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Birth of a new ocean

17 December 2009

James Hammond next to a newly formed fissure in the earth's crust

James Hammond next to a newly formed fissure

Early one July evening in the café-bar of the Bristol Folk House, Dr James Hammond and a team of geologists from the Department of  Earth Sciences presented the latest research into an incredible geological phenomenon currently taking place in the Great East African Rift Valley.

In Afar, a remote region of Ethiopia, rifting is creating new oceanic crust, splitting the African continent in two. Geologists think that over millions of years, this will develop into a new ocean. In a public talk organised by the Centre for Public Engagement, James presented this exciting area of research to a full house, outlining how the rifting activity unlocks the secrets of movements in the earth’s crust, as researchers are able to observe, analyse and, importantly, record, this incredible event as it happens.

It was really interesting hearing about both plate tectonics and life in Ethiopia. How fantastic that the researchers also had time to support a local school outside their fieldwork.

Member of the public
James amazed the audience with images of magma bursting through the African crust and described the geological processes that contribute to its formation. He also presented a flavour of what fieldwork is really like; showing the highs — pictures of the team in front of the newly formed volcanic fissures i in the earth — and the lows — sandstorms and vehicles stuck in sticky African mud — suggesting that fieldwork isn’t always as glamorous as it sounds.

“I enjoyed talking about the research and sharing our fieldwork experiences with the members of the public at the event. And the relaxed atmosphere meant that people were happy to come up and talk about some of the issues afterwards. I think that they also enjoyed examining some of the geological samples that we brought along,” said James.

The audience at the Bristol Folk House were fascinated by this research and were particularly interested in hearing about the Afar people. While not conducting research, the team also got involved with a local school, and ended up building benches, donating books and doing some teaching in the classrooms.

“It was really interesting hearing about both plate tectonics and life in Ethiopia. How fantastic that the researchers also had time to support a local school outside their fieldwork,” commented one member of the audience.

All in all, as another concluded: “It was a very informative and well presented talk. The final section discussing social factors really brought home the impacts that even the remotest geological hazards have.”

 

 

 

 

Further information:

James Hammond can be contacted on j.hammond@bristol.ac.uk Colleagues from the Department of Earth Sciences that joined him at the Bristol Folk House were: Lorraine Field, Ricardo Ramalho, Dr James Wookey and Professor John Blundy. Read more about his adventures in Afar. James Hammond’s talk – Birth of a New Ocean – was part of an ongoing programme of public talks organised by the Centre for Public Engagement.