Today (8th June) marks World Ocean Day, celebrated annually since 1992 World Ocean Day is a chance to celebrate the 71% of our planet covered by the Ocean and reflect on the actions we need to take to preserve this vital part of our Earth System. Each year, World Ocean Day has a different theme, this year the focus is on Life and Livelihoods, seeking to represent the interconnections between the O ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The most important aspect of your PhD: supervisor-student relationship
There are many variables when applying for a PhD programme (country, system, length, funding, project, etc.). In regards to choosing a supervisor, I did my best to make an educated choice, and I really lucked out in terms of the people that I am working with. In the past 3.5 years, I have received scientific and professional support, mentorship, networking opportunities, creative encouragem ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Life on the (Ice) Edge: Antarctic Seabirds and Sea Ice
The vast expanse of Antarctic sea-ice may appear inhospitable at first, but the region supports one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. Amongst the organisms that call Antarctica home, certain seabird species have become so well adapted to the harsh conditions that they not only survive in the region, but flourish. Like all Antarctic organisms, seabirds are intricately linked to the contin ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The Sassy Scientist – Race to the Deadline
After snoozing their alarm for the 50th time, Alex gets started with their day. They should be writing their thesis first thing after breakfast, but instead they write to the Sassy Scientist: How do you manage to meet writing deadlines as a PhD student? Dear Alex, Ah! You have reached the writing stage. I assume then your pin board is full of post-it notes with goals for ‘next week’. B ...[Read More]
Geodesy
Meet the new Geodesy Division Deputy President
It’s time to introduce a new member of the Geodesy Division Team: Roelof Rietbroek. You might remember Roelof from some years ago when he was the Geodesy ECS Representative and then later also became the Union ECS Representative. Now he has started to take over a new role as the deputy president within the Geodesy Division. We asked him a few questions so you can get to know him better. &nbs ...[Read More]
Climate: Past, Present & Future
Life of a Climate Scientist presents Venugopal (Venu) Reddy Thandlam
About the blog series: Life of a Climate scientist Life of a Climate Scientist is a new blog series started by the EGU Climate Division. The main focus of this series is to provide a platform for climate scientists to tell their stories of life in research. We will be covering a wide-range of subjects, from their scientific endeavors and maintaining work-life balance to challenges they have faced ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
Introducing the new blog team!
Another year, another blog team! This time we have a lot of diverse roles (editors, topical editors, Sassy Scientist columnists, and illustrators!) and a lot of diverse people. Whoopee! So here is the lovely blog team of 2021 – 2022, ready to start blogging from next week onwards! If you are interested in joining yourself or want to reach out to any of the blog team, don’t hesitate to ...[Read More]
Hydrological Sciences
Brian Berkowitz (2021 John Dalton Medallist) on modelling fluid flow and chemical transport in hydrology: complexity vs. simplicity
The EGU 2021 John Dalton Medal of the EGU Division on Hydrological Sciences was awarded to Brian Berkowitz for his seminal contributions to analysis of flow and anomalous transport in natural porous and fractured media, with pioneering experimental methods and novel conceptual frameworks. His medal lecture was presented at the online vEGU 2021 meeting. We invited Brian to contribute a blog post to ...[Read More]
Tectonics and Structural Geology
TS Must-Read – Molnar and Lyon-Caen (1988): Some simple physical aspects of the support, structure and evolution of mountain belts
In 1988 Peter Molnar and Hélène Lyon-Caen published their “Must-Read” paper on the support, structure and evolution of mountain belts. It is an article that touches on some core issues of plate tectonics by looking at two types of forces that resist mountain building, using key observations from Asian and American mountain chains. They name the first force “mechanical strength”, and to approximate ...[Read More]
Seismology
Narcissistic abuse in academia
Let’s talk about narcissistic abuse in academia. Many of us have become scientists out of passion and curiosity. Such mental resources are crucial in research, where working hours can get long, experiments can fail, career prospects and funding are scarce. However, even the most passionate may not withstand all of the possible difficulties thrown their way — especially workplace abuse, which may t ...[Read More]