Author Archives: Chris Rowan

The pulse of the Earth’s surface

On the Earth, matter is always in motion. We all learn about the water cycle at school – the fact that, thanks to energy from the sun, and the Earth’s surface being in a temperature range where water can exist … Continue reading

Categories: geology, links

A land of basalt and chalk

We’ve just spent a great week exploring Ireland, which included very sunny days on the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland. Anne sometimes teases me for picking holiday itineraries based more on the the prevailing geology more than the prevailing weather, … Continue reading

Categories: outcrops, photos, rocks & minerals, structures, volcanoes

Scenic Saturday: Mount Hood

We’ve both had a great week in Oregon, with some science (and, for Chris, some field excursions with Lockwood in the Coast Ranges) at the start of the week and some more recreational explorations at the end. This was the … Continue reading

Categories: photos, volcanoes

The start of a complicated – but exciting – summer

With family on both sides of the Atlantic, the Allochthonous family always faces the prospect of a complicated summer, but this year we decided that we needed an additional science leg in the Pacific North West, and that we need … Continue reading

Categories: academic life, bloggery, by Anne, photos

In large earthquakes, the Earth moves for almost everyone

The Global Positioning System has completely revolutionised how geologists study the deformation of the Earth. If you leave a GPS receiver in a fixed location for days, months and years, it is precise enough to measure motions on the millimetre … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, paper reviews, tectonics