Whilst researching my postgraduate degree in 2000s, I became fascinated by the physiognomical pseudosciences which emerged at the end of the 18th century. Originating as parlour game entertainment, by the middle of the 19th century they developed into a much more sinister body of academia which sought to categorise individuals purely based on external physical … Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
UK Earth Hazards – a new course from GSL
In 2020, the Geological Society carried out a Strategic Review of its activities in order to ensure we are best meeting the needs of geoscientists in the UK and beyond. With that in mind, we will start providing online training courses to support our Fellows with Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Following on from two free … Continue reading
Earth Science in our Lives – student writing competition
From our gadgets to our buildings, geology is everywhere. We want you to put your creative writing skills to use to tell us how geology shapes your life. For students between the ages of 11 and 13, please write no more than 500 words, using one or more of these images as inspiration. Please ask … Continue reading
The Great Geobakeoff 2020 – The Results!
2020 gave us the most unusual Geobakeoff to date, although our incredible makers and bakers rose to the challenge magnificently. As expected, the entries ranged from the bold to the bizarre to the brilliant, and we had so much fun judging all the entries. We would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all … Continue reading
Earth Science, Systems and Society: a new journal from GSL
The Geological Society of London (GSL) is proud to announce the launch of our first fully open access journal, Earth Science, Systems and Society (ES3), for 2021. ES3 will publish timely and topical research of high importance across the breadth of the geosciences with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary geoscience and the pivotal role it … Continue reading
A chat with the editor of GSL Special Publication 500
In June 2020, GSL published the landmark 500th volume of the Geological Society’s Special Publication series, SP500: Subaqueous Mass Movements and their Consequences: Advances in Process Understanding, Monitoring and Hazard Assessments, edited by: A. Georgiopoulou, L. A. Amy, S. Benetti, J. D. Chaytor, M. A. Clare, D. Gamboa, P. D. W. Haughton, J. Moernaut and … Continue reading
Wet weather spurs landslide movement
The reactivation of a prehistoric landslide has caused damage to buildings in Pissouri, Cyprus since 2012. In this post, Gareth Hearn and colleagues document a three-fold increase in the rate of land movement during and after an unusually wet winter. The residential development of Limnes in Pissouri, Cyprus, (Fig 1) was constructed on a slope … Continue reading
Employer support for wellbeing
For Mental Health Awareness Week, the Geological Society is looking at ways to support the wellbeing of geoscience students and professionals. In the final of four blogs, we describe how employers can promote wellbeing in the workplace. As the UK ends its second month in lockdown, health organisations from around the world are warning that … Continue reading
Supporting mental health in the field
For Mental Health Awareness Week, the Geological Society is looking at ways to support the wellbeing of geoscience students and professionals. In this third of four blogs, Lesley Batty shares examples of straightforward ways to support the wellbeing of students undertaking fieldwork. As discussed in part one of this blog, being away from home and … Continue reading
Mental health and fieldwork
For Mental Health Awareness Week, the Geological Society is looking at ways to support the wellbeing of geoscience students and professionals. In this second of four blogs, Lesley Batty explores how fieldwork can affect the mental health and wellbeing of students. Fieldwork is a core skill for many subjects and is a requirement for accreditation … Continue reading