Do you gravitate to science because of the subject’s ability to explain complicated behaviour in nature through experimentation? When we see things or get our hands dirty by conducting experiments, it helps us comprehend scientific theories which are harder to explain. Introducing a complicated scientific theory is often carried out initially by presenting a simplified version. For example, stude ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Why the 2022 Italian snow drought matters to you
June 2022: I was discussing the ongoing drought with my family over lunch, when my dad pointed to me and summarized things as follows: “You know, less snow in winter means less water in summer!” I almost choked … what? Not only was it the first time I realized my family had been listening to my scientific anecdotes for years, but I also had concrete evidence now that snow was entering public ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The Sassy Scientist – The Free Dinner Solution
It may be not be known to the wider lectureship of this column, but every year, around May, the headquarters of EGU-blogs are up for some important (and crucially, self inflicted) bit of house-keeping: the confirmation of the members of the blog team for the incoming editorial year. Those of you with colleagues that are here with me behind the curtains, might know about it from the relentless recr ...[Read More]
Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology
Machine Learning and Volcanic Crystals: a journey with Corin Jorgenson into Random Forest Thermobarometry
Thermobarometry: a bit of background Being able to understand the eruptive style of a volcano, how the eruptive behavior can evolve over time and managing to better interpret the signals that a volcanic system gives us before an eruption are of fundamental importance for mitigating the risk associated with eruptive activities. In this context, it is extremely important to understand trans-crustal ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
Focusing on doing research or worrying about paying expenses?
Scientists and inventors like Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Nikola Tesla paved the road for generations of young people to pursue a career in STEM. Their curiosity underpinned their passion for science. Unfortunately, the bright side of something usually hides a dark side too. For example, Nikola Tesla struggled to find financial support for his experiments and inventions, often ending u ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Did you know that snow is hot?
When I was a student, Martin told me matter-of-factly that snow is hot. I probably looked as baffled as I felt (and you are probably doing the same). Were we talking about the same thing? Continue reading to discover why snow is hot! Discovering that snow is hot So why is snow hot? Most snow under Earth’s environmental conditions has a homologous temperature Th close to 1. The homologous temperatu ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The Sassy Scientist – Diamonds in the Rough
It’s that time of year again. The academic year is ramping up, everyone is back from their summer holiday and expecting miraculous things from you, the deadlines are rolling in and there is (unfortunately) no end in sight. So of course, Paxman, like many of you, is wondering: How can I feel less pressure/stress in my work? Dear Paxman, Stress? Pressure? Surely you love your research enough that ev ...[Read More]
Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology
EGU GMPV Campfires – Wednesday 28th September 11am CEST
We are happy to announce the 18th edition of our very own GMPV Campfires! This edition will be focusing on Mineralogy and Petrology and will be held on Wednesday 28th September at 11am CEST on Zoom. Our three speakers are: Beatrice Celata (PhD Student @ Sapienza University of Rome) – Tourmaline breakdown experiments applied to subduction systems: preliminary results. Norbert Toth (PhD Stude ...[Read More]
Nonlinear Processes in Geosciences
What the 2022 summer thunderstorms in the Mediterranean tell us about the ongoing climate change?
The 2022 European summer was governed by the presence of a persistent cold drop (low pressure area) located between Portugal and France. The change in its position has determined the alternation between hot conditions (low pressure center over Portugal) and stormy conditions (cold drop over France). The warming of the Mediterranean Sea (up to +6°C compared to the period 1990-2020) has largely cont ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
LLSVPs: Mysteries in the Deep Mantle
Did you know that there are big, blob-like anomalies in the deep mantle which are larger than a continent and rise up to hundreds of kilometers from the core-mantle boundary? Today’s post is all about those blobs and what we know and do not know about them. If you want to know more about why these blobs are so interesting to study, check out this other cool blog post by Jamie Ward. If you look at ...[Read More]