Divisions

Cryospheric Sciences

Climate Change & Cryosphere – Summer 2019: The year that the Arctic was sunburned

Jenny Turton September 20, 2019

June, July and August 2019 saw extensive heat waves across Europe, with air temperatures reaching above 40°C in many countries. In response, record breaking ice melt was observed in Greenland and wildfires in Siberia, Alaska, Arctic Canada and Greenland occurred. A particularly dry and warm summer was responsible for hemisphere-wide changes to the cryosphere. In this week’s post, we will review so ...[Read More]

AS

Atmospheric Sciences

A simple model of convection to study the atmospheric surface layer

Dasaraden Mauree September 20, 2019

Since being immortalised in Hollywood film, “the butterfly effect” has become a commonplace concept, despite its obscure origins. Its name derives from an object known as the Lorenz attractor, which has the form of a pair of butterfly wings (Fig. 1). It is a portrait of chaos, the underlying principle hindering long-term weather prediction: just a small change in initial conditions leads to vastly ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

The Sassy Scientist – Earthquake Exoteries Nr. I

The Sassy Scientist September 20, 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]

NP

Nonlinear Processes in Geosciences

NPG Paper of the Month: “Unravelling the spatial diversity of Indian precipitation teleconnections via a non-linear multi-scale approach”

Tommaso Alberti September 20, 2019

Schematic map of spatial diversity of Indian precipitation teleconnections at different time scales. (a) ENSO, (b) IOD, (c) NAO, (d PDO, and (e) AMO. Colors are consistent with the Indian community shown in the right figure. Presence of color in community segment indicates significant synchronization between teleconnection and Indian precipitation. Every single segment of circle shows the temporal scale. Cardinal direction has been projected in the background of each circle.

Today’s we launch one of our promised activities: the NPG Paper of the Month. This month the award is achieved by Jürgen Kurths and co-authors for their paper “Unravelling the spatial diversity of Indian precipitation teleconnections via a non-linear multi-scale approach” (https://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/26/251/2019/). Ankit Agarwal, one of the authors of the manuscript, tells ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

Writing the Methods Section

Editorial Team 3 September 20, 2019

An important part of science is to share your results in the form of papers. Perhaps, even more important is to make those results understandable and reproducible in the Methods section. This week, Adina E. Pusok, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, shares some very helpful tips for writing the Methods in a concise, efficient, and complete way. Writin ...[Read More]

NH

Natural Hazards

Stromboli: The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean

Francisco Cáceres September 18, 2019

In the last months two paroxysmal explosive eruptions took place at Stromboli volcano: the first one, totally unexpected, on 3rd July (Video 1) that sadly cost the life of a person and the second and, currently, last one about three weeks ago, on the 28th August (Video 2). Today we try to answer a couple of questions about Stromboli and its eruptions. Are these paroxysmal eruptions common or rare ...[Read More]

GMPV

Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

#mineralmonday: tiptopite

Mike Jollands September 16, 2019

#mineralmonday: your weekly* dose of obscure mineralogy, every Monday** [*not guaranteed; **or possibly Tuesday-Sunday] What is it? Tiptopite: K2Na1.5Ca0.5Li3Be6(PO4)6(OH)2•(H2O) What’s it made of? Take a deep breath and recite after me: potassium, sodium, calcium, lithium, beryllium, phosphorus, oxygen and water (H2O). Is it pretty? Yes, it’s a beautiful fibrous mineral. You wouldn&# ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

Climate Change & Cryosphere – Why is the Arctic sea-ice cover retreating?

David Docquier September 13, 2019

The Arctic Ocean surface is darkening as its sea-ice cover is shrinking. The exact processes driving the ongoing sea-ice loss are far from being totally understood. In this post, we will investigate the different causes of the recent retreat of the Arctic sea-ice cover, using the most updated literature… Arctic sea ice is disappearing Due to its geographical position centered around the Nort ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

The Sassy Scientist – Pluto Panic

The Sassy Scientist September 13, 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. After a distraught period (of more than a decade!) since the news first came out that Pluto was not considered a true planet anymore, ...[Read More]

AS

Atmospheric Sciences

A brighter future for the Arctic

Dasaraden Mauree September 13, 2019

This is a follow-up from a previous publication. Recently, a new analysis of the impact of Black Carbon in the Arctic was conducted within a European Union Action. “Difficulty in evaluating, or even discerning, a particular landscape is related to the distance a culture has traveled from its own ancestral landscape. As temperate-zone people, we have long been ill-disposed toward deserts and ...[Read More]