Did Joe kill Danny? Do we care about Sandbrook? What’s with all the bluebells? Will Alec make it through those super tense court scenes alive? Continue reading
Category Archives: Features
Lakes beneath the ice
A guest post from Martin Siegert, Professor of Geosciences at the University of Bristol and Principal Investigator of the NERC Lake Ellsworth Consortium. Martin will be giving the final Shell Lecture of 2013, ‘Lakes Beneath the Ice’, on 18 December. Find out more Lake Ellsworth in West Antarctica is similar in size and topographic setting … Continue reading
Contamination – How the ‘C’ word can put the fear into anyone.
A guest post from Daniel Grey, a Chartered and European Geologist with an interest in the investigation and remediation of land and water pollution. He has worked in this area for a Non-Governmental Organisation, Local Authority and the Private Sector. Land contamination can be a source of deep public concern. It’s understandable, with trigger words … Continue reading
The Pliocene as an analogue for near-future climate change?
In 1958, atmospheric scientist Charles David Keeling installed an instrument at the Mauna Loa Observatory, in Hawaii, designed to measure the average global concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Little did he realise at the time that the results of this experiment, driven by a desire to characterise the composition of Earth’s atmosphere, … Continue reading
Keeping an eye on ocean microbes
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 University of Southampton. The tiny microbes, known as phytoplankton, play several critical roles in the … Continue reading
Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems: Event Summary
A guest post from Dr Valerie McCarthy, Assistant Lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland. Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) are geologically and physio-graphically complex and are recognised as an important but, nevertheless, poorly understood set of habitats. At a recent event organised by the Hydrogeological Group of The Geological Society, held at the at the … Continue reading
Mercury rising
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 people affected by mercury related diseases. Symptoms can range from ataxia, muscle weakness and damage … Continue reading
Reading the rocks
Over the last few weeks, a number of news stories have highlighted the impact geoscience has on our everyday lives in the UK. But how do you interpret these stories for your own lives? How much do you really need to know about Earth sciences to benefit from our planet’s resources or protect yourself from … Continue reading
Precipitating a crisis?
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 Futures”. There is often confusion and misunderstanding about water supply in the UK and elsewhere, … Continue reading
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