Hello and good day to you. My name is Dr Ryan Tucker, and I'm a member of the Department of
Earth Sciences within the Faculty of Science here at Stellenbosch University.
Today I'm going to talk to you a little bit about what we do within the Earth Sciences and some of what you
may expect as an incoming student if you choose to pursue a future career within the earth sciences.
But before we get into the nitty-gritty, I'd like to start with a quote that I love
from a cult movie, Shawshank Redemption. Morgan Freeman, (as a prisoner) talks about
one of his fellow inmates in geological terms, this being time and pressure.
Now, the Earth is roughly about four point six billion years old (4.6 Ga).
As geoscientists, we look back into Earth's rock record.
We find that the amount of time for an event to occur coincides with pressure to weather these events:
a volcanic eruption in a day, a strike-slip fault that progressed for a century
or even the shift of a continent over a millennium.
All of this activity comes down to these two critical variables.
Now, why is this even applicable even to us on a day-to-day basis?
What we find is that the application of time and pressure relates to our environment or ecosystems.
Currently, climate change is a hot topic, with many of you hearing or
reading about it online (Facebook, YouTube), or even discussing it in your classes.
Climate change happens on Earth; it's an ever-changing process. It's happened throughout our history.
There have been periods when the Earth was nearly completely covered by ice and periods that there
are no polar ice caps whatsoever. However, and sadly, humans have had a detrimental effect.
We are speeding up or changing the processes that naturally occur on Earth.
As geoscientists, both environmental and applied, we look at ways to not only adapt to climate change, but also
meaningfully resolve the current climate crises. As earth-scientists, we strive to develop habits
so that we can sustainably live on Earth and provide future generations with a meaningful life.
That's a big pill to swallow. So, first of all, you may be wondering,
well, four-point six billion years is excellent, but where is the job? Where is the money?
Well, the nice thing is, to tackle current issues, we can look to Earth's past to model the future reliably.
This method incorporates many disciplines: chemistry,
physics, mathematics, geography, all of which allows us to tell a holistic story.
Now, some of the jobs: as you may know, mining, for instance. A field geologist goes out,
identifies a deposit, the material is extracted and processed.
These materials could even include those running your cell phone or your computer that you're watching this video on.
But what you may not know is that earth-scientists may work in the finance sector.
Some financial houses actively look to hire earth-scientists to deal with commodities
—for instance, the impact on the marketplace due to the opening or closure of a gold mine.
Maybe you're more into engineering: geoengineering looks at hazards. If you build a road, you need to
understand the stability of the substrate below it. Or you may build that road next to a hillside
and if that wall rock is weak, it may fail and result in a landslide, damaging the street.
Another branch of our discipline is palaeontology, which seeks to understand
life's history on Earth better, from a simple trilobite to a complex tyrannosaur.
Or this can include hydrology, as we seek to understand better how to responsibly
use and preserve a body of water that is more meaningful for future generations.
On the other side, our science branch also looks at environmental aspects, including
working with agriculture and farmers.
You may or may not know that the growth of a particular crop depends on the clay or soil’s chemistry.
What about mine reclamation; a process in which you attempt to reclaim that land
by cleaning it up from the actual mining process?
So, many aspects of earth sciences utilise a multidisciplinary approach.
We fondly call it a "Jack of all trades", as we as Earth Scientists know a little bit about different sciences,
and we are able to use that to answer complex questions.
As for the student profile, we find within our Earth Sciences department it is ever changing.
Classically, we were once characterised as crusty guys with
beards that were obsessed with the outdoors and, although this might be true for some, it's changing.
The currently evolving student profile
has revolutionised geosciences, especially with the incorporation of technology, not limited
to computational and chemical approaches. For instance, looking at satellite imagery from Mars,
student geologists involved with NASA were able to use sedimentological skill-sets to describe the
past environments of the rocks on Mars.
This ever-changing diversity and demographics of students coming
into our department find new and exciting was to tackle these significant research questions.
Now, the demographics of our staff is cosmopolitan and ever growing.
All of our researchers hold PhDs from various global institutions. Our staff have chosen Stellenbosch
University to lecture and conduct research within well-equipped facilities and global recognition.
Staff includes our Head of Department (HOD) Prof Alex Kisters with research in tectonics,
Prof Alakendra Roychoudhury researching trace metals and oceanic waters near Antarctica,
even myself, with my research, which focuses on the sedimentology of fossil deposits.
As a collective, our department is ranked among the top geological departments in southern Africa.
Some of that research takes place here in sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from South Africa,
Namibia, Tanzania, and then actually expand globally. We have projects in Mongolia,
Thailand, Europe, Brazil, Argentina and then North America and Europe.
So, our footprint in terms of collaborations is comprehensive and
the opportunities for students to become incorporated within this, is readily there.
Now, some of these researchers' actual focus ranges economically
from gold or palladium deposits, to looking at current circulation in the depths of the ocean,
to even assessing new satellite imagery and bringing that in to determine how land change
has morphed during farming in the Karoo.
But I cannot understate the importance of the incorporation of technology into the geosciences.
It's been revolutionary for our Science. We were initially a field-based discipline, but now with
bringing in computers, satellites and rigorous technological advances, including, let's say,
the mass spectrometry, we can ascertain even more information from the rocks than before.
Due to technological advances, we are better equipped to assess events in Earth’s rock record,
and this is actively taking place within the Department of Earth Sciences ranging
from geochemistry, modelling, and petrographic laboratory.
Our department boasts collaborations from around the world, from institutions and industry.
Therefore, our active research portfolio is diversified, which is a benefit to you.
Because as an incoming student (both graduate and undergraduate level)
you'll be able to take part in these networks of global
communities of scientists that will help you succeed in developing
skill sets to become a successful earth scientist.
Industrial partners do not only support these efforts,
but many of our staff hold grants with the National Research Foundation (NRF) here in South Africa,
with others supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in North America.
But that's us. What about you? What about you as a student?
You will start with a three-year BSc degree, which is split into 2 streams:
Applied Earth Science Stream (tectonics, volcanism, economic) and a new Environmental Stream (environmental geochemistry).
Both of these streams contain core modules that you have to take
along with elective modules that you can choose based on your varied interests.
A little bit more detail about each year of the undergraduate programme.
Your first year here within the Department of Earth Sciences is rooted in developing a foundation.
You will take courses that provide the basics, for instance, intro to the Earth Sciences,
which is complimented with compulsory science modules such as chemistry, physics,
mathematics and computational sciences. In your second year, you specialise a little bit more.
This is when you start honing a scientific skill-set in either the applied or the environmental stream.
Modules such as geochemistry and tectonics formulate a firm foundation for
you to understand the principle ideas of geosciences and processes, which will aid in
your third year. In third you, you take focused modules in specific topics within the earth
sciences including geochemistry, hydrology, sedimentology, tectonics and igneous geology.
With this, we get beautiful opportunities to take students out to the field.
As students, you get to go to Laingsburg to look at a three hundred and fifty million-year-old continental collision.
You will get out to Table Bay and False Bay to test water,
to assess how humans have impacted the ecosystems, as well as a whole suite of
various other field trips that we will take you on. This is complemented by some computer-based
classes as well, looking at risk modelling on planet Earth.
The postgraduate setting that starts with honours: honours is a yearlong project and course-based.
Our honours programme is recognised around the world, and typically all of our students are
supported by bursaries, either through grants, funding bodies or even industrial partnerships.
By bringing in these supportive partners, you will get to work hand in hand while they support your studies.
In honours, our programme is still split between two streams,
Applied Stream (hard rock economics, sedimentary, igneous tectonics),
and Environmental Stream, looking at environments and climates (past, present and future).
With a selection of core modules for each stream, our honours also have a selection
of special topics that you can choose from based on your interests.
Our MSc and PhD programmes are heavily rooted in research. You start by presenting a project proposal,
which is reviewed by the Department and Faculty of Science, and if approved,
you will immediately start on your thesis or dissertation research. Thereafter you will defend.
Our projects range from assessing new dinosaur deposits in Utah, to looking at dust particles
that affect oceanic currents in Namibia or Antarctica, to rewriting historical geological literature.
Basically, you work hand in hand with your researcher advisor in developing a research skill-set
that will propel you to the forefront of Earth Science research.
So what does this mean for you?
This is all great and wonderful, but where does this take you at the end of the day?
Living on planet Earth, we are affected by planet Earth, and basically,
our field of Science is applicable anywhere on Earth or even outer space. If you want to stay
domestically and help clean up the coal processes within South Africa, the door is open to you.
If you're going to take advantage of assessing coral environments within the Great Barrier Reef
and the longevity of those environments during climate change, that door is open to you,
if you want to go mine coal or tar sands in Canada, that door is open to you.
Our department facilitates a skill set that is not only applicable to geoscientists, but you can actually take
our degree and change majors, and maybe go into geoengineering and assess site stability for new buildings.
What we do is very applicable to a broad array of multidisciplinary studies.
The last thing I'd like to mention is our outreach, a very important aspect of our department.
This not only brings students from various backgrounds and schools from around the
area together, but we also go into those schools and discuss not only ideas of earth sciences,
but actually get them into real Science.
You may have heard the term 'citizen science'.
Citizen science is where we take people from the community, the citizen collects data,
and then uploads their observations to an online data-bases that any researcher can utilize and publish on.
Therefore, the community's involvement is instrumental in a real-world setting, while simultaneously
a researcher can bring their research to the front door of the local or global community.
Now, I appreciate your attention. I know there was a lot to take in,
so if you have any questions, I invite you to visit the Faculty of Science website.
Just go to the Department of Earth Sciences and
feel free to write to any department people, especially our Head of Department, Prof. Alex Kisters.
Hopefully we will be able to welcome you in-person as a new student within the Department of Earth Sciences soon.
Have a wonderful day.