How does your work benefit people???

Question: How does your work benefit people???

Asked by laurenshep21 to Angus, Christian, Hannah, Laura, Simon on 21 Jun 2013.
- Christian Maerz answered on 21 Jun 2013:
  
  I am studying the climate of past times in earth history, to unravel which kind of climate changes the earth experienced even without human influence, by what they were caused, and how they were terminated. This will allow us to get a better feeling about natural climate variability, and might also give us some idea of how to mitigate climate change in the future.
  In this context, studying the marine carbon cycle is of great inportance. CO2 from the atmosphere (our most dangerous greenhouse gas) is consumed by marine algae, and if they die, it will become buried in the sea floor – and hence be removed from the atmosphere. I am trying to understand which factors influence the activity of marine algae, especially what kinds of chemical elements (nutrients) helper them to grow faster in the past, and bury more carbon in the sea floor.
- Laura Roberts Artal answered on 24 Jun 2013:
  
  As part of my work, I’m trying to understand how the Earth’s Magentic field used to work billions and billions of years ago. I hope to learn what the Earth might have looked like, not very long after it formed. Did the Earth’s magnetic field reverse? Did continents exist? Did the inside of the Earth work as it does today? Could life form on the surface of the Earth?
  If I can answer at least some of these questions, I can then maybe try and see how the Earth’s magentic field might behave in the future. This is a bit of a long shot, but I can try. It means we might be able to understand why reversals of the magentic field happen and when the next one might happen. That way we may be able to prepare for it, although we are not certain quite what the impact of a reversal might have on mondern day society!
- Hannah Bentham answered on 24 Jun 2013:
  
  Oooh interesting question.
  
  Like Laura my work tries to understand the evolution of Earth and how changes inside the Earth affect us at the surface. We do this primarily because it is interesting and unknown. But the findings are useful because we find new ways of looking at earthquake data and the more we know about earthquakes, the better prepared we can be when they occur.
  
  Also in the longer term we need to know how our planet works so we can compare Earth to other planets. We may find planets similar to ours that have life (aliens!) or maybe will be suitable replacement planet in future (if something terrible happens to Earth 🙁 )
  
  I study structure in the mantle and link that to plate tectonics. The purpose to the “man on the street” is that we need to know more about
- Angus Ferraro answered on 24 Jun 2013:
  
  I study the effects of a radical suggestion to stop global warming. We could put tiny particles in the atmosphere which form a haze which cools the planet. This is exactly what volcanoes do, and we know they cool the planet, so perhaps we could do the same thing…the problem is, this might have other side effects on the climate. It’s quite a big step to take, changing the climate even further to keep it cool! I’m working on how useful these ‘volcano’ techniques might be – so we can work out whether we should ever consider it in the future.
- Simon Holyoake answered on 26 Jun 2013:
  
  I study rocks which can be used to store carbon dioxide, as well as rocks that may be used in the storage of radioactive waste, both areas which need improvement!
  
  I also study geohazards like landslides and abandoned mine workings, as well as other stuff underground, this helps councils and civil engineers to ensure they use land effectively and don’t build houses on dangerous land!

Question: How does your work benefit people???

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