GeoLog

California

Imaggeo on Mondays: Sunset and moonrise at Yosemite

Imaggeo on Mondays: Sunset and moonrise at Yosemite

This side view of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park (California, USA) was taken from Washburn Point, a less frequented overlook a few hundred meters away from the popular Glacier Point outlook. The sun just on the right side behind the camera, which gave the orange tint to the back side of Half Dome. At the same time a full moon was mere minutes from bursting in the background, which resulted in ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Using volcanoes to study carbon emissions’ long-term environmental effect

Geosciences Column: Using volcanoes to study carbon emissions’ long-term environmental effect

In a world where carbon dioxide levels are rapidly rising, how do you study the long-term effect of carbon emissions? To answer this question, some scientists have turned to Mammoth Mountain, a volcano in California that’s been releasing carbon dioxide for years. Recently, a team of researchers found that this volcanic ecosystem could give clues to how plants respond to elevated levels of carbon d ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Bristlecone pines, some of Earth’s oldest living life forms

Imaggeo on Mondays: Bristlecone pines, some of Earth’s oldest living life forms

About 5,000 years ago, the ancient city Troy was founded, Stonehenge was under construction, and in the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range, groves of bristlecone pine seedlings began to take root. Many of these pines are still alive today, making them the world’s oldest known living non-clonal life forms. Raphael Knevels, a PhD student from the Friedrich-Schiller-University’s Department of Geogra ...[Read More]

Wildfires in the wake of climate change

Wildfires in the wake of climate change

Last year saw some of the biggest blazes in history, and may be a sign of things to come. 2017 was a record year for wildfires. California and neighboring western states saw the most destructive fire in US history, with an estimated 18 billion dollars worth of damage over the season. In central Portugal, fires caused 115 deaths over the same period. Researchers presenting at a press conference at ...[Read More]