Basaltic ‘Aa’ Lava Flows From the 2nd March 2014 Eruption of Pacaya, Guatemala (Credit: Joel Gill, 2nd March 2014)
Green Tea and Velociraptors
New dinosaur competes to be Europe’s largest ever land predator
This was originally posted at: https://theconversation.com/new-dinosaur-competes-to-be-europes-largest-land-predator-23997 Say hello to Torvosaurus gurneyi, the newly discovered theropod dinosaur that lived in Europe around 157-145 million years ago. It is potentially the largest land predator discovered in Europe and one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs from the late Jurassic period. The iden ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Science Snap #21: Nash Point, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
Sorcha McMahon is a third year PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. Sorcha is investigating how strange igneous rocks called carbonatites may have formed, using both natural samples and high-pressure experiments. Nash Point is a picturesque headland along the coastline of the Vale of Glamorgan, consisting of near-vertical cliffs of limestone and mudstone. Strat ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Voice of the Future 2014
‘Voice of the Future‘ (yes I agree, the young scientist community are and should be an important voice of today!) is a fantastic event which has taken place for the past few years. It gathers young scientists from a number of disciplines, including geology, and enables them to put questions to senior Government Ministers in the UK, civil servants and MPs. These normally include the Min ...[Read More]
Polluting the Internet
Fire in Salford
My commute to work yesterday morning took an unexpected turn as my train pulled into my usual stop in Salford, Greater Manchester. To my right was a huge plume of smoke, which I would usually associate more with deforestation fires in Brazil! A plume of black smoke was rising up against the backdrop of beautifully clear skies, with the smoke gradually changing to a lighter shade of grey higher up. ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Erlikosaurus, the little dinosaur experiment
The evolutionary line from theropod dinosaurs is absolute. There is no question that this is one of the greatest stories that life on Earth has ever told us, But evolution is not linear; it’s chaotic. It’s bizarre. Along this theropod line, dinosaurs were experimenting – they were the evolutionary scientists of their time. One of the weirdest things that theropods did was become herbivores again – ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Research Reports – Ladakh Hazards Education
Over Christmas GfGD hosted three research placements, with reports being produced on (i) Himalayan geology, (ii) landslides in Ladakh, and (iii) social/cultural aspects of Ladakh. Those undertaking these projects did a fantastic job, and we are delighted to have published them on our website – available open-access for others to use. They will form important background reading for our projec ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
PhD interview preparation
The following post is written primarily for those who are applying for a PhD project where the funding is supplied by a research council, such as NERC. All PhD interviews are all different, and this post definitely won’t cover everything, but it should help you prepare for most eventualities.
Polluting the Internet
Aerosols and the pause
There is a new commentary piece in Nature Geoscience by Gavin Schmidt and colleagues on ‘Reconciling warming trends’. The paper investigates several potential causes for the discrepancy between climate model projections and the recent ‘slowdown’ in global surface temperatures, which is nicely illustrated on Ed Hawkins’ Climate Lab Book blog. One of the aspects the pap ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (117) – Volcan Agua, Guatemala
Volcan Agua, Guatemala Taken from the side of the Acatenango, another volcano, this image shows the stratovolcano Agua towering over the landscape. Agua was the location of a catastrophic debris flow/lahar in the mid 16th Century, destroying the then capital city of Guatemala. (Credit: Joel Gill, 2014) (This image, and others taken in Guatemala, is available for free use (subject to terms and cond ...[Read More]