10 things you didn't know about Earthquakes

BBC 4 Tomorrow at 2000 and repeated on Thursday at 2300 is the 

Prof Iain Stewart programme:

10 things you didn't know about Earthquakes

The 10 things......avalanches and 10 things................volcanoes programme will be shown in the near future.

Please try to watch, record then watch or iplayer watch the earthquake and volcano programmes!

Climate related reports

Y13 Geographers: please read and inwardly digest these articles from BBC news:

Why does Earth's temp vary?


Engineering the climate


Government reports on climate change


Risk from extreme weather

Earth Sciences at Uni

This Youtube video is to promote Earth Sciences at Cambridge University.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUj4as55658

It gives a good overview to a prospective university Geology student (not only to Oxbridge potential students.)

REMEMBER: WE NEED GEOLOGISTS!

IF YOU CAN'T GROW IT, YOU GOTTA DIG IT!!

Links to some excellent geology departments (in alphabetical order):

Birmingham University Earth Sciences Dept

Bristol University Earth Sciences Dept

Cambridge University Earth Sciences Dept

Cardiff University Earth Sciences Dept

Durham University Earth Sciences Dept

Exeter University (Camborne school of Mines) Earth Sciences Dept

Imperial College, London Earth Sciences Dept

Leeds University Earth Sciences Dept

Leicester University Earth Sciences Dept

Liverpool University Earth Sciences Dept

Manchester University Earth Sciences Dept

Oxford University Earth Sciences Dept

Plymouth University Earth Sciences Dept

Royal Holloway, University of London Earth Sciences Dept

Southampton University Earth Sciences Dept

Plate Tectonics Website

A great resource for honing your tectonic skills and understanding:

http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Plate-Tectonics

Geology fieldwork lecture date for your diary

The Practice of Geology Fieldwork 
Dr. Mary Benton, University of Bristol Earth Sciences Department 
West of England Geologists Association/Bristol 'Nats' Geology

Wednesday 26 November, 7.30 p.m.


Leave Wells     6.15pm
Return at         9.30pm

Amongst other subjects, Dr. Mary Benton teaches the Introduction to Field Skills in Earth Sciences course at Bristol Uni. 

Are Earth's tectonic plates BENDY?

Scientists say they're more flexible than first thought - and this could explain why some earthquakes occur

• A study by US scientists suggests Earth's tectonic plates are malleable
• They say that the plates can cool and change in size and shape
• This means they contract faster in certain sections and deform
• It could explain how earthquakes within a plate (intraplate earthquakes) can form 

They found that the cooling of the lithosphere, the outermost layer of Earth, makes some sections of the Pacific plate contract horizontally at faster rates than other sections, which causes the plate to deform.

For example they showed that there is a positive correlation between where the plate is predicted to deform and where intraplate earthquakes - ones inside a tectonic plate rather than two rubbing together - occur.They say that the deformation could explain why some parts of the plate tectonic puzzle don't make sense.

The formation of intraplate earthquakes has been somewhat of a mystery until now. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2822005/Are-Earth-s-tectonic-plates-BENDY-Scientists-say-flexible-thought-explain-earthquakes-occur.html#ixzz3Ih2hrCtq 

Rosetta mission: Could you land on a comet?

Can you land on a comet?

After 10 years, and a journey of more than six billion kilometres, the Rosetta spacecraft is set to launch its fridge-sized Philae lander on to 

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November.

Click here for more information and to play the interactive game 

on the BBC news website.

The Kiss of Death: LIPS

The kiss of death?: LIPs (Large Igneous Provinces) and mass extinction events

Dr. Andrew Kerr, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University

      Bath Geol Soc Thurs 6th November. Minibus leaves at 1745

The nature and causes of mass extinctions in the geological past have been intensely debated for the past three decades. Central to this debate are the questions of whether one or several bolide impacts, the eruption of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), or a combination of the two, were the primary mechanisms driving the environmental and habitat changes that are universally regarded as the proximate causes for four of the five major Phanerozoic mass extinction events. 

Recent years have seen a revolution in our understanding of both the interplanetary environment and LIP eruptions and their environmental effects, such that the widely-accepted simple impact-kill scenario no longer seems adequate for the end-Cretaceous or any other mass extinction events. For example, single large impacts, (e.g., Chicxulub) as primary cause of mass extinctions have been questioned by planetary and space scientists because such impactors originating from the asteroid belt are random and rare. 

Amazing firework display

The Truth about Meteors 

Weds 5th November, 8pm BBC4

Following the Chelyabinsk meteor earlier in the year, Prof Iain Stewart looks at the Truth behind Meteors in this Horizon programme.

The Anthropocene age: what world will humans leave behind?

If an alien civilisation lands, millions of years from now when humans are a distant memory, what will they find? Our cities will be long gone; our sturdiest monuments and greatest buildings will be dust. But if they bring a geologist with them, they may be able to read the story of our existence from the stones they walk on. In Berlin, yesterday, a group of scientists met to discuss just what that story will tell – and how important a story it is.

Humans have existed in our modern form for only about 200,000 years. In geological terms, barely the blink of an eye: geologists measure the history of the Earth in millions of years. But some think that humanity’s impact on the planet in that time – and especially in the past few hundred years – has changed the planet so much that we are now living in a new epoch: the Anthropocene. We have caused a mass extinction, and changed the composition of the atmosphere, they say. Our effect on the planet is as great as that of the end of the last ice age.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/11167165/Scientists-wonder-what-in-the-world-will-we-leave-behind.html

Pointless volcanoes!

How many can you name? 

Quizlet

Here are the links to the Quizlet site, great for revision! 

The Truro Geology cards have images, mine don't. 

However the dwrowley ones are based specifically on the OCR course.

Truro:

http://quizlet.com/class/921609/

DWR

http://quizlet.com/subject/dwrowley/

Mass extinctions geology lecture

The kiss of death?: Large Igneous Provinces and mass extinction events

Dr. Andrew Kerr, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University

The nature and causes of mass extinctions in the geological past have been intensely debated for the past three decades. Central to this debate are the questions of whether one or several bolide impacts, the eruption of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), or a combination of the two, were the primary mechanisms driving the environmental and habitat changes that are universally regarded as the proximate causes for four of the five major Phanerozoic mass extinction events. 

Lecture at Bath Geol Soc Thursday 6th Nov
Leave Wells (if we want to have a burger first) 1740
Leave Wells (if we don't want a burger first) 1820
Return 2130

Please sign up in Geology Room

Chart-topping rocks: UK's 'Greatest Geosites' announced

The Geological Society of London has named its top 100 geological sites in the UK and Ireland, including 10 "people's favourites".

For more information click here.

To see the interactive map of the sites click here.

Seismic Shadow Zones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JQ27PNRe4zA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SyzwP9zLmmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Fr1jjl32iCU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wSqxDDFZZpM

Plate Tectonics explained

Lower 6th Geology (in particular)

Please visit the Geol Soc website to find out more about Plate Tectonics. Click here.

Volcano under Stoke-on Trent?

Houses in Stoke-on-Trent could be heated by geothermal energy by 2019

A dormant volcano 350 million years old is believed to be heating rocks and water to more than 105°C (220°F) underground

Less than two miles beneath Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, is a layer of rocks heating water to up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Experts think it is so hot because it is linked to volcanic activity back in the Devonian period.

This heated water could be brought to the surface and used to heat homes

Only one currently exists in the UK at the moment, in Southampton

Stoke City Council will invest £52m ($85m) in the project starting in 2016

Information from the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror!

Japan volcano eruption

Mount Ontake started erupting at lunchtime on Friday spewing out small rock and ash over a two-mile wide area

Police confirm at least 36 hikers have been located in a state of 'cardiac arrest' and are feared dead

They are Japan's first deaths from volcanic eruption since 1991, when 43 people died at Mount Unzen

Rescue efforts with army helicopters were used to airlift survivors from the mountain side

The volcano is 230km west of Tokyo but has not yet caused any disruption to flights in and out of the city

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed the military to rescue the hikers from the area

Rescue efforts have now been called off due to rising levels of toxic gas near summit and approaching nightfall 

For more information and video of the eruption click here (for BBC) and here (Daily Mail)

Volcano and Aurora Borealis

Video of volcano and Northern Lights click here

Spinosaurus dinosaur was 'semi-aquatic animal'

Fossils reveal terrifying cross between Tyrannosaurus rex, crocodile and a whale which could walk as well as swim

A terrifying cross between Tyrannosaurus rex, a crocodile and a whale was the largest predator ever to walk the Earth - or swim in its rivers.

Spinosaurus is the first dinosaur known to have been adapted to an aquatic lifestyle.

Weighing 20 tonnes and measuring almost 50 feet, it was nine feet longer than the largest T. rex specimen known.

It also had jaws filled with vicious slanted teeth and a snout like that of a massive crocodile, while its short muscular hind legs were equipped for paddling and resembled those seen in early limbed whales.

For more information click here
For a video of Spinosaurus click here

How do you stop the flow of lava?

Authorities on Hawaii's Big Island have declared a state of emergency as lava from the Kilauea volcano threatens residential communities and roads. Is there any way to stop a lava flow and save the homes in its path?

Click here for more information, the photo is from Etna not Kilauea.

Britain's Rocky Past

To find out about Britain's Rocky road click here.

Mendip Rocks 2014!

Rock Festival

There are lots of events over the next couple of months to extend your geological knowledge, and learn more about the local area.

It would be great to see you going along to an event, 

why not take a friend! It might be useful information for an EPQ, enrichment, or even a nice thing to do with a parent?!

You might like to include it on an UCAS personal statement 

for an Earth Science degree.

For more information click here

Icelandic eruption

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29003031

A fissure eruption has begun north of the Vatnajokull Icecap. There has been a large earthquake swarm under and to the north of the Vatnajokull Icecap suggesting a sub glacial eruption may have been imminent. However the eruption has begun as a spectacular fissure eruption as can be sen on the attached link.

Trilobite facebook page

Trilobites have a Facebook page, they are more modern than me!

Trilobites: ecdysis & trace fossils

Please look at the website initially to see how trilobites molt.

http://www.trilobites.info/sutures.htm

Then follow this link to understand trilobite trace fossils.

http://www.trilobites.info/trace.htm

These are the three main types of suture.

Work starts on £130m Devon tungsten mine

Work has started to excavate Britain's first new metal mine for more than 40 years.

The Hemerdon tungsten mine on the edge of Dartmoor will cost about £130m to dig and is expected to start producing the metal in 2015.

The mine, near Plympton, will exploit the world's fourth-largest deposit of tungsten.

For more information click here.

Traces of another world found on the Moon

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27688511

The hidden colours inside volcanoes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27678862

STUNNING PHOTOS OF VOLCANOES ETC

http://www.oliviergrunewald.com/photo/english/gallery/index.html

Geological Society National Schools Challenge

Congratulations to the team of 6th form Geologists who went to the Geological Society of London in Piccadilly and retained the 'National Schools Geology Challenge' title won by WCS last year. They won the regional round at Plymouth University in March to earn the right to represent the South West region in the final.

The event was in three sections; a poster and Powerpoint presentation (on their chosen topic) followed by a geological quiz. Their poster and presentation entitled 'The impact of plate tectonics on the evolution of life' went down well with the judges who were eminent geologists from the Geological Society of London. Going into the quiz it was evidently a very close contest.

The team, captained by James Voysey, answered questions about famous geologists, where in the World, name that rock, Greek mythology & geology, and the geology of Britain in securing a narrow victory.

The team featured James Voysey, Kate Ballan-Whitfield, Rupert Brown, Alex Gordon and Oliver Press.

http://geologywestcountry.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/well-done-geologists-at-wells-cathedral.html

http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/geochallenge

Largest Dinosaur discovered

Fossilised bones of a dinosaur believed to be the largest creature ever to walk the Earth have been unearthed in Argentina, palaeontologists say.

Based on its huge thigh bones, it was 40m (130ft) long and 20m (65ft) tall.

Weighing in at 77 tonnes, it was as heavy as 14 African elephants, and seven tonnes heavier than the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus.

A LEVEL EARTH SCIENCE RESOURCES

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY INTERACTIVE EARTH SCIENCE RESOURCES

YOU MAY FIND THEM USEFUL

RIVERS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module01swf.swf

METAMORPHISM http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module02swf.swf

IGNEOUS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module03swf.swf

PLATE TECTONICS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module04swf.swf

ROCK CYCLE http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module05swf.swf

STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module06swf.swf

WEATHERING http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module06swf.swf

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module08swf.swf

MINERALS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module09swf.swf

FOLDS AND FAULTS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module10swf.swf

MASS MOVEMENT http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module11swf.swf

FLOODS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module12swf.swf

GLACIERS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module13swf.swf

COASTS http://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module14swf.swf

Microfossils

Foraminiferal facts: from Cretaceous palaeoclimates to Caribbean tephrochronology

Dr. Jodie Fisher, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University

Foraminifera are one of the most diverse and abundant marine organisms. Ranging from the Cambrian to the modern day, their abundance and complexity in test structure makes them invaluable in biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental analysis. They are also increasingly used in the modern environment as indicators of global change, pollution, and in recolonisation studies.
This talk will introduce foraminifera, how these amazing micro-organisms have lived through geological time to the modern day, and look at how they can be utilised to answer some of the biggest geological questions. Firstly, we shall look at the Cretaceous, and the oceanic anoxic events that led to extinction and global change in the world's oceans. We will then explore how foraminifera can be used as indicators of ocean chemistry, correlators of the event across the globe, and as indicators of both extinction and recolonisation. The talk will show how these same techniques can be used in a more modern environment; specifically in dating volcanic events in the Caribbean, and in looking at the effect of these volcanic events on what is living in the oceans.
Although small, foraminifera are a key component of life in the oceans and through their study we can utilise them as ocean recorders, both today and in the geological past.

Sign up if you can come, google doc 'Geog and Geol lecture sign up'

I appreciate that this may be a bad time for some of you as you have lots of exam preparation to do, but it is an A2 fossil topic and I will be going so the offer is there!

PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY GEOLOGY CONFERENCE

Plymouth Uni are taking bookings now for FEMALE year 12 geography or geology students who may be interested in degrees and careers in the earth Sciences. This event is FREE and will include lunch, refreshments and goodies for all attendees and should be a really fun and exciting day.

Running from 10:00-15:00 on the 16^th July the morning will consist of short talks form inspiring woman in geoscience careers, who will be talking about what they do and how they got there. Companies coming include Oil industry giant BP and geotechnical experts URS.

In the afternoon we will have a more research flavour with short workshops to showcase aspects of current research in Earth Sciences.

If you are interested please see Mr R.

It is in the summer holidays, but looks really good!

Aurora Iceland

If anyone has photos from Iceland to be included in the 2014 Iceland photobook, please could you email them to Mr R 

or let him have them on a memory stick/cd?

The Great Geobake-off

The Geol Soc are having 'The Great Geo Bake off' (closing date 9th May)

http://blog.geolsoc.org.uk/2014/04/09/the-great-geobake-off/

Watch the video at the end of the above page about the Pinnacle of Cake Evolution (or click below to see it on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3vn_5FLees

How to save the planet: Moon mining, iron filings and fake volcanoes

Climate change experts will today set out new plans for tackling global warming in the event that countries cannot reduce their carbon emissions in time.

Dubbed ‘Plan B’ the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has looked at the possibility of sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and reflecting sunlight into space.

The document is important because it will be used as scientific guidance for governments as they negotiate a new global climate pact, set to be adopted in 2015

However some environmental activists watching the talks in Berlin believe geoengineering should not be attempted.

GEOENGINEERING IS DISCUSSED IN THIS BBC RADIO 4 PROGRAMME:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ktz14

Such technologies could be ineffective, possibly harmful and delay efforts to shift the world’s energy system from oil and coal to low-carbon energy sources like wind and solar power.

For more information click here.

Methane hydrate: Dirty fuel or energy saviour?

The world is addicted to hydrocarbons, and it's easy to see why - cheap, plentiful and easy to mine, they represent an abundant energy source to fuel industrial development the world over.

The side-effects, however, are potentially devastating; burning fossil fuels emits the CO2 linked to global warming.

And as reserves of oil, coal and gas are becoming tougher to access, governments are looking ever harder for alternatives, not just to produce energy, but to help achieve the holy grail of all sovereign states - energy independence.

Some have discovered a potential saviour, locked away under deep ocean beds and vast swathes of permafrost. The problem is it's a hydrocarbon, but unlike any other we know.

For more information click here.

Earthquake noticed by Austin Healey

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/10771821/Earthquake-strikes-in-Rutland.html

GEOLOGY OF MARS IN DEVON

Prof Iain Stewart appears on the 'Sky at Night' on BBC2 to explain the Geology of the surface of the Red Planet. 

WELL WORTH WATCHING!!

Watch him grin like a child at Christmas at a supersize iPad!! 

His bit is from about 7 mins 30secs to about 16 mins. 

Good for Fluvial Facies too!

BBC iPlayer link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b040yyh2/The_Sky_at_Night_Mysterious_Mars/

Future broadcasts:

Aurora Borealis

BBC Weather guide to the Northern lights

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26678181

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: FIRST LIFE

BBC 4 SATURDAY 22ND MARCH  1900

'DAVID ATTENBOROUGH FIRST LIFE'

ALL ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE ON EARTH

PART 1 (OF 2) 

Well worth watching for Y13 or to see evidence of Plate Tectonics and Evolution

Also available on Youtube!

A clip about stromatolites can be found:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bkrq1

50 Shades of Grey

Prof Iain Stewart gives a lecture to the British Science association about why geoscience is not about fifty shades of grey rock.

From L'Aquila Earthquake to fracking, plates to dinosaurs

 he discusses how the general public engage with geology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC1rFfbQX84

Did life begin inside a volcano?

Previously, some scientists have proposed that living organisms may have been transported to Earth by meteorites

But there is increasing support for the theory that life emerged on Earth in places like hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor

The findings could help scientists understand whether it is possible for life to have emerged in similar environments on other worlds

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2579333/Did-life-Earth-begin-inside-volcano.html#ixzz2w19Qy29K 

A similar story appeared a couple of years ago. Read about it here.

Mineral hints at bright blue rocks deep in the Earth

Minerals preserved in diamond have revealed hints of the bright blue rocks that exist deep within the Earth.

They also provide the first direct evidence that there may be as much water trapped in those rocks as there is in all the oceans.

The diamond, from central-west Brazil, contains minerals that formed as deep as 600km down and that have significant amounts of water trapped within them.

The study suggests water may be stored deep in the interiors of many rocky planets.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

It looks like it's been to hell and back, which it has”

Prof Graham PearsonUniversity of Alberta, Canada

Diamonds, brought to the Earth's surface in violent eruptions of deep volcanic rocks called kimberlites, provide a tantalising window into the deep Earth. 

They noticed that it contained a mineral, ringwoodite, that is only thought to form between 410km and 660km beneath the Earth's surface, showing just how deep some diamonds originate.

While ringwoodite has previously been found in meteorites, this is the first time a terrestrial ringwoodite has been seen. But more extraordinarily, the researchers found that the mineral contains about 1% water.

While this sounds like very little, because ringwoodite makes up almost all of this immense portion of the deep Earth, it adds up to a huge amount of deep water.

More information here.

Fossil Wonderlands

FOSSIL WONDERLANDS: BBC 4 9PM TUESDAY 

FIRST PROGRAMME IN A NEW SERIES

Professor Richard Fortey journeys high in the Rocky Mountains to explore a 520-million-year-old fossilised seabed containing bizarre and experimental lifeforms that have revolutionised our understanding about the beginnings of complex life. Among the amazing finds he uncovers are marine creatures with five eyes and a proboscis; filter-feeders shaped like tulips; worm-like scavengers covered in spikes but with no identifiable head or anus; and a metre-long predator resembling a giant 

Top of the Rocks!

Geological top ten singles (Flash)
1) Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
2) Rocks - Primal Scream
3) It's only rock n' roll - The Rolling Stones
4) Young volcanoes - Fall out boy
5) Earthquake - DJ Fresh vs Dipplo
6) Earthquake - Labrinth ft Tinie Tempah
7) Tsunami - DVBBS & BORGEOUS
7) Rockin' all over the world - Status Quo
8) The Core - Eric Clapton
9) Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley and the comets
10) Rock City - Kings of Leon







Geological top ten singles (Mr R)
1 Tsunami - Manic Street Preachers
2 Desert Rose - Sting
3 I am a rock - Simon and Garfunkel
4 Walk the dinosaur - Was not Was
5 Question of Time - Depeche Mode
6 Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
7 Diamonds are forever - Shirley Bassey
8 It's nobody's fault but mine - Led Zeppelin*
9 Continental drift - Rolling Stones*
10 No more Mr Gneiss Guy - Alice Cooper*

* Googled!

Any more suggestions?!