GMPV
Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

Societal impacts

Volcanoes and social media make us (more?) crazy

and April 20, 2022
Volcanoes and social media make us (more?) crazy
South-East Crater of Mount Etna, 13.2.2022. Photo by Daniele Musumeci

Many people are drawn to danger and behaviors that can harm their health or finances. Dangerous activities include the attraction that humans have always had towards natural events, such as volcanic eruptions, or towards gambling, adventure, challenging travels or physical activities without the ability or the necessary preparation. In today’s life many people face risks, however these risks ...[Read More]

Exploring parachute science in analytical geoscience

December 1, 2021
Crater lakes, Kelimutu Volcano, Indonesia.
Crater lakes, Kelimutu Volcano, Indonesia. Credit: Danielle Su (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

During this past October, a team of researchers took part in a “hackathon” organised by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to generate data and new ideas to increase diversity in geoscience. This was an extremely hectic, sometimes stressful but fun and illuminating experience which ultimately culminated in a pilot funding bid (which we learned this week has been successful!). Our i ...[Read More]

Volcanoes and Wines, Part 1

and August 5, 2021
Volcano and Wine pt1 frontpage
On the left picture of Bromo Mountain in East Java Indonesia, photo by ibrahim kusuma on Unsplash. On the right a view of Mt Vesuvius through a vineyard from the Pompeii ruins near Naples, Italy. Photo by Pieter Biesemans on Unsplash

Why talk about wine on the GMPV blog? Well, this geologist-favourite drink is not only good memories of the EGU General Assembly but also a topic that spans among all the GMPV categories. Indeed, wine composition, flavour, structure and quality are inevitably bound to the mineralogy and geochemistry of the soil, making it so common and appreciated since ancient times. And what gives us a nice comp ...[Read More]

Fire, Fog, Frost, Famine – French Revolution? The Lakagígar eruption in Iceland, 1783-1784 [Part 2]

May 22, 2018
Fire, Fog, Frost, Famine – French Revolution? The Lakagígar eruption in Iceland, 1783-1784 [Part 2]
Lava fountains of the fissure eruption in Holuhraun, northeast of Bárðarbunga (Iceland) in 2014. The fountains are about 70-90 meters in height. Image credit: Joschenbacher

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]