Nuclear energy is a low-cost and reliable source of energy with a very low carbon footprint, and for these reasons is likely to be a key player in the green energy transition. But, in order to include nuclear energy in our investment plans, we need to ensure the small amount of nuclear fuel waste generated can be stored safely. I am halfway through my PhD project, which is looking at how nuclear waste, stored in geological disposal facilities hundreds of metres below the surface, dissolves when groundwater seeps in through multiple barriers of protection.
Continue reading “Emma Perry zooms in on the hidden depths of nuclear waste breakdown”Meet the PhD student using tree leaves to mitigate air pollution
Hassan Aftab Sheikh is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Earth Sciences, researching air pollution mitigation. Erin caught up with Hassan and heard more about his interest in climate science in the following blog post.
Continue reading “Meet the PhD student using tree leaves to mitigate air pollution”Masters student gets detailed snapshot of earthquake tremors in Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
Just hours after Dan Roberts, Masters student at Cambridge Earth Sciences, handed in his dissertation on the seismicity of Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, the volcano in his study area erupted… Here Dan reflects on how his work, which employs Cambridge-developed earthquake mapping software, is helping inform our understanding of seismic and volcanic hazards in Iceland.
Continue reading “Masters student gets detailed snapshot of earthquake tremors in Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland”Reflections on becoming a climate scientist
I love reading career path stories; seeing how someone’s personality and life circumstances affects their career journey and decisions. As a research scientist, most of the career stories I come across are about a person’s love for science and how they carry that passion through a changing career, in or out of academia.
Continue reading “Reflections on becoming a climate scientist”Could there be life on Venus? Dr Paul Rimmer explains
A UK-led team of astronomers recently discovered a rare molecule – phosphine – in the clouds of Venus that could have been created by microbes.
We caught up with one of the co-authors of the study – Dr Paul Rimmer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences Cambridge with affiliations at Cavendish Astrophysics and the MRC Labratory of Molecular Biology, to hear more about this extraordinary finding – and what it means for life beyond Earth.
Continue reading “Could there be life on Venus? Dr Paul Rimmer explains”Research in Lockdown: Labs Closed
It’s been just shy of two months (I think) since I cleared my desk and left Cambridge as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This blog is a bit of a summary of my life in lockdown, my thoughts about my PhD progress, and my aims for the future.
Continue reading “Research in Lockdown: Labs Closed”Research in Lockdown: Fieldwork Disrupted
My PhD concerns a longstanding question—how do valuable metals move through volcanic systems? Since starting my PhD in September 2018, I’ve been looking forward to testing my hypotheses on this topic in the field, on a six-week expedition called the Metals in Magmas field campaign. Like many Earth scientists, I spent months planning the project’s logistical and technical details. But, two weeks before the fieldwork was set to begin, the outbreak of the current global pandemic stopped the project in its tracks. My plans are now on hold and my PhD can’t continue as originally billed. In this blog post, I hope to share my perspective on the impact of COVID-19 on my PhD research.
Continue reading “Research in Lockdown: Fieldwork Disrupted”WACSWAIN: Sherman Island Drilling—Part Three
In the final instalment of this WACSWAIN fieldwork diary, Isobel Rowell describes the heartbreak of ending her fieldwork earlier than planned, as drilling takes a dramatic turn.
Continue reading “WACSWAIN: Sherman Island Drilling—Part Three”