GeoLog

Geomorphology

Imaggeo on Mondays: Sampling sulfurous sinkhole water

Imaggeo on Mondays: Sampling sulfurous sinkhole water

Sampling of water present in sinkhole formed in superficial salt-rich lacustrine deposits at Ghor Al-Haditha, Dead Sea eastern shore, Jordan, during a field campaign in October 2018. The water in this sinkhole flows into the Dead Sea in a surface stream channel formed in 2012. The water was highly acidic and extremely conductive, with a …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: When boulders hitch a ride from glaciers

Imaggeo on Mondays: When boulders hitch a ride from glaciers

Glen More, on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, is a classic locality for studying glacial landforms and sediments. Here, two prominent ice-transported boulders stand guard at the head of the valley, left behind after the Loch Lomond Readvance (Younger Dryas stade), the final pulse of Quaternary glaciation in Scotland. Behind them in the characteristic U-shaped …[Read More]

Taking the pulse of an extreme landscape

Taking the pulse of an extreme landscape

Welcome to Taroko National Park. Would you like to borrow a safety helmet? In this precipitously steep landscape, covering one’s head is strongly encouraged. Rockfalls and landslides, triggered by frequent seismic activity and torrential rainfall, are mainstays in Taiwan’s preeminent national park. Evidence of this mass-wasting is everywhere: roadways are littered with fallen rocks, boulders …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Great sand dunes and beyond

Imaggeo on Mondays: Great sand dunes and beyond

Driving eastwards through the San Luis Valley in south central Colorado, United States, the Great Sand Dunes emerge at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range in the northeast of the region’s upland plain. The origin story of these great dunes begins during a time of glacial melt, five to three million years ago, …[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Taking a Breath of the Wild – are geoscientists more effective than non-geoscientists in determining whether video game world landscapes are realistic?

Geosciences Column: Taking a Breath of the Wild – are geoscientists more effective than non-geoscientists in determining whether video game world landscapes are realistic?

For years, geoscientists have been both fascinated and perplexed by the beautiful (yet often inaccurate) landscapes present in several video games. But are people with a geoscientific education better at telling ‘fake’ natural features from real ones? Rolf Hut, an assistant professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and his colleagues sought to …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: A walk at the glacier

Imaggeo on Mondays: A walk at the glacier

In 2012 I had the opportunity to help lead a teaching excursion to the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard. On this trip, geography students from the Ruhr-University of Bochum in Germany had the chance to learn more about the nature of this fascinating island. In addition to Svalbard’s climatology and the wildlife, the region’s glaciology and geomorphology …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: The colourful sinkhole clusters at Ghor Al-Haditha

Imaggeo on Mondays: The colourful sinkhole clusters at Ghor Al-Haditha

Sinkholes that form on the Dead Sea shore at Ghor Al-Haditha, Jordan, often occur in clusters, with many holes packed into a small area. However the visual appearance of neighbouring sinkholes can vary significantly. Mineral precipitation in the foremost sinkhole in this picture, which has no fresh water supply, gives it a garish pink-orange colouration. …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: A lifeline between light and shadow

Imaggeo on Mondays: A lifeline between light and shadow

The Rapaälven making its way through the Rapadalen valley in Northern Sweden. After over a week of hiking through pure wilderness I reached the summit of Skierffe together with three friends. We were just blown away by the view and completely in awe for the beautiful shape of the rivers course… little lakes in between …[Read More]