Ailsa Craig is an uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. Formed from the plug of a Paleogene volcano, the landmass reaches over 330 m height and ~ 3 km length, and can easily be seen from the Scottish mainland. The island comprises three types of granite: Ailsa Craig Common Green, Ailsa Craig Red Hone and Ailsa Craig Blue Hone (pictured below). The distinctive colouration of the latter ...[Read More]
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Geology for Global Development
Field Research in Guatemala (3) – Environmental Hazards at Lake Atitlan
Today Joel Gill (GfGD Founding Director) continues his live reporting from Guatemala, whilst undertaking interdisciplinary field research relating to natural hazards and disaster risk reduction. This fieldwork forms part of a NERC/ESRC funded PhD, supervised by staff in the Department of Geography at King’s College London. Lake Atitlan is a beautiful location, created by a significant volcanic er ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Your poop or mine?
Back in the Mesozoic, lavatories probably didn’t exist. In fact, dinosaurs and other animals were probably pretty poorly mannered and just pooped wherever they felt like. But what or who cleaned up after them? In modern biomes, poop is decomposed by insects and bacteria of all breeds, and actually forms quite an important part of energy flow within ecosystems. But was it the same million of years ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Guest Blog: Death By Corruption
Ekbal Hussain is a PhD student at the University of Leeds, and helps to coordinate our group up there. He is a passionate advocate for disaster risk reduction and today writes about the relationship between corruption and earthquake fatalities. It is no profound statement to say that earthquakes are extremely dangerous natural events and are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths annually. Wh ...[Read More]
Four Degrees
Climate and Policy Roundup – January 2014
News EU announces climate and energy goals for 2030 The European commission has announced a target to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. It also stated that 27% of total energy production should come from renewable sources. The announcement came on 22 January following intense negotiations between its member states. The 40% reduction is at the high end of the range of pro ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: How sea urchins can help mitigate climate change
This week’s Imaggeo on Mondays stars the humble sea urchin – a creature suffering from the effects of climate change, but one that could also provide a way to sequester some of the CO2 responsible… Carbon dioxide and water react to form carbonic acid – a mixture of bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. Sea urchins bag the bicarbonate to grow bigger, stronger shells, or ‘tests’, but without a catalyst, th ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Do we need to suffer to succeed?
KT Cooper is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A carbonate geochemist by training, she has just returned from a three-month secondment to Houston, Texas, USA working with Exxon Mobil. Last week the newly formed Bristol Doctoral College hosted a postgraduate seminar entitled “Surviving the stress of a PhD” by James Hayton, PhD. My initial thoughts on atten ...[Read More]
Soil System Sciences
Monday paper: Statistical analysis and modelling of surface runoff from arable fields in central Europe
Fiener, P., Auerswald, K., Winter, F., Disse, M. 2013. Statistical analysis and modelling of surface runoff from arable fields in central Europe. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 17, 4121-4132. DOI: 10.5194/hess-17-4121-2013 Abstract Surface runoff generation on arable fields is an important driver of flooding, on-site and off-site damages by erosion, and of nutrient and agrochemical transport. ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Photo competition at the EGU 2014 General Assembly
If you are pre-registered for the 2014 General Assembly (Vienna, 27 April – 2 May), you can take part in our annual photo competition! Winners receive a free registration to next year’s General Assembly! The fifth annual EGU photo competition opens on 1 February. Up until 1 March, every participant pre-registered for the General Assembly can submit up three original photos and one moving ima ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (112) – Volcano San Pedro, Guatemala
Volcanoes at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala In the foreground is the volcano San Pedro, on the south-western shore of Lake Atitlan. San Pedro (approx 3000m) is believed to be extinct, but Atitlan (in the background is dormant). Credit: Joel Gill, Geology for Global Development (2014)