Pansu, M., Machado, D., Bottner, P., and Sarmiento, L.: Modelling microbial exchanges between forms of soil nitrogen in contrasting ecosystems, Biogeosciences, 11, 915-927, doi:10.5194/bg-11-915-2014, 2014. The questions It is well known that N and C combine to form organic molecules due to biological processes, although they come together from different pathways. C is extracted from carbon dioxid ...[Read More]
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Soil System Sciences
Lightening the clay (II)
According to the previous post, tetrahedral and octahedral sheets combine to form layers, and we can find two main types of clay structures: structure 1:1 (one tetrahedron sheet and one octahedral sheet) and 2:1 (two tetrahedral sheets and one octahedral sheet). The basic structure of clays is this: Substitutions between cations may occur in the tetrahedral and octahedral sheets, resulting ...[Read More]
Soil System Sciences
Lightening the clay (I)
“The more any indivisible exceeds, the heavier it is”. Democritus (c. 460 – c. 370 BC). What is clay? Clays are particles. Very, very small mineral particles. You cannot see them, you cannot handle them… but unity makes strength. Clays are one of the major mineral components of the soil, whose chemical and physical properties depend on them. The study of soil clay minerals allows a gen ...[Read More]
GeoLog
The known unknowns – the outstanding 49 questions in Earth sciences (Part I)
Science is about asking questions, as much as it is about finding answers. Most of the time spent by scientists doing research is used to constrain and clarify what exactly is unknown – what does not yet form part of the consensus among the scientific community. Researchers all over the globe are working tirelessly to answer the unresolved questions about the inner workings of our planet, but inev ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (128) – Cultural Understanding Workshop (Tanzania)
Cultural Understanding Workshop (Tanzania) As part of the recent YES Network Congress in Tanzania, GfGD’s Director ran a half-day workshop on cultural understanding and its application to geoscience projects in the developing world. These images show some of the interactive activities that participants took part it. [Credit: Joel Gill, Geology for Global Development].
GeoLog
Shape the scientific programme at the EGU 2015 General Assembly
Time is running out, so if you have a great idea for a conference session but haven’t quite put it into practice: now’s your chance! Until this time next week (12th September) you can submit your session ideas and take part in organising the scientific programme for the EGU General Assembly in 2015. What you need to do: Take a look at the sessions that have already been suggested within the Progra ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Top scientific publisher chooses not to advance open access By Erin McKiernan, independent, and Jon Tennant, Imperial College London Access to research is limited worldwide by the high cost of subscription journals, which force readers to pay for their content. The use of scientific research in new studies, educational material and news is often restricted by these publishers, who require authors ...[Read More]
GeoLog
GeoCinema Online: Our changing Climate
Welcome to the third instalment of Geocinema! The focus this week is on climate change and how it impacts on local communities. Sit back, relax and make sure you’ve got a big bucket of popcorn on the go, as this post features a selection of short documentaries as well as trailers of feature length films. Documenting the effects of the warming conditions on the surface of our planet is the primary ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
GfGD Conference – Selected Poster Abstracts (Part 1)
An important part of our annual conference is giving students and recent graduates the opportunity to present their work – through a poster and drinks reception at the end of the day. Last year we had some fantastic posters – from both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and recent graduates. This week and next we’ll be publishing the titles and abstracts for some of the pos ...[Read More]
Seismology
Turning science into fun games for citizens
Sounds like fun. Have a look at this interesting read and see how scientist are turning to citizens to help them with analysing large volumes of data. “A few days ago, I was an astrophysicist and contributed to a research project by organising sunspot images in order of complexity. After I’d had enough of that, I became a biochemist and worked late into the night on a project creating synthe ...[Read More]