Laurent Jolivet on the Origin of the Mediterranean

11/21/20 • 29 min

Laurent Jolivet is an expert on the dynamics of tectonic plates and the mantle and is a Professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Sorbonne University. He combines satellite measurements, seismic tomography, field observations, and computer modeling to reconstruct plate motions, even in some of the most complicated parts of the world. Here he unravels the tangled evolution of the Mediterranean.

Visit geologybites.com to see maps and animations of the Mediterranean's geological history and of the processes discussed in the podcast.

Visit geologybites.com to see maps and animations of the Mediterranean's geological history and of the processes discussed in the podcast.

Previous Episode

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart on Transitioning to a Post-Carbon Economy

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart is a former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell and is a director of Saudi Aramco, which has the largest daily oil production of any oil-producing company.

He obtained a PhD on the Devonian sediments of Spitsbergen before joining Shell, where he started his career as a geologist in Spain, Oman, Brunei, and Australia.

After recognizing that our response to global warming demands a transformation of our energy strategy, he became a prominent voice for change in the oil industry. Here, he discusses how he sees this change coming about.

Go to geologybites.com for illustrations that support this podcast, as well as to learn about other Geology Bites episodes.

Next Episode

Harold C. Connolly Jr. on Bringing an Asteroid Sample Back to Earth

There are some things we just cannot learn about other bodies in the solar system without actually having our hands on a sample of the body and analyzing it on Earth using the battery of techniques that have been refined for the analysis of terrestrial rocks. Harold C. Connolly Jr. is Professor and Founding Chair at the Department of Geology at Rowan University. He investigates the origin of the very oldest planetary materials from which the Earth was made. Asteroids are a good place to look for such materials, and, to that end, he is Mission Sample Scientist for OSIRIS-REx, a NASA asteroid sample return mission, as well as a member of the Japanese asteroid sample return mission called Hayabusa 2. He explains how the sample was captured, and what we hope to learn from analyzing it back on Earth.

Go to geologybites.com for illustrations relating to the podcast and to learn more about Geology Bites.