BGS in the media Apr 2012
Archive of news and articles featuring BGS science and scientists in Apr 2012
Sun, 22 April 2012
We'll drink to that: Massive underground reserves of water found in some of Africa's driest areas
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
Huge reserves of underground water in some of the driest parts of Africa could provide a buffer against the effects of climate change for years to come, scientists said...Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London have for the first time mapped the aquifers, or groundwater, across the continent and the amount they hold.
Sun, 22 April 2012
Shale could bring energy independence for many nations, freeing them from a reliance on imports...Shales are the most abundant form of sedimentary rock on earth, serving also as the source rocks for hydrocarbons that migrate into conventional reservoirs. Nigel Smith at the British Geological Survey, a research council, uses the analogy of looking for something to eat in a house...
Fri, 20 April 2012
Scientists say the notoriously dry continent of Africa is sitting on a vast reservoir of groundwater...They argue that the total volume of water in aquifers underground is 100 times the amount found on the surface...Now scientists have for the first time been able to carry out a continent-wide analysis of the water that is hidden under the surface in aquifers...Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London (UCL)...
Thu, 19 April 2012
Almost 40% of Glasgow's heat could be provided by tapping into waters from abandoned mines underneath the city, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS)... The BGS is working with Glasgow City Council to identify which areas of the city could supply geothermal energy... In a report on the potential for geothermal heating in Glasgow, the BGS said the city's miners had left a 'valuable inheritance' in the form of waters now held in the shafts and tunnels underneath the ground.
Wed, 18 April 2012
Home owners are digging boreholes on their land to get around the hosepipe ban as manufacturers report spiralling demands for alternative sources of water... The British Geological Survey estimate 20 per cent of homes would have enough room and good enough groundwater supplies. The best kind of rock is chalk or sandstones.
Tue, 17 April 2012
Should fracking go ahead in the UK?
BBC Today programme
BBC Today programme
A panel of experts has said a controversial method of gas extraction which triggered two earth tremors near Blackpool last year should continue under strict regulations... Dr Brian Baptie, head of seismology at the British Geological Survey, said that there is only a 'very small' risk of damage from earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing (known as fracking)...
Tue, 17 April 2012
DECC will today publish an independent expert report recommending measures to mitigate the risks of seismic tremors from hydraulic fracturing - and is inviting public comment on its recommendations... (Download reports co-authored by Dr Brian Baptie, Head of Earthquake Seismology, British Geological Survey).
Tue, 17 April 2012
A controversial gas extraction method which triggered two earth tremors near Blackpool last year should continue under strict conditions, a government-appointed panel of experts says...'We've opted for a much lower, more conservative option,' said Brian Baptie, head of seismology at the British Geological Survey (BGS)...'Even with real-time monitoring, there will be a time lag between what we've put into the ground and what we get back out in the form of earthquakes.'
Sun, 15 April 2012
Deep in the Devonshire countryside, an old metal mine has become the latest - and most unlikely - battlefront for the global trade war between East and West... But now the rising price of the tungsten it holds, a metal currently under a Chinese stranglehold, means plans are under way to bring it back to life...Hemerdon's deposit of tungsten, which is Swedish for 'heavy stone', is the fourth largest in the world, according to the British Geological Survey.
Sun, 15 April 2012
The future of the contentious practice of hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking', in the UK will come under the spotlight on Tuesday with the release of a fresh report on the shale gas drilling that experts say triggered two minor earthquakes near Blackpool last year... The Department of Energy and Climate Change then commissioned a separate report by scientists from bodies including the British Geological Survey and Keele University.
Thu, 12 April 2012
Indian Ocean tsunami alert lifted after Aceh quake
BBC News Online
BBC News Online
Roger Musson, a seismologist from the British Geological Survey, said the quakes were unlike those seen off Indonesia in recent years, where ground had been pushed under the continental plate, "flipping up" the seabed.
"It seems to be a large earthquake within the Indian Plate and the plate has broken in a sort of lateral way," he said. "It's a sort of tearing earthquake, and this is much less likely to cause a tsunami because it's not displacing large volumes of water."
Wed, 11 April 2012
The 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia is unlikely to trigger a major tsunami due to the horizontal rather than vertical shift of ground, according to the British Geological Survey... @ 2 mins 30 secs: As Susan sergeant joins us now from the British Geological Survey.
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