A new initiative has just been announced that could help to revolutionise palaeontology. PaleoDeepDive is essentially an automated version of the Paleobiology Database, which is an online, professionally crowd-sourced and curated database of fossil occurrences pulled from the literature. They have a launch video here: I have a couple of reservations about this. Firstly, how do they expect to mine ...[Read More]
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VolcanicDegassing
The Kameni islands, Santorini, Greece
A glimpse of the spectacular Kameni or ‘burnt’ islands of Santorini, Greece from the air reveals in intricate detail the overlapping lava flows, explosion craters and fields of volcanic ash from which the islands have been built in successive eruptions over the past 2000 years, and more. Of course, what we can see from the air is just the literal ‘tip’ of the present-day vo ...[Read More]
GeoLog
For the love of rocks
We often have a way of seeing patterns in otherwise random features, and rock outcrops are no exception. Do you see the heart on its side? To the untrained eye an outcrop like this is simply a heart-shaped feature in an otherwise grey rock. But to the geologist, the layers, swirls, shapes and colours tell a story. The ribbons in the granite show that the rock has been subjected to sheer forces and ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (115) – Pacaya Lava Flows
Lava Flows on the Volcano Pacaya, Guatemala (formed in January 2014) (Credit: Joel Gill, 2014)
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Science Snap (#19): Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Sorcha McMahon is a third year PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. Sorcha is investigating how strange igneous rocks called carbonatites may have formed, using both natural samples and high-pressure experiments. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit term Nagara meaning “Holy City”, and was the capital city of the Khmer. It consists of successive city fo ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Improving quality of life through urban growth boundaries, 20-minute neighbourhoods, and public transportation in Oregon
The Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy (ELEEP) Network brings together young professionals from Europe and North America with the aim of fostering transatlantic relations. Former EGU Science Communications Fellow and ELEEP member Edvard Glücksman reports back from a study tour of the US Pacific Northwest. In this first of two posts, he describes the unique urban planning strategy ...[Read More]
Four Degrees
Towards a greener energy world?
Marion reports on the latest Grantham Institute for Climate Change special lecture by International Energy Agency Chief Economist Dr Fatih Birol. On January 29th, I attended the Grantham Institute for Climate Change special lecture by International Energy Agency (IEA) Chief Economist Dr Fatih Birol at Imperial College London. Dr Birol discussed the future of the world’s energy market and outlined ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Hazards Education Booklet: Call for Contributions
GfGD are involved in an international project on Sustainable Resource Development of the Himalaya (see www.gfgd.org/projects/himalayas2014), which will cumulate in the delivery of a students’ programme in Ladakh, India, in June 2014. We are inviting students from across our network to submit material to be included in a booklet that will be used during teaching, and also given to the participating ...[Read More]
Polluting the Internet
What did the IPCC say about aerosols?
Aerosols dominate the uncertainty in the total anthropogenic radiative forcing. A complete understanding of past and future climate change requires a thorough assessment of aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions. This is one of the conclusions about aerosols and their impact on our climate from the the final report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the physical science bas ...[Read More]
Geology Jenga
The Earth’s protective shield
I came across this video, which very clearly explains how the Earth’s magnetic field protects us from Solar Storms. It then goes on to explain the link of these phenomena to our planet’s climate. The added bonus is that the images are very cool and I think the voice over is done by Liam Neeson…. Does anyone else think so? Anyway, I digress… For a written account of what i ...[Read More]