February 27, 2014

Powered by Rock – Week 5

GEOTHERMAL Lecture notes (as a pdf) – 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect5_geotherm Lecture notes (as a PowerPoint file) – 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect5_geotherm_SML (With sincere thanks to Dr Charlotte Adams of BritGeothermal, Durham University, for providing much of the information) US Geothermal energy (from US Energy Information Administration) Geothermal Technologies Office, US Dept of Energy. Geothermal energy (British Geological Survey) The BritGeothermal project (BGS, Glasgow, Durham, Newcastle)...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
February 18, 2014

Powered by Rock – Week 4

NUCLEAR Lecture notes (PowerPoint) – 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect4_nuclear_SML What is uranium and how does it provide energy? (World Nuclear Association) The geology of uranium (World Nuclear Association) Uranium in a nutshell (About.com) Did the Fukushima accident cause increased thyroid cancer in children? (article in the Guardian, Mar. 2014) Radioactive waste management in the UK (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) Sellafield geological storage site selection...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
February 9, 2014

Powered by Rock – Week 2

COAL Lecture notes (pdf): 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect2_coal_mini Lecture notes (PowerPoint): 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect2_coal Energy from fossil fuels – a short explanation of the chemical reactions that allow us to extract energy from hydrocarbons, by Western Oregon University. Coal – guide from the Minerals UK section of the British Geological Survey. Coal statistics from the UK Government. World coal statistics from UK Coal. Coal mining statistics...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
January 20, 2014

Powered by Rock – Week 1

Earth’s Energy Systems – Introduction (updated Thurs. Jan 23rd) Lecture slides from Week 1: 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect1_intro (PowerPoint file) 2014_PoweredbyRock_lect1_intro (PDF) Generally useful online energy resources: Prof. David MacKay’s book ‘Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air’ can be downloaded free from his website here. The International Energy Agency (IEA) website can be found here. The UK Department of Energy & Climate...
Categories Research/Teaching Comments: 0
December 11, 2013

An Introduction to Geology: 10

PREDICTIVE GEOSCIENCE Lecture notes: 2013_IntroGeol_Lect10_future_SML (PDF) 2013_IntroGeol_Lect10_future_SML (PowerPoint) Earthquakes The global seismic hazard assessment programme (1992-1999). Predicting earthquakes (USGS web resources) Earthquakes and seismology (BGS resources) The L’Aquila Earthquake, Italy (by Dr Richard Walters, University of Leeds) Did toads predict the L’Aquila earthquake? (from Nature Blogs) Volcanoes International Earthquake and Volcano Prediction Center. Cycles in felsic volcanic eruptions might be caused...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
December 3, 2013

An Introduction to Geology: 9

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY Lecture slides: 2013_IntroGeol_Lect9_econ_SML (ppt) or 2013_IntroGeol_Lect9_econ2 (pdf) English Heritage/BGS county atlases of building stones. GeoScenic, the national archive of geological photographs. Minerals UK (BGS website) Coal mining map of the UK (from the Coal Authority) This Exploited Land: ironstone and the railways in the North Yorks Moors Cleveland Ironstone: a history (from the Tees Valley RIGS website) Map of...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
December 3, 2013

An Introduction to Geology: 8

Fossils & Palaeontology Lecture slides: 2013_IntroGeol_fossils_Lect8 (pdf) or 2013_IntroGeol_fossils_Lect8_SML (ppt) 3D Fossils (new project led by the British Geological Survey) British Fossils (book by Peter Doyle) St Hilda’s ammonite, Hildoceras bifrons (NHM website) The Palaeontological Association (UK-based organization promoting palaeontological science) Palaeontology Online (articles about the cutting edge of fossil research, written by palaeontologists) Palaeocast (Palaeontology podcasts and photos on...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
November 26, 2013

Tracking Ancient Life

TRACE FOSSILS The lecture presentation: 2013_TrackingAncientLife_SML Charles Darwin – worms and vegetable mould (from Darwin Online) Darwin’s wormstone at Down House, Kent. Phil Manning’s Dinosaur CSI website. An amazing dinosaur trackway site in Bolivia. Dinosaur speed calculator (from the University of Sheffield) Why that previous theory might be wrong! (from Heinrich Mallison, Berlin) How fast did ancient people run? (My...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0
November 19, 2013

An Introduction to Geology: 7

ICE & WATER Lecture notes (pdf file): 2013_IntroGeol_Lect7_climate Oxygen isotopes as ancient temperature proxies (from the JOIDES Resolution project). Using earthworm poo as a palaeo-thermometer (the original paper can be read here). Milutin Milankovitch: Seeking the Cause of the Ice Ages (from AMNH) A tutorial on Milankovitch cyclicity (from Science Courseware) Erratics: rocks from afar (pebbles of the Yorkshire Coast,...
Categories Teaching Comments: 0