View of the Medicina observatory. The site hosts a superconducting gravimeter (SG) installed in a dedicated building next to a piezometer. Local height variations are monitored by means of two GPS stations, located at the end of the N-S segment of the “North Cross” radio telescope. The two GPS stations are about 30 m apart and are close to a VLBI antenna. ...[Read More]
Post by Anne Van Loon, Lecturer in Physical Geography (Water sciences) at the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom. __________________________________________________ The basis for (almost) all scientific work, at least in the earth and environmental sciences, is DATA. We all need data to search for the answers to our questions. There are a number of options to get hold of data; we can ...[Read More]
Mountain natural streams and reservoirs have a relevant hydrological and ecological importance since they represent reliable sources of freshwater supply to lowland regions and high-quality habitats for fish and cold-water communities. Moreover, streams in mountain environments are of significant importance for users in several socio-economic sectors, such as agriculture, tourism and hydropower. G ...[Read More]
Next week the UN Annual Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will discuss the science required for “transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”. Discussions will focus on SDGs 6 (water and sanitation), 7 (energy), 11 (sustainable cities), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 15 (life on land). This forum will bring to ...[Read More]
Generally, students are taught basic science and given a rudimentary overview of the political system from a young age. I remember learning how to do basic experiments from the age of 7 and learning about the Australian Parliament not long after that. We had specific classes dedicated to various scientific disciplines in high school and when I went onto study environmental science in my Bachelors ...[Read More]
Whilst we tend to think of the ice flow in Antarctica as a very slow and steady process, the wonders of satellites have shown over the last two decades it is one of the most dynamic places on Earth! This image of the week maps this dynamical change using all the satellite tools at a scientist’s disposal with novel statistical methods to work out why the change has recently been so rapid. Why do ...[Read More]
Konichiwa from Tokyo and JpGU2018! This week, 20-24 May, the Japanese Geoscience Union (JpGU) is holding its annual union meeting just outside of Tokyo, in Chiba (about 40 minutes by metro). I am fortunate enough to be on a research visit to the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Tech over on the other side of the city and so attending JpGU was a bonus. It is my first time in attendance ...[Read More]
December 2004 saw one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. 228,000 people were killed when an earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered tsunami waves up to 30 m high. The destruction was extreme as the waves hit 14 different countries around the Indian Ocean. Economic losses totalled over 10 billion US dollars. The tourism industry in particular suff ...[Read More]
![Fire, Fog, Frost, Famine – French Revolution? The Lakagígar eruption in Iceland, 1783-1784 [Part 2]](https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gmpv/wp-content/blogs.dir/19/files/2018/05/banner1-2-700x400.jpg)
PART II: Were the Haze Hardships caused by Men? Famine Before the Lakagígar eruption, the population of Iceland was 48810 people; four years later, it was down to 38518. Disregarding about 1500 deaths which were caused by a smallpox epidemic, the eruption may still have killed about 1/6 of the population [5]. These deaths were not directly caused by the lava or by toxic gases. The main cause was h ...[Read More]
Today I have the pleasure to interview Dr. Evangelos Tziritis, a brilliant scientist and a friend. He will talk to us about Natural groundwater quality hazard and its implications. This blog aim is to discuss Natural Hazards. Therefore, today we will focus on the natural component of water quality, disregarding anthropogenic sources. Evangelos is a Research Scientist at the Soil and Water Resourc ...[Read More]
