Looking back at 2023, what a year it has been! Plenty of geology, plenty of Oxford, plenty of time spent with family and friends, and officially the first year of this blog!
A photo taken back in March of me amongst the rocks on a hike in Wadi Showka in Ras Al Khaima, UAE
I started this little project in December 2022 with the aim of just developing my writing skills and giving me an opportunity to delve a little deeper into topics that interest me as well as document/share advice on my time studying Earth Science here at Oxford. As the year has gone on, my entries have been a little sporadic but I have really enjoyed having an outlet for all my Earth Science-y thoughts. So I'm going to finish this year off with a little reflection on what has happened and a look forward to 2024.
My first few posts on here were exploring a bunch of geology topics that I didn't get to within my degree, things such as CarbFix's CO2 capture technology, the geology of Stonehenge, and the role of Geologists on the moon. Over the year I've began to develop more of an interest in space, this being reflected in my extended essay topic as part of my degree which is focusing on the most likely environments for extraterrestrial microbial life in the solar system. I've written a couple of articles exploring this, covering the Emirates mission to Mars, robotic exploration of the solar system, and a soon to be published article looking at the Breakthrough Listen Project that has just announced it's new headquarters here in Oxford. As 2024 goes on I hope to explore space a bit further through my articles, mostly because it really does fascinate me and I find I learn so much through the research and writing process!
I also explored space through a number of articles written for student newspapers in Oxford. Most notably, in 2023 I became one of the News Editors for the Oxford Scientist which has been a great opportunity and I am looking forward to carrying it on through the next year. I've written articles on topics from deep sea mining to space debris, as well as covering things from NASA's Artemis mission to the Line development in Saudi Arabia for the Oxford Student. I also tried my hand a a bit of non-science writing (something I am still getting to grips with) through a couple of articles for the Oxford Blue. This is something slightly out of my comfort zone and that I hope to keep working on next year.
This blog has also allowed me to (hopefully) impart some of my wisdom as well as providing a much needed outlet to rant on during my mapping project. The 6 weeks in the field in Ireland followed by long and taxing write up has been a major part of my year, one that I am very proud of myself for completing, and one that has been recorded extensively on this blog. The start of 2024 sees me hand that project in, and I'm grateful to have it over and done with!
I ended 2023 with a mini internship in December where I explored the role of cosmic radiation in aviation, ultimately working with two other interns to produce an article (soon to be published) about the topic. This was my first taste of science communication in industry and an experience I really enjoyed!
I hope that next year I can continue to grow the blog but mostly, continue to enjoy learning and writing about new topics within, and maybe beyond, the Earth Sciences.
Happy New Year Everyone!!
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