The Moine Thrust: An idea that unravelled mountains
PreambleI first heard about the Moine Thrust (northwest Scotland) during my undergraduate studies at Auckland University. Our department structural geology […]
The (really) Ancient Earth
The Pink and White Terraces, Magic Lanterns, and 19th Century Narratives
Preamble A collection of late 19th century lantern slides made by Arthur Whinfield, a native of Worcester, England, has recently
A chance encounter with James Ussher, circa 1650
A chance encounter of a different kind. The 9th century Book of Kells is exhibited in the Trinity College library
Bishop James Ussher, and the beginning of everything
[I had the opportunity to browse some of Ussher’s notes and scribblings during a visit to Trinity College, Dublin –
In the field: Windows into two billion year-old rocks
My early geological education was very much New Zealand centered; the gamut of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks (there are
Ropes, pillows and tubes; modern analogues for ancient volcanic structures
Analogies are the stuff of science. In geology, we frequently employ modern analogies of physical, chemical, or biological processes to
Subcutaneous oceans on distant moons; Enceladus and Europa
Our blue Earth, rising above the lunar horizon, is an abiding image of our watery state that must evoke an
Lahars; train-wreck geology
Christmas morning in New Zealand is synonymous with mid-summer barbecues at the beach, deservedly lazy times, perhaps a bit of
The origin of life: Panspermia, meteorites, and a bit of luck
In the opening scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey (1968), Neanderthal-like folk are scrounging for food, squabbling with a neighbouring
Earth’s vegetation responds to increasing CO2
Photosynthesis, a process that had its beginnings about 2.5 billion years ago, has an awesome responsibility; it keeps us breathing.