Wednesday, 25 March 2020
At this Moment of Crisis........
At this Moment of Crisis........
Several correspondents have brought the following to my notice.
I think it originated on EPOD, which contains much of interest.
Diamonds Make a Craton Bigger
Baffin Island Kimberlites and the North Atlantic Craton
A correspondent has brought THIS ARTICLE to my attention. Researchers working on kimberlites in southern Baffin Island found that wall rocks brought to the surface by the kimberlites bore evidence that they were part of the North Atlantic Craton.
This increases the craton's size by 10%. You can find more from HERE, and for the truly dedicated HERE. If you are dedicated and solvent and want to investigate further look HERE.
 |
| Geologists studying rock samples from Baffin Island find lost fragment of continent. Photo: istock. |
Saturday, 21 March 2020
23rd to 29th March 2020
NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
23rd to 29th March 2020
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM BRISTOL AND WEST COUNTRY GEOLOGY CALENDARS
MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE BRISTOL AND THE WEST COUNTRY CALENDARS AND ON THE WEB SITES OF THE RELEVANT SOCIETY OR ORGANISATION.
Nothing Happening!
Blame the Virus
and wash your hands!
If you know of any events, let me know.
NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
23rd to 29th March 2020
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM BRISTOL AND WEST COUNTRY GEOLOGY CALENDARS
MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE BRISTOL AND THE WEST COUNTRY CALENDARS AND ON THE WEB SITES OF THE RELEVANT SOCIETY OR ORGANISATION.
Nothing Happening!
Blame the Virus
and wash your hands!
If you know of any events, let me know.
Saturday, 14 March 2020
16th to 22nd March 2020
NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
16th to 22nd March 2020
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM BRISTOL AND WEST COUNTRY GEOLOGY CALENDARS
MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE BRISTOL AND THE WEST COUNTRY CALENDARS AND ON THE WEB SITES OF THE RELEVANT SOCIETY OR ORGANISATION.
MONDAY 16TH
Geostudies Lecture Course - Germany
When
Mon, 16 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
The Geology of Germany
Monday 13th for 10 weeks (not 17th Feb) until 23rd March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30 - 9.30pm on Mondays.
Like Britain, Germany consists of a number of exotic Terranes, derived from different continents and amalgamated together by plate tectonic collisions. Northern Germany is part of Avalonia, which amalgamated with the East European Craton (Baltica) along the Tornquist suture in the east. A great deal of this area is plastered by thick Quaternary glacial sediments.
Central Germany is part of Armorica, which collided with the north during the Variscan orogeny. There is, in places, thick Mesozoic unconformable cover. The extreme south is part of the Alpine orogeny, but its effects were transmitted northwards to affect and reactivate older structures. There was extensive volcanic activity during the Tertiary, and some famous asteroid impact sites.
Cost £75
-----------------------------------------------
Teme Valley G S - Lecture
When
Mon, 16 March, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Martley Memorial Hall B4197 by Sports Ground (map)
Description
Richard Edwards, The Japanese Island Arc:Perspectives on the Malvern Complex and Warren House Formation
tuesday 17th
wednesday 18th
thursday 19th
Thornbury Geology Group, 7.30pm, The Chantry, Thornbury
When
Thu, 19 March, 19:00 – 21:30
Description
Thornbury Geology Group, 7.30pm at The Chantry, Thornbury, and every 3rd Thursday in the month.
friday 20th
saturday 21st
South Wales G A - Lecture and AGM
When
Sat, 21 March, 10:30 – 12:30
Where
Lectures at University of Wales Swansea are held in the department of Geography in the Wallace building. We meet on the landing area inside the main entrance to the building for refreshments with lectures in the main lecture theatre. (map)
Description
AGM and retiring President's Address
sunday 22nd
Geostudies Lecture Course - Germany
When
Mon, 16 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
The Geology of Germany
Monday 13th for 10 weeks (not 17th Feb) until 23rd March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30 - 9.30pm on Mondays.
Like Britain, Germany consists of a number of exotic Terranes, derived from different continents and amalgamated together by plate tectonic collisions. Northern Germany is part of Avalonia, which amalgamated with the East European Craton (Baltica) along the Tornquist suture in the east. A great deal of this area is plastered by thick Quaternary glacial sediments.
Central Germany is part of Armorica, which collided with the north during the Variscan orogeny. There is, in places, thick Mesozoic unconformable cover. The extreme south is part of the Alpine orogeny, but its effects were transmitted northwards to affect and reactivate older structures. There was extensive volcanic activity during the Tertiary, and some famous asteroid impact sites.
Cost £75
-----------------------------------------------
Teme Valley G S - Lecture
When
Mon, 16 March, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Martley Memorial Hall B4197 by Sports Ground (map)
Description
Richard Edwards, The Japanese Island Arc:Perspectives on the Malvern Complex and Warren House Formation
Thornbury Geology Group, 7.30pm, The Chantry, Thornbury
When
Thu, 19 March, 19:00 – 21:30
Description
Thornbury Geology Group, 7.30pm at The Chantry, Thornbury, and every 3rd Thursday in the month.
South Wales G A - Lecture and AGM
When
Sat, 21 March, 10:30 – 12:30
Where
Lectures at University of Wales Swansea are held in the department of Geography in the Wallace building. We meet on the landing area inside the main entrance to the building for refreshments with lectures in the main lecture theatre. (map)
Description
AGM and retiring President's Address
Friday, 13 March 2020
Nine Years Ago..............Terrifying Tsunami
If You Wonder What a Tsunami Looks Like ....
I came across THIS ARTICLE for the first time today and watched the video. The video was recorded nine years ago in Kesennuma city, on the banks of the Okawa river.
The tsunami followed an earthquake which damaged a nuclear power station, on the coast north of Tokyo. I was in Hawaii at the time, living in a house on the coast and we had to evacuate because of fears of a tsunami. In Hawaii it was barely measurable, but in Kesennuma it was rather different.
Nothing much happens for the first couple of minutes, then the river starts flowing the wrong way. At 7 minutes the videographer retreats up the stairs of a block of flats. At 9 to 10 minutes debris starts appearing in the river and then it gets worse - a lot worse. The unrelenting power of the water is what struck me. That and the slow realisation that something horrible is happening. At what stage would I have realised that I had to get someplace safe - and what was safe?
Saturday, 7 March 2020
9th to 15th March 2020
NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
9th to 15th March 2020
NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM BRISTOL AND WEST COUNTRY GEOLOGY CALENDARS
MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE BRISTOL AND THE WEST COUNTRY CALENDARS AND ON THE WEB SITES OF THE RELEVANT SOCIETY OR ORGANISATION.
MONDAY 9th
Geostudies Lecture Course - Germany
When
Mon, 9 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
The Geology of Germany
Monday 13th for 10 weeks (not 17th Feb) until 23rd March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30 - 9.30pm on Mondays.
Like Britain, Germany consists of a number of exotic Terranes, derived from different continents and amalgamated together by plate tectonic collisions. Northern Germany is part of Avalonia, which amalgamated with the East European Craton (Baltica) along the Tornquist suture in the east. A great deal of this area is plastered by thick Quaternary glacial sediments.
Central Germany is part of Armorica, which collided with the north during the Variscan orogeny. There is, in places, thick Mesozoic unconformable cover. The extreme south is part of the Alpine orogeny, but its effects were transmitted northwards to affect and reactivate older structures. There was extensive volcanic activity during the Tertiary, and some famous asteroid impact sites.
Cost £75
tuesday 10th
Cardiff University Lecture - Volcanoes—all you need to know!
When
Tue, 10 March, 18:30 – 20:00
Where
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences will be held in the Wallace Lecture Theatre (0.13), Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT (map)
Description
The precious diamondiferous cargo of volcanoes. Wolfgang Maier, Cardiff
The 2019-2020 monthly Tuesday evening lecture series in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences will be held in the Wallace Lecture Theatre (0.13), Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place,
Cardiff CF10 3AT. Lectures begin at 18.30. Booking is not needed. Should you require the Q&A sessions to be in Welsh, please email edwardsd2@cardiff.ac.uk at least two weeks before the event.
Did you know that the majority of volcanic eruptions – maybe even 90% – occur under water and of which we are largely unaware? There remains a very great deal we don't know about volcanoes, but many exciting new insights are emerging from ongoing research. This lecture series will encompass the diversity of volcanoes, their functioning and products, together with the nature of eruptions and their attendant problems of predictions plus their ensuing past and present environmental and biological impacts.
--------------------------------------
WEGA - Presidential Address
When
Tue, 10 March, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Earth Sciences Lecture Theatre, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ (map)
Description
Prof Brian Williams: Presidential Address - "Continental Sedimentation" - Details to follow.
wednesday 11th
thursday 12th
Geostudies Lecture - Uniformitarianism
When
Thu, 12 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
The Chantry, Thornbury (map)
Description
The Limits of Uniformitarianism.
The science of geology is heavily dependent on the principle of uniformitarianism – the idea that geological conditions and processes have remained substantially unchanged through geological time, meaning that we can interpret the past on the basis of our understanding of the geological present. But how accurate is this principle? To what extent were conditions and processes different in the past? Are present conditions and processes typical? How well do we understand present processes? And there are also spatial features to consider; A casual examination of a modern sedimentary or volcanic environment reveals rapid and wide-ranging changes in facies over a small area. Our evidence of past environments is largely based on small, possibly unrepresentative, exposures of tiny fractions of those past environments. Are we justified in using evidence from the past to interpret the present and future, such as climate change? Held at The Chantry, Thornbury, in the Hanover Room. First meeting 7.30 – 9.30, Thurs 16th January until April 2nd (not Thurs 20th Feb or 19th March). Cost £75
Programme
What do we mean by Uniformitarianism? Origin of the term and the historical context in which it arose and developed as a counter to “Old” Catastrophism.
What are the main problems with Uniformitarianism? The rise of “New” Catastrophism in the later part of the 20th century. Problems of direction, cyclicity, punctuation, gradualism in the following fields of geology:
Uniformitarianism and sedimentation. Have conditions changed over geological time? How representative in terms of coverage and completeness is the sedimentary record?
Uniformitarianism and volcanicity, earthquakes, intrusion and landslides
Uniformitarianism and the solar system – external processes affecting earth geology
Uniformitarianism and major environmental change (such as climate and sea level changes)
Uniformitarianism, evolution and mass extinction
Uniformitarianism and tectonics – was plate tectonics a relatively young development? Is the Wilson (supercontinent) Cycle real?
Geomorphology and Uniformitarianism
Is the present the key to the past? (or in reverse?)
friday 13th
Cheltenham Mineral and Geological Society - Lecture
When
Fri, 13 March, 19:00 – 21:00
Where
Shurdington at The Century Hall (map)
Description
AGM and Annual Competition
saturday 14th
sunday 15th
Geostudies Lecture Course - Germany
When
Mon, 9 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
The Geology of Germany
Monday 13th for 10 weeks (not 17th Feb) until 23rd March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30 - 9.30pm on Mondays.
Like Britain, Germany consists of a number of exotic Terranes, derived from different continents and amalgamated together by plate tectonic collisions. Northern Germany is part of Avalonia, which amalgamated with the East European Craton (Baltica) along the Tornquist suture in the east. A great deal of this area is plastered by thick Quaternary glacial sediments.
Central Germany is part of Armorica, which collided with the north during the Variscan orogeny. There is, in places, thick Mesozoic unconformable cover. The extreme south is part of the Alpine orogeny, but its effects were transmitted northwards to affect and reactivate older structures. There was extensive volcanic activity during the Tertiary, and some famous asteroid impact sites.
Cost £75
Cardiff University Lecture - Volcanoes—all you need to know!
When
Tue, 10 March, 18:30 – 20:00
Where
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences will be held in the Wallace Lecture Theatre (0.13), Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT (map)
Description
The precious diamondiferous cargo of volcanoes. Wolfgang Maier, Cardiff
The 2019-2020 monthly Tuesday evening lecture series in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences will be held in the Wallace Lecture Theatre (0.13), Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place,
Cardiff CF10 3AT. Lectures begin at 18.30. Booking is not needed. Should you require the Q&A sessions to be in Welsh, please email edwardsd2@cardiff.ac.uk at least two weeks before the event.
Did you know that the majority of volcanic eruptions – maybe even 90% – occur under water and of which we are largely unaware? There remains a very great deal we don't know about volcanoes, but many exciting new insights are emerging from ongoing research. This lecture series will encompass the diversity of volcanoes, their functioning and products, together with the nature of eruptions and their attendant problems of predictions plus their ensuing past and present environmental and biological impacts.
--------------------------------------
WEGA - Presidential Address
When
Tue, 10 March, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Earth Sciences Lecture Theatre, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ (map)
Description
Prof Brian Williams: Presidential Address - "Continental Sedimentation" - Details to follow.
Geostudies Lecture - Uniformitarianism
When
Thu, 12 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
The Chantry, Thornbury (map)
Description
The Limits of Uniformitarianism.
The science of geology is heavily dependent on the principle of uniformitarianism – the idea that geological conditions and processes have remained substantially unchanged through geological time, meaning that we can interpret the past on the basis of our understanding of the geological present. But how accurate is this principle? To what extent were conditions and processes different in the past? Are present conditions and processes typical? How well do we understand present processes? And there are also spatial features to consider; A casual examination of a modern sedimentary or volcanic environment reveals rapid and wide-ranging changes in facies over a small area. Our evidence of past environments is largely based on small, possibly unrepresentative, exposures of tiny fractions of those past environments. Are we justified in using evidence from the past to interpret the present and future, such as climate change? Held at The Chantry, Thornbury, in the Hanover Room. First meeting 7.30 – 9.30, Thurs 16th January until April 2nd (not Thurs 20th Feb or 19th March). Cost £75
Programme
What do we mean by Uniformitarianism? Origin of the term and the historical context in which it arose and developed as a counter to “Old” Catastrophism.
What are the main problems with Uniformitarianism? The rise of “New” Catastrophism in the later part of the 20th century. Problems of direction, cyclicity, punctuation, gradualism in the following fields of geology:
Uniformitarianism and sedimentation. Have conditions changed over geological time? How representative in terms of coverage and completeness is the sedimentary record?
Uniformitarianism and volcanicity, earthquakes, intrusion and landslides
Uniformitarianism and the solar system – external processes affecting earth geology
Uniformitarianism and major environmental change (such as climate and sea level changes)
Uniformitarianism, evolution and mass extinction
Uniformitarianism and tectonics – was plate tectonics a relatively young development? Is the Wilson (supercontinent) Cycle real?
Geomorphology and Uniformitarianism
Is the present the key to the past? (or in reverse?)
Cheltenham Mineral and Geological Society - Lecture
When
Fri, 13 March, 19:00 – 21:00
Where
Shurdington at The Century Hall (map)
Description
AGM and Annual Competition
Much More About the Seismometer on Mars
Much More About the Seismometer on Mars
Nature has LOTS about the InSight lander on Mars. Read all about it HERE. I did not realise how much the Mars seismometer was recording the Martian weather!
The detail is great and the number of authors is vast including people from Bristol. Much of it is beyond me but it is fascinating stuff.
 |
| The seismometer on the surface of Mars |
TWO articles from the Landslide blog
TWO articles from the Landslide blog
One of my favourite blogs - "The Landslide Blog" - has two articles which attracted my attention.
THE FIRST ONE is nothing to do with landslides but has a couple of great photos of the pillow lavas at Wadi Jizzi.
And THE SECOND ONE reports a landslide which derailed a TGV train in Eastern France. The best report is HERE - a translated version of THIS original. The video works in the original version.
Tuesday, 3 March 2020
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)