Earth Magnetism and Rock Physics

Plate Tectonics and Ocean Drilling – Fifty Years On

Tim Middleton May 16, 2018

Glomar Challenger, the DSDP research vessel that found conclusive evidence of seafloor spreading. (Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

What does it take to get a scientific theory accepted? Hard facts? A strong personality? Grit and determination? For many Earth Scientists today it can be hard to imagine the academic landscape before the advent of plate tectonics. But it was only fifty years ago that the theory really became cemented as scientific consensus. And the clinching evidence was found in the oceans. Alfred Wegener had p ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: River in a charoite schist

Olivia Trani May 14, 2018

River in a Charoite Schist. Credit: Bernardo Cesare (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Polarized light photomicrograph of a thin section of a charoite-bearing schist. Charoite is a rare silicate found only at one location in Yakutia, Russia. For its beautiful and uncommon purple color it is used as a semi-precious stone in jewelry. Under the microscope charoite-bearing rocks give an overall feeling of movement, with charoite forming fibrous mats that swirl and fold as a result of de ...[Read More]

April GeoRoundUp: the best of the Earth sciences from the 2018 General Assembly

Olivia Trani May 4, 2018

Scientists present research findings at a press conference at the 2018 General Assembly (Credit: EGU / Keri McNamara)

The 2018 General Assembly took place in Vienna last month, drawing more than 15,000 participants from 106 countries. This month’s GeoRoundUp will focus on some of the unique and interesting stories that came out of research presented at the Assembly. Mystery solved The World War II battleship Tirpitz was the largest vessel in the German navy, stationed primarily off the Norwegian coastline as a fo ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Chilean relics of Earth’s past

Anita Di Chiara March 12, 2018

Sunset, LLaima volcano and eruptions' relicts . Credit: Anita Di Chiara (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

As Earth’s environment changes, it leaves behind clues used by scientists to paint portraits of the past: scorched timber, water-weathered shores, hardened lava flows. Chile’s Conguillío National Park is teeming with these kind of geologic artifacts; some are only a few years old while others have existed for more than 30 million years. The photographer Anita Di Chiara, a researcher at Lancaster U ...[Read More]