Tag Archives: climate change

Keeping an eye on ocean microbes

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

A guest post from Dr Helen Bridle, Royal Academy of Engineering and EPSRC Fellow at Heriot-Watt University. Her blog can be found here. What’s the issue? New tools to detect ocean microbes have recently been developed by researchers at the … Continue reading →

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Mercury rising

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

Minamata has become a word synonymous with disease. ‘Minamata disease’ was first identified in 1956, after years of chemical company Chisso discharging methyl mercury into Minamata Bay, Japan. It was a process that continued until 1968, and left over 2,500 … Continue reading →

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Notes from a small volcanic island

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

Early start from Gatwick to Tenerife, but greeted on lading with warm sun and blue skies. We are here for three days to film a documentary for the Weather Channel on volcanoes and their effects on the earths climate. Apparently … Continue reading →

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Whisky on the rocks

Posted on September 17, 2012 by

No trip to Aberdeen would be complete without incorporating Scotland’s most famous export (apart from shortbread and Andy Murray). Luckily, we had a valid geological reason too – the link between whisky and geology is well known.

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The heat beneath our feet

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

We were expecting chilly weather here in northern Scotland, but so far the sun has been shining on the British Science Festival in Aberdeen! We don’t think of Scotland -or the UK for that matter -as a particularly warm place, … Continue reading →

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Precipitating a crisis?

Posted on April 17, 2012 by

Hosepipe bans are becoming a familiar feature of summer, and with claims that 2012 could see ‘the worst drought in 30 years’, they are here again. Well timed, then, that the theme of a recent Geological Society conference was “Water … Continue reading →

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Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink – the future for water?

Posted on November 9, 2011 by

The problem Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner faced, becalmed in the middle of the ocean, was that despite ‘water, water, everywhere’, none of it was suitable for drinking. The average human can survive for only a few days without access to clean … Continue reading →

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Between a rock and a Bard: geology and poetry

Posted on October 3, 2011 by

Over a year ago the Geological Society put out a call for ‘the best geological poems, original or otherwise’ to be read at an event this October 10th to mark National Poetry Day and Earth Science Week.  It has been my … Continue reading →

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