Whether you’re climbing, hiking or caving, it’s hard to ignore the geology around you. For keen climber and environmental geoscientist Ivan Bour, a trip to the French Alps is no exception… I’ve practiced mountain climbing for a dozen years. During my ascents, I seek geomorphological and geological peculiarities. Very often, I associate my profession as a geologist with my activities in the high mo ...[Read More]
Geomorphology
Imaggeo on Mondays: Stars in the Sand
This week’s Imaggeo on Mondays is brought to you by the photographer herself, Jana Eichel, who tells us about her expedition to the Mingsha Mountains and the stunning aeolian landforms that characterise the landscape. This photo was taken during a journey through Asia in spring 2012, which took me across Bangladesh, India and Nepal through to Western China and into the Gobi Desert. This journey al ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: cutting through a slice of geological cake
Nothing captures beauty of Arizona’s landscape better than the Grand Canyon and its steeply-sided cliffs that have been carved by the Colorado River. This photo by Lukas Hoertnagl shows this stunning landscape as seen from Lipan Point in the Grand Canyon National Park. The early geological history of America is preserved in the strata that make up the Grand Canyon’s famed banded landscape, which i ...[Read More]
Introducing ESurf
ESurf, more formally known as Earth Surface Dynamics is the new open access journal from the EGU. Focussing on the processes that affect the Earth’s surface at all scales, ESurf aims to communicate the interactions of Earth surface processes with the lithosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and pedosphere. Highlighting field measurements, remote sensing and experimental and numerical modeli ...[Read More]
Events for Young Scientists at EGU 2013
Short Courses Demystifying Open Access – an open discussion for early career researchers tackling how OA can benefit young scientists without compromising their careers. From what it costs to publish an open access paper to how we can measure its impact, all interested scientists are invited to drop in and join us over drinks in a marketplace of discussion. How to apply for a job. It’s a topic rar ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Stirring up a sandstorm
These are the outwash plains for the Icelandic volcano, Katla: An outwash plain (or sandur) is a broad, shallowly sloping region ahead of a glacial front. They are made up of material that has been deposited by glacial meltwater, released either by geothermal heating or a subglacial eruption. The extensive volcanism and abundance of ice-capped volcanoes in southern Iceland means that the outwash p ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: An orogenic experience
Picture yourself in the Himalaya mountain belt: millions of years of continental uplift have produced a vast kingdom of towering monoliths, and they continue to grow as the Indian plate pushes further north into the heart of Asia. These dramatic, breath-taking and downright enormous geological structures can be simplified into the following tectonic units: the Leugogranites, the Transhimalaya, the ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Wonderings and weathering
After studying ‘Applied Environmental Sciences’ I decided to go with a friend for six months to New Zealand for the southern hemisphere winter. Leaving as soon as my diploma thesis (on epiphytic lichens) was written, we set off into the distance to work and travel. We chose New Zealand as our dream destination because these two islands have so many different landscapes to offer – and this is how I ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Kalalau Valley
At over 5 million years old, the island of Kauai is the oldest island in the Hawaiian Achipelago. Hawaii, Maui and Oahu are all younger and lie further to the southeast. This island chronology is no coincidence – the Archipelago formed as a result of intra-plate volcanic activity. Intra-plate volcanism occurs where an upwelling magma plume or ‘hot spot’ lies beneath a continental plate. In this ca ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Rainbow in stone
Nothing better characterises the wild US West than endless landscapes of red hoodoos, spires of rock protruding from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Found mainly in desert and dry, hot areas, hoodoos are distinctive from similarly-shaped formations, such as spires or pinnacles, because their profiles vary in thickness throughout their length. Their distinctive colour bands are the ...[Read More]