Author Archives: Chris Rowan

Just published: can sandbox models be educational and fun?

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Chris Rowan

Just out: a paper by me and education expert Bridget Mulvey grapples with the question: analogue sandbox models are cool, but are they effective teaching tools? Analogue sandbox models are a way of demonstrating tectonic deformation processes in the classroom: the … Continue reading →

Categories: geology, publication, science education, structures, tectonics

The long-term seismic impact of mega thrust earthquakes

Posted on July 5, 2022 by Chris Rowan

Here’s a very interesting analysis of aftershock patterns in the wake of M9+ megathrust events: the aftershocks in a ‘core’ region closest to the rupture shut off within a few years of the main shock, after which seismicity might remain … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geology

Not enough people get taught Earth Science, and that’s a problem for all of us

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Chris Rowan

This article articulates an increasingly concerning question: in a world where increased exposure to natural hazards, resource scarcity and the consequences of climate change are amongst the most critical issues facing our society, why does Earth Science get no love in … Continue reading →

Categories: geology, science education

Weird rocky exoplanets

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Chris Rowan

Obtaining the composition of rocky exoplanets from the spectral signature produced when their dying parent star eats them is already pretty mind-blowing. But the results – which suggest that on some of these worlds, quartz is substituted for olivine in their … Continue reading →

Categories: geology, planets, rocks & minerals

How to spend a lot of money on a problem without making any progress in solving it, nuclear fusion edition

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Chris Rowan

I’ve been known on occasion to mock fusion for being eternally 25 years in the future, and this article on the latest potential advances doesn’t really help me assess how credible the people and approaches that star in it actually are. But … Continue reading →

Categories: climate crisis, society