Divisions

Natural Hazards

The bad, the good and the unpredictable: living with volcanoes / part 1

Jazmin Scarlett October 28, 2019

Introduction Humans have existed and lived alongside volcanoes for as long as we have been on the planet. For some, this has been beneficial and often, in fact, we can see how indigenous knowledge finds a sustainable approach living with them. However, in some cases, societies cannot cope and are overwhelmed with volcanic eruptions. There are many examples from archaeological studies dealing with ...[Read More]

GMPV

Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

Can limestone digestion by volcanoes contribute to higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?

EGU Guest blogger October 28, 2019

By Frances Deegan and Ralf Halama Carbon – the element on everyone’s lips. Carbon is unquestionably one of the most important elements on Earth – terrestrial life is carbon-based and so are many of our energy sources. From the perspective of a human time-scale, biological and anthropogenic (caused by human activity) carbon fluxes are very important (e.g. through industrial activity and burni ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

Cryo-adventures – Behind the scenes of cryo-fieldwork

Saule Akhmetkaliyeva October 25, 2019

As the Arctic is warming faster than the global average, Arctic glaciers are rapidly melting. My research is about the fate of glacial organic carbon when the ice containing it melts. To investigate these processes, I travelled to several glaciers, an activity full of challenges… and rewards! My research Glacier ice covers about 11% of Earth’s land surface, and contains within it a globally ...[Read More]

TS

Tectonics and Structural Geology

Geothermal Energy and Structural Geology?

Anne Pluymakers October 25, 2019

Fieldwork is a necessity to expand the brain, to kick-start 3D thinking. Field studies with a specific application in mind have – until now – usually been geared towards hydrocarbon reservoirs. However, with the increasing use of the subsurface, for example for CO2 storage and geothermal energy, alternative field studies gain importance. Here, we will focus on geothermal energy, which is in ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

The Sassy Scientist – Earthquake Exoteries Nr. VI

The Sassy Scientist October 25, 2019

Every week, The Sassy Scientist answers a question on geodynamics, related topics, academic life, the universe or anything in between with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Do you have a question for The Sassy Scientist? Submit your question here or leave a comment below. In a comment on a post about the key papers in geodynamics, the Curmudgeonly Commenter asked: Could you please point out some exceptio ...[Read More]

HS

Hydrological Sciences

Featured catchment series: Disentangling the ecohydrology of a tropical hotspot!

EGU Guest blogger October 23, 2019

Zhurucay Ecohydrological Observatory: Critical zone observations at the top of the Andes! A natural laboratory of tropical alpine ecohydrology Tropical alpine ecosystems, known as the Páramo, extend to high elevations (3,000-5,000 m a.s.l.) mainly through the northern Andes of South America from Venezuela to northern Peru. Given their geographical location and elevation, Páramo areas are exposed t ...[Read More]

NP

Nonlinear Processes in Geosciences

NP Interviews: the 2019 Lewis Fry Richardson Medallist Shaun Lovejoy

Tommaso Alberti October 21, 2019

Today’s NP Interviews hosts the Lewis Fry Richardson Medallist Shaun Lovejoy. Shaun has degrees in physics from Cambridge and McGill University; he has been a McGill professor since 1985. For four decades, he has developed fractal, scaling ideas in the geosciences, contributing to advances in cascade processes, multifractals, anisotropic scale invariance, space-time multifractal modeling as well a ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

Did you know? – Proglacial lakes accelerate glacier retreat!

Jenna Sutherland October 18, 2019

In a global context, New Zealand’s small mountain glaciers often get overlooked and yet they are a beautiful part of New Zealand’s landscape. They are the water towers for the South Island and an essential part of its tourism, thanks to a few undeniable heroes (Frans Josef and Fox Glaciers), but sadly, they may not be as prominent in the future. In this post we review the state of modern glaciatio ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

The Sassy Scientist – Earthquake Exoteries Nr. V

The Sassy Scientist October 18, 2019

Every week, The Sassy Scientist answers a question on geodynamics, related topics, academic life, the universe or anything in between with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Do you have a question for The Sassy Scientist? Submit your question here or leave a comment below. In a comment on a post about the key papers in geodynamics, the Curmudgeonly Commenter asked: Could you please point out some exceptio ...[Read More]

TS

Tectonics and Structural Geology

Trieste, where the word Karst originates

Simon Blondel October 16, 2019

The city of Trieste lies in north-eastern Italy along the border with Slovenia. It is positioned at the corner point between the Romance, Germanic and Slavic worlds and serves as an important seaport in the region. It is fascinating for both its history and geology. My relationship with Italy’s town of Science, as Trieste is often referred to, started about a year ago. I got the opportunity to st ...[Read More]