The heights we go to for science… This photograph shows a member of our team preparing to abseil down a cliff in the Charyn Canyon, in the Ili River basin of southeast Kazakhstan. The Charyn River and its tributaries, a branch of the Ili River north of the Tien Shan Mountains, have cut canyons up to 300 metres deep, carving through rocks of different geologic ages, some as old as 540 million years ...[Read More]
The action of glaciers combined with the structure of the rock to form this little platform, probably once a small lake enclosed between a moraine at the mountain side and the ice in the valley. Now it has become a green haven in the mountain landscape, a perfect place for an alp. In the Alps, stratus clouds opening up on autumn mornings often create gorgeous light display. That day, some of the f ...[Read More]
The photograph shows the Valle de la Luna, part of the amazing Cordillera de la Sal mountain range in northern Chile. Rising only 200 metres above the basin of the Salar de Atacama salt flat, the ridges of the Cordillera de la Sal represent a strongly folded sequence of clastic sediments and evapourites (salt can be seen in the left portion of the image), with interspersed volcanic material. This ...[Read More]
Awareness around the prevalence of plastic pollution, particularly in our oceans, has been growing over the last few years. This is not surprising considering that plastic production has surged from 15 million tonnes in 1964 to 311 million tonnes in 2014 and models have shown that this number will double again within the next 20 years in a business as usual scenario. Furthermore, research conducte ...[Read More]
Imaggeo, our open access image repository, is packed with beautiful images showcasing the best of the Earth, space and planetary sciences. Throughout the year we use the photographs submitted to the repository to illustrate our social media and blog posts. For the past few years we’ve celebrated the end of the year by rounding-up some of the best Imaggeo images. But it’s no easy task to pick which ...[Read More]
For the start of a new year, we bring you a photograph featuring some of the oldest rocks in the world but bursting with new life. The image, taken by Gerrit de Rooij, of the Helmholtz Centre for Env. Res. – UFZ, comes complete with an informative caption which we’ve included below. May the new year be successful for all our readers. After two days of canooing in the rain on lake Juvul ...[Read More]
Japan’s northernmost, second largest and least developed island, Hokkaido, is famous for its unspoilt nature. Harsh, cold and snowy winters make way for pleasant summers, which allow tourists and locals to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, year-round, in the island’s six protected areas. The largest of the natural parks is Daisetsuzan: known for it’s wilderness and volcanoes. It is formed by ...[Read More]
For a fantastically picturesque train ride, consider travelling by rail between Lanquart and Davos (in Switzerland). You’ll be rewarded with stunning Alpine views, especially in autumn when the Larches, surrounded by Spruces, turn yellow and cast pretty reflections in the waters of the mountain lakes. Seen here is Schwartzsee, located only a few meters from ‘Davos Laret’ train station. Imaggeo is ...[Read More]
Geology has shaped the rugged landscape of the Isle of Skye – the largest island of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides archipelago. From the very old Precambrian rocks (approximately 2.8 billion years old) in the south of the island, through to the mighty glaciers which covered much of Scotland as recently as 14,700 years ago, the modestly-sized island provides a snap-shot through Earth’s dynamic his ...[Read More]
Snippets of our planet’s ancient past are frozen in rocks around the world. By studying the information locked in formations across the globe, geoscientist unpick the history of Earth. Though the layers in today’s featured image may seem abstract to the untrained eye, Elizaveta Kovaleva (a researcher at the University of the Free State in South Africa) describes how they reveal the secrets of anci ...[Read More]