Boom & Bust in the Namib Desert Namibia is mostly desert. Like its neighbour South Africa, the country was gifted with diamond-bearing Kimberlites. The Sperrgebiet (or “forbidden territory”), where the diamonds are concentrated, is strictly off-limits to the public. Namibia’s natural resources have played an important role in shaping the development of this inhospitable landscape. ...[Read More]
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Geology Jenga
A round-up of some newsworthy geomagnetism stories
Happy New Year to you all! We’ve had a long Christmas break at Geology Jenga, but we are back! For 2014 we’ve got some really interesting 10 minute interviews lined up, as well as the continuation of the ‘Making the most of your PhD’ series and musings on all the things that interest Dan & I. So without further ado, let’s get started! The past few weeks and months have seen some exciting newsw ...[Read More]
An Atom's-Eye View of the Planet
From synchrotron to super-volcano – buoyed up by magma
Devastating supervolcanoes can erupt simply due to changes that happen in their giant magma chambers as they slowly cool, according to a new study. This finding marks the first time researchers have been able to explain the mechanism behind the eruptions of the largest volcanoes on Earth. Geologists have identified the roots of a number of ancient and possible future supervolcanoes across the glob ...[Read More]
Four Degrees
Has climate change changed in the media?
Whether in a concerned, neutral, alarmist or sceptical tone, climate change is often reported in the media. But has the press approached this subject differently over the years? Marion Ferrat takes a look at the UK press coverage of the last two IPCC reports and investigates how the treatment of climate change has changed in British newspapers. Last week, polling expert Leo Barasi posted the resul ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Were dinosaurs the masters of social integration?
Back in the Late Cretaceous, the USA was divided. Not politically, but by a vast continental sea called the Western Interior Seaway, splitting the continent into two separate landmasses. The western one of these, known as Laramidia, played host to some of the popular dinosaurs like Parasaurolophus, or ‘Elvis’ in Pete Postlethwaite dialect, and the ceratopsian Chasmosaurus. One of the cool things a ...[Read More]
GeoSphere
Guest Post: Hilary Dugan – Ice as a platform for understanding lake ecosystems
Today we have a new guest post written by current PhD candidate and Antarctic researcher on her very fascinating field work. Actually, she wrote this post while at McMurdo station. Hilary and I have known each other since our time at Queens University in Kingston, when she was one of my TA’s and was doing her masters. For more info about her work see the bio at the end of the post at check o ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Long live the lichen!
Lichens are amazing organisms. They are a composite of algae and fungi, each of which supports the other through the exchange of nutrients (fungi to algae) and carbon (algae to fungi). They are also capable of making a home out of seemingly inhospitable rock surfaces – and what’s more – making the most of these surfaces to release the nutrients they need to grow. The quartzite above is home to the ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Get Involved: Guest Blogs
We love the fact that our blog can be a forum for many different people to share their expertise and ideas. Our guest blogs are always very popular, giving people access to a much wider range of knowledge and opinion that just one or two authors can provide! We have had some great blogs from students, academics and professionals, from the UK and overseas. We would love to have more guest blogs, pr ...[Read More]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Conference Diaries: VMSG Meeting 2014
James Hickey is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A geophysicist and volcanologist by trade, his PhD project is focussed on attempting to place constraints on volcanic unrest using integrated geodetic modelling. The Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG) is a combined specialist group of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain & Ireland, and the ...[Read More]
Soil System Sciences
Monday paper: Changes in soil carbon stocks in Brazil due to land use: paired site comparisons and a regional pasture soil survey
Assad, E. D., Pinto, H. S., Martins, S. C., Groppo, J. D., Salgado, P. R., Evangelista, B., Vasconcellos, E., Sano, E. E., Pavão, E., Luna, R., Camargo, P. B., Martinelli, L. A. 2013. Changes in soil carbon stocks in Brazil due to land use: paired site comparisons and a regional pasture soil survey. Biogeosciences 10, 6141-6160. DOI: 10.5194/bg-10-6141-2013 Abstract In this paper we calculated soi ...[Read More]