The Cretaceous The Cretaceous period features a particularly interesting climatic episode in the Earth’s geological history. It follows the Jurassic Period, better known as the time the dinosaurs inhabited Earth and spanned the period between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago. The Cretaceous is the last period of the Mesozoic Era, which ends with a well-known mass extinction event. At the end of th ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Fairy chimneys in Love Valley
Every year tourists from around the world flock to Love Valley in Göreme National Park in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey to marvel at the region’s peculiarly pointy geological features. These cone-shaped formations, known as ‘fairy chimneys’ or hoodoos, dominate the park’s skyline, with some rocky spires extending up to 40 metres towards the sky. While the name ‘fairy chimney’ suggests my ...[Read More]
GeoLog
GeoTalk: To understand how ice sheets flow, look at the bedrock below
Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. In this interview we speak to Mathieu Morlighem, an associate professor of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine who uses models to better understand ongoing changes in the Cryosphere. At the General Assembly he was the recipient of a 2018 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scient ...[Read More]
Solar-Terrestrial Sciences
SunPy: a Python solar data analysis environment
Introduction For many years now we know that our star the Sun influences the Earth in many different ways, via the total solar irradiance, solar energetic particles and coronal mass ejections. Understanding the influence of the Sun on the Earth requires many different types of measurements. For example, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft, produces over 1 terabyte of data per day (P ...[Read More]
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology
Slimy Landscapes
When we think about how our landscapes evolve and change we probably tend to go straight for the big stuff, things like the climate, tectonics or geology, and in my previous blog I looked at how rainfall contributes to changing the planet’s surface. However, it is not just the big stuff which controls these changes, smaller things do as well, for example changes in land cover (ie, from grasses to ...[Read More]
GeoLog
An overnight train view of China’s Anthropocene – Part 1
The nighttrain from Shanghai to Beijing is a comfortable affair. The train is new and clean. My travel partner and I can charge our phones and relax on soft beds. The railway is almost frictionless, and overall the experience is similar to any ride in the West. But outside, as the vehicle roars through the early night, things become increasingly hazy. As we reach further out from the Shanghai metr ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Getting involved with EGU!
Today’s featured photo comes from the 2017 General Assembly. Did you enjoy this year’s 666 unique scientific sessions, 68 short courses and 294 side events? Did you know that EGU members and conference attendees can play an active role in shaping the scientific programme of the conference? It’s super easy! You can suggest a session (with conveners and description), and/or modific ...[Read More]
Seismology
Seismo @ school
Being a seismologist is not just doing research, it is also sharing experience and teaching the next generation. As early career scientists, we are used to share ‘our science’ during open days and career days at university. Another peculiar moment for Science outreach is the National Science week, where researchers can set up experiments and exhibitions to draw the attention of the general public ...[Read More]
Natural Hazards
Heavy metals in industrial wastewater: hazardous waste or secondary resource?
Not long ago on the blog, we have talked about natural groundwater quality triggered by geogenic factors and related hazards such as a high concentration of heavy metals. Today’s topic concerns the anthropogenic input of heavy metals into the water and how to tackle its effects efficiently. Industrial processes can lead to heavy metal-bearing wastewater, which is commonly treated by ineffi ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Help shape the conference programme: Inter- and Transdisciplinary Sessions at the 2019 General Assembly
Do you enjoy the EGU’s annual General Assembly but wish you could play a more active role in shaping the scientific programme? Now is your chance! But hurry, the session submission deadline is fast approaching. You’ve got until September 6th to propose changes. As well as the standard scientific sessions, subdivided by Programme Groups, EGU coordinates Inter- and Transdisciplinary Sessions (ITS) a ...[Read More]