GeoLog

Natural Hazards

A better framework for disasters

November 13, 2018
A better framework for disasters
The 2018 Carr Fire that burned 229,651 acres in California. It's currently listed as the seventh-largest wildfire recorded in the state's modern history. (Photo: Bureau of Land Management California via Bureau of Land Management California)

The end of the Northern hemisphere summer tends to be a good time to regroup from natural hazards, as the frequency and intensity of storms, as well as the incidence of wildfires, tends to trail off. At the time of writing, however, Hurricane Willa had just crashed into Mexico, while Typhoon Yutu has just hit the Northern Mariana Islands so hard that any equipment designed to record wind-speed had ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Hole in a hole in a hole…

October 29, 2018
Imaggeo on Mondays: Hole in a hole in a hole…
Hole in a hole in a hole.. Credit: Djamil Al-Halbouni (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This photo, captured by drone about 80 metres above the ground, shows a nested sinkhole system in the Dead Sea. Such systems typically take form in karst areas, landscapes where soluble rock, such as limestone, dolomite or gypsum, are sculpted and perforated by dissolution and erosion. Over time, these deteriorating processes can cause the surface to crack and collapse. The olive-green hued sinkho ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: How climate change put a damper on the Maya civilisation

October 25, 2018
Geosciences Column: How climate change put a damper on the Maya civilisation
Overview of the central plaza of the Maya city of Palenque (Chiapas, Mexico), one of the many remnants of the Maya civilisation. (Credit: Jan Harenburg via Wikimedia Commons)

More than 4,000 years ago, when the Great Pyramid of Giza and Stonehenge were being built, the Maya civilisation emerged in Central America. The indigenous group prospered for thousands of years until its fall in the 13th century (potentially due to severe drought). However, thousands of years before this collapse, severely soggy conditions lasting for many centuries likely inhibited the civilisat ...[Read More]