October 24, 2020
How Are Those Climate Change Resolutions Going?

Back in early January I set some Climate Change New Year’s Resolutions. At the time, I had no idea that the COVID-19 pandemic would occur and that life, in many ways, would be radically changed. However, although COVID-19 has contributed to a global reduction in carbon emissions (relative to 2019), it is clear that there is still much work to do when it comes to making the sorts of emissions …
May 31, 2020
Mount Coot-tha Building Stones

A few weeks ago, I put up a blog post about a Gold Mine Hike at Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane, Australia. I wrote that the gold was found in meta-sedimentary rocks, but I didn’t show any good pictures of the rocks. This is because the rocks are highly weathered and also mostly covered with vegetation in the area where the hike is located. This morning I went with my …
April 30, 2020
Gold Mine Hike at Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Australia

Considering the COVID-19 travel restrictions at the moment, my ability to go on georneys (geological journeys) is very limited at the moment. However, here in Australia we are fortunate that we can still go outside for some recreation, as long as we stay close to home. We live close to Mount Coot-tha, a mountain with a beautiful forest reserve and botanic garden. Most weekends, I go for a hike with …
January 5, 2020
Climate Change Resolutions

Happy New Year, everyone! This year, I am not worrying about stereotypical New Year’s resolutions, such as trying to exercise more or learn a new language. Instead, I am making some climate change resolutions. That is, I am making some resolutions to lower my environmental (including carbon) footprint. These resolutions are not perfect — there is certainly much more that I could do to lower my footprint. However, I have …
Donate to Help Australia – and I’ll Send You an Aussie Postcard

I moved to Australia last year, and I am very happy and proud to be living in this incredible country. Recently, my heart has been breaking as I hear about the Australian bushfires, which are catastrophic and have grown much worse over the past couple of weeks. The extreme nature of the fires is no doubt due to climate change, as explained, for example, here and here. I live in …
December 25, 2019
What to Buy a Geologist for Christmas: 2019 Edition

Merry Christmas, everyone! I’ve been extremely busy recently and almost didn’t get around to posting my “What to Buy a Geologist for Christmas” list this year. However, I decided that rather than skip the list this year I’ll post a “last minute gift list” that will consist of ten of my favorite geology books… that can be given as e-books, for example through the Kindle store. So, if you haven’t …
July 29, 2019
Monday Geology Picture: Rite in the Rain Geological Field Book

I’m currently conducting some geological fieldwork, and of course I’ve brought some Rite in the Rain geological field books with me. The Rite in the Rain field books are fantastic – you can write on their weatherproof paper in pretty much all weather conditions. I’ve used them in both rainy and snowy conditions. There are a number of different styles of field books available. Personally, I prefer No. 540F or …
July 22, 2019
Monday Geology Picture: Dinosaur Stampede Trackways

This week I’m sharing a few pictures of an incredible display at the Queensland Museum of a dinosaur stampede – the only known record of a dinosaur stampede. The display shows an area in Queensland, Australia, where there are thousands of dinosaur footprints (more than 3,000) of more than 130 different dinosaurs, all in an area about the size of a tennis court! Recently, there has been some debate about …
July 15, 2019
Monday Geology Picture: Lunar Sampling Bag

This week, I’m sharing a picture of a lunar sampling bag. Bags such as this one were used to collect rocks during the Apollo missions to the moon. This particular bag even went to the moon’s surface in 1971 during the Apollo 15 mission. How neat is that! Here’s a sign with some additional information on the bag: I took this picture on Sunday when my husband and I visited …
July 8, 2019
Monday Geology Picture: Travertine Wall

Wow, the past couple of months have been busy! I spent most of May and June travelling for work. Life has calmed down now, so it’s time to resume my blogging… and try to stick with it a little better for the rest of the year! To kick off some blogging, here’s a picture of a beautiful decorative travertine stone on the front of a building. I took this picture …