I’d like to introduce you to a rock. Pretty isn’t it? The white crystals caught my eye, as they did that of three different geologists of the British Geological Survey, who between them collected 5 different samples from the same small area of Scotland. When did these crystals grow? How old are they? These rocks… Continue reading The deceptive simplicity of a metamorphic rock
Category: Scotland
A new paradigm for Barrovian metamorphism?
The phrase ‘new paradigm’ is a little shop-worn but it still catches the eye. To see it used in a “discussion and reply” on a dry-looking metamorphic petrology paper is really something unusual. Tracing through these articles really shows how metamorphic petrology can get to the heart of understanding what happens in the core of… Continue reading A new paradigm for Barrovian metamorphism?
BRITICE-CHRONO: death of an ice sheet
Using many different techniques, dozens of scientists are studying the death of an ice sheet that once covered Britain and Ireland. They want to understand the future fate of modern-day ice. The phrase “ice sheet” doesn’t do justice to our subject: this is not something you shatter when stepping on a frozen puddle. Covering over… Continue reading BRITICE-CHRONO: death of an ice sheet
Traces of glacial ice and water
There’s an immediacy to the study of the Quaternary (the last few million years) that is rather seductive. Most geology is (after John McPhee) studying ‘the former world’ but the Quaternary is close enough in time that it is still this world, capped by ice and full of familiar animals and human beings. We can… Continue reading Traces of glacial ice and water