Divisions

Elliot Carter June 7, 2023

Photo of a medieval medical manuscript translated from Arabic in the 2nd half of the 13th Century.

Like many scientists in the GMPV sphere, I work a lot with geochemistry – using chemical elements and their differing behaviours, abundances or isotopes as tools to understand Earth processes. While staring at the periodic table, something that’s always niggled at me is where the names of these come from: why is the stuff we breath called oxygen and the sand on the beach made of silicon? Even more ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

How over-consumption leads to reduced sea ice: Visualization through artwork

David Docquier June 2, 2023

Do you think that it is sometimes challenging to understand science (as a reader or listener) or to explain it (as a scientist)? Then, art may be a good solution to the problem. Between April and June 2023, Zacharie Bodson (artist) and I (climate scientist) are participating in the Seas and Oceans exhibition to explain the links between changes in Arctic sea ice and over-consumption. Read here abo ...[Read More]

G

Geodesy

Women in Geodesy: Kristel Chanard

Öykü Koç, Rebekka Steffen and Andreas Kvas May 29, 2023

I hope you are ready to be inspired because we have another exciting interview, with Kristel Chanard, our Outstanding Early Career Scientist Awardee of 2022. I promise that her answers will encourage you to pursue a career in science or continue to that! Her answers remind us again that we need to make geosciences more inclusive and diverse. So, let’s leave the spotlight to Kristel and hear what ...[Read More]

CR

Cryospheric Sciences

Highlighted Paper – Human Errors in Snow Models

Daniela Brito Melo May 26, 2023

As scientists, we often encounter errors in our own work and in the work of others. As modelers, we call these errors “bugs”. Of course, they are not actual insects, but they definitely keep us awake from time to time. Even though everyone is aware of their existence, we rarely discuss them in a scientific context. In today’s post, I bring to you the work and journey of a snow scientist, Dr. Cécil ...[Read More]

TS

Tectonics and Structural Geology

Features from the Field: Columnar Basalts and why Hexagons are nature’s favourite shape

Hannah Davies May 26, 2023

What does an insect eye, Saturn’s North pole, beeswax, and a rock formation called columnar basalts all have in common? They are all hexagonal in shape. Why is this the case? Hexagons are the most efficient way to fill a space with the least amount of material The science of bubbles and bubble sculptures is very interesting and I do encourage you to go check out some other blogs that talk ab ...[Read More]

GM

Geomorphology

International initiatives to solve the challenges to trace sediment and contaminant in river systems

Sabine Kraushaar May 25, 2023

Soil and water resources that are essential to human and aquatic life are increasingly threatened by human activities and the impacts of land use and climate change. Sediments play hereby a key role, particularly fine sediments with sediment-associated pollutants, which can lead to a substantial degradation of water body quality, such as in rivers and reservoirs. Sediment tracing as a first step t ...[Read More]

GMPV

Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

The role of Geothermal Energy in the energetic and environmental challenge.

Elisabetta Billotta and Maddalena Perrini May 24, 2023

How does a Geothermal system work? Heat is a form of energy and, strictly speaking, geothermal energy is heat from inside the Earth. The large amount of thermal energy enclosed below the earth’s surface derives in part from its primordial formation process and in part originates from the decay of radioactive isotopes present mainly in the earth’s crust and, secondarily, in the mantle. ...[Read More]

GD

Geodynamics

More than a homework: “I am a rock”

Elvira Mulyukova, Cedric Thieulot and edited by Ágnes Király May 24, 2023

Outreach is becoming a more and more prominent part of the work of researchers. With public funding many of us are expected to show in a creative way what we do with our funding, but it is not easy to step out from the << I will post on social media>> comfort zone. This week Elvira Mulyukova, in collaboration with Cedric Thieulot, is showing us how to create something extraordinary fro ...[Read More]

HS

Hydrological Sciences

International initiatives to solve the challenges to trace sediment and contaminant in river systems

Olivier Evrard and Sabine Kraushaar May 23, 2023

Soil and water resources that are essential to human and aquatic life are increasingly threatened by human activities and the impacts of land use and climate change. Sediments play hereby a key role, particularly fine sediments with sediment-associated pollutants, which can lead to a substantial degradation of water body quality, such as in rivers and reservoirs. Sediment tracing as a first step t ...[Read More]

NH

Natural Hazards

The 2023 Carnival disaster in São Paulo: an all time record for rainfall in Brazil

Paulo Hader May 22, 2023

In February 2023, Brazil experienced its largest rainfall event on record, which devastated the northern coast of the state of São Paulo. This event caused landslides, floods, and numerous fatalities, making it even more tragic than previous disasters in the region, which already have been elaborated on in another blog post. The situation highlights the urgent need for effective emergency manageme ...[Read More]