These are the Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki, on the west coast of New Zealand. They are made of limestone that was deposited as calcifying organisms fell to their fate on the sea floor about 30 million years ago. Since then, the limestone has been uplifted, exposed, and eroded by the wind and the sea. Each …[Read More]
EGU elections – propose a candidate!
EGU members will be able to vote for the next president/vice-president and general secretary during the autumn election, which takes place from 1 November to 1 December. But first, you need to choose your candidates! You can propose a candidate for either vacancy by filling in the proposal form up until 30 September. You are welcome and encouraged to …[Read More]
Natural hazards workshop videos are online!
Every year, the EGU host a two day workshop for primary and secondary school teachers during the General Assembly. Geosciences Information For Teachers (GIFT) workshops aim to shorten the time between discovery and textbook, while providing teachers with material that can be used in the classroom. This year, the workshop was on natural hazards, with …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: The perfect partnership
Pogonophores are deep sea worms that thrive in dark, deep sea conditions thanks to the presence of symbiotic bacteria. The bacteria are chemoautotrophic, that is, they fix carbon through oxidation processes, rather than using light to fix it, as is the case for photosynthesis. By utilising oxygen in the water, the bacteria can oxidise compounds …[Read More]
Vegetation research in Finnish Lapland: mountains, sunshine and reindeer
People started warning me about the mosquitoes back in April. It sounded grim. But when I arrived in Finnish Lapland in August, the mozzies had peaked earlier in the season when temperatures were unusually high, and were all dead. This was a fortunate escape: Miska Luoto of the University of Helsinki and his team of …[Read More]
Resource site for young scientists launched!
Early career researchers make up a large proportion of the EGU membership and students (both graduate and undergraduate) regularly make up about a third of General Assembly participants. With so many young scientists involved in the EGU, it’s time we had something that caters for them – the young scientists’ website! The new website is …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Curl up under a peat blanket
Rannoch Moor is the largest area of unbroken (no houses, no roads) blanket bog in the United Kingdom. Blanket bogs – as their name suggests – blanket the ground in an extensive layer of peat. They form in regions where there is high rainfall and comparatively little evapotranspiration. These waterlogged conditions are found throughout much …[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Dating a bivalve
Just as the rings on a tree can be used to determine its age, the bands on a bivalve’s shell can tell us the how long it’s been around for. Warm, food-filled waters lead to greater growth in the summer and low plankton abundance (the principle food source for filter-feeding molluscs) leads to limited growth …[Read More]
EGU 2014 – got an idea?
Have a great idea for a conference session but haven’t quite put it into practice? Now’s your chance! Until this time next month (13 September) you can submit your session ideas and take part in organising the scientific programme for the EGU General Assembly in 2014. What you need to do: Take a look at …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Mammoth structures, springs and snowmelt
Spring waters are rich in minerals, carrying with them dissolved components of the rocks they have travelled through. The water that discharges at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park is highly alkaline (contains a lot of dissolved CO2) and rich in calcium, but as the water cools, the calcium precipitates to form the white …[Read More]