Waste and recycling is a growing issue in a world where abundant resources are diminishing. This week Flo Bullough looks at recent policy activity in the area of ‘valuing waste streams’ and the geo-relevant example of Rare Earth Elements. This week, the House of Lords Science and Technology committee has been taking oral evidence on the topic of ‘Generating value from waste’ with ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
In which we explain how camel ankle bones relate to the fate of global ecosystems.
This was originally posted at 4th Dimensional Biology by Brianna McHorse and Edward Davis. Reblogging because awesome (with permission). I’m taking time away from comic book blogging to do some actual SCIENCE BLOGGING. Just last month I published a paper in Palaeontologia Electronica with my esteemed colleague Brianna McHorse (who blogs over at Fossilosophy). It’s called “A method for improved ide ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (111) – Sanitation Infrastructure
Continuing the theme of sanitation from earlier this week, here we present a range of sanitation infrastructure, taken across Tanzania. There are some obvious and some subtle differences in the infrastructures being used. Consider how the different building types may have an impact on (i) security and personal safety, (ii) hygiene, (iii) latrine longevity, (iv) smell (note the ventilation pipe in ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Seems like everyone is a climate modeller these days!
KT Cooper is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A carbonate geochemist by training, she has just returned from a three-month secondment to Houston, Texas, USA working with Exxon Mobil. In December last year there was a lot of buzz around J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy land Middle Earth, and I am not just talking the second instalment of The Hobbit franchise ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Field Research in Guatemala (1) – Introduction
Over the next couple of months, Joel Gill (GfGD Founding Director) will be reporting live from Guatemala, whilst undertaking interdisciplinary field research relating to natural hazards and disaster risk reduction. This fieldwork forms part of a NERC/ESRC funded PhD, supervised at King’s College London. Today Joel gives an introduction to his research and why he is focusing on the Central Am ...[Read More]
VolcanicDegassing
Remote sensing of volcanoes and volcanic processes
A major goal of volcanological science is understand the processes that underlie volcanic activity, and to use this understanding to help to reduce volcanic risk. Advances in instruments and techniques mean that scientists can now measure many different aspects of the behaviour of restless or active volcanoes, including seismicity (to detect magma movement at depth, for example); deformation (oft ...[Read More]
An Atom's-Eye View of the Planet
Titanic lakes revealed in Cassini’s extraterrestrial bathymetry
The joint NASA-ESA Cassini space probe, exploring Saturn and her moons, has revealed extraordinary lakes and seas of liquid methane around the north pole of Titan. Scientists associated with the Cassini mission described a strange rectangular area of large seas, picked out by imaging instruments aboard the probe. I heard all about it at the recent American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting last month ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Guest Blog: Geology and Sanitation
In October last year, Dr Alison Parker (Cranfield University) gave a brilliant talk at the GfGD conference – discussing the role of geologists in providing access to clean water and safe sanitation. The importance of the latter half of this duet of basic needs came as a surprise to many. In this guest blog, our first of 2014, Alison writes in more detail about geology, sanitation and support ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
My year in 2013
Inspired by Martin Eve (link), I decided to make a documentation of academic-related stuff I’ve achieved in 2013. The last year was mostly occupado by the first year of my PhD, but other academic-ish stuff too as complimentary activities to research. This is kinda like a personal diary of ‘achievements’, as well as a documentation of the extent of work-procrastination. As such, p ...[Read More]
Four Degrees
What’s Geology got to do with it? 3 – Christmas! Part 2
Dear Readers, Welcome to the last Four Degrees post of 2013! I’m back home with family and here the Christmas festivities happen today, on Christmas eve. So before I focus my attention on wrapping my last present and stuffing the goose for our family meal, here is the second instalment of our Christmas special of ‘What’s Geology got to do with it’! What has geology got to d ...[Read More]