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MEDIA

craig_filming_catalyst_grey.jpeg
Craig regularly writes for The Conversation, Cosmos, Australasian Science, and other online news sources, and frequently contributes to News media.
He has also appeared on ABC's Catalyst, HBO's Meteorite Men (series 2), Totally Wild, National Geographic's Foxtel series Nature's Fury, and regularly on radio.
Some selected appearances are listed below.
Catalyst (ABC) preview, 2020.
See the full episode here.

Recent written articles

Why are we sending missions to Mars? 22nd July, 2020. https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/july-2020/Please-explain-why-are-we-sending-missions-to-Mars
The spikey end of geodynamics: The story of the echidna and plate tectonics. EGU Geodynamics Blog, April 1st, 2020.
https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd/2020/04/01/the-spikey-end-of-geodynamics-the-story-of-the-echidna-and-plate-tectonics/?fbclid=IwAR2UiXqmDnFJYGbX2-dXKcQhfcR8hLXoP7RAQXoAucqBKFzQxf462Pu9onw
A 'seiche' wave can outpace a tsunami and both can be triggered by meteorites and earthquakes, The Conversation, 4 April, 2019, https://theconversation.com/a-seiche-wave-can-outpace-a-tsunami-and-both-can-be-triggered-by-meteorites-and-earthquakes-114753
How the dinosaurs went extinct: asteroid collision triggered potentially deadly volcanic eruptions, The Conversation, Feb 22, 2019, https://theconversation.com/how-the-dinosaurs-went-extinct-asteroid-collision-triggered-potentially-deadly-volcanic-eruptions-112134
Recent press coverage
Life in the Galaxy: maybe this is as good as it gets? Goldschmidt press release, 22 June 2020.  Reposts:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astronomy/plate-tectonics-and-the-search-for-life/
https://www.space.com/milky-way-exoplanets-life-early-formation.html
https://www.cnet.com/news/time-might-be-running-out-for-alien-life-in-the-milky-way/
https://www.iflscience.com/space/life-may-have-developed-sooner-rather-than-later-in-a-galaxys-history/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/time-might-be-running-out-for-alien-life-in-the-milky-way/ar-BB15SGQ9
 

From the archives...

Television:

2004: Totally Wild, Marine Science.

2006: Catalyst, Diamonds forever? 26th October 2006, http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1773940.htm

2010: Meteorite Men, Season 2, Episode 8, 'Henbury Craters, Australia', Dec. 2010. https://www.amazon.com/Meteorite-Men-Season-2/dp/B004AUFVSW

2020: Catalyst, 5 May, Asteroid Hunters. https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/s21-e04-asteroid-hunters/12198186

2020: National Geographic’s Foxtel series Nature's Fury (https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/natures-fury-2020/38923)

2022: Mysteries from above, (Saloon media), Episode 2

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19226058/?ref_=ttco_co_tt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIW44gnEF4U).

In print and online:

Note: Some of the older links listed are now only accessible via internet archive.

 

Australia's diamond belt identified, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 8 Aug 2006

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/australias-diamond-belt-identified/2006/08/08/1154802878105.html

New Study Helps Predict Location of Australia's Diamonds, Diamonds.net, NY - 8 Aug 2006, http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=15418

Diamond pickings just a volcanic eruption away in Australia, Australian Associated Press General News - Aug 8 2006, 438 words.

Diamond pickings just an eruption away, Shepparton News (Vic), Aug 9 2006, Page 11.

Life Cycle of Diamonds Indicates the Best Places to Search for ... Azom.com – 28 August 2006, http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=6468

The nous to share science news, The Australian, Australia - 29 Aug 2006 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20296847-12332,00.html

Where thick crust meets thin, the best place to find diamonds, ABC Rural Bush Telegraph – 15 August 2006, www.abc.net.au/rural/telegraph/content/2006/s1715341.htm

Earth crust as a diamond indicator (sic), ABC – Rural Outback NT: Wednesday 9 August, 2006, www.abc.net.au/rural/regions/content/2006/s1710491.htm

Tiwi Island diamonds, ABC Rural Report Online, 10 Aug 2006, http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/2006/s1711727.htm

Diamond days for young Macquarie earth scientists, 30/8/2006

http://www.pr.mq.edu.au/events/index.asp?ItemID=2581

Diamonds are forever? You have to know where to look... Macquarie University News, 09/2006, http://www.pr.mq.edu.au/macnews/showitem.asp?ItemID=517

Searching for diamonds, Research Active, Sept 2006, http://www.researchactive.mq.edu.au/showitem.asp?ItemID=700

The life and death of diamonds, The mining chronicle, Sept. 2006, Vol 11, No. 8.

Fresh Science press release, 8th Aug 2006, http://www.sciencenow.org.au/sciencenow/2006/craig.htm

Young scientist of the year, Macquarie Globe, Sept 21 2006, http://www.international.mq.edu.au/globe/default.aspx?id=244&EditionID=115

Using computers to spot diamonds, Future Materials, Sept 2006.

http://www.future.org.au/news_2006/sept/sens_mat2.html

New Study Helps Predict Location of Australia's Diamonds, Diamond & Jewellery News, http://www.shopadf.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=449

Life Cycle of Diamonds Indicates the Best Places to Search for Them, Azom, 28 Aug 2006, http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=6468

Diamonds forever, Australasian Science, Vol 28 No. 2, March 2007, 22-24.

World’s Oldest Diamonds found, The Australian (online), Aug 23, 2007, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22294772-30417,00.html

Oldest diamonds may answer questions about early Earth, Aug 28th 2007,

http://www.smm.org/buzz/buzz_tags/oneill

The secret life of Craig O’Neill, Macquarie University News, Sept 2007, http://www.pr.mq.edu.au/macnews/showitem.asp?ItemID=598

Geodynamics: Breaking the lid, Nature Geoscience Research Highlights, 13th September, 2007,

http://www.nature.com/ngeo/reshigh/2007/0907/full/ngeo.2007.10.html

The plate tectonics of alien worlds, Cosmos online, 17th Oct 2007, http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1658

Do super-Earths have geology suited to life?, Nature News, 19th October, 2007,

http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071019/full/news.2007.176.html

O’Neill named Young Tall Poppy, Macquarie University PR Unit, Oct 19th 2007, http://www.pr.mq.edu.au/events/index.asp?ItemID=3173

Do 'super-Earths' beyond our Solar System have life-harbouring conditions?, Yahoo News India, 22 Oct 2007, http://in.news.yahoo.com/071022/139/6m8nh.html

Plate tectonics on a planet far, far away, Geotimes, February 2008,

http://www.geotimes.org/feb08/article.html?id=nn_tectonics.html

New Planet, Bybla.net 23 October, 2007, http://bylba.net/2007/10/23/new_planet.html

Evolution of a habitable planet, Australasian Science, April 2008, 16-18.

Habitable planets might need Plate tectonics, March 21st, 2008, http://www.astronomycast.com/LIVE/rebecca/planets/habitable-planets-might-need-plate-tectonics/

Craig O’Neill: Geodynamic modeller, Double Helix, June-July 2008, Issue 120, p8.

Volcanic shutdown may have led to 'snowball Earth', 09 May 2009, http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227073.800-volcanic-shutdown-may-have-led-to-snowball-earth.html

Volcano 'Vacation' Produced First Glaciers, May 14, 2009,

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/14/first-glaciers-tectonics.html

Early Mars stayed molten, Thursday, 23 July 2009,

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20092307-19455.html

Molten Mars kept life at bay, Tuesday, 21 July 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/07/21/2631861.htm

Molten Mars Too Hot to Handle Life, July 21, 2009,

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/21/molten-mars.html

Mars breakthrough: Scientists uncover red planet's hot and steamy secrets, 21st July, 2009.

http://www.physorg.com/news167407498.html

Enceladus episodic overturn, Scientific American, January, 2010,

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=saturn-enceladus-episodic-overturn

Saturn’s ice moon shows signs of life, The Australian, 11 January, 2010 (Page 5), http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/saturns-ice-moon-shows-signs-of-life/story-e6frg8y6-1225817874008.

The anatomy of a megathrust earthquake, Cosmos Online, 7th April, 2011.

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/online/4203/the-anatomy-a-megathrust-earthquake

Giant Jupiter helps shape solar system, Starstuff, ABC Science, 8 June, 2011, http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/science/podcast/starstuff/starstuff20110608.mp3

Neptune's day measured to the second, Cosmos Online, Monday, 4 July 2011,

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4474/neptunes-day-measured

Neptune celebrates first birthday 165 years after discovery, Starstuff, ABC Science, 20/7/2011,

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/science/podcast/starstuff/starstuff20110720.mp3

One ‘year’ on Neptune remains a mystery, ABC Science News, 14/7/2011,

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/07/14/3268823.htm

Dust particles may run rings around Pluto, ABC Science News, 10/8/2011,

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/08/10/3290120.htm

Mercury findings raise new questions, ABC Science News, 22/3/2012,

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/03/22/3460456.htm

Why is the transit of Venus so rare? ABC Science – Ask an Expert, 23/5/2012 http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/05/25/3510139.htm

Other Earths could be 'in our backyard', ABC Science News, 7/2/2013, http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/02/07/3685458.htm

Record asteroid to fly close to Earth, ABC Science News, 8/2/2013,

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/02/08/3686287.htm

Asteroid to narrowly miss Earth next week, ABC News, 12/2/2013,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-08/asteroid-to-narrowly-miss-earth/4507970

Planetary science: Caught in the act, Nature News Feature, 30/1/2013,

http://www.nature.com/news/planetary-science-caught-in-the-act-1.12324?nc=1359858974694

Saturn’s rings rain on its atmosphere, ABC Science News, 11/4/2013,

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/04/11/3734009.htm

Keeping a lid on it: The controversy over Earth's oldest rocks, The Conversation, 11/11/2013, https://theconversation.com/keep-a-lid-on-it-the-controversy-over-earths-oldest-rocks-19825

Expert reaction: Earthquake in California, Australian Science Media Centre, 25/8/2014, http://www.smc.org.au/2014/08/expert-reaction-earthquake-in-california-experts-respond/

Kosciuszko explained: mystery of the Snowy Mountains solved, SMH, March 17, 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/environment/kosciuszko-explained-mystery-of-the-snowy-mountains-solved-20160314-gnj2zg

Plate tectonics just a stage in Earth’s life cycle, May 31, 2016, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/plate-tectonics-just-stage-earth%E2%80%99s-life-cycle

Asteroids delivered bulk of the Moon's water, study finds, ABC Science, 1 June 2016, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-01/asteroids-may-have-delivered-bulk-of-the-moon's-water/7463102

Does a planet need plate tectonics to develop life? The Conversation, June 29, 2016, https://theconversation.com/does-a-planet-need-plate-tectonics-to-develop-life-6130

Reposts: Australasian Science, June 29 2016,

http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/science-and-technology/does-planet-need-plate-tectonics-develop-life.html

IFLS, June 2016, http://www.iflscience.com/environment/does-a-planet-need-plate-tectonics-to-develop-life/

Cosmos, 4/7/2016, https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/does-a-planet-need-plate-tectonics-to-develop-life

Phys Org, June 29 2016, http://phys.org/news/2016-06-planet-plate-tectonics-life.html

Study Says Earth's Plate Tectonics May Be Just a Phase, Smithsonian magazine, 8/7/2016, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/study-says-earths-plate-tectonics-may-be-just-phase-180959705/

Old planets always get too hot or cold for life in the end, New Scientist, 27 July 2016,

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2099139-old-planets-always-get-too-hot-or-cold-for-life-in-the-end/

What 3.7-billion-year-old fossils mean for life on Mars, Cosmos Magazine, 01 Sept 2016,

https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/what-3-7-billion-year-old-fossils-mean-for-life-on-mars

Did meteorites create the Earth’s tectonic plates?, Cosmos Online, 26 Sep 2017, https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/did-meteorites-create-the-earth-s-tectonic-plates

Large meteorite impacts drove plate-tectonic processes on the early Earth, PhysOrg, 26 Sep 2017, https://phys.org/news/2017-09-large-meteorite-impacts-drove-plate-tectonic.html

Did giant meteorites activate our tectonic plates? New Zealand Herald, 26 Sep 2017, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11926492

Huge space rocks could have helped start Earth’s plate tectonics, New Scientist, 25 Sep 2017, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2148366-huge-space-rocks-could-have-helped-start-earths-plate-tectonics/

Earth’s earliest tectonics driven by impacts, Nature Asia, 26 Sep 2017, https://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/12193

Why Earth’s Cracked Crust May Be Essential for Life, Quanta Magazine, June 7, 2018, https://www.quantamagazine.org/plate-tectonics-may-be-essential-for-life-20180607?fbclid=IwAR037JSEkurRKqBauLW3VgQr21O2TtNas-LN3Po8i4JDIczSRbU6QqyHwnU

A 'seiche' wave can outpace a tsunami and both can be triggered by meteorites and earthquakes, The Conversation, 4 April, 2019, https://theconversation.com/a-seiche-wave-can-outpace-a-tsunami-and-both-can-be-triggered-by-meteorites-and-earthquakes-114753

Reposts: ABC News, 4 April 2019, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-04/a-seiche-wave-can-outpace-a-tsunami-meteorite-earthquake/10970306?fbclid=IwAR1uFGRGz4d-8Wmf15XtJrhKAJrg0UWHXfGXNfq9BkTlD2EIfAC1sPod12E

How the dinosaurs went extinct: asteroid collision triggered potentially deadly volcanic eruptions, The Conversation, Feb 22, 2019, https://theconversation.com/how-the-dinosaurs-went-extinct-asteroid-collision-triggered-potentially-deadly-volcanic-eruptions-112134

Moonquakes measured during Apollo missions suggest the Moon may still be tectonically active, study finds, ABC Science 14 May, 2019, https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-05-14/moon-tectonic-activity-moonquake-study/11106794?fbclid=IwAR0VS3wkmrWb852jI9BluiFrXPqkvgtSkxLZaye_2BlOQLNfR5Oq1rZynGg

How did Earth get its water? A spacecraft in the desert offers a new answer, The Age, 5 May 2019, https://www.theage.com.au/national/how-did-earth-get-its-water-a-spacecraft-in-the-desert-offers-a-new-answer-20190505-p51k6o.html?fbclid=IwAR37Gke2Ro44d0COpenfDPW69Kxo8yRIpkWpQymh_xM2m2EvYvyIkD6GwAM

Life in the Galaxy: maybe this is as good as it gets? Goldschmidt press release, 22 June 2020 (https://goldschmidt.info/2020/pressReleasesView).

Reposts:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/gc-lit061920.php

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astronomy/plate-tectonics-and-the-search-for-life/

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/alien-life-most-likely-to-have-evolved-on-older-planets

http://astrobiology.com/2020/06/life-in-the-galaxy-is-this-as-good-as-it-gets.html

https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/maybe-life-on-earth-is-as-good-as-it-gets/

https://www.courthousenews.com/life-more-likely-to-exist-on-older-milky-way-planets/

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2020/06/24/a-catalog-of-celestial-exotica/

https://www.space.com/milky-way-exoplanets-life-early-formation.html

https://www.cnet.com/news/time-might-be-running-out-for-alien-life-in-the-milky-way/

https://www.iflscience.com/space/life-may-have-developed-sooner-rather-than-later-in-a-galaxys-history/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/time-might-be-running-out-for-alien-life-in-the-milky-way/ar-BB15SGQ9

https://www.smalltechnews.com/archives/168397

Why are we sending missions to Mars? 22nd July, 2020. https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/july-2020/Please-explain-why-are-we-sending-missions-to-Mars

Ceres is an ocean world with active geology, according to close-up data from NASA spacecraft Dawn, ABC Science, 11 Aug 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-08-11/nasa-spacecraft-dawn-reveals-dwarf-planet-ceres-ocean-world/12535630

Please explain: Why is NASA returning to the Moon? The Lighthouse, 16 Oct, 2020, https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/please-explain/october-2020/please-explain-why-is-nasa-returning-to-the-moon

NASA finds water on the Moon, raising hopes for exploration and habitation, ABC Science, 27 Oct, 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-27/water-molecules-discovered-on-moon-using-nasa-flying-telescope/12806148

It’s confirmed. There is water on the Moon, Cosmos Magazine Online, 27 October 2020, https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astronomy/its-confirmed-there-is-water-on-the-moon/

Stellar Smashups May Fuel Planetary Habitability, Study Suggests, Scientific American, 17 Nov 2020,

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stellar-smashups-may-fuel-planetary-habitability-study-suggests/.

 

 

Radio:

8/8/06 9:49 ABC Central Australia (Alice Springs) Morning show with Katya Quigley

8/8/06 Syn radio (RMIT, Melbourne) Interview with Will Ockenden

9/8/06 6:17 ABC Central Australia (Alice Springs) The rural report with Luke Fitzgerald

9/8/06 12:24 ABC Central Australia (Alice Springs) NT Country hour with Adrienne Francis

11/8/06 7:00 ABC radio National (Sydney) Relayed interview with Fitzgerald

15/08/06 11:28 ABC Radio National (Canberra) Bush Telegraph with Margo Foster - relayed interview with Fitzgerald

16/08/06 11:30 Radio Adelaide Life 107.9 Interview with Kari.

17/10/06 11:30 (prerecorded) 2SER 107.3 Radio Interview with David Myton.

6/03/07 10:00am ABC WA Morning show with Wayne Dowsett, prerecorded.

-amongst many other recent appearances.


 

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