Mayotte, the so-called “perfume island”, is a volcanic island of the Comoros Archipelago and a French overseas department which hit the headlines in 2018-2019 with an enigmatic as well as frightening seismic swarm, recently linked to the appearance of a new submarine volcano nearby. Surrounded by one of the largest lagoons in the World and …[Read More]
EGU Scientific Divisions
GeoTalk: A biogeocaching scavenger hunt for Earth science outreach
Did you know that the EGU has a public engagement grant scheme? We’ll be awarding three EGU members with 1500€ to help them develop an outreach project that aims to raise awareness of geosciences outside the scientific community. The 2020 call for applications is currently open. In this GeoTalk interview, Olivia Trani talks to Astrid …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Santorini cliffs sculpted by wind and sea
The cliffs look like a bas-relief sculpted by a tireless artist. Naturally carved by the wind and sea, Vlychada’s white cliffs border its black sands, on the southern shore of Thera (Santorini), Greece. Both are of volcanic origin. The material originates from the Late Bronze Age eruption around 1600 BCE, which also buried the prosperous …[Read More]
Winners of the EGU Best Blog Posts of 2019 Competition
2019 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 in December, to celebrate the excellent …[Read More]
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]
The Carbon Potential of Peat
2020 is being described by many as a tipping point: the year that humanity as a species must take concrete and measurable action to prevent catastrophic climate change. But even if we do manage to slow carbon emissions from 2020 onwards, how would the planet deal with all the carbon dioxide we have produced so …[Read More]
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
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: Rain on the Namib Desert
Pictured here is the arid Namib Desert on a not-so-arid day. The desert is known for its extremely dry conditions and abundance of sunshine, but this photo, taken by Christoph Schmidt, chair of geomorphology at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, gives us a rare glimpse of a rainy day. The Namib Desert spans about …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Setting trees aflame to understand the carbon balance of fires
Smoke clears after an experimental wildfire in Australian eucalyptus forest carried out for carbon balance estimations of wildfires. We meticulously measured the carbon in all leaves, twigs, logs and bark in a forest block about 35km east of Manjimup and then they set it on fire with help from the Dept. of Parks and Wildlife, …[Read More]