Study

I studied Geology at Utrecht University for 5 years from 01 September 2001 to 01 September 2006. Geology, despite being part of the broader Earth Sciences studies, is still quite general. Commonly geology is subdivided into three broad areas. These are sedimentary geology, structural geology and petrology. Sedimentary geology focuses on the reconstruction of the geological history from the deposition of sediments (sand, clay, calcareous skeletons of micro-organisms). These sediments turned into rocks over millions of years of burial (sandstone, shales, limestone). Structural geology has to do with the structural styles seen in deformed rocks/rock layers. Again the aim is to reconstruct the geological history of an area in how it became deformed as we see it today due to tectonic movements. Structural geology often goes hand-in-hand with sedimentary geology but is more quantitative. Tensors and matrices are often used in structural geology for example to revert a particular homogenous deformation back to its initial state. Petrology is related to the metamorphism of rocks under high pressure and temperature conditions in the Earth. Mineralogy is a branch of this research area. With the use of light microscopes and electron microscopes and microprobe equipment, the mineralogical composition of an igneous or metamophosed rock can be analysed which in turn tells us something about the temperature and pressure conditions the rock has been and the geological history of the rocks in the area. For example, an eclogite, a rock that has been subject to high pressures in the Earth, probably indicates a subduction environment where an oceanic plate moves below a continental or another oceanic plate.

Other Earth Sciences research areas are: Geophysics (related to predicting Earth quakes and visualising the sub-surface), Geochemistry (related to the chemical and kinetic processes going on in the soil and water), Biogeology (related to fossils and the recontruction of flora and fauna in ancient times), Physical geography (related to surface processes such as morphology, formation of river and coastal areas, effect of glaciers, etc), and Hydrology (relates to water, contamination and flow thereof on and below the surface).

I have branched off into the area of structural geology, Earth materials to be exact. My bachelors and masters projects were related to the electrical conduction in salt and olivine. These research projects can be read about in more detail in the Reports section. My future research on Earth materials will be less related to geochemistry and more to geophysics.