Category Archives: geology

Whet your Appetite with these 45+ Books on Water

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Anne Jefferson

For some reason, I have a lot of books about water on my shelves. But my collection, seems like a drop in the ocean (forgive me) compared to all of the great books on water that are out there. I … Continue reading →

Categories: geology

Earthquake prediction is a fool’s errand

Posted on May 13, 2018 by Chris Rowan

If you want to make earthquake scientists jumpy, all you need to do is ask, "can you predict the next earthquake?" In fact, any variation on the theme of ‘earthquake’ and ‘prediction’ will do – unless it is one which … Continue reading →

Categories: deep time, earthquakes, geohazards, geology, ranting, society

A very slow magnetic doom

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Chris Rowan

Why an ‘imminent’ reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field doesn’t mean what most people think it means. Continue reading →

Categories: deep time, geology, palaeomagic, public science, society

Simulating radioactive decay

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Chris Rowan

3.8 billion years! 4 billion years! 4.4 billion years! 4.57 billion years! When discussing the age of the Earth in introductory geology, I think it is important for students to know at least the basic principles of where these ages … Continue reading →

Categories: deep time, geology, science education, teaching

All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again: an introduction to How the Earth Works

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Chris Rowan

For a couple of years now, I’ve been telling a story at the beginning of the introductory geology course I teach, called How the Earth Works. I like to think it gives a flavour of the kinds of stories you can tell about the Earth, if you know how to look: stories of how the world slowly remakes itself over hundreds of millions of years, of how the very high was once the very low, and will be again. This is that story. Continue reading →