A collection of washed-up shells on a beach on the south island of New Zealand. Shore transport processes have produced a well-sorted drift of similarly sized (approx. 1-2 cm) shells and shell fragments. The main species represented are the common turret shell (Maoricolpus roseus) and wheel shell (Zethalia zelandica), both sea snails endemic to New Zealand. Description by Pontus Lurcock, af ...[Read More]
Working from home during the pandemic has allowed many of us to look back on past experiences and to long for the days when our work in marine science took us to amazing places all around the world. Pride month is another great opportunity for reflection and to consider how things have changed for us as LGBTQI+ individuals and the community within STEM, including, on the International Day of the S ...[Read More]
In the shadow of the Santos oil and gas processing plant and export terminal lies the only place in the world where cuttlefish come together by the tens of thousands to mate every winter. The unique geology of the area, with a seafloor composed of bedrock and tabular quartzite blocks, makes for an ideal egg-laying habitat, and thus is an attractive breeding ground for the Australian Giant Cuttlefi ...[Read More]
Profile of a specimen of Arctica islandica, one of the longest lived marine bivalves known, undergoing a 3D scan. Their longevity is exploited for reconstruction of climate patterns in the North Atlantic. However, mathematical models of their morphodynamics are necessary to account for bias induced by their asymmetric growth (“morphodynamics” is the study of how an organisms’ gro ...[Read More]
2020 was a brilliant year for our blogging network here at EGU. Across the EGU’s official blog, GeoLog, as well as the network and division blogs there were so many interesting, educational and just downright entertaining posts this year it was hard to get the blog editors to choose their favourites! Nevertheless at the beginning of January, to celebrate the excellent display of science writing ac ...[Read More]
In the past, humans considered wetlands as morbid environments where it was difficult, if not impossible, to live. Wetlands, instead, are vital to the health of wildlife and humans, as the Ramsar convention stated in 1971. Wetlands regulate the water flow, buffering droughts as well as floods, and also contribute to the provision of clean water. In addition to water flow regulations and to the pro ...[Read More]
The Amazon rainforest covers an area of 5.5 million km² and is well known for being an invaluable global resource for carbon storage. But it’s not just the trees and vegetation of the Amazonian rainforest that lock in and store carbon – the very soil in these forests can do the same thing, according to research published in EGU’s journal SOIL earlier this year. In this study Carlos Alberto Quesada ...[Read More]
Today’s imaggeo on Monday provides us with a space to reflect on the interconnected nature of our planet’s systems. The photographer, Antonello Provenzale, wrote of this image: Earth is a living planet, where the water cycle plays an essential role. A waterfall in the mountains of Valle Pesio, Italy, in a landscape of vegetation and mosses, reminds us of the fluxes and cycles of water ...[Read More]
Fires are a common and often natural worldwide phenomena, that are often integral to the lifecycle of certain land-based ecosystems. Despite this, frequent or unusually intense fires can have significant effects on plant productivity, plant community composition and root properties. Although many trees have evolved to grow in fire prone areas, they usually have certain adaptations to help them sur ...[Read More]
Although more commonly associated with the west coast of the United States, if you visit Cabezón de la Sal in Spain you may come across a stand of giant redwood trees or Sequoia. Around 800 trees were brought to Spain in the 1940s, so are still very young, but even at their young age they are still around 40 meters high! Sequoia groves, as well as being awe-inspiring to look at, provide a uniquely ...[Read More]