Tim Middleton, GfGD’s Advocacy Development Officer, takes a critical look at this year’s IF campaign. This opinions expressed here are those of Tim, and not necessarily those of all involved with Geology for Global Development. As an organisation, however, we do believe that it is important to encourage debate on how best to undertake effective development. You’d be forgiven for having missed the ...[Read More]
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VolcanicDegassing
August Anniversaries: the eruption of Krakatoa
August 27th marks the anniversary of the culmination of the great eruption of Krakatoa (or Krakatau) in Indonesia in 1883. This devastating eruption has become the archetype of a volcanic catastrophe, even though it was a geologically modest example of a ‘caldera forming’ event. The eruption of Krakatoa quickly made the headlines around the world, in part because newly installed unders ...[Read More]
Soil System Sciences
Ladies and gentlemen: the Rolling Stones
Racetrack Playa is a plain without vegetation of a dry located above the northwestern side of Death Valley, in Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, CA, USA (click here to see in Google Maps). Although “playa” is the Spanish word for beach, it is also used in English to refer to a dry lake. Racetrack Playa occupies an area of 4.5 km (north-south) by 2 km (east-west) which is 1,130 m ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: The perfect partnership
Pogonophores are deep sea worms that thrive in dark, deep sea conditions thanks to the presence of symbiotic bacteria. The bacteria are chemoautotrophic, that is, they fix carbon through oxidation processes, rather than using light to fix it, as is the case for photosynthesis. By utilising oxygen in the water, the bacteria can oxidise compounds such as hydrogen sulphide in order to fix carbon. The ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Vegetation research in Finnish Lapland: mountains, sunshine and reindeer
People started warning me about the mosquitoes back in April. It sounded grim. But when I arrived in Finnish Lapland in August, the mozzies had peaked earlier in the season when temperatures were unusually high, and were all dead. This was a fortunate escape: Miska Luoto of the University of Helsinki and his team of researchers, who I was following as part of an EGU Science Journalism Fellowship, ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (93): Volcanic Damage in Japan
A school that was damaged by pyroclastic flows during the 1991-1993 eruption of Mt Unzen in Japan. In the background is the volcano, about 3.5 km from the summit. Credit: Rick Wall (c) Geology for Global Development
Geology for Global Development
Fighting Global Poverty – Can Geologists Help? – Updated Programme
We’re currently nine weeks away from the GfGD National Conference and in the process of finalising the conference programme. Here is a summary of the key sessions and speakers. (N.B. In addition to the above speakers, we are delighted that Jane Joughin, Principal Environmental Consultant at SRK Consulting, will be speaking on the important role that mining geology can play in fighting global ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Guest Blog: Community Water and Sanitation at Cranfield University
Alison Parker explains how and why she ended up lecturing in International Water and Sanitation at Cranfield Water Science Institute. Over millions of years, geological forces have built the Himalayas and carved the Grand Canyon and put abundant natural resources at human beings’ disposal. However, it is obvious that in the short time that humans have been on the planet they have had an eno ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Curl up under a peat blanket
Rannoch Moor is the largest area of unbroken (no houses, no roads) blanket bog in the United Kingdom. Blanket bogs – as their name suggests – blanket the ground in an extensive layer of peat. They form in regions where there is high rainfall and comparatively little evapotranspiration. These waterlogged conditions are found throughout much of the northern hemisphere, and allow blanket bogs to form ...[Read More]
Soil System Sciences
What is soil structure?
Soil structure is the result of the spatial arrangement of the solid soil particles and their associated pore space. Aggregation mainly depends on the soil composition and texture, but is also strongly influenced by other factors such as biological activity, climate, geomorphic processes or the action of fire. Structure is a typical morphological soil property, which allows differentiating soil of ...[Read More]