Geology Jenga

Radiocarbon dating

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

Daniel Schillereff December 4, 2014

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]

A much shorter review of flood stratigraphies in lake sediments

Daniel Schillereff August 8, 2014

Earlier this year my PhD supervisors and I (Daniel) had a paper accepted for publication in Earth-Science Reviews entitled ‘Flood stratigraphies in lake sediments: A review’ (Schillereff et al., 2014). It’s been fairly popular in terms of downloads but it occurred to me the other day that many of those prospective readers may be put …[Read More]

Moraines in Costa Rica? Really?

Daniel Schillereff June 29, 2014

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]

From mud to moai statue: lake sediments reveal new insights into Easter Island colonization

Daniel Schillereff December 17, 2013

The small landmass of Easter Island (164 km2), the southeasterly point of Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean, has achieved iconic status in the world today as people wonder how its colonisation was physically possible by settlers journeying through the vast ocean in tiny boats, how and why the enormous moai s were constructed and, most …[Read More]

Reporting on a recent visit to the NERC Radiocarbon Facility (East Kilbride, Scotland)

Daniel Schillereff September 19, 2013

I (Daniel) recently had the opportunity to visit the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Radiocarbon Facility – Environment (NRCF-EK), hosted at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), a collaborative facility between the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The lab is located in East Kilbride, a 30-minute train ride south of Glasgow city centre. The …[Read More]

About

Geology Jenga collects the science, career and science communication ramblings of Daniel and Laura, former PhD students at the University of Liverpool. Geology Jenga will explore our (Laura and Daniel’s) research disciplines (Geophysics & Archaean Geology and Geography & Quaternary Science, respectively) but with the unique slant of highlighting opportunities where the sharing of knowledge and/or methodologies within disparate Earth Science disciplines could contribute towards a more holistic understanding of landscape evolution.