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Hurled from the sky
Since ancient times in China, special glass stones have been recognised. Called Lei-gong-mo, or “Ink sticks hurled from the sky by the thunder god” these are now known as tektites. These remarkable...
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Geology and myth
As a word, myth has taken on negative connotations. False modern stories are dismissed as “urban myths”, myths are seen as old superstitions to be ‘busted’ by scientific truth. There are geologists who...
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What came from outer space
I admit it. I’m geocentric. Not in the old-fashioned sense, I’m not that eccentric. I don’t believe the earth is the physical centre of the universe, but it certainly feels that way. The universe,...
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Earth, moon and Mars: connected by meteorites
The time immediately after earth’s formation is known as the Hadean Eon. It was a time when earth suffered a heavy bombardment from space. Rocks this age on earth are extremely rare, mostly they have...
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Some facets of the Geology of Diamonds
Originally published on the Scientific American guest blog. Geoscientists can’t say if diamonds are forever, but they can say that some are already billions of years old. They form in a place we’ll...
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The Great Ordovician meteor shower
Between Mars and Jupiter, 470 million years ago, there was a massive collision between two 100km-sized chunks of rock – this solar system’s biggest bang of the last billion years. It created a massive...
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Radioactivity and the earth (and moon?)
“Castle Romeo” atmospheric nuclear test – March 1954. From CTBTO We tend to think of radioactivity as an artificial thing; some argue that the first nuclear explosions in 1945 should mark the start of...
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A world without subduction
The greatest achievement of the generation of Earth Scientists now retiring is the concept of plate tectonics. The insight that the earth’s surface is made up of rigid plates that move has shed light...
View ArticleScars, acne and others: circles on the ground
Looking is never just looking. When we gaze at something, we are not passive recipients of an image, instead our brain is constantly looking for patterns. If you are drifting over the earth, whether as...
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Volcanoes and mass extinctions – tracking a killer
Look in a bookshop and see how many shelves are taken up with murder mysteries. There’s little that is as compelling as the idea of a dead body on the ground and a search to find the culprit. I’m going...
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