Divisions

Cryospheric Sciences

The physical and social changes facing the mountainous populations of the Karakoram Range

Shakir Ahmed October 23, 2020

As a child, Shakir remembers long extreme winters with heavy snowfall and dry blistering winds, where it was hard to play outside. He grew up in a village named Gulmit, located at an elevation of 2500 m, surrounded by the high snow caped mountains in the Karakoram Range in northern Pakistan. That was 30 years ago, when climate change was still not a cause of concern for the local people. Today, in ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

The Sassy Scientist – The Philosopher’s Stone

The Sassy Scientist October 23, 2020

Hermione has finally completed her graduate studies, with some extra-curricular training that will remain unnamed here and with activities which some will not remember. Now the time has come to use that newly acquired title for good although demands, desires and duties meander through the realm of possibilities, leaving Hermione in a perpetual plight: What to do when obtaining a PhD in geodynamics ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

And the solution to your lock-down-related sadness is…

edited by Yinuo Zhang October 21, 2020

Cooking of course! Let me explain. This week, instead of doing his job, Antoine Rozel (senior researcher in ETH Zürich), shows that all your life problems will instantly disappear if you start cooking. Warning, this introductory paragraph is not going to cheer you up, skip it if you are already feeling blue unless you want to suffer a little more (that’s OK). Clearly the explosion of number ...[Read More]

HS

Hydrological Sciences

Hybrid field courses – a teaching format beyond emergency solution?

Heike Mayer and Miriam Hug October 21, 2020

Conducting field courses in times of a pandemic can be challenging. In our case, we had to cancel a planned field trip in economic geography that would have taken 19 students and two advisors to the Valle Maira in the Italian province of Cuneo in the Piemont. We had planned to spend 10 days in this region to develop ideas for sustainable development of peripheral mountain regions. Students would h ...[Read More]

TS

Tectonics and Structural Geology

Features from the Field: Angular Unconformities

Samuele Papeschi October 21, 2020

An angular unconformity is an erosional surface that truncates older, tilted sedimentary layers and that is overlain by younger layers, oriented parallel to the unconformity. The discovery and interpretation of angular unconformities, like the famous Hutton’s unconformity at Siccar Point, Scotland, marked a paradigm shift in the geological theories of the 18th century. At that time, the theo ...[Read More]

SM

Seismology

Volcano-seismology in North Korea

James Hammond October 20, 2020

For any field-based seismologist, there is nothing more satisfying than standing in a remote location, laptop in hand finalising the installation of a new broadband seismic station. In 2013 this feeling was amplified as we deployed the first, and still the only broadband seismic array in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, the formal name for North Korea). That it took almost two year ...[Read More]

ST

Solar-Terrestrial Sciences

Filmmakers get creative with the sounds of satellite data

Dr Martin Archer October 19, 2020

One of the major motivations behind research into solar-terrestrial physics is the potential consequences of space weather on our technologically dependent society. Given this risk, recognised by many governments around the world, it is a little concerning that a sizable fraction of the public have never even heard of the term “space weather” – for example a recent public dialogue in the UK showed ...[Read More]

SSP

Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Tips for presenting a Webinar

Stephen Lokier October 19, 2020

While many of us are experienced in giving presentations before a variety of audiences, for some, the switch to a remote presentation format can be daunting. With this in mind, and based on our experiences at sedsonline.com I have put together the following tips for our community – these are in no way exhaustive, but I do hope that you find them useful and I welcome any feedback or comments. Happy ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

Women of Cryo II: Dr Lu Li

Emma Pearce October 16, 2020

Women make up 50.8% of the worlds population, yet fewer than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. Of this percentage, BAME (Black Asia and Minority Ethnic) comprise around 5%, with less than 1% represented in geoscience faculty positions. The divide between women in the population and women in STEM needs to be addressed. Through a series of blog posts we hope to raise the voice of women in th ...[Read More]

CL

Climate: Past, Present & Future

The ocean floor is sinking under the weight of sea level rise

October 16, 2020

Sea level rise is one of most dreadful consequences of anthropogenic (caused by humans) global warming. It is estimated that the loss of coastal infrastructure alone would cost the global economy more than 1 trillion dollars per year by 2100 [1]. This number is based on climate models, but these are only as good as our current understanding of the sea level rise. Therefore, researchers are monitor ...[Read More]