GeoLog

EGU Guest blogger

This guest post was contributed by a scientist, student or a professional in the Earth, planetary or space sciences. The EGU blogs welcome guest contributions, so if you've got a great idea for a post or fancy trying your hand at science communication, please contact the blog editor or the EGU Communications Officer to pitch your idea.

Imaggeo on Mondays: Northern lights in northern Norway

March 18, 2019
Imaggeo on Mondays: Northern lights in northern Norway
Northern lights in northern Norway. Credit: Rita Nogherotto (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Northern lights in Tromsø, displaying the collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun which penetrate the earth’s magnetic shield and strike atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. Collisions excite the atoms causing electrons to move to higher-energy orbits, further away from the nucleus. When electrons move back to lower-energy orbits, they release particles of light call ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Patterns in the peatland

March 4, 2019
Imaggeo on Mondays: Patterns in the peatland
Northern carbon sink. Credit: Mélina Guêné-Nanchen (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This magnificent pattern is the result of hundreds and hundreds of years of evolution. In this structured minerotrophic peatland in Northern Quebec (Canada), which can also be called a string fen or aapa mire, the green peat ridges (or strings) alternate with water-filled hollows (or flarks). Often flarks are replaced by ponds, which vary in number and size. This pattern of strings and flarks (or ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Air samples from afar

February 25, 2019
Imaggeo on Mondays: Air samples from afar
Air samples from afar. Credit: Emma Elvidge (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

I’ve taken many photos on fieldwork, everywhere from Malaysia to Antarctica but this particular photo was taken in my ‘home’ lab at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK. Atmospheric scientists collect air samples canisters such as these from around the world: from high altitude research aircraft (such as the Geophysica), long-term measurement time series (such as Ca ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: A slice of fossil life

February 11, 2019
Imaggeo on Mondays: A slice of fossil life
Dinosaur Bone in Yellow. Credit: Bernardo Cesare (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

I am a petrographer at the University of Padova, Italy, studying the metamorphic rocks that form the deep Earth’s crust beneath our feet, and what happens when they get so hot to start to melt. I’ve spent (enjoyed I should say) more than 30 years looking at rocks with an optical microscope. This simple, cheap tool, and more importantly, its skilled use, remain key ingredients for good research in ...[Read More]