Year 11 Mock exam results

Finally finished marking the Mock exams guys, and......


....looking good! No results until the Mock results day on Jan 10th, but lots to be smiley about: 79% A*-C and we still have a term and half to go with some intensive revision sessions heading your way!!

However, there are some obvious areas to work on:
Fossils - Features and ages of Ammonoids (get the term Septal Suture in your heads!!), Bivalves - again features  are key here. Think mode of life too - use the obvious characteristics of the fossil to help. I suggest that you also have a look at Graptolites. They didn't come up in the Mock, or last years paper so.....
Evidence for the theory of Plate Tectonics - speaks for itself really, but have a good look at your notes on palaeomagnetism.
Formation of Minerals - 5 methods of Mineral formation (especially formation of minerals due to circulating hydrothermal fliuds - think Ganague Minerals - what are they?!!
Igneous rocks - and in particular lava types - which lava types do we find commonly forming at different plate boundaries? Make sure you can distinguish between Granite, Basalt and Andesite!!!!
Sedimentary Rocks - you love them! what are the key types and how do they form (hopefully the Controlled Assessment will be of some use here!

Enjoy Christmas - but do some revision boys and girls!!!

Landslide in Dorset

The second land slide in as many days struck the coast of Burlington Chine, Swanage on the 23rd dec. This slip was caught on Camera:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9763420/Landslide-in-Dorset-caught-on-camera.html

Purbeck District Council have warned that people are continuuing to ignore warning signs, even after a 22 year old woman was killed in July: BBC news Dorset landlside

This area of coastline is prone to movement, but the recent heavy rains have been a factor in accelerating the rate of slip.

How do landslides happen?
The term landslide is a generic term that refers to the mass movement of sediment down a slope. This can be thought of as a combination of erosion and transportation, with gravity as the agent.


More details here :-)

Fracking: what is it and why are we doing it?

So, we're running out of oil and natural gas. Right?
Wrong. There are still plentiful supplies of both, however the number of easily tapable resources are getting fewer, and whilst the discussions over what to do with old Oil reservoirs continues (worth doing some research on Carbon sequestration).
Eventually traditional methids of extracting hydrocarbons will exhaust supplies, so scientists are turning to reserves that have previously not needed to be used, either becaue they are too expensive, we didn't have the technology to extract them, or Governments were afraid of environmental reprucussions.
However we now find our selves in a position where we need to turn to the reserves. President Obama has already alluded to the need for the US to develop its oil sands (more commonly referred to as Tar Sands) extraction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands
with controversial outcomes.

Now Britain is looking to increase its resources of Natural Gas through a controversial process known as Fracking. Until recently it was banned following damage done to local houses. However the Government recently, and controversially, lifted the Ban and opened the reserves up for exploitation.

In simple terms Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing as it is officially known, is a method of freeing gas trapped in rocks by injected water at high pressure into resevoir rocks (in this case non-permeable shale), this cause the rocks to fracture and so release the gas.

This is controversial for a number of reasons. The following links explore this in more detail, and will allow you to form an opinion of your own. But the ultimate question here is: To what lengths should we go in order to meet our demands for hydrocarbons?
Something else worth exploring is the difference between reserves and resources.

BBC News - Fracking, untangling the myths
Telegraph - How much gas can Fracking provide?
This next site also contains a link to a document on Fracking from the Environment Summit held in Rio in 2012:
Friends of the Earth - say no to Fracking
Uni of Rochester - fracking feasible if practiced safely

Year 10 Rock Cycle homework

This week I'd like you to follow a rock through the rock cycle.

Start with Granite as an Intrusive Igneous rock and then follow it through the rock cycle. Create a flow chart to show what happens at each stage. Consider the component minerals of granite (Orthoclase, Plagioclase, Quartz and Mica), you could follow just one of these through the rock cycle (Quartz might be the easiest?).

How does Granite break down? What Sedimentary rocks forms from the mineral/minerals? What happens to this rock when heat and pressure are applied?

Geology through the Rock Cycle
rock cycle animation

Where do our Greenhouse Gases go?

Although we are still producing increasing volumes of greenhouse gases, it appears that the Earths natural carbon sinks are not yet at capacity.
Earths natural ecosystems absorbing Greenhouse Gases

How long can this go on for?
Is it an excuse to continue to produce more greenhouse gases?
Is the problem with the Earths ability to absorb greenhouse gases or the amount of gases produced by Human activity?

Northwest Earthquake Risk in U.S. Looms Large

The US has been 'waiting' for a big Earthquake to strike for some time, Scientists in the states now think it may strike in the next 50years.
Large US quake looms

Evidence for Glaciers increasing in mass

French researchers have uncovered evidence that Glaciers in the Karakoram range of the Himalaya.

Is this evidence of the impact of localised climatic conditions, or an indication of a global shift in ice cap reduction?
Time will tell.
Read more here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17701677

Earthquake rocks Sumatra

A massive factor 8.6 earthquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra on Wednesday 11th April, it was closely followed by an 8.2 magnitude aftershock.
But unlike the Tsunami that caused the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 (M9.1); this earthquake and its aftershocks, caused little more than a large swell.

Why might this be?
why wasn't there a large displacement of water as a result of this earthquake?
What other effects were there?

Read more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/11/earthquake-sumatra-geology-tsunami
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17680152

Year 10's visit Geohazard conference

Plymouth University hosted the Geohazard Conference on Mon 27th Feb, and we took 12 keen Geologists along.
They learned about the proposed Geothermal Energy plant in Cornwall, which should be running in 2015.
There was a workshop on lava flows, and then some lectures from the Geology lecturers at the Uni (three of which lectured me when I wa there some 13 years ago!!)
However I think the highlight of the day for everyone was meeting and talking to Prof Ian Stewart. He gave an inspirational final lecture and left us all with some real food for thought:

'Invisibility' cloak could dampen blow from earthquakes

Researchers at the University of Manchester have proposed a structure that would protect a building by making it “invisible” to seismic waves.

Researchers say giant rubber cylinders coated with special wave-scattering materials could act as a "seismic waveguide" and dissipate the punch from earth quakes.

Read more here: Invisibility cloak could dampen blow from earthquakes

Which shock waves would this be most effective against?
Where might this be useful?
Are there any draw backs to this idea?

America and Eurasia 'to meet at north pole'

America and Eurasia will crash into each other over the North Pole in 50-200 million years time, according to scientists at Yale University.

They predict Africa and Australia will join the new "supercontinent" too, which will mark the next coming together of the Earth's land masses.

More here:
America and Eurasia to meet at north pole



When was the last time this happened?
What is the evidence for the theory of plate tectonics?
What might be the impacts of the continents joining?

Prehistoric Dinosaur discovered

A newly described species of ancient crocodile with a strange, shield-like skull may have chowed on 13-foot (4-meter) -long fish in Cretaceous-era rivers.

Prehistoric Crocodile Discovered

Could Oil Shale be the answer?

Oil Shale - the next fossil fuel?

As we start to fear that oil and gas reserves are running low, and the cost of exploiting these fossil fuels becomes too great, is it possible that Oil Shale could be a viable solution that should not be dismissed?

From the link above - "By all accounts this resource base is enormous. The largest and highest quality oil shale deposits are in sparsely populated areas of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, and the potentially recoverable oil from Western U.S. oil shale deposits is estimated at more than 800 billion barrels, or nearly three times the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia (267 billion)."
"Several technologies have been developed around the world to make oil shale commercially viable in countries including Brazil, China and Estonia."

What is Oil Shale?
What are the environmental and Economic impacts of exploiting Oil Shale?
How does Oil Shale form?

2011 - a year of climate extremes.

According to NOAA scientists, 2011 was a record-breaking year for climate extremes, as much of the United States faced historic levels of heat, precipitation, flooding and severe weather, while La Niña events at both ends of the year impacted weather patterns at home and around the world.

Report of US Climate Extremes

But it wasn't just the States that experienced extreme weather events. From droughts in Texas, to floods in Bangkok, 2011 was book-ended in Europe by extreme cold weather and record snowfall.
The IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) prepared for criticism in November as it posed a theory that linked the extreme weather events to Global Warming.

Extreme Weather caused by global warming?

What is the link between these events and global warming?

Year 11 Climate Change Homework

•• –

Congratulations! You have just been elected as the Minister for the Environment. There are a series of pressing matters that need your attention. Your first priority is to reduce number of greenhouse gases produced by your country.

As Minister for the Environment you must come up with a plan to reduce your countries CO2 emissions.

Consider the folowing things:

What are you going to do?

–How will it work?
What other effects might your plan have? (environmental, economic, social)

We will review this after half term.

What's erupting?!

Did you know that across the globe there are currently 35 volcanoes erupting?! With nearly double that number showing signs of 'unrest'.

A regularly updated list and map can be found here:
What's erupting?

What do you notice about the pattern of volcano locations?
Are the most active volcanoes clustered together? Why?

New Theory Emerges for Where Some Fish Became Four-Limbed Creatures

I know, I know, you've spent the Christmas break pondering high-brow questions such as what is the core of the earth really made of, did dinosaurs have feathers, how did fish begin to walk on the land.
Well, you may realx, at least partly, I can now offer some explanation for one of these issues. An eminent Geologist from the University of Oregon has come up with an alternative theory.
For years we have accepted that plucky fish crawled on stumpy fin-like legs from one shrinking desert pond to another in amazing feats of derring-do. But new research has called this into question and offered an alternative theory.

More information here;
Fish become Amphibians