This article was originally published online by Geoscientist, the independent fellowship magazine of the Geological Society of London. Afghanistan has been in the news for as long as I can remember, normally as a place of conflict and almost never as a place of diverse landscapes, resources and culture. In 2011, however, I was invited …[Read More]
Earth Engine is a tool produced by the developers at Google to help scientists process the numerous satellite images taken of the Earth over the past thirty years. Short videos are available online to give you some idea how this tool could be used. One shows the expansion of Las Vegas, and the accompanying …[Read More]
Used oil canisters form the framework for a wall in Ladakh. Where resources are scarce and often imported, people find creative ways to make use of existing resources. (c) Geology for Global Development 2013
We highlight some of the items that have caught our eye in the news recently Volcanic History In a recent study, published in IOP Science, Irish historical records were used to trace the impact of volcanic eruptions on climate over a 1200 year period. Geological events are recorded by geochemical proxies and physical changes …[Read More]
The ‘rare earth elements’ (REEs) are a series of similar elements that are rarely encountered on the Earth’s surface. They’re not even allowed to sit in the proper periodic table, banished to a small row floating below with only the ‘actinide series’ (the what?!) for company. REEs have always been the lonely kid in the …[Read More]
China has boosted its aid contribution to the African continent. Whilst the total is still low compared with the US aid budget, the trend signifies a wider partnership between the two giants. In the UK, international aid is mainly spent on protecting our national interests. China is emerging as an economic superpower and as a major …[Read More]
A look at some of the issues that have caught my eye in the news recently Deep sea mining: Speculation surrounding the possibility of mining metal rich seafloor nodules has been going on for decades. These nodules grow slowly, so they adsorb high concentrations of metals from seawater, including the increasingly valuable rare earth metals. This …[Read More]
Impactmin offer free online training courses where you can learn more about the impact of mining. Here Peter Gyuris, the project manager of Impactmin, writes to tell us more about what the courses have to offer. In its strictest sense, the term “Mining” refers directly to the activity of extraction of metallic or non-metallic …[Read More]
It’s been a while since we posted anything in our resources series. This week we direct you to a group of discussion forums on the ‘world we want’ website. They have discussion boards covering a range of development themes, some of which are particularly relevant to GfGD; water, energy and environmental sustainability. They direct you …[Read More]
