Despite Sheldon Cooper’s references to geologists as ‘the dirt people’*, geologists are not usually associated in the public mind with soil. Most of the planet’s soil is no older than the Pleistocene (2.58 million – 11,700 years ago) – surely geologists are concerned with much older, much rockier stuff than this? Continue reading
One of our nominated 100geosites took centre stage yesterday at the British Science Festival, as Professor Vincent Gaffney and colleagues unveiled the latest from the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, led by the University of Birmingham in conjunction with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology. Continue reading
The theory that the dramatic landscapes of the Columbia River Plateau were caused by massive flooding in the distant past might not sound too controversial. But, as Sanjeev Gupta told us in our British Science Festival event yesterday, the theory, first proposed in 1923 by American geologist J Harlen Bretz, was so controversial it sparked a … Continue reading
Earlier this month we attended the British Science Festival in sunny Newcastle, and had a great time trying to squeeze in as many geological events as possible. Other than our own undeniably fabulous event, highlights include learning about UK landslides with the British Geological Survey, and urban carbon sinks with our very own soon to … Continue reading
It’s been a dinosaury week so far at the British Science Festival! Our event, ‘Dinosaurs, monsters and myths’ kicked off a huge amount of press coverage for Nanotyrannus, a disputed new species. Once thought to be a juvenile T. Rex, Nanotyrannus now appears to be confirmed, thanks to a beautiful new specimen which has been … Continue reading
We’re pretty excited about our British Science Festival event next week, ‘Stranger than fiction? Dinosaurs, Monsters and Myths‘. Not only are we hearing from two palaeontologists, Dr Phil Manning and Dr Joanna Wright, about how they reconstruct dinosaurs, but we’ll be joined by Frame Store’s Mike Milne, the graphics brain behind Walking With Dinosaurs since … Continue reading
The first dinosaur to be named was Megalosaurus in 1824, but it took another 18 years for Sir Richard Owen, at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, to suggest re-grouping the handful of antidiluvian beasts so far discovered into a single tribe of giant reptiles. Since then, dinosaurs have established … Continue reading
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. Continue reading
The Earth’s magnetic poles might feel like a constant – north is north, south is south – but they turn out to be a lot more complicated than that, as we found out yesterday in our event at the British Science Festival in Aberdeen, where Kathy Whaler, Conall Mac Niocaill and Ciaran Beggan took our … Continue reading
It’s that time of year again! We’re off to the British Science Festival this week, and whether you can join us in Aberdeen or not, here’s where you’ll find all the geology news and updates. Our own flagship event, ‘May the force be with us’ is happening on wednesday 5th at 1pm. But it’s not … Continue reading
Geological Society of London blog 