Life? Don't talk to me about life....

As Marvin, the paranoid Android from Douglas Adams' The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy said, 'life, don't talk to me about life'. But one has to rise above it and blunder on regardless.

My Open University study has turned out to be anything but straight forward, as life in all its beauty and ugliness has combined in recent months to try to scupper everything. But while I had to defer study of the 30 credit 'S142 Topics in Science' until next year, at least 'S141 Investigative and Mathematical Skills in Science' is nearing a successful conclusion. Just the final end of module assessment, due in on May 14th, remains. 

This turn of events has at least made my choice of which Level 2 module to try first a whole lot easier. It had turned into a straight choice between Astronomy and the new Earth Science 60 credit module due for its first presentation in October this year. But first presentations seem to experience a few teething troubles which makes me hesitate. But now, with S142 deferred to next February it is only going to be practical to attempt a 30 credit Level 2 module alongside it. So S282 Astronomy it is then from October. Should be a nice challenge I think.

First things first though. I will have lots of feedback to give the good old OU regarding S141. The Maths, the part I feared the most, was great. Loved it in fact, which just goes to prove how important it is to have a good teacher at school. I had the legendary (for all the wrong reasons) Mr Wells and the net result, a grade 'f'. Differentiation was a complete mystery to me back then thanks to that clown's hapless teaching skills but in fact, there's nowt to it! So I have proved to myself that I can do maths. Rather well in fact as a 95% iCMA score confirms. So 'up yours' Mr Wells!

As for 'Understanding the Weather', the main thing I now understand is that weather forecasts cannot be relied upon for 'owt, but at least I now know why that is the case which is something I suppose. This module relied on us students setting aside time to do some basic weather observations.  That's fine but given that many OU students work, that restricts this kind of stuff to weekends. The idea was to choose a nice approaching frontal system and make observations as it passes over. Sod's Law dictates therefore that the weather will be inactive and dull all weekend, giving one beggar all to report on, as did I. Hey-ho, such is the life of the scientist, I guess.

The most annoying part of S141 has been the online collaboration for the Scientific Investigations part, covering the design of experiments. Oh Lord, this has been a challenge of restraint! My fellow students, bless 'em, seem to have the habit of over complicating just about  everything. For example, in the final experiment, to study the effect of an additional substance, say salt, on the growth of cress seedlings. Various students start asking about the difference in hardness of water in different students localities, when as long as we use the same water for our individual test and control experiments it simply doesn't matter. Seems obvious to me, but clearly not others. But I suppose working with others of, dare I suggest, lesser intelligence and working out an agreed methodology, is a necessary skill to acquire. So maybe that is the overall aim.

Anyway, with the EMA nearly done, the goal is a distinction. With a continuous assessment score of 95% already in the bag, I need 85% from the EMA to get that. Considering the way life has panned out since October, it would be a bloody miracle!

See ya next time, 

Alyn

On your marks, get set. . .

Right on cue, on Friday September 20th, my S141 OU course materials arrived. Exciting stuff! Having said that, excitement was dampened somewhat when I opened my package to find two vital items missing - the 'mugmat' (a piece of plastic to be used in an experiment) and the pH paper. An email and phone call followed to 'dispatch' to get the missing bits posted. Well they are going to have to get their skates on because the 'mugmat exercise'  takes place on Week 1, as a sort of ice-breaker exercise to get us using the tutorial technology and communicating with fellow students online. So without this piece of plastic I am going to struggle a bit!

Anyway, no panic just yet, I will trust in the OU to sort it out. Meanwhile, my tutor is called Dr Victoria Nicholas, who will hopefully prove as good as the excellent Gordon Woodhead who was my tutor for S104. I've already made a start on the 'Maths for Science' book by whizzing  through the first couple of chapters of basic maths skills revision. Nothing too demanding there but useful revision nevertheless. 

Today, around lunchtime I joined a 'drop-in session' designed to check that the technology involved in the on-line tutorial sessions was working and that we were okay with using it. From my perspective, I had no experience of the OU's previous online tutorial system, which apparently has more than a few glitches associated with it. The new system, 'OU Online' seems pretty good if today's short taster is anything to go by. How things go with about ten students and a tutor all trying to converse at once, I'll find out on October 8th. Should be fun, provided of course that I receive a bloody mugmat!

I intend to use this next week to work through a chapter or two of Understanding the Weather and try to get ahead a bit. I found when doing S104 and also the short ten point courses, that it is always a good idea to give yourself a bit of a buffer just in case life throws a spanner in the works, stopping you studying for a week or two. 

So initial impressions are very good. I've taken a couple of years break from OU study and while a multitude of changes have taken place and are indeed still ongoing, my instinct says that ultimately things are going to be just fine. I find myself really excited about study and testing myself. There's nothing riding on it really. I will be studying stuff that excites me and I am studying because I want to and that ladies and gentlemen, is what education should be all about!

See you next time,
Alyn.

Fourteen days and counting. . . .

So, this is it. Game on! After what seems like years of planning and with two unconditional offers from two universities reluctantly turned down, it's back to the Open University, to recommence what I started in 2008. 

On September 26th the website for S141:  Investigative and Mathematical Skills in Science opens for business. Building on the 60 level 1 credits already achieved with the science foundation module S104, this 30 credit course adds some experimental design experience plus meteorology and a whole lot of serious maths!

Strangely enough it is the maths that I'm looking forward to the most in this course. I think it is with maths that I have most to prove - to myself at least. Way back in 1978, I failed my 'A' level maths spectacularly with a grade 'F'. But I have always  believed that that failure was more down to the inadequacies of Mr Wells' teaching than any inability on my part. Well now I have the opportunity to prove myself right and Mr Wells wrong. 

I have never forgotten the day when Gary Bennett and I, desperately struggling with a particular maths problem, went to the staff room together to ask Mr Wells for some extra help. His response was thus:

"Are you lads going to throw the towel in? If you are struggling it means you need to work harder"! 

No extra help was offered and from that point on I did indeed 'throw the towel in'. I simply gave up on maths and concentrated on trying to pass Geography and Physics which would be enough  to do the Geology BSc course at Oxford  Polytechnic. An offer of two 'D's was more than achievable!

Alas it was not to be as a narrow fail in Physics sent me to Luton College of HE to do a Geographical Techniques Higher  Diploma instead. The rest as they say, is history!

Well now is the time to 'right a wrong' and study the subject closest to my heart plus other areas of science as the urge takes me as I journey towards an Open Degree. I'm sure a bit of astronomy will get in there somewhere in all probability. 

For now I will be pondering the weather, trying to ascertain why the forecasters get it wrong so often. Alongside that will be a multitude of mathematical problems to wrestle with which is designed to set you up for the level of maths required at higher levels of scientific study. S141 rounds off with experiment design, which might be useful for Geology and maybe even astronomy.

Should be a laugh and a challenge and I will keep you posted.

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Eight weeks and counting. . . .

Greetings one and all!

With funding from the Student Loans Company in the bag, it's all systems go for the re-launch of my Open University study in early October. After several years of sheer frustration in having to turn down unconditional offers from Leicester University and then Derby University the recent changes to the funding of university study has strangely worked in my favour.

Alas it was to prove logistically and financially impossible to achieve full time study at either university. An alternative was perhaps doing the Geology BSc at Derby Uni part-time but that needed payment of fees upfront - under the previous system, student loans mysteriously did not apply to part time study,  That meant that University study was just not viable for me so my dream of studying for a geology/earth science degree in any form seemed dead in the water. Then came the controversial changes instigated by the then new coalition government. Up shot the level of fees to previously unheard of levels, but on the plus side, the unfair discrimination against part-time study was to end with potential part time students able to apply for student loans to cover their fees.. This was to be applied to the Open University too, opening up all manner of new possibilities for me.

However, there was to be nothing plain sailing about choosing to take the O.U. path. These dramatic changes seemed to trigger a chaotic  scramble to restructure the entire working of the O.U. One of their big selling points has always been that virtually anyone could sign up to a course and study simply for the joy of learning. Not everyone studied for a degree with many people studying year after year, doing course after course with no real aim other than 'learning'. That approach seems to have been completely taken away now as fees shoot through the roof.

However for me and my situation, as long as I study for a qualification higher than I have achieved previously (HND), I can study for a minimum of 30 credits per year and aim to complete the remaining 300 credits of my degree within 10 years, then I can fund it by a student loan. Actually, I aim to complete my Open Degree in 5 years. Starting in October this year I will hopefully polish off the remaining 60 Level 1 credits by August 2014, tackle 120 Level 2 from Oct 2014 - 2016 and then the Level 3 credits between  2016-18. Sounds feasible?

What isn't quite so clear is the content of my degree. With all this restructuring has come wholesale changes to constituent modules. Some much loved short courses have disappeared completely, while others have been rewritten and others merged to form longer 60 credit modules - Geology being one such course. As I write, Geology S276 remains as a 30 credit Level 2 course, but undergoes its final run in 2014. However, S209 will start in October 2014 as a 60 credit course apparently incorporating an element of fieldwork, which sounds good, but is all yet to be officially confirmed. And this I have to say is where the OU has got it horribly wrong.

Communication of their plans has been nothing short of abysmal at times, but I guess their silence has been to a degree understandable given the extent of the changes thrust upon them. But, existing students have had their study plans torn asunder with little or no details of replacement modules forthcoming.

Having said all that, I still find it difficult to be too critical of the OU. They have had to react rapidly to quite massive changes that really needed years of planning. So why not give them a break eh? I sense now that things are slowly coming  together and students are at last becoming able to plan their future studies with a little more confidence.

I am now psyching myself up for an October start of 'S141: Investigative and Mathematical Skills in Science' followed by  'S142: Topics in Science'. These two modules will build on the science foundation course S104  completed in 2009 and round off level 1. It will be hreat to get my teeth into some meaty maths so should be good and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Bring it on!

Cheers for now, Alyn.

Goodbye Derby Uni, Hello Open University

Life I am sure you will agree has the habit of throwing proverbial spanners in the works at regular intervals. As an unfortunate consequence, one's hopes and dreams can be thrown asunder. But where there's a will there is invariably a way.

My last post to this horribly neglected blog celebrated my unconditional place at Derby University to study for a BSc in Geology. That place was deferred until September 2013, but it is proving virtually impossible to get into a position where I can realistically take up that place.

So if I can't get to Uni, the next best thing is to bring the Uni to me. So welcome back Open University! I've done several courses at the OU already between 2008-10 so know what it's all about and my previous study should count towards an OU degree.

Ah now, this is where it becomes a bit more complicated. Since finishing the short 10 credit module on Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis in 2010, things have changed somewhat, not just at the OU but in higher education overall. Uni fees have shot through the roof with funding being provided by huge loans through Student Finance England. While the ultimate debt amassed may seem huge on completion of the course, the debt is paid back slowly and only if one is actually working. In fact any balance outstanding after 30 years will be written off.

The good thing is that the course finance rules can now be applied to part-time study and thus study with the Open University becomes more of a viable option. This means I can now fund my study the same way as I would've done if I had gone to Derby Uni, but be able to take a lot longer to complete my degree. To qualify I must be studying a course at a higher level than I have ever studied previously and complete a minimum of 30 credits per year, both of which sit quite nicely.

So what of the course? Named degrees are pretty much a thing of the past now at the OU. I could aim for a BSc in Natural Sciences and give it either a Geology or Astronomy emphasis. The downside of this is that my choice of modules is a bit more regulated, so after much deliberation, I have opted to study for an Open Degree. This allows me to study pretty much whatever I like. The degree will then become either Ba or BSc, depending on the mix of modules that I choose to do. My degree will include science modules exclusively, so will be a BSc. This seems perfect for someone like me who wants to study for the pleasure vof learning rather than have a specific career path in mind.

Some changes have made the timing and planning of modules things a little awkward though. Alas, my 10 credit short science modules already completed will not count towards my Open Degree, but the 60 credit Science Foundation course definitely will. That leaves a further 60 credits needed for me to complete Level One.

S141: Investigative and mathematical skills in science will do for starters as it is the recommended follow-up to S104 and covers some essential maths that will help the Astronomy modules at Level 2. Then I hope to do

S142: Topics in Science. The problem however, is that S141 starts in Oct 2013 and S142 starts in Feb 2014. If I do them in that order it means a 5 month overlap when things might get a bit busy. Or, I do S142 first and S141 second, giving no overlap but about 17 months continuous study and a wait until Feb. 2014 to get started at all. I really want to get Level 1 finished ASAP so might have to steel myself for some serous study. At least these two don't include examinations so may be do-able, but I will wait until the OU 'Module Choice Adviser' phones me back in a day or two to advise.

So it should all make for an exciting era of study and rather more regular blogs here at the new look 'Holey Schist'.

See you soon,

Alyn.

The Dream is Alive!

Hello again!

Anyone still there? Humble apologies, but it has been a while since my last post. Way too long. After a quite shameful return of a mere four posts in 2011, there will be more in 2012 I promise. And for a very good reason which will be explained below!

This last year has seen me devote a lot of my spare time learning to sing. Yes, really! It is something I've always wanted to do but always avoided for one simple reason - lack of confidence. In fact I outlined the background to this in a post on my 'singing blog' called 'A Nightingale Sang...' and you can read it here. This fear of public speaking has prevented me doing so much throughout my life and would be a major problem, should I ever get to fulfill my dream of studying for a degree in Geology. Presentations of a thesis, paper or whatever else? Scary!

So how on earth could I EVER manage to sing a solo in front of a hundered people? No chance mate! Well on November 19th 2011, I did just that. I had a multitude of demons to overcome along the way I almost 'bottled it', but I got through it and I have a CD recording to prove it!

The significant thing about the achievement is the massive confidence boost it has given me as a human being. Friends and family have noted the change in my personality, for the better I hasten to add. I now know that the feelings of nervousness will always be there before a concert, but I CAN overcome them. I also now feel less fearful of the prospect of having to do a presentation in front of fellow students. Which is great because....

Last week I received an UNCONDITIONAL OFFER  to study at Derby University for a BSc degree  in Geology, starting in September 2012! How great is that? The good thing about studying at Derby as opposed to the previous target of Leicester University, is that some of the credits I have already been awarded at the Open University will count towards my degree at Derby.

There is of course one major hurdle still to overcome and that is 'finance'. It is by no means cut and dried that I will get full funding to study at Derby because of a previous study back in 1978-81 at Luton College. But where there's  a will, there is a way. As an old employers favourite mantra used to state: If it's to be, it's up to me! 

So, if my previous followers of Holey Schist are still out there, look forward to more regular postings here, as I give this humble blog a bit of a revamp!

Cheers for now,

Alyn

The greatest photograph ever taken by mankind?

Hello again! I know it has been a while, but life has been spectacularly hectic with geology  taking a back seat to my singing exploits. My other blog, A Nightingale Sang... will fill you in on exactly what's been going on if you are interested. Meanwhile, I recently acquired a copy of Professor Brian Cox's excellent book and DVD of his fabulous  TV series, 'Wonders of the Universe'. It's absolutely mind boggling stuff, non more so than the following photograph included in the book and taken by the Hubble telescope. I honestly think it ranks as the single greatest photograph taken by mankind.

A bold claim perhaps, but I believe the photograph that follows is exactly that. Take a look at this:-

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field

(Taken from hubblesite.org)

Okay, so on first glance it may not strike you as all that spectacular - just a photo of the night sky with lots of different coloured stars? Well yes, but take a closer look! Some seem to be more like fuzzy blobs and some almost disc-like in shape. Others seem to be linear features, almost like the trail of a comet.

In fact, nearly all the features in this photograph called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, and taken by the Hubble telescope, are in fact not single stars, but galaxies. That's around ten thousand galaxies, each made up of hundreds of billions of stars. If that isn't mind-boggling enough, consider this. . . .

In 2004 it was decided to focus the Hubble telescope's gaze on a seemingly empty piece of space in the southern constellation of Fornax. A tiny piece of the night sky was chosen and the telescope trained on this location for a period of eleven days, spread over four months. Each of the 800 exposures lasted for around 20 minutes. To all intents and purposes, there was nothing there to see, but over this extended time period ancient, distant light may be received if left for long enough. The dimmest objects within this image are a result of the Hubble telescope receiving just one photon of light per minute. The result is this fascinating image of some of the most distant objects ever observed.

The really fascinating thing about this image is that when you look at it you are in effect travelling back in time. The lighter and larger galaxies visible with distinct spiral arms are a lot closer than the smaller redder ones and it is these tiny red ones that are the most intriguing. Astonishingly, it has been calculated that the oldest galaxy seen within this photo is over 13 billion light years away. Therefore, what we are seeing is an image of a galaxy a mere 600 million light years after the Big Bang and the beginning of the Universe itself!

Professor Cox's book is crammed with amazing, mind-numbing information and it's a really compelling read. It adds a great deal to the TV series and I would recommend reading it alongside the DVD - not simultaneously unless you want your brain to explode.

Go purchase and enjoy!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis - a review of S186.

It always helps me to look back on what I have learned on completion of a Open University course, and I aim to take a look at a few key points from he last one - S186: Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. I'll make a start by looking at one misconception that I had held since my school days.

If you think about the prospect of great expanses of rock flowing like a river, one inevitably thinks of rock heated sufficiently below the surface to change it into a molten state. Thus, when a combination of circumstances allow it to erupt from a suitable opening at the surface a river of molten rock, or lava results.

One revelation produced by the course, was that the mantle was made up of solid rock, that circulates in a solid state - 'solid state convection' as it is known. Now just how can a solid lump of rock really circulate by convection? It defies logic surely? Generally speaking, a 'fluid' is anything that can 'flow', but in geologic terms it can include solids that when under specific conditions of pressure and temperature can also flow while maintaining their solid state.

Arthur Holmes, in his renowned book 'Principles of Physical Geology' explains the paradox of flowing solids wonderfully. He gives the example of pitch, which behaves like a brittle solid if struck with a hammer causing it to shatter, but under ordinary temperatures, will flatten out into a thin sheet simply under its own weight.

Another solid clearly seen to flow is ice.

Above: The Franz Josef glacier, New Zealand

(Taken from www.hostelbloggers.com)

At first sight, what may seem to be a static expanse of ice, rapidly (in geological terms) flows down the mountainside. The photo above, of the Franz Josef glacier almost looks like a river, complete with rapids!

As Arthur Holmes stresses, the key is time. Holmes illustrates this with the example of a ball bearing. If one is dropped into a jar of water it would take only a second to sink to the bottom. If the jar was filled with oil it would take several minutes. If filled with wax it would take maybe a hundred years to reach the bottom and if filled with ice and kept at a constant temperature, it would take millions of years.

So it is with rock. If pressure is maintained for long enough, rock will flow and bend and in the mantle it circulates. However, when rock rises, the pressure upon it decreases, causing partial melting and a change to liquid form. This of course leads to the formation of igneous rocks by way of extrusion at the surface through a suitable fracture to form extrusive rocks such as basalt, or  cooling slowly below the surface to form intrusive igneous rocks such as granite.

I will get stuck into the subject of igneous rocks and volcanoes next time.

Cheers,

Alyn.

Life's rich tapestry?

Sometimes, life never ceases to amaze at its power to excite, shock or bewilder. This week saw the truly shocking and heartbreaking as well as the beautiful and heartwarming.

Firstly, the weeks work started with the distressing news that a serious accident had occurred over the weekend, on the road construction site where I work. For reasons yet to be determined, a young, 24 year old lad had been caught between the bucket and tracks of a large digger, which crushed one of his his legs below the knee. Sadly, after repeated surgery, doctors were unable to save the leg and had to amputate.

Now, I'm of the opinion that work is a means of earning money to fund the rest of your life's activities. Some have the added benefit of gaining some sort of pleasure from their daily work while many more have to endure a high degree of tedium and drudgary, day in, day out, just to 'earn a crust'. But whatever one has to go through in order to earn a living, the least one can expect at the end of the days graft is to arrive home with a full compliment of limbs.

God knows how this poor guy is going to come to terms with his new life. Hopefully he will get the support he deserves from all around him, including his current employers. My thoughts have been with him for most of this week and also with the the unfortunate colleague whose actions unwittingly brought about this unfortunate incident. Heaven knows how he is feeling too and I'm sure he will need just as much support to get over the trauma. If our employers corporate aims and trendy slogans mean anything, they will both get it!

On a lighter note, the previous weekend saw the latest performance of 'Enchanted', the singing group of 'young ladies' including my eldest step-daughter Anna-Ruth. These gals are getting quite a reputation in the East Midlands and if you check out the You Tube videos highlighted in the right-hand column of this blog site, you'll see why! On Saturday they appeared in a concert with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir in Kegworth.

The girls were outstanding once again as were the 'lads' from the Male voice choir.  In the opinion of my wife and daughter, the choir could benefit from some younger blood and guess whose arm was twisted?  Yep, 'fraid so! Thursday evening saw me going along to their rehearsal which proved an interesting experience, not least because it was difficult to determine quite where my voice lies. 'Bass' or Baritone - that is the question! It was a fun evening I look forward to more next Thursday! Watch this space for developments!

Actually, this may well spawn a new blog! Better keep 'Holey Schist' a Geology/Natural History blog I think.

Next up will be a look back at 'Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis', the OU course recently completed which threw up such interesting questions as 'when is a solid not a solid'! Answer to be revealed . .

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Sir David Attenborough - a British broadcasting legend

The first draft of this post was intended to be a straight forward review of this year's 'Christmas Books' that Santa saw fit to send my way this festive season. Among the three that he bestowed upon me this year was 'First Life' by David Attenborough and Matt Kaplan. It is the book of the TV mini series of the same name and is a wonderful piece of work. But it got me thinking about the influence David Attenborough has had on my life and after giving it some thought I realised it has been enormous!

Born on 8th May 1926, David joined the BBC in 1952 and rather bizarrely, was initially discouraged from appearing on camera because it was thought that his teeth were too big! His first contribution to the subject of natural history was a three part BBC series called 'The Pattern of Animals' that he presented and produced himself.

My own first recollection of the man was when I started to watch the epic series 'Life on Earth', which brought the incredible variety and beauty of life on earth in all its glory. While Attenborough presented the programmes, it was the animals who were the real stars. One progrmme that I've never forgotten featured the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda. The way the series introduced the ugly as well as the beautiful, the weird as well as the wonderful was pure genius and it set the standard for natural history broadcasting.

As well as presenting the regular series 'Wildlife on One', the 'Life' series continued with 'The Living Planet'.

This series built on the success of 'Life on Earth' and was based on ecology - the way in which animals adapt to their environment. This was another brilliant series and was followed by 'The Trials of Life' looking at animal behaviour. This  completed the 'Life' trilogy, which was the original intention, but other more specialist series covering all facets of life were to follow. In 1993 he presented 'Life in the Freezer', highlighting the natural history of Antarctica.

A noticeable omission from Attenborough's works up until this point was the world of plants and this was addressed in 'The Private Life of Plants' in 1995. The reason for the reluctance to devote too much air time to plants is that they are essentially immobile objects and tend not to do a great deal. How do you make an hours TV programme depicting unmoving objects and make it entertaining? Well, this problem was tackled brilliantly with the use of groundbreaking time-lapse photography to speed up growth, death and seed dispersal.

Following on from this came 'The Life of Birds' (1998); 'The Life of Mammals' (2002) and 'Life in the Undergrowth' (2005), To complete the story of 'life' 2008 saw the production of 'Life in Cold Blood', focusing on the remaining animal groups of amphibians and reptiles. And that was intended to be that until he realised one final, but major omission - the very beginning of Life on Earth. This thought spawned the ultimate prequel - 'First Life'. Another stunning piece of work, this time brought to 'life' by some magical computer animation.

What is a shame about this series and the superb book that goes with it is that for me, it came a year too late. It would've been invaluable in my recent study of fossils and the history of life with the OU! Nevertheless, reading it now is shedding more light on the mysterious onset of life and is helping me better understand the process of evolution. In fact this book ought to be required reading for the disappointing Darwin course that I've just finished. Or maybe the OU could ask Matt Kaplan to re-write the Darwin and Evolution course book?

Anyway, what fascinates me is the Ediacaran period and the discovery of a group of fossils in pre-cambrian rocks such as Charnia masoni, first discovered in April 1957 in Charnwood Forest by an eleven year old schoolboy called Roger Mason, who ironically attended the same Leicestershire grammar school as Mr Attenborough! What brings this subject to life is some superb animated computer graphics giving an interpretation of what these ancient lifeforms may have looked like all those millions of years ago. Of course no-one really knows what these creatures looked like or how they really lived, but isn't that the case with much of geology? It's all about evidence, interpretation, and the discussion that follows. In this book Attenborough offers all sides of the argument, such as in the pros and cons of the 'Snowball Earth' theory, but leaves it to the reader to make his or her own mind up, which is how it should be.

I really hope the man is eternal because BBC television without David Attenborough is quite unthinkable. Even though he's in his eighty-fifth year, I'm sure there will be a few more gems to come from this genius of broadcasting. Long live David Attenborough - a real 'national treasure' if ever there was one!

Cheers,

Alyn

Cumbrian & Japanese earthquakes - December 21st 2010.

With me half way through a course on the subject of volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, there has been interesting news this week about earthquakes in Cumbria, England and Japan.

The Cumbrian quake, a relatively modest magnitude 3.5 ML is unlikely to have caused significant damage, but was nevertheless felt throughout Cumbria, in Galloway and southern Scotland. Detailed info can be found at the British Geological Survey website here.

Meanwhile, on the same day, a more potentially destructive quake was experienced in the Bonin Island region of Japan with a magnitude of 7.4 at a depth of 14 kilometers. While we Brits might get excited by an admittedly infrequent but modest 3.5 quake, the Japanese have had to endure an alarming succession of 86, yes, eighty-six quakes between Tuesday 21st and Thursday 23rd December and all of them have been in excess of 4.7! I know aftershocks are likely after any earthquake, but 86? Scary stuff! Take a look at the list of mgnitudes on this website.

This will all be of use later in my course I'm sure.

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

S170: Darwin and Evolution - The Result!

Greetings!

Sorry it has been a while, but what with another Open University course to get to grips with, a ridiculously busy life playing 'taxi' in order to ferry the girls to their umpteen social activities and then TWO WEEKS with the flu (yes, REAL flu not a mythical man-flu!), there has been precious little time for anything else in my cluttered schedule! So much for blogging more in 2010! Sigh!

Anyway, I've mentioned a few times on these pages how uninspired I was by the 'Darwin & Evolution' course, S170. The 10 credit, Level 1, OU course seemed like it would be a good follow up to the truly excellent 'Fossils and the History of Life'. I posted the following feedback onto the OU's website for S170:-

Opinion seems somewhat divided on this course with some really enjoying it and others being decidedly unimpressed. I'm afraid I fall into the latter category. After taking 'Fossils and the History of Life' and loving it, I thought this would be a good follow up course but for some reason it just never 'grabbed' me at all. The enthusiasm was there to begin with and I prepared by reading Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' on the run up, but the study materials managed to kill off that interest completely.

The main reason I think was because of the lack of printed course book. The need to be constantly switching between the online course materials and the set book '99% Ape' was very inconvenient and meant I never got into a settled study routine. I found '99% Ape' to be horribly disjointed and frankly, dull and needs a radical re-write in my opinion!

Also, the well intentioned snail 'megalab' study just did not work in practice. Unlike many, I did manage to find lots of snails, but frustratingly few if any suitable samples to compare them with in my area, which rendered the whole thing a bit farcical. The OU needs to seriously rethink this study in future presentations.

Unlike the period following each of my previous courses, I have no idea if I have passed this course at all, which I think says it all.

I don't think I was being overly harsh either. I really didn't have a clue whether I had properly grasped the material and done enough to pass the course. Last Friday however, I found to my relief that I did manage a good PASS. Hoorah!

Frustratungly, the OU no longer gives a numerical mark for these short science courses, prefering to give a simple, brief indication as to how well you have achieved various 'Key Learning Outcomes'. Now I really hate this modern politically correct tosh - give me a damned percentage mark any day! But at least I did manage 'Well Achieved' in every category except one where I nevertheless achieved 'Achieved', if you follow me? So, I would appear that, despite not enjoyimng this course as much as previous ones, I did manage a very good pass and its another 10m credits in the bag towards a degree, making 80 in total so far!

Not that I will end up with a BSc in Geosciences any more. Oh no, the OU in its infinite wisdom has decided to scrap named degrees in science subjects and are intent on lumping them together under the umbrella called 'Natural Sciences'. While the content of my degree can be made up predominantly of Geology and Earth Science modules, the degree I will be awarded will be 'BSc in Natural Sciences'. Hmm, not at all convinced this is a great idea. It seems a retrograde step to me and from what I hear on the grapevine, there is a move to get the OU to rethink this decision. Fingers crossed, because if there's anything that will push me towards doing a degree at Derby University in preference to the OU it is the fact that I can get a GEOLOGY degree at Derby! Come on Open University - think about it!?!

Time to get on with Volcanoes, earthquakes and Tsunamis. Fascinating stuff and more on this one later!

Cheers for now!

Alyn.

Education - it's a wonderful thing!

After finally getting the less than inspiring 'S170: Darwin & Evolution' course out of the way, I'm now already into the next challenge, which is another 10 credit, Science Short Course entitled S186: Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. And what a cracking course this promises to be!

The leader of this particular module is none other than David Rothery, the volcanologist whose talk I attended last month at the Open University Open Day to mark 40 years of Earth Sciences courses at the OU. (Click here for my post about it)

After witnessing David's talk about his media involvement during the Icelandic volcanic dust storm crisis, it became a 'must do' from that point on. The man is clearly passionate about his subject, but doesn't take himself too seriously. One interview he did for ITV News in particular needs to be seen! Click here to view it. Watch out for the amazing disappearing car! My wife Ruth, doesn't seem to understand quite why I find it so hilarious, but it tickled me, but then, I'm easily amused as Ruth will tell you!

I only received the course materials last weekend, but I'm already hooked in a way that I never was by the Darwin course. It's all down to the style of writing I think. Ruth, who is an English graduate (with FIRST CLASS HONOURS I hasten to add) would be able to explain exactly how and why the writing was so dull and uninspiring on that course and how in just a few opening paragraphs of this new course I am totally hooked! It's not as if I wasn't interested in 'evolution' either. I started off keen enough, but the dullness of the course book killed off the enthusiasm entirely, which was a shame!

Anyway, I mustn't dwell on the negative, but concentrate on the delights of 'volcanoes' and already some long held misconceptions have come to light and been soundly kicked into touch. Firstly, I've always been led to believe that the earth's crust lies above a viscous but generally liquid mantle. Plates move about over considerable lengths of time, moving apart at constructive boundaries and moving together at destructive boundaries but by and large, it's pretty much liquid down there. WRONG! The very first sentence of the opening chaper of the course set text 'Teach Yourself Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis', by the course leader states:

"It is a common misconception that the interior of the Earth is molten".

Er, yes indeed. Oops! But then as I read on it becomes obvious that it simply cannot be. Pressure, obviously, ensures that despite it's heat, most of the rock in the mantle is in fact solid. Hmmm!

Secondly, regarding plate tectonics, Mr Rothery drops this bombshell on page 11:

"it is important to be clear that these tectonic plates are not rafts of crust moving over the mantle. The Earth's crust is firmly joined to the part of the mantle immediately below it".

That was a bit of a revelation too in that the top 100 km or so of the mantle is just as strong as the crust and is joined to the crust to make a single 'mechanical layer'. Interesting stuff!

Third eye opener concerned the next layer down, that of the lower mantle. This layer it turns out while not rigid, is neverhteless solid and yet slowly circulates at a rate of a few centimetres per year. Now this is a difficult concept to grasp but a good analogy is to compare the rock of the lower mantle with say, a slab of Devon toffee! Okay, a bit bizarre, but stay with me okay? Now, put the slab in the fridge for a while and it will be hard enough to shatter if whalloped with a hammer. Go on try it if you've got a spare slab lying around! However, if you leave another slab in the fridge with slightly less than half its length overhanging the fridge shelf and leave it for a few months, it will eventually bend over the shelf. Okay, I've not actually tried this myself - there's little or no chance for a slab of toffee surviving for long enough in my house antway, but I'm told it does work! Anyway, my point is that, yes the toffee is obviously solid, but will still bend if given sufficient time. So it is with the rock that makes up the lower mantle which is subject to what is called 'solid state convection'.

And all this is even before the course (or 'module' as the OU now like to call them) officially starts on Saturday 13th! And I haven't even mentioned 'cowpat bombs' yet!?! Maybe next time dear friends!

Cheers for now!
Alyn.

!

Flamborough Head - August 2010

Well, it's taken a while, but I finally persuaded Anna to download the photographs she took on our brief visit to Flamborough Head while on holiday in Lincolnshire back in early August.

So, Flamborough Head is located off the east coast of England, north-east of the coastal town of Bridlington. My family and I started this particular day with a visit to the rather disappointingly sad spectacle of Scarborough, a place which rather reminded me of Blackpool 'up north' - all a bit run down and desperately trying to return to it's former glory days of the fifties and sixties. I kinda felt that these types of seaside holiday resort need to reinvent themselves somehow. The days of donkey rides and 'Kiss me Quick' hats are long gone I think!

Anyway, our detour to Flamborough was the highlight of the day - for me at least! For those wishing to visit, there is plenty of parking space available near the lighthouse and access to the chalk cliffs is possible down some scarily steep and slightly uneven steps, but it's worth the effort, trust me!

'Yours truly' with the stacks and cliffs of Upper Cretaceous chalk at Flamborough Head

The photo of me was taken by this lovely person, my step-daughter Anna-Ruth. The equally lovely Amy, her younger sister, declined the opportunity to descend the steep steps and stayed up top with her mum!

Anna-Ruth by the way, studied for a GCSE in Geography virtually on her own. The teaching for this subject seemed pretty rubbish in truth, so it's to her enormous credit that she passed it so well! On our walk down the steps (see later photo!) she proudly pointed to the stack and told me all about its formation, so there's definitely a potential geologist deep within her! She currently has her heart set on drama, but you never know!

Now here's a thought . . . she could forget drama and do a Geology degree instead! We could even study at the same time on the same course? How cool would that be? Actually, to the average teenager, that would probably be the most embarrassing thing ever! In a classroom with their 'old man'!?! OMG!!!

'Nature' - the worlds greatest sculpter!

Anyway, I digress. The most striking thing about Flamborough is the distinctly layered chalk cliffs and their associated features. The great accumulation of tiny, fossilised sea life that make up this rock took place some 70 - 90 million years ago. The classic stack shown above, formed comparatively quickly over thousands of years. Constant battering of the now exposed rock by the waves, erodes weak areas in the rock eventually creating caves. Where this occurs on an area jutting out into the sea the cave will eventually break through to form an arch. With further erosion the roof can collapse to form an isolated lump of rock - the stack shown above.

Another view of the stack, chalk cliffs and glacial till above.

Above the chalk cliffs lies a layer of glacial till which is a layer of deposits left behind by a glacier during the last ice age.

I have since learnt that there is a fine example of an arch here, I think on the far right  in the above photo, though from our view point we couldn't see through it!

Layered chalk cliff at Flamborough Head.

See what I mean? Scary steps, but solid and safe enough!

Okay, now this is where I need some help. Maybe in 'x' years time after I've actually done my geology degree, the answer to this will be more obvious, but I am currently a bit puzzled by this photo. Throughout the cliffs, the chalk layers are either horizontal or dipping about 10 degrees or so. Here however, at the bottom of the steps there is this section which seems to fold upwards as can be seen at lower right of the photo. At the upper middle of the photo the beds are at about 80 degrees from horizontal! So whats gone on here? Seems a quite localised fold that's quite out of step with the surrounding features!?! Answers on a postcard to . . . .

Me looking for fossils but not finding anything significant - or even insignificant for that matter!

Beautiful! Anna obviously, not the layered chalk and dipping beds! Obviously!

So there you have it. The geological delight that is Flamborough Head - go visit next time you are on the east coast!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.