioxide emissions can be safely buried underground for climate change mitigation

New research shows that natural accumulations of carbon dioxide (CO2) that have been trapped underground for around 100,000 years have not significantly corroded the rocks above, suggesting that storing CO2 in reservoirs deep underground is much safer and more predictable over long periods of time than previously thought, explains Suzanne Hangx a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Utrech ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Pollen tells a 7300 year old story of Malta’s climate and vegetation

Geosciences Column: Pollen tells a 7300 year old story of Malta’s climate and vegetation

Figuring out what the climate was like, and how it changed, throughout Earth’s history is like trying to complete a 1000 piece puzzle. Except that scientists usually don’t have all the nuggets and building a comprehensive picture relies on a multidisciplinary approach in order to fill in the blanks. This is particularly true during the Holocene, which spans the last 11,700 years of the Earth’ ...[Read More]

Livers, guts and gills: understanding how organisms become fossils

Livers, guts and gills: understanding how organisms become fossils

It’s 10am and Thomas Clements, a 3rd year palaeobiology PhD Student, is getting ready to check on his latest experiment. Full kited up in what can only be described as a space suit, Thomas carefully approaches the fume cupboard home to his latest specimen: a decaying seabass, balanced on a specially designed ‘hammock’ in a tank of salty water. Opening the lid to check on the rotting fish, Thomas i ...[Read More]