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]
Historical Hazards: Lessons From Ancient Rome
The town of Pompeii was enveloped in ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. To the north of Pompeii lies the small, relatively unknown town of Herculaneum, where the ash fell hotter and deeper. Careful excavation by a team of archaeologists, led by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, has revealed intricate details of daily life for the vibrant mix of people that once lived in Herculaneum. The cast ...[Read More]
Friday Photo (82): Wildlife in the Field – Confused Sheep
Each morning when we arrived in the field, hoards of sheep* would come marching over sandstone ridges from miles around to congregate in front of our car. After spending a while thinking we may have established a new animal religion, we realised the poor animals mistook us for their farmer coming to feed them. *We acknowledge that sheep aren’t actually ‘wildlife’! (c) Geology for ...[Read More]