Geoengineering and its policy implications were hot topics at this year’s Science in Public conference. The subject raised questions such as how is geoengineering portrayed in the media and what does this mean for the acceptance of geoengineering technologies? Dr Rusi Jaspal and Professor Brigitte Nerlich discuss their research into media representations of geoengineering and how these shape the ...[Read More]
GeoSphere
Geology Photo of the Week #40
The 40th edition of the photo of the week highlights the mudlfow from a retrogressive thaw slump near Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, where I did field work for a few weeks in 2010 and 2011. The first photo in this series highlights the slump itself. I took this photo from a helicopter and the entire slump is approximately 1 kilometer wide and has 3 lobes. The mudflow starts where eve ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Guest Blog: A Summer of Volcanic Observation in Ecuador (2)
David Litchfield holds an MA in Social Work and has worked in this field for a number of years. However, experience of travel and living in Latin America led to the renewal of a long-forgotten interest in geosciences and especially in volcanism. On return to the UK he completed a second undergraduate degree in Geosciences with the Open University and is currently studying part-time for an MSc in G ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Curaçao’s coral coastline
Easterly trade winds can carry warm moist air to the island of Curaçao, having picked up moisture while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Lying just south of the hurricane belt, Curaçao can still suffer the effects of these storms. For the most part, though, the coast has experienced little damage, leading to great preservation of the fossil reefs that fringe its coast. The northern coast of Curaçao, w ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Professionalism and Social Responsibility (3): Writing your Mapping Dissertation
So – you’re back from your summer mapping project, the fun is over, and you are faced with the enormous task of writing up your mapping dissertation. You should hopefully receive some guidance from your university about any specific rules and guidelines they might have, but here are a few general tips on what you could include: THE MAP ITSELF The map itself will be the centrepie ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Geosciences Column: Autofluorescence in polar regions – how and why?
Marine picoplankton, <2 µm, are one of the most ubiquitous fauna in the open ocean. These marine microorganisms are hugely important – being responsible for a significant proportion of oceanic net primary productivity. Researchers are able to track the evolution of their genomes and the transportation of these microorganisms by analysing ice cores, which offer the potential to study the evoluti ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (89) – Satellite Monitoring of Volcanoes
In order to monitor the earth movements in the Phlegraean Fields, near Naples, the Osservatorio Vesuviano, together with other national and international research institutions, has installed two artificial reflectors which can monitor slow ground movement over specific features or locations of interest. The parabolic antenna is used to transmit the data to a geo-stationary satellite, which then tr ...[Read More]
GeoSphere
Geology Photo of the Week #39
I have been a bit lax with the photo’s of the week lately. Sorry about that! Here is a nice one from last year’s field season showing a cute little marmot sitting on an erratic with a great vista behind him. Cheers, Matt
Geology for Global Development
Developing Groundwater – the Drilling Weekend
Kirsty Upton writes about an opportunity offered by Hydrogeologists Without Borders… Following its success in 2012, HWB-UK and RedR will be running the Hydrogeology & Drilling Supervision training course again in 2013. The 3-day course focuses on managing and developing water sources in an aid and development context, and is aimed at (practicing or aspiring!) humanitarian water engineers ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Dust in the desert: The Skeleton Coast – Foggy, dusty & demanding – part 3 of 3
In this third instalment in this series our journey takes us into the Skeleton Coast. Synonymous with shipwrecks and known as “The Land God Made in Anger” to indigenous Bushmen this coastal desert has been protected as a National Park since 1971. Similar to many of Namibia’s National Parks, the Skeleton Coast does not allow anyone to stay overnight within its boundaries. However at over 16,000 km2 ...[Read More]