These are the Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki, on the west coast of New Zealand. They are made of limestone that was deposited as calcifying organisms fell to their fate on the sea floor about 30 million years ago. Since then, the limestone has been uplifted, exposed, and eroded by the wind and the sea. Each of the limestone layers are separated by a thin sheet of mudstone in an arrangement known as st ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Geologists as a social stigma?
So I was browsing for content for future blog posts the other day, and came across this video from Friends (the show people of my era grew up with). Ross is a palaeontologist, so naturally one of the coolest, smartest and sexiest of all the science breeds, but takes a little dig at geologists here in a social context. Now compare that to this video from American Dad, in which geologists are portra ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Dealing with Disasters / 4th Conference of the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management
This week (4-6th September 2013) a major conference is talking place at Northumbria University in Newcastle, with a focus on disaster risk reduction and disaster management. The conference, Dealing with Disasters Conference / 4th Conference of the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management, will explore the theme ‘From Opportunity to Action: Bridging the Gap between Disaster Red ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
‘Meat was so sixty million years agAAAGHH…’
Some dinosaurs were utterly bizarre. You may have heard of them before, but one particular group called therizinosaurs belonged to the meat-eating theropod dinosaurs (those that led to birds), were really awesome. However, they actually at some point made a conscious evolutionary decision to stop being badasses, and become Cretaceous-cauliflower* munching pansies.
GeoSphere
The Accretionary Wedge #60 – Call for Posts – Momentous Discoveries in Geology
I am lucky enough to play host to the 60th edition of the Accretionary Wedge. First, I’d just like to highlight the fact that there have been 60 previous and excellent wedges and ! WOW. This has to be one of the best blog carnivals out there, and here is to another 60 great AW’s in the future. There are lots of sayings out there about how science is a journey with many steps and paths ...[Read More]
GeoSphere
Day 3 and 4 – Craters, Very Old Rocks, Fukushima and Extinctions
Here is my Goldschmidt summary part 3 comprising both day 3 and day 4. I had to prepare my own talk, that I gave on Thursday (day 4) so I had to put the blog on hold to practice. Here are a few of the most interesting talks that I went to: Fred Jourdan hailing all the way from Curtin University in South Australia gave a talk called – Volcanoes, asteroid impacts and mass extinctions (abstrac ...[Read More]
GeoLog
EGU elections – propose a candidate!
EGU members will be able to vote for the next president/vice-president and general secretary during the autumn election, which takes place from 1 November to 1 December. But first, you need to choose your candidates! You can propose a candidate for either vacancy by filling in the proposal form up until 30 September. You are welcome and encouraged to nominate yourself. If you are nominating someon ...[Read More]
Four Degrees
What’s Geology got to do with it? 1 – The Maya civilisation
Geology is not just about looking at rocks. From finding oil and gas and tackling climate change to manufacturing, archaeology or geopolitics, geoscientists appear in most spheres of today’s world and economy, albeit often behind the scenes. In a new series of posts we will be looking at how geology relates to interdisciplinary or seemingly unconnected topics, which, at first glance, might seem li ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (94) – Department of Geology, Jammu University
The Department of Geology at Jammu University, India (India’s second oldest University), as observed by Rosalie Tostevin (GfGD’s Deputy Communications Officer) during her recent reconnaissance trip. Rosalie is visiting key sites to help GfGD prepare for its contribution to the ‘Sustainable Development in the Himalayas’ Conference – organised by the Geological Society. ...[Read More]
VolcanicDegassing
Friday Field Photos: the Southern Volcanic Zone of Chile
If you are ever in Chile and have the chance to take a mid-morning flight south from Santiago towards Puerto Montt or Concepcion, make sure you try and book a window seat on the left hand side of the plane. Once the early morning cloud has cleared, you could be in for a treat as you fly along the ‘volcanic front’, with spectacular views of Chile’s brooding volcanoes popping up f ...[Read More]