Vaguely Informed Commentary From the Wide World of Earth Science
Chris Rowan is a geologist specialising in the dark arts of paleomagnetism, and getting people to pay him to travel to exotic destinations for fieldwork. Having drilled up New Zealand during his PhD, he is now a post-doc at the University of Johannesburg.
What the heck does 'Highly Allochthonous' mean?
October 31, 2008
Category: academic life
Spot the odd one out, and meet me below the fold: Tilt-Depth Method: A Simple Depth Estimation Method using First Order Magnetic Derivatives. The Use of Multi-Level Potential Field Data in Regional, Geophysical Modelling Satellite Gravity and Geoid Studies Reveal...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 10:46 AM • 2 Comments •
October 30, 2008
Category: geohazards
Was the mud volcano drilling or earthquake-triggered? The AAPG decides...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 8:42 AM • 8 Comments •
October 29, 2008
Category: academic life
At the moment this post appears, I'll be standing in a poster booth desperately hoping that at least some petroleum geologists have (a) stuck it out to the bitter end of the conference, and (b) can feign an interest in...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 10:45 AM • 20 Comments •
October 28, 2008
Category: academic life
I don't need a wall-sized touchscreen, but that doesn't mean I don't want one...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 4:41 PM • 0 Comments •
October 27, 2008
Category: academic life
It has to be said that it's never been a particular ambition of mine to mix with the luminaries of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Still, lots of interesting research does get done in the name of finding and...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 6:24 PM • 7 Comments •
October 26, 2008
Category: bloggery
The latest meme to hit the geoblogosphere involves trees, of all things. Of course, vegetation changes can give important clues to changes in the underlying rock type (the acidity, mineral content and texture of soils will change significantly if you...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 10:36 AM • 1 Comments •
October 24, 2008
Category: academic life
Right, I'm off to Cape Town for an action-packed few days. First, Christie has persuaded me to give a talk at her home University, hopefully followed by a beer or seven - after being beaten over the head with paleomagnetic...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 7:02 AM • 1 Comments •
October 23, 2008
Category: antiscience
I say official, because, just like the Queen's, the date does not actually mean much from a natal perspective. Nonetheless, the night preceding, or the morning of, October 23rd, 4004 BC is the date that Archbishop Ussher, after a bit...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 10:31 AM • 3 Comments •
October 22, 2008
Category: academic life
This week got off to a cheerful start, with the news that I've had my latest paper accepted for publication. This is the second paper that I've got into this particular journal, and when I logged into the on-line submission...
Posted by Chris Rowan at 7:22 AM • 3 Comments •
October 21, 2008
Category: fossils
How do palaeontologists know?
Posted by Chris Rowan at 11:53 AM • 2 Comments •
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