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Oh, we’re looking forward to running another Zechstein field excursion together with the irrepressible Maurice Tucker in a couple of weeks. The Durham coast really is pretty spectacular, and the ubiquitous Zechstein outcrops are fascinating and enigmatic in equal measure. As part of our prep for the upcoming trip, this week we’ve been back to…

Does it seem to you that people are spending less time on geological fieldwork and fieldtrips these days? With this in mind, we’re super-happy to be sponsoring the field excursion to the Wessex Basin that follows the “Tectonic Stress: from the lithosphere to the wellbore” conference at the Geological Society, London next week. There’s an…

We love field geology, and we’ll rarely miss an opportunity to take our fellow geoscientists out to see and discuss the rocks in outcrop. But there’s a time and place for everything – and December in the Outer Hebrides is not ideal. December in the Zagros isn’t either! So what better time of year to…

When I was at school (back in the mists of time), science and arts were portrayed very differently by our teachers. Sciences were factual, objective, clinical, and procedural, while the arts were subjective, emotive, spontaneous, and creative. I studied geology for five years (‘O’ level, ‘A’ level, and a very dreary first year as an…

We’re looking forward to working with GeoLogica to deliver a two-day course titled “An Introduction to Geospatial Workflows for the GeoEnergy Transition” later this month (29-30th November). The course will include the following themes, with examples and exercises relevant for geoscientists who want to apply their experience and expertise to the energy transition: Introduction and…

We’re very much looking forward to next week’s conference on Legacies of Mineral Extraction and Sustainability Opportunities, organised by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3), and to be held at the home of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers in Newcastle. In a joint paper presented by Jon Gluyas,…

Coming soon to a saline aquifer or depleted gas field close (but not too close) to you … We’ve spent a busy summer with sister spin-out company GeoEnergy Durham working alongside WSP and Crondall, providing technical advice on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) in support of BEIS and the UK government’s drive towards carbon…

Fractured carbonates … tick. Large-scale thrust nappes … tick. Fieldwork … tick. Montenegro … yes please!

Text book (left) vs. reality (right). Zechstein carbonates, Co. Durham. “There’s no difference between theory and practice … in theory!”  

Lessons learned this month: Gathering detailed outcrop data in confined underground settings can be rather challenging (but very useful)! Given the vast geothermal potential in abandoned coal mines to provide a carbon-neutral way to generate domestic and commercial heating, we’ve been keen to take a closer look at outcrop properties of coal for some time.…