Category Archives: basics

Do we need a new geological epoch?

Anthropocene! Naming a new geological time period after ourselves certainly has a nice dramatic ring to it, even if it smacks of the hubris that got us into our current climatic mess in the first place. But can our species, … Continue reading

Categories: basics, deep time, geology, paper reviews

Annoying misconceptions in Geology

The manglings of geology that get my inner pedant’s teeth grinding
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Categories: basics, geology

Testability in Earth Science

How can studies of the geological past yield repeatable experiments?
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Categories: basics, geology

Palaeomagnetism: from drilling to publication

How the measurements I make in the lab are distilled into the results reported in a typical scientific paper.
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Categories: basics, fieldwork, in the lab, palaeomagic

Of aftershocks and tsunamis

Questions arising from the Indonesian quakes
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Categories: basics, earthquakes, geohazards

A primer on the origin of the Earth

I heartily second Lab Lemmings recommendation of the Skepchick’s series on ‘The Origin of the Earth’, an opus in five parts: I: Introduction, the Scientific Toolbox, and Cosmic Starstuff II: Crustal Chemistry, the Solar Nebula, and the Solar System III: … Continue reading

Categories: basics, links, planets

Geological Basics: the art of Paleomagic

If I’m ever going to talk about my own research in any detail, I’m first going to have to explain a little (or a lot) about the field I fell into almost by accident, paleomagnetism. Literally ‘ancient magnetism’, paleomagnetism is … Continue reading

Categories: basics, geology, geophysics, palaeomagic

What do you want to know about geology?

Thermochronic suggests that we in the Geoblogosphere should start paying a bit more attention to what is written about our areas of specialisation on Wikipedia. I’ve been vaguely toying with this idea for a while, especially since I’ve started on … Continue reading

Categories: basics, public science

Geological Basics: the difference between chronology and stratigraphy

Or why there is no such thing as a single ‘geological column’ for the whole Earth
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Categories: basics, geology

Geological Basics: the composition of the Earth

What is the earth made of? And how do we know?
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Categories: basics, geology