It’s been a busy few weeks and one of the reasons for it has been that I’ve recently taken part in an entrepreneurship competition. I attended a three day workshop, where me and my team were given training and guidance on innovation and how to commercialise research. At the end of the three-day workshop, teams present and pitch their ideas for an imaginary environmental start-up compan ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
#GfGDconf – happening NOW!
After many months of planning, the first Geology for Global Development National Conference is finally here! It’s 10am, and we are expecting over 150 delegates at the Geological Society of London, ready to listen to some opening remarks from Jeremy Lefroy MP. Jeremy is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Tanzania, and a member of the international development select committee. ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Crocodiles are so hard, they even eat fruit
Seed dispersal by animals is incredibly important for plants to help them occupy new areas of land and reproduce. Usually, this happens using bugs, birds, or intrepid kittens, but probably the last animal on this planet you’d expect to disperse seeds is crocodiles – you know, those big beasties that take down bison for a snack. Well, turns out, they do, and it’s a process known as saurochory. Not ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
GfGD National Conference – Two Days to Go!
We are unashamedly blogging again about our upcoming conference today, with some practical information for all of those attending. All of our tickets have now sold out, so please don’t turn up on the day without having registered! It promises to be a fantastic day, and we are looking forward to meeting many of you. If you have registered, but did not receive an email over the weekend with a ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
An ode to metamorphism
On finding out my ‘profession’, there’s one fact that people proudly announce to me on a regular basis: “I know the three rock types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic!”. What usually emerges from deeper probing is that most people are comfortable with the concept of sediments and magma, but metamorphism is a bit of an enigma. Like the mysterious stranger, lurking ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (101): Image Competition – Highly Commended
As part of our Blog Competition 2013 we asked you to submit your favourite photos of geoscience in action. Rick Wall, who has just completed a PhD in volcanology at UCL, entered this image from his field work in Alaska. The entry was highly commended by our judging panel. The photo shows the location of the 1912 Novarupta eruption in Katmai, Alaska. This eruption produced about ∼30 cubic ki ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Science Snap (8): White Island erupts!
James Hickey is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A geophysicist and volcanologist by trade, his PhD project is focussed on attempting to place constraints on volcanic unrest using integrated geodetic modelling. White Island is a small volcano roughly 30 miles off the coast of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand. It is part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, which i ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Good news everyone..!
Thanks to Ross Mounce for alerting me to this piece of news. Fossil Record: An International Journal of Geosciences We invite you to submit or recommend papers to this ISI-listed, international palaeontological journal of the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin. Fossil Record publishes original research papers covering all areas of palaeontology and provides a platform for a wide array of articles with ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
GfGD National Conference – One Week To Go!
Almost all of our conference tickets have been sold (there may still be one or two left, but get them quickly!) and we are now just one week away from our first National Conference. If you’ve booked a ticket you will be receiving an email this week with all that you need to know – including the programme and directions (a map can be found here). As we enter the final countdown to what ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
What do we know about the origin of flowering plants?
This is a guest post by Dan Peppe. He is an Assistant Professor in the Geology Department at Baylor University. His research interests are focused on reconstructing ancient climates and ecosystems in North America and East Africa and on developing new and improved palaeoclimate and palaeoecological proxies using methods in paleobotany, sedimentary geology, and paleomagnetism. More information a ...[Read More]