Geo Lectures

Seven decades of Greenland glaciology - ANKER WEIDICK

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:23:57 GMT

A pioneer, Anker Weidick was the first, and for a very long time the only, scientist working on the Greenland glacier inventory. It is only now, several decades later, that widespread Greenland glacier inventories are attempted and with the aid of abundant computing power. ‘All the modern glacier sensitivity studies from Greenland rely on the pioneering work done by Anker Weidick well before it became “modern”.’

Here Arne gives a small lecture about his outstanding career.

Opportunities and limits of metal recycling within a circular economy

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 14:02:39 GMT

Metallurgy is at the heart of developing a circular economy as metals all have strong intrinsic recycling potentials. Moving towards closed material-loops requires for the metallurgical industry to continue to refine its processing methods and adapt to the changing and ever complicating waste fractions.
However, circular economy is a popular expression currently, and Markus Reuter emphasize that actions on the metallurgical infrastructure are needed to make this buzzword more than just "hot air" as he expresses himself.

Building materials as raw materials source

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 13:51:48 GMT

Helmuth Rechberger, Prof. Dr. techn., Technisches Universität Wien, gives a run down of a different approach (than the typical) to where our future resources in society can be mined. In our ever changing cities we have stacked all different kinds of resources into buildings. In this lecture Rechberger shows how he and his colleagues have ‘mapped’ the building stock of the city of Wienna seeing buildings from a resource perspective.

The lecture was given at a MiMa Meeting April 2016. For further information about MiMa (Center for Minerals and Materials):
http://mima.geus.dk

Further readings:
Fritz Kleemanna, Jakob Lederera, Philipp Aschenbrennera, Helmut Rechbergerg & Johann Fellnera: A method for determining buildings’ material composition prior to demolition. http://tinyurl.com/pw4yqrv

Published online: 06 Dec 2014 :

Factors affecting mineral criticality: the US perspective

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 14:46:47 GMT

The supply of critical minerals constitutes an important factor for any modern society. For the last decennials this topic has gained focus around the world with a growing population and an ever broader use of minerals in modern products and technologies. An insight to the US perspective of that is here given by Steven Fortier, Director of National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey. The presentation is based upon the report Assessment of critical minerals: Screening methodology and initial application, released march 2016. In this report a screening of 50 elements is featured as a base of discussion for a national call to action.

The lecture was given at a MiMa Meeting on Geocenter Denmark, February 4th, 2016.

Link to the report - Assessment of critical minerals: Screening methodology and initial application

tinyurl.com/zv3urgx

Thomas Graedel - The Criticality Of Metals

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 17:41:33 GMT

Thomas Graedel, Professor, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, has undertaken a wide range of research within the fields of critical minerals, life-cycle analysis, and depletion time for mineral raw materials, and is senior author to several books and large number of publications.

The lecture was given at a MiMa event October 2015. For further information about MiMa (Center for Minerals and Materials):

http://mima.geus.dk/

For further information about Thomas Graedel, and his work:

http://tinyurl.com/pyx7vds

The future of Greenland - part 1

Tue, 19 May 2015 11:31:06 GMT

Professor Minik Rosing, Kupik Kleist, former Prime Minister of Greenland, and Bo Lidegaard, chief editor of Politiken, discuss the future of Greenland. The Greenlandic people is under pressure to take a series of decisions on how Greenland shall benefit from its rich natural resources, and how the relation to Denmark shall evolve in the future.

Shall Greenland become a multicultural country with a growing population of immigrants working in the mining industry – or shall the primary industries be based on living resources, as we know Greenland today?

The future of Greenland - part 2

Tue, 19 May 2015 11:29:52 GMT

Albrecht Hofmann - Did volcanic eruptions kill dinosaurs?

Mon, 04 May 2015 11:46:01 GMT

Albrecht Hofmann, senior scientist from Columbia University, takes us through the major mass extinctions. In this talk Albrecht discuss why the dinosaurs went extinct and how a catastrophe sometimes produce new life”.

Professor John Ludden – Independent survey on fracking

Thu, 30 Apr 2015 11:36:42 GMT

British Geological Survey (BGS) works with area universities to survey fracking operations in UK’s first independent research.

In this lecture Professor John Ludden, Executive Director of the BGS, explains the thoughts behind the project, and how the research will provide new scientific insight in monitoring the environment impact of shale gas development.
BGS estimates shale basins in the country may hold more than 1.3 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas. However, hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a technique that has been largely debated controversial.

A consortium led by BGS and university partners will carry out groundwater, regional air quality and seismic activity research at two proposed fracking sites in Lancashire.