There’s a fabulous new site that shows wind patterns – it gives you a whole new perspective on the globe. One of the most striking things is the regular patterns across the oceans. Until quite recently long-distance travel was dependent on sailing boats, at the mercy of the wind and regular patterns of wind were needed… Continue reading Winds of change
New Scottish Oil field discovered (470 million years too late)
Scottish oil is topical. Most of Britain’s oil and gas deposits sit under the seabed around Scotland but the revenues are shared with the whole of the United Kingdom. If Scotland decides to become an independent state (there’s a vote in 2014) then that wealth will be all theirs. So I was very interested to read… Continue reading New Scottish Oil field discovered (470 million years too late)
Getting a nose for folds
Folds are found everywhere layers are. Folds are the natural consequence of pushing a rug, cooking lasagna or deforming sedimentary or metamorphic rocks. Sniffing out folds, ‘getting a nose for them’, is part of any geologist’s training. Here’s a Google Earth image of a chunk of northern England. What may catch your eye is the… Continue reading Getting a nose for folds
Radioactivity and the earth (and moon?)
We tend to think of radioactivity as an artificial thing; some argue that the first nuclear explosions in 1945 should mark the start of a new human-dominated geological epoch called the Anthropocene. These man-made explosions have left distinctive radioactive traces that may well outlive us all. It turns out that natural radioactivity, even fission reactions,… Continue reading Radioactivity and the earth (and moon?)