Monthly Archives: June 2007

Inspiration

If there’s one thing that a scientist can’t be without, it’s ideas. A good working knowledge of your field, and its outstanding research questions, is not enough; you also need to have the imagination to exploit it. But it’s a … Continue reading

Categories: academic life

Namibia: the stromatolites’ last hurrah

Some of the more massive limestone beds in the Nama group are chock full of stromatolites, the remnants of sizeable Precambrian algal reefs. Technically, stromatolites are not true fossils, because the mineralised layers are not directly precipitated by the photosynthetic … Continue reading

Categories: fieldwork, fossils, geology, outcrops, past worlds, photos, Proterozoic

Philosophia Naturalis # 11: a slight delay

In my free moments since my return I’ve been steadily ploughing my way through the last months’ blogospheric activity, trying to construct a good cross-section through the posts and preoccupations of the best physical science bloggers for the June edition … Continue reading

Categories: bloggery

Namibia: Precambrian fossils

The base of the Cambrian is traditionally thought of as the point at which large, mineralised body fossils first appear in the geological record, giving us a much-improved record of the development of life up to the present day. However, … Continue reading

Categories: fieldwork, fossils, geology, outcrops, past worlds, photos, Proterozoic

Journey to the bottom of the Cambrian

In which I literally stand on the Neoproterozoic/Cambrian boundary.
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Categories: Palaeozoic, past worlds