Cryospheric Sciences

Imaggeo On Monday: Ice-coated roots at sunset

Katja Laute December 14, 2020

Ice-coated roots at sunset . Credit: Katja Laute (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The coating by the ice and the icicles are created through the interplay of wave action and the simultaneous freezing of the water around the exposed tree roots. The reason for the exposed tree roots is increased bank erosion due to a rather unusual circumstance. The combination of the lake not yet being frozen in early winter, and strong winter storms, make it very easy for the waves to erode the ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: A science outpost in midnight sun

Jan-Marcus Nasse December 7, 2020

A science outpost in midnight sun . Credit: Jan-Marcus Nasse (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Photo of the air chemistry observatory of the German Neumayer III Antarctic station during Polar Day 2017. Located in a clean air sector south of the station, the observatory’s main purpose is to record continuous, year-round data records of relevant particulate and gaseous trace components of the troposphere. As one of only few stations located in the very clean troposphere of Antarctica, i ...[Read More]

Why is research in Antarctica so important?

Hazel Gibson December 1, 2020

The view from the tent . Credit: Helen Millman (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

On the 1st December 1959 the Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 nations, setting aside nearly 10% of the Earth “forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes… in the interests of all mankind.” In the years that followed more and more countries signed the agreement, until today when the agreement has been signed by 54 countries around the globe. In 2010, the Foundation for ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: Desert Varnish, Antarctica Style

Martha Cary Eppes November 30, 2020

Desert Varnish, Antarctica Style . Credit: Martha Cary Eppes (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This photograph highlights the oxidized surface of diorite boulders, which fall from the ice at the base of the Mullins Glacier in Beacon Valley, Antarctica when the ice moves directly from a solid state into a gas state, without becoming a liquid in between (a process called sublimation). The particular features (morphology) of the varnish and the desert pavement of this unique environment are re ...[Read More]