How do you drive a rover on Mars? The latest rover to land on Mars, Curiosity, represents a huge leap forward in technology for exploring the planet. At 875 kilograms and ten feet long, it is about twice as long and five times as heavy as NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which … Continue reading
Tag Archives: geology
Something wiki this way comes…
What are the most visited websites in the world? To answer this question, many of us will refer to Wikipedia. While the site hasn’t quite achieved the stratospheric heights of Facebook and Google, it is rarely out of the top ten. “Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the … Continue reading
The origins of plate tectonics
This week, we’ve been uploading clips from Richard Thomas’ film ‘Dan McKenzie and friends’, which looks at the early history of the theory of plate tectonics. It’s easy to forget that plate tectonics, an idea we’re all familiar with at least on a basic level, isn’t all that old. It wasn’t until the 1960s that … Continue reading
Geology with added microbes
One of the fastest growing areas of research in the geosciences is what is now called ‘geomicrobiology’. Although bacteria and other microbes have long been used in industrial processes such as bioleaching, where metals are extracted from their mined ores, it is only now that the role played by microbes in geological processes is being … Continue reading
Farewell to the Antarctic
Seeing the huts of these early expeditions and experiencing in a slight way what the weather can be like here, even at the height of summer, brings a new dimension to, and a deeper appreciation of the achievements of the Scott and Shackleton expeditions. Continue reading
Communicating geology in the digital age
When the news broke on Friday that a new Icelandic eruption could be on the way, it didn’t take long for it to spread. This hasn’t always been the case. In its early years, the physics of geological communication was simple – involving nothing more than oscillations of pressure transmitted through a gas – talking. Continue reading
The Ross Sea Ice Shelf and beyond
Extending east from Cape Crozier, the front of the Ross Ice Shelf is a 30 metre high vertical wall of ice. It’s a remarkable feature, especially when you realise that it’s fresh water, it’s floating, and about 90% of it is underwater. With an area of 487,000 square kilometres, the Ross Ice Shelf is the … Continue reading
The most southerly ship on the planet
On Friday, back in our harbour in the fast ice between Capes Royds and Evans on Ross Island, we realised we are the most southerly ship on the planet. To get here this early in the season we’ve had to crunch our way through 900 miles of pack ice. The previous day, we landed on … Continue reading
Scott’s hut on Cape Evans
So far, the geology on this trip has faced some stiff competion from history and penguins, but on tuesday it came into its own. We moved across McMurdo Sound overnight and into the fast ice on the west coast, ready for an assault on the Dry Valleys. It was a lovely sunny day on the … Continue reading
Reaching Shackleton’s expedition hut
Taking a circuitous route through the pack ice, we finally made it to Frankin Island at 76 degrees south. We got the ship to within 5 miles, then flew in by helicopter, landing on the sea ice at the southeastern end of the island about a mile and a half from a colony of Emperor … Continue reading
The Geological Society Blog 