Make your own map of the UK or your town/city/house.
Compare with the William Smith Map using the British Geological Survey's (BGS) Geology of Britain viewer.
Friday 30 January 2015
Surviving the Volcano at Montserrat (Thursdaay 5th Feb)
Surviving the Volcano at Montserrat.
In 1995 David Edwards witnessed the eruptions and evacuations that changed the island of Montserrat’s destiny while working there on an animal conservation project. He recently went back to see how the island has recovered and to revisit areas which have since been destroyed. With the population having lost two thirds of its land space there have been major social shifts and challenges. David will explores these and will show what it is like to live on the new Montserrat.
THURSDAY 5th FEBRUARY
Meet in stableyard at 1900 for this free lecture at Wells Town Hall.
Return by 2100
N.B. This will take the place of the Bath Geol Soc trip in the calendar
Thursday 29 January 2015
One of our dinosaurs is moving
A #savedippy campaign has been launched after the Natural History Museum announced plans to replace its much-loved diplodocus from the entrance hall and replace it with a blue whale skeleton.
The dinosaur, nicknamed Dippy, has greeted visitors since 1979 but now has fallen victim to the museum’s plans for an overhaul.
News that it is being removed after 35 years has caused an outcry.
Sir Michael Dixon, Natural History Museum director, acknowledged that the decision might not be unanimously welcomed but said the 85-foot blue whale - currently in another room of the museum - would be spectacular. It will be suspended from the ceiling with its jaws open, as if about to swallow up visitors standing below.
Go Pro lava lake footage
Go pro footage of lava lake courtesy of Ed Curtis. He isn't the one in the video, I mean Ed sent me the link to the video.
Volcanic Islands
A VOLCANIC eruption that started in mid-December around 65km north-west of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, and grounded flights to and from the Pacific archipelago for several days, has ended. It leaves behind the world’s youngest land mass and the Pacific archipelago’s 177th island. If it lasts long enough to merit a name, Tonga’s king will get to choose it. Less than 2km across and rising 100 metres above the water’s surface, it appears to be made of volcanic ash rather than solidified lava (an attempt on January 24th to land and study it close up was foiled by the ocean swell). It may therefore prove short-lived.
Volcanic islands that last longer can be valuable. Scientists use Surtsey, which appeared off the coast of Iceland (itself a volcanic island) in 1963, to study the colonisation of virgin land by plants and animals. Since Surtsey at least ten underwater volcanoes have spewed forth enough material to breach the ocean’s surface and create new islands (see map). Most are small and erode away soon afterwards. New creations that turn out to have staying power can expand a country’s offshore territorial rights. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries can claim rights over fishing, shipping and mining up to 200 nautical miles (370km) from their coasts. A country that claims a new island off its coast can use it as the basis for a new offshore territorial claim, too.
Niijima, a volcanic island that appeared about 1,000km south of Tokyo in 2013, was at first expected to erode and vanish in short order. But it continued to grow, and last year merged with an older volcanic island, Nishinoshima. The joint land mass is still increasing. Once it settles down, and if it looks likely to last, Japan may make a new claim. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels mean that the sea often takes away land. But every now and then it gives it, too. (From the Economist, thanks Mr Laing)
Friday 23 January 2015
Running up lava flow!
Video of a man running up lava flow on Mt Etna!
Thanks to George Hutchison for the link.
Here it is in the Daily Mail:
Don't try this at home.
NASA Earth observatory
NASA earth observatory has excellent high res photos of lots of geological features. Well worth a look. The recent post is of the new Holuhraun lava in Iceland.
Thanks to Olly Press for the link.
25 Biggest Turning points in Earth's History
Our planet has existed for 4.5 billion years, and it has been a busy few eons. Here are the 25 biggest milestones in Earth's history. From leaps forward in evolution to devastating asteroid impacts, these were the turning points that shaped our world.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/bespoke/story/20150123-earths-25-biggest-turning-points/index.html
Monday 19 January 2015
Bardabunga mispronounced, but nice video.
Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano has been erupting continuously over the last five months and, according to Icelandic Met Office, is triggering small earthquakes in the area every day. The constant eruption has created the Holuhraun lava field, which has cut a swathe across the north Atlantic island and measures a whopping 33 square miles, according to Nasa. It is Iceland's largest flow since the Laki eruption in 1784, with lava flowing over the last few weeks at an estimated 50 to 70 cubic metres per second . High levels of sulphuric dioxide are still being recorded in the area, which has triggered evacuations of villages - and tourists and hikers are being kept away from this extreme landscape.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/iceland/11352580/Aerial-footage-shows-huge-volcanic-eruption-in-Iceland.html
Thursday 15 January 2015
Map that changed the world has its 200th birthday
William Smith's famous Map has its 200th birthday. Expect to hear lots more about the great man in the coming months!
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26803-map-that-changed-the-world-has-its-200th-birthday.html#.VLgnsNKsWSo
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