Explosive Earth

Explosive Earth Cambridge Volcano Seismology group, exhibiting earthquakes and eruptions in Iceland at the Royal Soc

In August 2014 there was a huge volcanic eruption from Bárðarbunga volcano in central Iceland. However, rather than simply erupting from the centre of the volcano, the molten rock travelled for 46 km underground, at 7 km depth beneath the surface, before erupting. The underground movement of the molten rock produced tens of thousands of tiny earthquakes as it fractured the solid rock. When it brok

e through the surface, the molten rock fountained 150m into the air, producing a “curtain of fire” 1.5 km long, and over 6 months created a lava flow larger than Manhattan Island. The University of Cambridge is creating a public exhibit to be displayed at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. The exhibit will focus on eruptions at Icelandic volcanoes, using interactive activities to demonstrate different eruptive scenarios and explain how earthquakes can be used to reveal where molten rock is moving underground. Come and visit Explosive Earth at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition July 4th – 10th 2016.
6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG

15/08/2024

Any one currently working in Geophysics in the UK? Or who did a geophysics undergrad degree and went on to do something completely different?

The British Geophysical Association are collecting Geophysics career profiles of the interesting paths the subject can take you down, to help raise awareness/interest in the subject within hte UK higher-education sector- please consider contributing or sharing with anyone you know this might be relevant to via this link:

04/03/2024

Dear Explosive Earth followers

We set up this page many years ago to promote an exhibition about some geophysics research into earthquakes and volcanos in Iceland.

Despite the exciting science like this that that sits within the subject of geophysics we have such poor intake of students onto Geophysics courses at UK universities, despite there still being a seemingly strong demand from industry employers for geophysics graduates.

British Geophysical Association (BGA) are currently investigate why this is and what we can do about it.

They are collecting data from:
1) UK High school teachers and careers advisors
2) UK High school and college students 16-18 teaching/studying geology, physics, maths, computing, geography, any other relevant subject etc.

If you think you are a UK teacher or student, please fill out the relevant survey using the links below OR if you know of any teaching contacts, or current high school pupils you could pass this on to please do!

Any assistance greatly appreciated!
The Explosive Earth Team on behalf of the British Geophysical Association

Teachers and career advisors: https://forms.office.com/e/5rDwEUP8Wn

High School and College Students: https://forms.office.com/e/QmKggu04L1

ALSO in a nice spin-off the interns also created a at-home workshop version of one of their lessons including home-based...
05/08/2020

ALSO in a nice spin-off the interns also created a at-home workshop version of one of their lessons including home-based experiments like making silly putty, burning your own hot-spot track and creating a convection tank, that get children to think for themselves about how concepts can be applied to understanding the Earth.

Anyone who fancies a fun day of science experiments to do at home with the kids (aimed at 11-14 year olds) - have a look!

This home-learning 'workshop' uses everyday physics, and four hands-on activities to allow you to answer these questions about the Earth's mantle for yourself! The worksheet and experiments take you on an exciting journey through seismic imaging, mantle convection and solid-state creep, all the whil...

3 amazing undergraduate interns having been working with the Cambridge deep Earth seismology gourd to create lessons bas...
05/08/2020

3 amazing undergraduate interns having been working with the Cambridge deep Earth seismology gourd to create lessons based around Earth science topics that slot right into the UK 11-14 science and maths high school syllabuses.

The lessons cover exciting topics like, earthquakes, seismometers, how we image the earth with earthquakes, how the mantle flows and the density structure of different planets in the solar system.

Designed with help from real-life science and maths teachers Rosie Ellen and Caitlin Mac Cana and their pupils, we hope these resources will be useful to many teachers and spread the word about how interesting and broad a subject geosciences can be. It's not just rocks and fossils, but includes a range of different jobs, that require skills from computing coding to laboratory or field work, and will suit a wide and diverse range of people.
If you know of any high school science or maths teachers that might be interested, the resources are freely available to download from our website, so please pass it on!

Are you an educator looking to include real-world links to the Deep Earth in you science and maths lessons? We have developed three resource packs for this exact purpose!

Not  volcano related, but if you're interested in learning about the deep structure of the Earth way down beneath your f...
20/04/2020

Not volcano related, but if you're interested in learning about the deep structure of the Earth way down beneath your feet, take a look at the Cambridge Deep Earth Seismology groups new website:
https://deepearth.esc.cam.ac.uk

Including an interactive museum exhibit, activities to try at home and lots of exciting information about the cutting edge research going on in the group.

Welcome to Cambridge Science Festival
18/03/2017

Welcome to Cambridge Science Festival

Tomorrow you can make your own earthquake! We will be at the British Science Week at the Department of Earth Science, Do...
17/03/2017

Tomorrow you can make your own earthquake!
We will be at the British Science Week at the Department of Earth Science, Downing Street, Cambridge from 10am to 4pm. Can you make the biggest earthquake of the day?

Come and try your reactions on Saturday in our Earthquake Location Reaction Time Game!Play our earthquake wave arrival r...
16/03/2017

Come and try your reactions on Saturday in our Earthquake Location Reaction Time Game!

Play our earthquake wave arrival reaction time game to find out how accurately you can locate an earthquake!

When an earthquake occurs the energy released travels away from the earthquake source in all directions as (seismic) waves, like ripples on a pond. Instruments called seismometers measure ground motion, so the arrival of earthquake waves - a sudden shaking of the ground - can be detected and recorded. By seeing how long it took the earthquake waves to arrive at seismometers in different locations it is possible to calculate where all the energy came from and where the earthquake occurred.

13/03/2017

The 2014 Bárðarbunga eruption produced 1.6 cubic km of lava that covered 84 square km of land. Exactly how big an area is that? Is it big enough to cover the whole of your home town? Type in your post code to find out how much of your town would have been obliterated by the lava flow!

http://holuhraun-lavaflowextent.co.uk/mainpage.html

Come and try our Volcanic Eruption Model next Saturday, 18th March, 10-16pm.  https://youtu.be/dBYojQN07Pc
12/03/2017

Come and try our Volcanic Eruption Model next Saturday, 18th March, 10-16pm.

https://youtu.be/dBYojQN07Pc

What happens when a volcano erupts, and what kind of hazards accompany it? Come to our Royal Society Summer Science exhibition and try turning the dial on ou...

12/03/2017

We are taking part in the Cambridge Science Festival next week:
The Earth is an exciting, explosive place…join us at the Department of Earth Sciences to learn about earthquakes in volcanoes. See volcanic rocks younger than you, try your hand at locating an earthquake and simulate volcanic eruptions.

Cambridge Science Festival – Explosive Earth
Saturday 18th March 2017
10.00 – 16.00, Free family drop in

Some of our friends are in the amazon on a TRAIL BY FIRE... apparently it's a "low-latitude volcanic candy store"! http:...
01/03/2017

Some of our friends are in the amazon on a TRAIL BY FIRE... apparently it's a "low-latitude volcanic candy store"! http://www.trailbyfire.org/news/

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