Me [Nick Roberts] on top of Åreskutan, Sweden |
The COSC Project:
The objectives of the COSC project are to 1) improve our understanding of collisional orogenesis, 2) investigate the geothermal gradient and its response to palaeoclimatic influences, along with the nature of the hydrogeological-hydrochemical state of the crust and deep biosphere, 3) calibrate the surface geophysics and geology. These have direct relevance for society by improving our understanding of mountain building processes, hydrological-hydrochemical regimes in mountain areas and Precambrian shields, deep subsurface conditions for underground engineering, ore genesis and assessment of geothermal potential.
Prof. David Gee on Areskuten mountain, close to the proposed drilling sites, explaining the origin and transportation of this 'hot nappe' |
The workshop:
The aim of this workshop was to bring together scientists ranging from Masters’ students to Professors, with expertise on both the Caledonides and on orogens further afield, such as the Himalaya. The workshop was led by experts on the geology of the Caledonides, Professors David Gee (Uppsala), Alan Krill (Trondheim) and Peter Robinson (NGU); who between them have nearly a hundred years of experience working on this mountain belt! Following in the footsteps of pioneering geologists, such as Goldschmidt and Törnebohm, we traversed the Caledonian mountains from central Sweden to western Norway, observing key localities where the history of the Caledonian orogen has been studied.
Prof. Allan Krill explaining how a 1200 million year old granite has been involved and deformed in the Silurian Caledonian orogeny |
Prof. Peter Robinson explaining rare exposures of micro-diamond bearing rocks that have undergone ultra high pressure through their burial to depths greater than 150km |
By Nick Roberts
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