Registration is now open for GfGD’s first National Conference – ‘Fighting Global Poverty – Can Geologists Help?’ – taking place on Wednesday 23rd October 2013, at the Geological Society of London. Across the world millions of people lack access to clean water, are exposed to multiple natural hazards, or suffer as a result of severe environmental degradation. Is ...[Read More]
New Opportunity – Hazard Factsheets
Jane Robb, GfGD Communication Officer, writes about a new and exciting opportunity for GfGD members… For many of our followers the opportunity to get involved in international development as a geologist, or at all, is difficult. One of GfGD’s core purposes is to help change this at a UK level, to make sure that good geoscience – and geoscientists – can contribute to good de ...[Read More]
Friday Photo (85): Wildlife in the Field – Caterpillar Wiggles Across Old Burrows
This unusual looking caterpillar is working his way across the Houjiashan Formation on the North China Craton. These rocks formed in the lower Cambrian, and are crossed with burrows formed by some of the earliest motile animals. (c) Geology for Global Development 2013
Upcoming GfGD Placements
July will be a busy month for a few GfGD members – as they undertake geoscience-development based placements with a variety of hosts. Below we introduce you to the three students, and give them the chance to say a few words about the opportunity they’ve been given. Each student will be preparing a report on their placement, which will be made available on our website. All future placem ...[Read More]
Placement Report – Sam Marshall (CAFOD, April 2013)
At the end of each GfGD placement we ask the student completing that placement to think about his/her experiences and write a short report (available to download here). In April 2013, Sam Marshall spent a week working with disaster risk reduction advisor Dr Kate Crowley (pictured with Sam Marshall) at the international NGO CAFOD. Today we share Sam’s report – outlining what he got up t ...[Read More]
Friday Photo (84): Wildlife in the Field – Ostriches at the Craton Boundary
These wild ostriches (two female on the left hand side, one male on the right) are lined up alongside the boundary between the Congo and the Kalahari cratons in southern Namibia. The craton boundary is marked by a visible fault scarp. (c) Geology for Global Development 2013
In the News (June 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 within the rocks – these are the lines of evidence that geol ...[Read More]
Guest Blog: Disaster Resilience in Dharamsala, India
John McCarthy and Sam Bradley are collaborating to develop an earthquake awareness and disaster resilience program for vulnerable communities in Dharamsala, India. The region is predicted to have an extremely large earthquake in the next 50 years and they are looking to raise awareness, develop community programs and improve the resilience capacity for the population. John and Sam both have Master ...[Read More]
Friday Photo (83): Wildlife in the Field – Giant Millipede Inspects Stromatolites
A giant millipede kindly provides a scale for a photo of some stromatolites in the Nama group, Namibia. Microbial communities grow upwards towards the light. Each growth phases is cemented by carbonate grains that stick to the sticky EPS substance that the communities produce, forming layered stromatolite columns. The stromatolites pictured above formed 550 million years ago – just as some o ...[Read More]
Guest Blog: Programme Review – Rise of the Continents
Helen Ashcroft is currently a DPhil student at the University of Oxford. She blogs for the Bang! Science Magazine (Planet Blog) and is also a STEMNET Ambassador, working to promote science, technology, maths and engineering to young people. Helen has written for the GfGD Blog before, about career paths in the development sector and the economics of natural resources. Today, Helen reviews Professo ...[Read More]