EGU Blogs

Divisions

CL
Climate: Past, Present & Future

How glowing sediment can help to decipher the Earth’s past climate !

September 3, 2018
How glowing sediment can help to decipher the Earth’s past climate !

The last 2.5 Million years of the Earth’s history (termed Quaternary) are characterised by climatic cycles oscillating between warm (interglacial) and cold (glacial) periods. To be able to fully understand and interpret past climate variations the development of accurate and precise chronological techniques is crucial. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is a strong geochronological too ...[Read More]

SSP
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

The microworld of the past

September 1, 2018

In my last blog, I described the diverse world of pollen and how palynology – the study pollen, is used in geosciences. Today, I turn to another microcosmos: that of finest layers deposited at the bottom of a lake. A large majority of geoscientists would tell you the best part of their job is field work. Despite sometimes harsh weather conditions, long hikes in wind, rain or merciless sun, many ge ...[Read More]

AS
Atmospheric Sciences

The perfect ice floe

August 28, 2018
The perfect ice floe

Current position: 89°31.85 N, 62°0.45 E, drifting with a multi-year ice floe (24th August 2018) With a little more than three weeks into the Arctic Ocean 2018 Expedition, the team has found the right ice floe and settled down to routine operations. Finding the perfect ice floe for an interdisciplinary science cruise is not an easy task. The Arctic Ocean 2018 Expedition aims to understand the linka ...[Read More]

NH
Natural Hazards

Bridging the gap between science and decision makers – a new tool for nuclear emergencies affecting food and agriculture

August 27, 2018
Bridging the gap between science and decision makers – a new tool for nuclear emergencies affecting food and agriculture

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed an online system to assist in improving the response capabilities of authorities in the event of an emergency caused by natural hazards. This tool provides a clear overview of radioactive contamination of crops and agricultural lands through improved data management and visualization, it also assists in decision support processes by sugge ...[Read More]

SM
Seismology

Lombok and Fiji – or why a M6.9 earthquake can be worse news than a M8.2 event

August 23, 2018

Two magnitude 6.9 earthquakes in Indonesia in the space of two weeks, 20 km apart. Meanwhile, a magnitude 8.2 event in the Pacific. Did you get any questions about the end of the world being upon us, how come all these quakes happen so close together and why the Fiji event was so harmless?       Latitude Longitude Origin time depth Magnitude Region 8.2597° S 116.4363° E 2018-08-05 1 ...[Read More]

CL
Climate: Past, Present & Future

What can the Cretaceous tell us about our climate?

August 20, 2018
What can the Cretaceous tell us about our climate?

The Cretaceous The Cretaceous period features a particularly interesting climatic episode in the Earth’s geological history. It follows the Jurassic Period, better known as the time the dinosaurs inhabited Earth and spanned the period between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago. The Cretaceous is the last period of the Mesozoic Era, which ends with a well-known mass extinction event. At the end of th ...[Read More]

ST
Solar-Terrestrial Sciences

SunPy: a Python solar data analysis environment

August 16, 2018
SunPy: a Python solar data analysis environment

Introduction For many years now we know that our star the Sun influences the Earth in many different ways, via the total solar irradiance, solar energetic particles and coronal mass ejections. Understanding the influence of the Sun on the Earth requires many different types of measurements. For example, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft, produces over 1 terabyte of data per day (P ...[Read More]

SSP
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Slimy Landscapes

August 16, 2018

When we think about how our landscapes evolve and change we probably tend to go straight for the big stuff, things like the climate, tectonics or geology, and in my previous blog I looked at how rainfall contributes to changing the planet’s surface. However, it is not just the big stuff which controls these changes, smaller things do as well, for example changes in land cover (ie, from grasses to ...[Read More]

SM
Seismology

Seismo @ school

August 13, 2018

Being a seismologist is not just doing research, it is also sharing experience and teaching the next generation. As early career scientists, we are used to share ‘our science’ during open days and career days at university. Another peculiar moment for Science outreach is the National Science week, where researchers can set up experiments and exhibitions to draw the attention of the general public ...[Read More]

NH
Natural Hazards

Heavy metals in industrial wastewater: hazardous waste or secondary resource?

August 13, 2018

Not long ago on the blog, we have talked about natural groundwater quality triggered by geogenic factors and related hazards such as a high concentration of heavy metals. Today’s topic concerns the anthropogenic input of heavy metals into the water and how to tackle its effects efficiently.   Industrial processes can lead to heavy metal-bearing wastewater, which is commonly treated by ineffi ...[Read More]