Geology Jenga

Lake sediments

A real-world example of ‘networking’ success

A real-world example of ‘networking’ success

One piece of advice that Early Career Researchers (certainly including PhD students) encounter repeatedly is this concept of ‘developing academic networks’ that may potentially lead to collaborative research and ideally a job in the future. I often wondered what on earth that actually meant when I started my PhD. Attending conferences and speaking to colleagues …[Read More]

Sharing my new discovery – aquatic plants are (sometimes) suitable for radiocarbon dating!

Sharing my new discovery – aquatic plants are (sometimes) suitable for radiocarbon dating!

Radiocarbon dating is probably the most well-known chronological technique regularly employed by archaeologists, geomorphologists and researchers analysing sediment cores. Palaeolimnologists (those who study lake sediments) hoping to determine the age of a sample extracted from a long sediment core traditionally seek terrestrial plant macrofossils (fragments of organic matter visible without a microscope), as these are …[Read More]

Moraines in Costa Rica? Really?

Moraines in Costa Rica? Really?

During a recent trip to Costa Rica in May, I had a conversation with some family and friends in which I uttered those words: “Moraines in Costa Rica? Really?” as they were describing a trek they’d undertaken earlier this year to the summit of Cerro Chirripó. This is the highest peak in the country (3819 …[Read More]