North Sea’s golden goose
QUESTION Why is North Sea oil known as
Brent crude?
The Brent oil and gas field is in the east Shetland Basin of the North Sea, 115 miles north-east of the Shetland Islands. It is named after the Brent goose.
The initials B-R-e-N-T are given to the layers of rock, dating from the Middle Jurassic period, that make up the field. each represents a highland loch: Broom, Rannoch, etive, Ness and Tarbert.
Shell named its oilfields after birds in order of discovery. Its North Sea fields are Auk, Bittern, Brent, Cormorant, Dunlin, eider, egret, Gannet, Goldeneye, Guillemot, heron, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Mallard, Merlin, Osprey, Pelican, Penguin, Skua, Starling, Teal and Tern.
The Brent goose, which is of similar size to a mallard, has a black head and neck and grey-brown back, with a pale or dark belly, depending on type.
Around 100,000 dark-bellied Brent geese travel to Britain each autumn from their nesting grounds in Siberia. They spend the winter in our sheltered estuaries and coastal marshes. The Canada goose ( Branta canadensis) is a close relative.
The Brent goose’s Latin name is Branta bernicla: Branta is from the Old Norse Brandgas meaning burnt while bernicla means barnacle.
Brent was once one of Britain’s most lucrative oil fields. When production began in 1976, its expected lifespan was 25 years. Through i mprovement in extraction techniques, this was extended to more than 40 years.
It’s now being decommissioned after all the economically recoverable reserves of oil and gas have been extracted.
Dr Ken Bristow, Glasgow.
QUESTION Was the reward of $100,000 claimed for the death or capture of John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated U.S. President Abraham Lincoln?
The U.S. government was so stunned by the murder of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 that it offered a reward of $100,000 — worth almost $1.5 million in today’s money — for the apprehension of the three major suspects. Wanted posters were distributed nationwide and the biggest manhunt in the country’s history was soon under way.
Two of the wanted men, the assassin John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David herold, were tracked down within 12 days to a barn in Virginia.
Booth was shot dead and herold surrendered. he was later tried and hanged. The third suspect, John Surratt Jr, fled to Canada.
Numerous people staked claims for a share of the reward. After unpleasant infighting between rival claimants, the War Department a nd house of Representatives settled matters by awarding detective everton Conger $15,000 and Lafayette Baker, who spearheaded the murder investigation, $3,750.
The leader of the 16th New York Cavalry Regiment, Lt edward Doherty, received $5,250 and detective Luther Baker, who was Lafayette’s cousin, got $3,000.
Boston Corbett, who shot Booth, was given the smallest amount, $1,653 and 85 cents, as were 25 of his fellow cavalrymen. Four other investigators and soldiers involved in the manhunt shared $5,000 between them.
Only three-quarters of the $100,000 was rewarded because nothing was paid out for Surratt, who was arrested in egypt and extradited.
Charged with murder, he was released after a mis-trial. The statute of limitations meant it was impossible to press other charges against him, though his mother Mary was hanged for offering a safe house to the conspirators.
Ian MacDonald, Billericay, Essex.
QUESTION How do you qualify to be a professor?
IN FRANCe, Germany and Italy, an academic who wishes to be promoted to a professorship must write a lengthy academic document that indicates what contribution they have made to knowledge through their research.
Its quality is judged by a panel of professors who are experts in the field. This process is called habilitation.
Furthermore, the applicants need a PhD and several years of recognised research experience.
In Britain, most professors will have a PhD, but it is not essential. each university can award a professorship on its own criteria. Academics must submit an application that indicates how they meet the university’s criteria.
It is also possible to apply for any vacant professorships that are advertised by undergoing a selection process.
Only a select few make it. A study by the Royal Society found that just 3.5 per cent of students who complete a PhD secure a permanent research position at a university. Of those lucky few, only 12 per cent become a professor.
S. K. Willis, Reading, Berks.
QUESTION Was the career of 1960s pop star P. J. Proby ruined after his trousers split on stage?
FURTheR to P. J. Proby’s troublesome seams, my late mother was a Savile Row trouser maker for the gentry and Army officers in the 1950s and 1960s. All her work was done by hand stitching.
I remember her coming home very upset one evening because she had been instructed to make a pair of trousers for a Mr P. J. Proby with cotton that would easily break.
She was very proud of her work and it disturbed her greatly to have to make a pair of trousers that would deliberately split for a publicity stunt.
My mother later had to give up tailoring owing to her eyes deteriorating from spending so much time hand sewing very small stitches i n black cotton on black material.
Alfred Butler, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
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