OpenLab 2008: more geobloggery needed. Much more

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Chris Rowan

Time is running out to submit entries for the next edition of the Open Laboratory blogging anthology, and running down Bora’s latest list of posts submitted so far reveals very few geologically-themed ones. In fact, I could find but two: this post from Callan, and one from the SVPOW guys. Only two? This needs to be rectified.
In 2007’s anthology, Kim and myself were the sole representatives of the geoblogosphere. This time, it would be nice to mirror the explosive growth of our community in the past year with lots more geoblogging present, both in the list of nominations and in the final anthology. If we all submit something of our own that we’re particularly proud of, and/or nominate one or two of our favourite posts from our fellows, then the first objective will be achieved. Then we’ll just have to remind the judges that most of us have big pointy hammers. Not that we’re trying to imply anything by that, of course…
As for myself, I’m thinking of possibly submitting this, or this, or perhaps even this. Or… Suggestions would be welcomed. In the meantime, I’m also going to be sure to take some time to find and submit some of the finer work of my infinitely more talented geoblogospheric colleages. Get to it, before someone starts thinking that biology and physics are better or something.

Categories: bloggery, public science

Cape Town geology: less freaky than the rest of South Africa

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Chris Rowan

Last week was my first visit to Cape Town, a place about which I had heard much, both before and after I moved to South Africa. A lot of this talk revolved about how different the Cape is from the rest of the country. I’ll agree that, as a city, it did seem a bit more relaxed than Johannesburg; I certainly liked the fact that the city centre felt a bit more accessible. However, I can’t really say I got that “more European” vibe that some had told me about. Still, there was one thing that made me feel a bit more at home: old rocks actually look old:

Malmesbury3.JPG

Malmesbury2.JPG

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Categories: geology, outcrops, photos

AAPG Day 3: poster session outcast

Posted on October 31, 2008 by Chris Rowan

Spot the odd one out, and meet me below the fold:

  • Tilt-Depth Method: A Simple Depth Estimation Method using First Order Magnetic Derivatives.
  • The Use of Multi-Level Potential Field Data in Regional, Geophysical Modelling
  • Satellite Gravity and Geoid Studies Reveal the Formations Underlying Large-Scale Basin Structures
  • 3D Gravity Modeling in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
  • Mapping and Delineating Prospective Geology with FTG Gravity Data
  • Integrated Seismic Structure, Stratigraphy & Magnetic Basement Interpretation: Offshore Louisiana Shelf
  • Gabon Regional Structural Framework, Derived from Gravity
  • A Palaeomagnetic Investigation of the Neoarchean Pongola Supergroup, South Africa

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Categories: academic life, bloggery, conferences

AAPG Day 2: showdown at the Lusi corral

Posted on October 30, 2008 by Chris Rowan

The afternoon of my second day at AAPG was spent at the session debating the origins of the Lusi mud volcano, which has been the subject of a number of blog posts around these parts. The selling point was that this would be the first time that the major proponents for the theory that the eruption was caused by a blow-out in the gas well being drilled nearby, and the competing theory that it was a response to a large regional earthquake that occurred two days before the eruption, had been collected in the same room to argue things out. Whilst this wasn’t entirely true – there was a similar debate in London last week – I was quite happy to catch the rematch.

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Categories: academic life, conferences, earthquakes, geohazards, Lusi, public science, volcanoes

Straw poll: poster or talk?

Posted on October 29, 2008 by Chris Rowan

At the moment this post appears, I’ll be standing in a poster booth desperately hoping that at least some petroleum geologists have (a) stuck it out to the bitter end of the conference, and (b) can feign an interest in Archean paleomagnetism. In the meantime, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the following question:

If you were given the choice, would you prefer your conference presentation to be a poster or a talk?

I’d be interested to hear the reasons for your answer, and what level of the academic ladder (post-grad, post-doc, junior/senior faculty) you’re currently at.

Categories: academic life, bloggery