Recently, our Awards for 2014 were announced, and we’re thrilled that the recipient of our most coveted medal, the Wollaston, is Dr Maureen Raymo, a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Continue reading
Tag Archives: climate change
Three curious climate change clues
We’ve read a lot about ice cores, sediments, isotopes – but evidence for climate change can come from some unlikely places. After yesterday’s ‘four strange effects of climate change’, as part of our Climate Week series we present three very curious climate clues… Continue reading
Four Strange Effects of Climate Change
You may be preparing yourself for rising sea levels and more extreme weather events, but as part of our Climate Week blog series, here are four peculiar effects of climate change you may not have anticipated… More Pizzly Bears Although Pizzly (or Grolar) bears – that is, Grizzly-Polar bear hybrids – have occasionally been bred in captivity, … Continue reading
Oil and Gas in the Arctic
In the second of our Climate Week blogs, we look at the controversial issue of exploring the Arctic for oil and gas resources. The Arctic has fascinated explorers for hundreds of years, from Rennaissance attempts to find a Northwest Passage, to the 20th century race for the North Pole. For the oil and gas industry, … Continue reading
Door five: Christmas puddingstone
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
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
Notes from a small volcanic island
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 the US meteorological community and weather watchers in general have got a taste for volcanoes … Continue reading
Whisky on the rocks
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 heat beneath our feet
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, but underground it’s a different story. Yesterday, scientists from the British Geological Survey explained the … Continue reading
The Geological Society Blog 