The Engine of The New New Zealand

Earth science

Soil: it's so much more than glorified dirt!

And the earth is about so much more than soil: boiling lava, water, nutrients and what that means to humans that are living on it. Earth science is about studying that world, and figuring out how to live in it more sustainably.

That's things like land use interpretation and evaluation, how to 'rehabilitate land' from pollution, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, fertiliser development, irrigation, precision agriculture, volcanology, land treatment of waste and environmental impacts of land use.

A good understanding of soil and earth sciences is essential for the conservation and protection of our natural heritage, the development of sound environmental management practices as well as the long-term sustainability of our natural environment.

Find out what career you might have and how you can do it too.

Volcanology

It's lava and it's hot.

You say vulcan and I say volcan

The world volcanology is derived from the Latin word vulcan (hence the swapability of the u and the o). Vulcan was the ancient Roman god of fire. Vulcan was also a planet hypothesised by a 19^th century astronomer who thought it was causing Mercury’s odd orbit. Of course it was also the name for Spock’s home planet (as it was a bit warm). But that’s not really relevant to your potential career.

What is relevant is that the power of the volcanic eruption is immense, and that humans continue to live near them. In ancient Italy, the city of Pompeii was completely destroyed and submerged under 6m of ash in AD79 after an eruption of Mt Vesuvius. St. Pierre in Martinique was destroyed by a similar eruption, with 30,000 lives lost in 1902, and as recently as 1985 the 23,000 residents of the town of Amero in Columbia were killed by a volcanic mudflow from a volcano they couldn’t even see – Nevado del Ruiz over 70 km away! In all of these places, the populations continue to expand back on to the volcano, despite their disastrous past,

In 1883 the island of Krakatoa in Indonesia exploded and fell into the sea. The eruption and subsequent huge tsunamis killed at least 40,000 people, if not 120,000. The explosion from the eruption was heard 3500 km away and is said to be the loudest sound ever recorded. Today a new volcano Anak Krakatoa has formed nearby, growing in size by over six metres (no that’s not a typo – metres) a year.

New Zealand – the mother of all eruptions

New Zealand is a great place for a volcanologist. There are 65 active, dormant and extinct volcanoes here. The eruption in 1886 of Mt Tarawera was the most violent and deadly in our recent history. That’s nothing compared to the mother of all eruptions, when an eruption expanded Lake Taupo over 26,000 years ago. It is the largest known eruption in the last 70,000 years.

When the Mt Ruapehu Crater Lake dam broke in 2007, a massive lahar up to eight metres high swept down the side of the volcano. Shane and his team were on-site to collect raw data and test their warning systems. Their research results have led to the development of the current lahar warning systems in place on the mountain.

What career will I have?

If you study earth science, you could be employed in all sorts of jobs.

As well as working with someone like Shane Cronin, there are jobs like scientists in the petroleum and petrochemical industries, in mining, resource management, hazards research, land rehabilitation and engineering geology. Those graduates in research positions have specialised in geochemistry, paleomagnetism (the Earth’s past magnetic fluctuations), palynology (fossil pollen), volcanology, phytoremediation (using plants to remove pollutants from soils), soil pollution and groundwater.

In New Zealand Massey University earth science graduates have gone on to be employed in various Crown Research Institutes, by regional councils (land and water resources), as secondary school teachers, in universities, as consultants, and varied positions in industry, all around the world.

Volcanology

If you want to go directly into volcanology, you’ll need to do postgraduate study in a relevant topic. You can get on-the-lava experience at the same time – Volcanic Risk Solutions have a number of postgraduate students working with them at any one time.

If you are more interested in something like maths or chemistry, but kind of like volcanoes, you can still work in the general field – Volcanic Risk Solutions actually employ people from a number of different disciplines.

The core group focuses on geology, geochemistry, statistics, mathematics and physics, but there is a huge overlap with the social sciences. They do a lot of work with an ecological economist, Garry McDonald (incidentally, he’s a Massey University graduate too), of the New Zealand Centre for Ecological Economics and Market Economics Ltd. They put the numbers that Shane’s team collate into their ‘human form’ – for instance what the impact might be on business growth in regions who have a volcanic eruption nearby.

How you can do it too

So what does it take to become an ‘earth scientist’ or volcanologist?

You should take science subjects at school.

If you’d like to get close to the heat, you’ll want to study geography at school, although chemistry and physics are just as important. It’s also a good idea to do mathematics and English. Some subjects do require certain NCEA credits – check out Massey’s BSc page  for more detail.

The English might surprise you, but Shane Cronin says it is one of the most common things that science graduates ignore in New Zealand.

He says there are two key things that can make the difference between having a very successful career, and struggling:

1. Having good writing skills – being able to write clearly and concisely to different audiences.
2. An ability to handle mathematics. Be confident and proficient with the basics.

“In the real world, you have to write your own submissions for funding, reports and public articles to raise awareness of your project and forward your career. It’s vital to be able to make a good case and communicate it well.”

Qualifications

If you’re interested in volcanology the Bachelor of Science at Massey with a major in Earth Sciences is the way to go.

Earth science is the study of understanding the process of how the Earth’s physical appearance was created.

You’ll study things like geology, soil science, minerology, geochemistry, hydrology and oceanography. Basically, you will learn the history of the formation of planet Earth. It’s a three-year degree. For many careers in earth science, postgraduate study and research is also a pre-requisite. Shane and his team have a number of postgraduate students working with them at any one time. You’ll get some great hands-on experience while pursuing your own research ideas!

Find out more about studying earth science at Massey, or get in touch with us if you have more questions.

Why Massey?

Relevant, practical science

An emphasis is placed on practical field and laboratory work at Massey, with actual papers based on field trips available each year. A culture of researching practical solutions to environmental problems is encouraged. That means that it’s not just about the science, you’ll come out with a good understanding of the issues companies are facing and how to find solutions.

Massey has some of the world’s renowned experts in this area, like those at Volcanic Risk Solutions. You’ll get exposure to work and problems that are real-world issues today.