Cryospheric Sciences

GeoEd: A round-up of (geo)educational board games

Laura Roberts-Artal November 23, 2016

Playing the Wiapuna board game in the final class. Credit: T. Ewen and J. Seibert, 2016.

With the rise of electronic games – those played on computers, consoles and even on mobile phones – you’d be forgiven for thinking the humble board game would be slowly making its way into the history books. Nothing could be further from the truth! Sales of board games are on the up, as are cafes where you can gather to play table-top games of your choice, and board game meet ups: regular gaming g ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Why does a Norwegian glacier look blue?

Kay Helfricht October 24, 2016

Blue Svartisen . Credit: Kay Helfricht (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This picture shows the outlet glacier Engabreen running down from the plateau of Svartisen in Norway. Svartisen ice cap comprises two glacier systems of which the Vestre (western) Svartisen is Norway’s second largest glacier. Located right at the polar circle, Svartisen covers a total of 369 km² of the Nordland region. These coastal mountains accumulate a snowpack of 5-7 m depth through the winter ...[Read More]

Celebrating Earth Science Week!

Laura Roberts-Artal October 6, 2016

For those not so familiar with the Earth sciences, geosciences and all its subdisciplines might be shrouded in mystery: boring, unfathomable, out of reach and with little relevance to everyday life. Nothing could be further from the truth! Earth Science Week, an international annual celebration founded by the American Geosciences Institute in 1998, aims to change the public’s perception of the ge ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: A new rock outcrop map and area estimation for the entire Antarctic continent

Jonathan Fuhrmann September 9, 2016

Whale bones, raised beaches and moraine, Byers Peninsula, Antarctica . Credit: Marc Oliva (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Antarctica has been known as “the frozen continent” for almost as long as we have known of its existence. It may be the only place on Earth where, instead of information on the extent of glaciers or ice caps, there exists a dataset of all non-icy areas compiled from satellite imagery. However, this repository is far from perfect: while satellite resolution and coverage have been steadily improving ...[Read More]