This photo was taken by Grant Wilson at Arches National Park, Utah, USA. The park is home to more than 2,000 sandstone arches, exposed by years of weathering and the removal of softer rock. They are part of the Entrada Sandstone formation, which was deposited during the Jurassic. “The arches form as ice accumulated in …[Read More]
GeoEd: Teaching geoscience creatively
Why should teaching geoscience students about societal or economic issues such as population, poverty and health be important? It’s not just because it is relevant contextual knowledge for the modern day geoscientist, but it is also essential for helping give students in primary, secondary or undergraduate education the ‘real life’ application and context they need …[Read More]
Sending GIFT to Africa: A new collaboration between the EGU, UNESCO and ESA
For the past ten years, the EGU’s Geosciences Information for Teachers (GIFT) workshops – spreading first hand scientific research to teachers of primary and secondary schools – have been hugely successful in shortening the time that research takes to disseminate from scientist to textbook to teacher and offering usable practical activities for the classroom. GIFT …[Read More]
Call for abstracts: The 9th Alexander von Humboldt Conference
The Alexander von Humboldt Conference is part of the EGU’s Topical Conference Series, and will be taking place in Istanbul, Turkey (24 – 28 March 2014). The aim of the meeting is to open a forum on natural hazard events that have a high impact and a large destructive potential, focussing on the Euro-Mediterranean Region in …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: How to forge a fjord
The West Norwegian Fjords are the reference point for fjords around the world. One such fjord is Geiranger, which features in this week’s Imaggeo on Mondays. The geological setting of Geirangerfjord – and its climate – has earned the area a spot on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. During the last ice age, much of northern …[Read More]
GeoTalk: Flo Bullough from Four Degrees
This week in GeoTalk, we’re talking to Flo Bullough – Policy Assistant at the Geological Society who writes about both climate and policy at Four Degrees… Hi Flo, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into science communication? I would say that science communication is something I have always done in …[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Getting a handle on glacial lakes
Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are caused when masses of meltwater are released from behind a glacier moraine. Moraines are piles of unconsolidated debris that have either eroded from the glacier valley or have been deposited by melting glaciers. When they fail, a huge volume of water can be released, threatening populations further down the …[Read More]
Townhall and Splinter Meetings at EGU 2014
In addition to the wealth of scientific sessions at the General Assembly (27 April – 2 May 2014), there is also the option to attend other meetings during EGU 2014. These include Townhall and Splinter Meetings, which are organised by conference participants. Townhall Meetings Townhall Meetings are meetings open for all participants in the conference. …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: That spot there? It’s 143,000 kilometres across
This week’s Imaggeo on Mondays highlights an amazing view of the night sky at new moon. Christian Klepp took this photo while at Waterton Glacier in the Rocky Mountains – it’s an incredible feat of determination to spend the night beside a glacial lake in the Rockies, let alone to capture such a photo! The …[Read More]
The Geology of Skyrim: An unexpected journey
Back in January I did a talk at an event called Science Showoff, a comedy night based in London where scientists stand up in front of an audience in a pub and talk about funny stuff to do with their work. I talked about video games. Not any video game however, I talked about The …[Read More]