Antarctica: Thwaites Glacier meltback threatens global sea levels
Scientists from the USA and UK are launching a long term study into the history and present status of the massive Thwaites Glacier located in the remote and inhospitable western Antarctica. A detailed examination of the bedrock below and the climate above the glacier will be undertaken to further understand what has happened in the past and what may happen in the future. This is the result of meltback measurements showing the glacier to be receding at a rate which could, if not slowed down, result in global sea levels rising by more than a metre in decades rather than centuries.
The British Antarctic Survey team will drill into the ice and the rock below to measure isotope levels to establish whether climatic changes were affected by the glacier in the past while the survey vessel Sir David Attenborough will deploy its remote submarine to measure undersea currents and temperatures.
The following link is a podcast download of BBC Radio 4 ‘Inside Science’ from Thursday 20180503 where the first ten minutes follows the UK and US scientific leaders involved in the study and provides a good insight to the programme.
An exciting new book about the dinosaurs is published this month (May 2018). Written by Dr Stephen Brusatte, Reader in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs sheds new light on this amazingly successful group of reptiles which flourished for 150 million years. Steve is one of the new generation of fossil hunters, armed with cutting-edge technology, such as CT-scanning, who are working to fill the gaps in the dinosaur story. He follows the dinosaurs from their beginnings in the early Triassic period, through the Jurassic period to their eventual extinction by the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. Along the way he sheds light on some of his own discoveries, such as human-sized tyrannosaurs and feathered raptor dinosaurs entombed in lava in China. EGS members have already enjoyed Steve’s lectures and articles on the dinosaurs, including those that left their footprints in the rocks of Skye. If you’re curious to know more – much more – then this book is an absolute must-have!
Our bumper Excursion Programme for 2018 allows you to experience the superb range of geology that southern Scotland has to offer. Explore the building stones of Perth, find some amazing fossils, find out about the glacial history of the River Tweed area … or go on an evening excursion to a local hill and explore the historical links between landscape, resources and people.
Lothian and Borders GeoConservation have launched their latest leaflet, Around Castle Rock, written by Andrew McMillan and available in printed format and as a free download from this website. 
in Earth Day Celebrations at Dynamic Earth on Sunday 22 April. Come and celebrate with activities the whole family can enjoy … find out what roamed the Earth before we did with exciting hands-on drop in activities.
