EGU Blogs

Will Hutchison February 7, 2018

Building a lava dome: one block at a time

Lava domes form when lava is extruded from a volcanic vent, but is too viscous to flow far away. Think of thick treacle that does not flow as easily as runny honey, and so when it is extruded, it forms a “lava pile” around the vent. Lava domes commonly form within the crater of a larger volcano (e.g. Mt. St. Helens), but can also stand alone or form part of a “dome complex”. A lava dome can take o ...[Read More]

GeoLog

Imaggeo on Mondays: Robberg Peninsula – a home of seals

Elizaveta Kovaleva, February 5, 2018

This picture is taken from the Robberg Peninsula, one of the most beautiful places, and definitely one of my favorite places in South Africa. The Peninsula forms the Robberg Nature Reserve and is situated close to the Plettenberg Bay on the picturesque Garden Route. “Rob” in Dutch means “seal”, so the name of the Peninsula is translated as “the seal mountain”. T ...[Read More]

NH

Natural Hazards

“Twenty or more Leagues Under the Sea”: A journey to understand submarine canyons

Luigi Lombardo February 5, 2018

As NhET, we have the pleasure to have Mauro Agate as our guest and interviewee today. We discuss about submarine canyons and related geo-hazards. Further details will be available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967064513002488 for a scientific-oriented audience; or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWErQNoZYpJhhkxPa82x5g for a broader audience. Dr. Mauro Agate is a ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the week – How hard can it be to melt a pile of ice?!

Céline Heuzé February 2, 2018

Snow, sub-zero temperatures for several days, and then back to long grey days of near-constant rain. A normal winter week in Gothenburg, south-west Sweden. Yet as I walk home in the evening, I can’t help but notice that piles of ice have survived. Using the equations that I normally need to investigate the demise of Greenland glaciers, I want to know: how hard can it be to melt this pile of ice by ...[Read More]

GM

Geomorphology

Do glaciers really do all the work? Perhaps not.

EGU Guest blogger February 2, 2018

Kerry Leith from the Engineering Geology Department at the ETH Zürich set up a post on their latest publication and the backstory behind it. As they announced on their own website (www.stressdriven.com) review comments ranged from “mediocre or poor” to “[…] provocative, potentially revolutionary (if correct) analysis”. It surely contains interesting thoughts. – ...[Read More]

GeoLog

EGU 2018: How to make the most of your time at the General Assembly without breaking the bank

Laura Roberts-Artal February 2, 2018

Attending a conference is not cheap, even if you’ve been lucky enough to secure some funds to help with travel, accommodation and/or registration costs. However, with a little insider knowledge from those who’ve attended the General Assembly many times before, it is possible to have a (scientifically) rewarding week in Vienna, without breaking the bank. Before you get there A sure way to save a fe ...[Read More]

TS

Tectonics and Structural Geology

Paris: From quarry to catacombs

Anouk Beniest February 2, 2018

Paris, 2000 ya. Claude is sweating all over. It’s mid-July and the sun is burning on his skin. With his hammer and shovel he is digging up grey and white stones. The faults and fractures in the rock help him to get the rocks out easily. But still, it’s hot and humid and his shift isn’t over yet. Luckily he can’t complain about the view. Lutetia, one of the new Roman settlements lies right in front ...[Read More]

GeoLog

January GeoRoundup: the best of the Earth sciences from across the web

Chloe Hill January 31, 2018

Drawing inspiration from popular stories on our social media channels, as well as unique and quirky research news, this monthly column aims to bring you the best of the Earth and planetary sciences from around the web. Major stories The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2017 is among the three warmest years on record. The three years with the highest temperature on record ...[Read More]

GeoLog

GeoTalk: Eleanor Frajka-Williams, the 2017 Ocean Sciences Division Outstanding Early Career Scientists Awardee

Laura Roberts-Artal January 31, 2018

Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. Following the EGU General Assembly, we spoke to Eleanor Frajka-Williams, the 2017 Ocean Sciences Division Outstanding Early Career Scientists awardee. In her work, Eleanor uses real-world measurements – from ships, satellites, sea gliders and moorings – to understand how the world’s oceans work. In today ...[Read More]

GMPV

Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

Living with volcanic gases

Will Hutchison January 30, 2018

Professor Tamsin Mather, a volcanologist in Oxford’s Department of Earth Sciences reflects on her many fieldwork experiences at Masaya volcano in Nicaragua, and what she has learned about how they effect the lives of the people who live around them. Over the years, fieldwork at Masaya volcano in Nicaragua, has revealed many secrets about how volcanic plumes work and impact the environment, ...[Read More]