In June 2016, Paris was transformed. The River Seine burst its banks, submerging some of the nearby roads; floodwater lapped at the tops of street lamps and traffic lights. The event marked the the worst flooding in Paris for more than 30 years. When a flood event hits a major city, numerous researchers are keen to collect data for their work. However, Rosa Vicari, a PhD student at the the École d ...[Read More]
VolcanicDegassing
Why does it always rain (ash) on me?
On May 1st, 1812, a remarkable weather system reached Barbados. ‘At half-past twelve AM a heavy dark cloud obscured the heavens completely. [..] at half past one a sandy grit began to fall in small quantities‘. Through the night there was the sound of explosions and thunder, and by late afternoon, Barbados had been blanketed in several centimetres depth of ash. The origin of the ̵ ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
EGU 2018: convening a session
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2018 took place in Vienna, Austria, from 8–13 April 2018 and brought together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. If you are an early career research, convening a session at the EGU General Assembly can seem intimidating, especially if you are a first-time con ...[Read More]
Natural Hazards
Permafrost fever, do we need a doctor?
Today we will shed some light on permafrost thanks to Dr. Dmitry (Dima) Streletskiy. Dima is an Assistant Professor of Geography and International Affairs at the George Washington University. He leads several research grants focusing on various aspects of climate change and its impacts on natural and human systems in the Arctic. Streletskiy is the President Elect of the United Sates Permafrost Ass ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Iceland’s original birch forest
Iceland is a country of dramatically rugged landscapes. The region is home to sweeping valleys and mountain ranges, dotted with lava fields, large glaciers, hot springs and impressive waterfalls. The territory is also notoriously treeless. As of 2016, forests only made up 1.9 percent of Iceland, according to the Icelandic Forest Service. However, about a thousand years ago the country’s landscape ...[Read More]
GeoLog
General Assembly 2018 – Highlights
It’s been about two weeks since the EGU General Assembly 2018 in Vienna. The conference this year was a great success with 4,776 oral, 11,128 poster, and 1,419 PICO presentations. There were 666 unique scientific sessions, complimented by 68 short courses and 294 side events, making for an interesting and diverse programme. The conference brought together 15,075 scientists from 106 countries, 53% ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Image of the week — Making pancakes
It’s pitch black and twenty degrees below zero; so cold that the hairs in your nose freeze. The Arctic Ocean in autumn and winter is inhospitable for both humans and most scientific equipment. This means there are very few close-up observations of sea ice made during these times. Recently, rapidly declining coverage of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean due to warming climate and the impending likelihood ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Socio-hydrology meets Broadway: Can we survive drought if we stop using the toilet?
Post by Samuel Zipper, postdoctoral fellow at both McGill University and the University of Victoria, in Canada. You can follow Sam on Twitter at @ZipperSam. ___________________________________________________________ How can society best cope with water scarcity? With Cape Town on the verge of being the first major city to run out of water (a topic for a future post here on Water Underground), thi ...[Read More]
Geomorphology
Diving under the scientific iceberg
written by: Anne Voigtländer, Anna Schoch, Elisa Giaccone, Harry Sanders, Richard Mason, Johannes Buckel At the EGU General Assembly international researchers from all earth science communities gather and share their most recent endeavors. This year, we, a group of European young geomorphologists, tried a new session format to address challenges we all face in our research, ranging from inaccessib ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
New faces for 2018 – 2019
We found some bright new faces at the EGU GA this year, so we need to make some introductions! Both the Early Career Scientist Team and the Blog Team have expanded and it is my absolute delight to introduce to you our 2(!) ECS Representatives for 2018-2019 and our new addition to the blog team (also see this post if you have forgotten the other members of the blog team)! ECS Representatives Nico S ...[Read More]