Marine electromagnetics for the investigation of deep water massive sulphide deposits

The global population is rising at an alarming rate, and is expected to reach 9.8 billion (UN Website, population database) by the year 2050. The demand for resources such as food, energy and metals will soar as a result. While technological advances in renewables and food production may be sufficient to satisfy future demand, maintaining… Read More Marine electromagnetics for the investigation of deep water massive sulphide deposits

A 3-day visit by Professor Paul Hoffman with a short-course on Snowball Earth

By Dr Thomas Gernon – Associate Professor in Earth Science (Thomas.Gernon@noc.soton.ac.uk)   Last month, Ocean and Earth Science welcomed Professor Paul Hoffman from Harvard University for a three-day visit. Paul is famous for developing the theory of ‘Snowball Earth’, when in the late Proterozoic (~700 Ma) the oceans froze and our whole planet was covered… Read More A 3-day visit by Professor Paul Hoffman with a short-course on Snowball Earth

PI-LAB phase II: The recovery

A team of seismologists from the University of Southampton are currently on board the Royal Research Ship Discovery sailing across the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. They are out for the second phase of the PI-LAB (Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary) project, this time recovering ocean bottom stations that were deployed last year. Their scientific mission is… Read More PI-LAB phase II: The recovery

Fieldwork investigation of Sandstone Injectites in California

During October, new PhD student Ben Callow and Prof Jon Bull visited California to study field examples of sandstone injectites as part of two collaborative carbon sequestration projects STEMM-CCS (Horizon 2020) and CHIMNEY (NERC). California is home to some of the largest onshore examples of sandstone injectites in the world, providing Ben and Jon with… Read More Fieldwork investigation of Sandstone Injectites in California

New understanding of rip currents could help to save lives

This is a press-release for a new paper – Wave breaking patterns control rip current flow regimes and surf zone retention, published by members of the coastal group which can be accessed here. Research by the Universities of Southampton and Plymouth has found a new link between breaking waves and the hazard posed by rip currents. The… Read More New understanding of rip currents could help to save lives

PILAB project sails through (cruise blog now live)

The Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere and Asthenosphere Boundary project aims at studying the interaction of the base of the rigid tectonic part (the lithosphere) with the softer layer underneath it – the asthenosphere. Understanding interaction between the two layers is essential in order to better understand what makes plates ‘plate-like’, and thus understanding the origin… Read More PILAB project sails through (cruise blog now live)

‘Skinny’ landslides and big earthquakes

Earthquakes and associated tsunamis can be exceptionally dangerous. In the last 12 years, earthquakes and tsunamis offshore Sumatra, Japan and Haiti have killed over 350,000 people. Despite this, many large and growing population centres are located close to plate boundaries worldwide, which is where most large earthquakes occur. It is therefore important to understand how… Read More ‘Skinny’ landslides and big earthquakes