Some readings and a podcast from the past few weeks-
1) The Geological controls on Iran Oil- Geology lovers who like to explore satellite imagery would have surely noticed the landscape of southern Iran. The crust is wrinkled up into unending fold mountains. These have resulted due to the collision of the Arabian plate with the Eurasian plate. And that convergence earlier in history created a depression which filled with organic rich mud, the source of all that Iranian oil reserves. Stephanie Pappas has written a nice primer on the quirk of geology that explains Iran’s oil bounty.
2) How Flowers Transformed Planet Earth- “Both in the evolution of life on this planet, and in human culture, flowers have been a critical engine of connection and cooperation”. I had enjoyed David George Haskell’s earlier book, “The Forest Unseen”, in which he observed one square meter of forest floor through different seasons to track changes in fauna and flora and what that teaches us about ecologic relationships. Viviane Callier talks to him about his new book on flowering plants and their significance in science and society.
3) Indian Hydrogeology- Groundwater is the lifeline of Indian agriculture. That makes understanding aquifers a critical aspect of exploring and utilization of this resource. Recently, Pune based groundwater researcher Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni was awarded the International Water Prize by the University of Oklahoma for his contributions to Indian hydrogeology. They span nearly 4 decades of work in the Deccan basalts, as well as other Indian geologic terrains. His work includes not just the science of aquifers, but also efforts on involving local communities in sharing and managing this resource.
Veena Srinivasan of Well Labs has a long conversation with Dr. Kulkarni about his life’s work. On a personal note, Himanshu was my senior in University. It was really good to hear about this recognition for his important contributions to Indian groundwater science.