I’ve never considered myself to be much of a rock hound, but being a geologist I guess I’m naturally attracted to pretty rocks and minerals… and so up sparked an idea to go panning (i.e. fossicking) for sapphires with some other Geo-friends in northeast Tasmania. What could be more fun than paddling knee high in a cold stream during Tasmanian…
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When it comes to pockets of land, there is far and few in-between in the remote south. Before you hit Antarctica the closest you’ll get is the southern tip of South America, the last gasp of south island New Zealand, and finally, the Australian island state of Tasmania. Having recently temporarily relocated to this island for university, I’ve noticed how…
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When given the opportunity… or when in Rome… actually, I don’t think either of these really work too well, but what I’m trying to do is segway into my blog post about my stop-over in Cairn, Queensland, Australia; gateway the Great Barrier Reef! I had to stop-over in Cairns on my return from my research field site in Papua New…
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Entering the world of academia comes the exciting but terrifying ordeal of presenting research at conferences. Although this was the purpose of my visit to New South Wales (NSW), located in south west Australia, I will save my research details for another post and instead highlight some of the classic geology I was able to encounter on the coast of…
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With so much diverse and abundant national parks, nature and geology to see in Tasmania, it was only a matter of time before a long bushwalk was required (bushwalking is what Australians commonly call ‘hiking’ here…). Over 45% of the state of Tasmania is recognized as a national park, there is much to choose from, but a particular quartzite capped…
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Continuing on from my first post on The Volcanoes of Taupo, this one will focus all about the hot, dangerous and ever changing geothermal systems of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. As I was saying before, the link between volcanoes, geothermal systems, and precious metal formation is quite strong, as many gold deposits are formed via the interaction of hot hydrothermal…
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As a research geologist I get to focus on some interesting topics, especially related to volcanoes, geothermal systems, and gold and ore formation. The three are more interconnected than you would initial think, as most gold deposits are formed via the interaction of hot hydrothermal fluids with their surrounding rocks. So at the beginning of my studies I was lucky…
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After graduating from university with a Bachelor of Science, and working in mineral exploration for a couple years, I decided to go back to school again and aspire toward a Masters of Science. I really do love the school/university environment and have always wanted to broaden my education and take on a research based project in the form of a…
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Continuing on with my the promise from my last post about the magnificence land/islands of the Galapagos, this post is all about the sea… well, mostly, I have to add in some geology of course 😉 But alas, the sea; “once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever” as the famous ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau…
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The Galapagos. Known as the enchanted islands, this is a place that any science-lover would dream of. I always wanted to go, but never thought I would (well, at least not anytime soon), when suddenly a last-minute opportunity to join up with my sister on a Contiki tour suddenly allowed this far-fetched fantastic to materialize. Thus goes my first ever…