Looking out over the sea on a quiet day with no wind, the word “flat” would certainly pop up in your mind to describe the sea surface. However, this serene view of a flat sea surface is far from accurate at the global scale. The apparent simplicity behind the concept of sea level hides more complex science that we hope to explain in a simple manner in today’s “For Dummies” post, which will g ...[Read More]
Last week, the EGU Science Policy Fellow packed her bags and flew to Brussels. Now this wasn’t to sample some of the fine beers Belgium has to offer, but to attend the 2nd International Network on Government Science Advice (INGSA) Conference. This conference, co-organised by INGSA and the European Commission, aimed to discuss the major principles needed for effective science advice to governments, ...[Read More]
Microbialites – structures which result from the interaction between microbes and sediments – have existed in the rock record since 3700 Ma ago until the present day. The presence of microbes in environments where mineral precipitation is prevalent, usually derives in the development of such chemical sedimentary structures. This can take place in marine, non-marine, and subterranean environm ...[Read More]
The newest addition to the Network Blogs is a groundwater nerd blog written by a global collective of hydrogeologic researchers for water resource professionals, academics and anyone interested in groundwater, research, teaching and supervision. Water Underground was started, and is currently led, by Tom Gleeson. It is the first blog to be jointly hosted by the EGU Blogs and the AGU blogosphere. W ...[Read More]
Today’s topic in Features of the Field is the well-known soft-sediment deformation; one of the most common phenomena which develop during, or shortly after deposition. The sediments; for this reason, need to be “liquid-like” or unsolidified for the deformation to occur. The most common places for soft-sediment deformations to form are deep water basins with turbidity currents, rivers, ...[Read More]
Have you ever stumbled upon a satellite picture showing observations of the Arctic or Antarctic? You often see a circle where there is no data around the exact location of the geographic pole – as you can see in our Image of the Week. A few days ago, I wanted to explain this to one of my friends and turned to my favourite search engine for help. My search turned up a tremendous amount of sto ...[Read More]
While women in geosciences are awarded 40% doctoral degrees, they hold less than 10% of full professorial positions. In looking for the cause of this disparity, the postdoctoral years have been identified as a crucial step, before and during which many women leave the Academia. A recent study by Dutt et al., published this month in Nature Geoscience, investigated biases in recommendation letters f ...[Read More]
In 1781, William Herschel discovers a faint uncatalogued point in his telescope. He first thinks he has discovered a comet, but the orbit of the new object seems more of a planetary nature. This will be confirmed by subsequent observations: the planet Uranus has been discovered! Many years later, in the early nineteenth century, questions remain: the calculated orbit of Uranus does not match the o ...[Read More]
The Earth’s magnetic field extends from the core of the planet, right out to space. It is an invisible, butterfly-like, shield which protects us against the harmful particles ejected by solar flares. In addition, it guards us from atmospheric erosion and water loss caused by solar wind. But how do scientists study the Earth’s magnetic field when it can’t be see? Much of what is known results from ...[Read More]
It’s a clear night, much like any other, except that billions of kilometers away the Sun has gone into overdrive and (hours earlier) hurled a mass of charged particles, including protons, electrons and atoms towards the Earth. As the electrons slam into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, the night sky explodes into a spectacular display of dancing lights: aurora. Aurora remain shrouded in myste ...[Read More]
