Division blogs

Atmospheric Sciences

Building a library of observed air mass trajectories to study aerosol-cloud interactions

Ehsan Erfani February 9, 2026

Marine low clouds, such as stratocumulus, play a central role in regulating Earth’s climate by reflecting incoming sunlight back to space. Yet these clouds are notoriously difficult to simulate and predict. One reason is that their evolution depends strongly on the surrounding atmosphere: temperature structure, moisture, winds, and aerosols all interact in complex ways. As a result, cloud response ...[Read More]

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Climate: Past, Present & Future

CYCLIM: cycle counting a faster way

Edward Forman February 6, 2026

As we try to predict what will happen under increasing anthropogenic climate change, climate models can only get us so far. Another key is understanding past changes in the Earth’s climate. To do this, palaeoclimatologists turn to natural archives (e.g., sediment cores and speleothems) and extract records of past variability using their properties, such as chemical or physical composition. H ...[Read More]

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Ocean Sciences

A Record-Breaking Indian Ocean Dipole: What Happened in 2021–2022?

Ankur Srivastava February 5, 2026

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is generally considered a seasonal mode of variability, developing and decaying within a single year. During 2021–2022, however, negative IOD conditions persisted for approximately 19 months (Figure 1, top left), making this event the longest—and among the strongest—observed since reliable records began. This unusual persistence highlights important aspects of ocean–a ...[Read More]

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Geodynamics

The courage to be disliked: reflections on peer-review processes

Jean-Baptiste Koehl, edited by Constanza Rodriguez Piceda and edited by Michaël Pons February 4, 2026

Although often daunting and discouraging, every academic must navigate the inevitable process of peer review. In this week’s post, Jean-Baptiste Koehl, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo (Norway), reflects on what the future of peer review might be. Author disclaimer: The reflections presented here reflect my perspective grounded in my own experience. While peer review is a key mech ...[Read More]

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Geomorphology

Highlighting: Fluvial Biogeomorphology! (Interview with Florian Betz)

Florian Betz February 3, 2026

This blog post is part of our series: “Highlights” for which we’re accepting contributions! Please contact Emma Lodes (GM blog editor, elodes@asu.edu), if you’d like to contribute on this topic or others. by Florian Betz, Principal Investigator at the Earth Observation Research Cluster at University of Würzburg. Email: florian.betz@uni-wuerzburg.de What is biogeomorphology and why is it important ...[Read More]

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Natural Hazards

Extreme hourly rainfall is increasing in Italy: insights from high-resolution climate reanalysis

Francesco Cavalleri February 2, 2026

Image generated using ChatGPT (AI-generated image).

Intense rainfall lasting only a few hours is often enough to trigger natural hazards such as flash floods and landslides, leading to severe damage to infrastructure. These short-lived events are among the most dangerous natural hazards in the Mediterranean region, yet they are also among the hardest to study. Their small spatial scale and brief duration mean that they are often missed or underesti ...[Read More]

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Solar-Terrestrial Sciences

Probing the Solar Wind with Spacecraft Radio Occultation Signals: Chasing a Unified Method to Probe the Sun

Keshav Aggarwal & Raj Kumar Choudhary., Edited by Shreedevi P. R. February 1, 2026

Introduction The solar wind, a continuous outflow of charged particles from the solar corona, plays a fundamental role in shaping the heliosphere and driving space weather. Its interaction with planetary magnetospheres and atmospheres regulates magnetospheric dynamics, influences atmospheric escape, and governs space weather hazards that can affect both space- and ground-based technologies. Despit ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

How Citizen Scientists mapped Arctic Permafrost

Pauline Walz and Oliver Fritz January 30, 2026

Cryosphere scientists know it well; the Arctic doesn’t give up its secrets easily. This is especially true when it comes to exploring permafrost -– frozen soils that store centuries of history underground. Keeping an eye on the state of permafrost is more important than ever, as widespread permafrost thaw is a direct result of rising global temperatures. However, monitoring the vast Arctic is not ...[Read More]

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Geodesy

PhD abroad: Shuxian Liu

Çağatay Çakan and Rebekka Steffen January 30, 2026

A graphical illustration in watercolour optic with human silhouettes in different colours, and several smaller elements such as an ocean and a satellite.

Doing a PhD is a challenge in itself. Doing it in another country, away from family and friends, is even harder. Handling the requirements of academia while adjusting to a new culture, language, and way of life can be overwhelming at times. But, doing a PhD abroad is not defined by challenges alone. A new academic and social environment can lead to new friendships, fresh perspectives, and personal ...[Read More]

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Biogeosciences

How to write a competitive MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship

Christoph Keuschnig and Elsa Abs January 30, 2026

Demonstrating independence is a critical step when you pursue a career in academia: not only being excellent at executing research, but also showing you can shape ideas into a coherent project, choose the right environment, and lead work that matters. EU funding can be a strong catalyst for that transition, especially in the postdoc phase, because it is designed to reward clear scientific vision p ...[Read More]