European Researchers’ Night was a mega event on the 26 September 2014, in 300 cities all across Europe. It showcased research to the public and highlighted how research is fun and influences daily life for all of us. YorNight is York’s contribution to this event and gave the opportunity to delve into the exciting and […]
REAL participates at YorNight outreach event in York, UK
YorNight at the University of York Date: 26 September 2014 Time: 4 pm – 9 pm Location: St Martin’s Church, York, United Kingdom REAL members alongside University of York archaeologists Louise Iles and Daryl Stump and members of the The Archaeology of Agricultural Resilience in Eastern Africa (AAREA) project, researchers from the Environment Department; Phil Platts and […]
International Swiss Climate Summer School
13th International Swiss Climate Summer School “Linking Land Use, Land Cover, and Climate” 31 August – 5 September 2014, Grindelwald, Switzerland Scope The 13th International Swiss Climate Summer School was focused on the theme “Linking land use, land cover, and climate”. This theme had been chosen due to its paramount importance in terms of both […]
British Ecological Society – Tropical Ecosystems Group August 14-15, 2014
BES-TEG aimed at promoting and facilitating communication and interaction between tropical ecologists to enable inter-disciplinary transfer and development of knowledge and skills; and provides support for early career researchers while filling-in policy gaps. After six successful Early Career Research Meetings, BES-TEG are organizing a 7th meeting schedule to take place at the University of York, […]
Identification help: Freshwater bryozoa statoblast from East Africa
Identified! This is a statoblast of the species Lophopodella capensis or possibly Lophopodella stuhlmani. Some information on the distribution of this freshwater bryozoa can be found here. Bryozoa statoblasts like these were found in the late Holocene sediments of Nyabuiyabui Swamp, a freshwater swamp on the Mau Escarpment in Kenya, at 2900 m asl. If it is […]
Sediment analyses at Aberystwyth University
By: Colin Courtney Mustaphi and Esther Githumbi July 16, 2014 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) is a technique that yields detailed information on the geochemistry of sediment cores and can be useful for characterising depositional environments and for palaeoenvironmental interpretations. The XRF analysis was performed at the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK, […]
POLLEN PROCESSING USING HF DIGESTION
SEDIMENT DESCRIPTION Sediment colour is described using the Munsell soil colour charts as the core is extruded. Colour and the point of any colour change are noted in the core log book which also holds the routine sediment analysis data. Troels-Smith description of the sediment may also be needed, in which case the project leader […]
POLLEN PROCESSING FOLLOWING THE HEAVY LIQUID SEPARATION
Accumulated sediments contain plant macro and microfossils; lakes, swamp and bog sediments trap evidence from the surrounding environments for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The plant microfossils provide evidence of historical changes in the surrounding environment. These sediments are the indicators studied in palynology which is concerned with the structure and formation of the pollen grains Pollen analysis can […]
Project Overview – Resilience in East African Landscapes (REAL)
Project summary The strong temporal dynamics of the East African landscape and natural-resource distributions have always encouraged people to innovate and adapt to changing conditions. However, the realities of current social and environmental changes are occurring at unprecedented rates and amplitudes. Increasing population growth, changes in patterns of land tenure, industrialization, weak systems of governance, […]
CHIESA Vegetation from space and from the ground Workshop
Between the 17th to 22nd March 2014, several members of the REAL group (Aynalem, Chris, Christine and Esther) participated in the Vegetation from space and from the ground workshop (KITE-CHIESA). This workshop was facilitated by Dr. Phil Platts and Dr. Marion Pfeifer. The course provided an introduction to the use of Earth Observation (EO) products in the […]
Survey of Kenya visit
The Survey of Kenya, with headquarters in Nairobi, was involved in field mapping alongside the Directorate of Overseas Surveys and Directorate of Colonial Surveys during British colonial rule and remains the main centre of geospatial information in Kenya. The Survey maintains the air photography, maps, cadastrals and geospatial data of Kenya and is an important […]
Obsidian tools
Obsidian is a volcanic extrusive rock with a glassy texture that is very hard and dense. The volcanic glass is usually black in colour, but it can also be dark green and brown. In rare cases trace elements of mineral crystals can cause obsidian to reflect light in various colours, or even the colour spectrum […]