The b-value is that parameter of the Gutenberg-Richter relation which controls the ratio of small to large earthquakes. Intriguing temporal and spatial variations of the b-value have been reported in recent years, for example sudden b-value changes at active fault zones. Are such sharp spatial b-value variations merely a result of crude undersampling? To address this unsettling question, a recentl ...[Read More]
Late last year the Rosetta’s Plasma Consortium (RPC) announced that Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft has been studying since August 2014, was singing into space. Now, in a paper published today in the EGU’s open access journal Annales Geophysicae, the RPC team reveals more details about 67P’s song, including why the comet was singing. The sounds ...[Read More]
How many times have you turned your head up to the sky and spotted familiar shapes in the clouds? Viewing structures from afar can reveal interesting, common and, sometimes, funny patterns. Satellite images are often used to map geological terrains. They offer a bird’s eye view of the planet and the opportunity to see broad scale structures, the scale of which would be impossible to grasp from the ...[Read More]
Convening a session at a conference can seem daunting, especially if you are an early career research and a first-time convener. That’s why we’ve put together this two part series to outline the main steps of the process. With the call for sessions for the 2016 EGU General Assembly open until 18 September 2015, now is the perfect time to give it a go! The key ingredients are an idea for a session, ...[Read More]
Many studies report that hydrologic regimes are modulated by large-scale modes of climate variability such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) or the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Climate-informed frequency analysis models have therefore been proposed to condition the distribution of hydrologic variables on climate indices. However, standard climate indices may be poor predictors in som ...[Read More]
The Aqueduct Global Flood Analyzer of the World Research Insitute is a web-based interactive platform which measures river flood impacts by urban damage, affected GDP, and affected population at the country, state, and river basin scale across the globe. It aims to raise the awareness about flood risks and climate change impacts by providing open access to global flood risk data free of charge. Th ...[Read More]
Mesopotamia, an area rich in history and considered as the cradle of civilisation, with the first populations establishing themselves in the region some 6000 years ago,lies between two great rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris. The ancient territory spans areas of modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, the northeastern section of Syria and small sections of southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran. The histor ...[Read More]
Rising sea levels due to climate change. Natural climatic cycles, like El Niño. Land subsidence due to fluid pumping. There are many reasons that can increase the risk of flooding of cities and other areas. We might not always be able to control it, but is there a way to better predict and prepare for it? I come from the Low Lands (Netherlands), and that means we are very close to water, living on ...[Read More]
So here is a question: why would anyone want to live in the vicinity of an active volcano? The risks are well known, with hazards arising from lava flows, lahars, ash falls, debris avalanches, and pyroclastic density currents, with many often having deadly consequences. But despite the danger, more than half a billion people live in the direct vicinity of volcanoes. Could it be that communities pr ...[Read More]
Are you a budding science writer, or want to try your hand at science communication? You might just be the person for our EGU network bloggers! A number of our network blogs would like to give their pages a bit of a boost and are seeking guest bloggers to contribute new, informative and engaging posts on an ad hoc basis. If you’ve recently been thinking about trying your hand at blogging, but aren ...[Read More]
