Higher Geography pupils welcomed University of Aberdeen Research Fellow, Dr Will Harcourt, and PhD student, Morrigan Jones, to the College. 

Will and Morrigan spoke with pupils about their cutting edge research into glaciers in Svalbard and on Mars.

Having studied glaciation and glaciated landscapes in class, the pupils learned about the use of drones and seismometers to collect data from a surging glacier in Svalbard and to see terminal moraines at the end of glaciers found on Mars.

One pupil shared: “I found it very interesting and it helped me to think of some options for careers in Geography. The part on Mars was really interesting as I knew nothing about that beforehand.”

Another pupil commented: “I thought the talk was interesting as he gave an example of a place he went to and studied. This allowed me to see what the job he does entails. He also included information we already knew, like the movement of glaciers so we could relate to the talk well.”

Dr Gray, Head of Geography, highlighted: “Pupils appreciated learning about the many different career pathways studying Geography and Environmental Science can take you and how important glaciers are in supplying freshwater to communities across the world.”