GeoLog

Imaggeo

Imaggeo on Mondays: The shrinking of Earth’s saltiest lake

One of the consequences of the rapid fall of the water level (>1 m per year), is that vast areas of salt-rich ground of the shrunken Dead Sea are prone to strong dissolution and mechanical erosion of the subsurface processes.

The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest lakes on Earth, located at the lowest point of the globe.  For centuries it has been known for the restorative powers of its muds and waters. Their hypersalinity means it is possible to easily float on the lake’s surface. Bordering Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, it is a unique environment in an otherwise arid region.  Changing climate, which is seeing tempera ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: White rainbow in the Arctic

“Above the foggy strip, this white arch was shining, covering one third of the visible sky in the direction of the ship's bow,” he explains. “It was a so-called white, or fog rainbow, which appears on the fog droplets, which are much smaller then rain droplets and cause different optic effects, which is a reason of its white colour.”

Despite heading into the long polar night – the time when the sun doesn’t shine in the globe’s most northerly latitudes and when temperatures drop and thick sheets of sea ice form -the Arctic is reported to be 20° C warmer than average for this time of year.  Never has it been more important to understand the effects of climate change on Polar Regions. Mikhail Varentsov, a climate and meteor ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Isolated storm

Imaggeo on Mondays: Isolated storm

Clouds and storms are formed when warm, moist air rises. This causes the air to expand and cool: forming clouds as the moisture condenses onto particles suspended in the air (called cloud condensation nuclei). Normally, air rises from surface heating, or when warm and cold air pockets collide, or if air is pushed upwards when passing over hills or mountains. If this heating, and subsequent rising, ...[Read More]