Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

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

Laura Roberts-Artal July 1, 2016

Birch pollen by Per Harald of NTNU, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology. Distributed via Flickr .

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

Laura Roberts-Artal May 20, 2016

Thomas practicing his dissection techniques . (Credit: Thomas Clemens)

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]

Geo Talk: One of the youngest EGU 2016 General Assembly delegates sends sensor to space

Hazel Gibson and Kai Boggild May 13, 2016

Thomas Maier at the poster session at the 2016 General Assembly where he presented his work. (Credit: Kai Boggild/EGU)

Presenting at an international conference is daunting, even for the most seasoned of scientists; not so for Thomas Maier (a second year university student) who took his research (co-authored by Lukas Kamm, a high-school student) to the EGU 2016 General Assembly! Not only was their work on developing a moisture sensor impressive, so was Thomas’ enthusiasm and confidence when presenting his r ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Earth Wave

Laura Roberts-Artal May 9, 2016

Earth Wave n˚1 . Credit: Pierre Antoine (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Take a stroll along the norther beaches of the French Channel Coast, some kilometers east from the entrance of the Channel Tunnel, and you’ll encounter an imposing cliff of soft, sandy composition which dominates the landscape. On close inspection, the sediments which make up the Quaternary aged deposits of the Sangatte Cliff, are beautiful, revealing intricate patterns which hold the key to the g ...[Read More]