The global climate system is complex. It is composed of, and governed by, a plethora of interconnect factors. Solar radiation, land surface, ice cover, the atmosphere and living things, as well as wind and ocean currents, play a crucial role in the climate system. These factors are intricately connected; changes to some can have significant effects on others, leading to overall consequences for th ...[Read More]
Despite heading into the long polar night – the time when the sun doesn’t shine in the globe’s most northerly latitudes and when temperatures drop and thick sheets of sea ice form -the Arctic is reported to be 20° C warmer than average for this time of year. Never has it been more important to understand the effects of climate change on Polar Regions. Mikhail Varentsov, a climate and meteor ...[Read More]
With the rise of electronic games – those played on computers, consoles and even on mobile phones – you’d be forgiven for thinking the humble board game would be slowly making its way into the history books. Nothing could be further from the truth! Sales of board games are on the up, as are cafes where you can gather to play table-top games of your choice, and board game meet ups: regular gaming g ...[Read More]
Clouds and storms are formed when warm, moist air rises. This causes the air to expand and cool: forming clouds as the moisture condenses onto particles suspended in the air (called cloud condensation nuclei). Normally, air rises from surface heating, or when warm and cold air pockets collide, or if air is pushed upwards when passing over hills or mountains. If this heating, and subsequent rising, ...[Read More]
The US Presidential election this month saw Republican Donald Trump, a fierce climate sceptic, be elected into office. In wake of the election results, this month’s GeoPolicy post will take a look at Trump’s proposed actions on climate change, how likely these are to happen, and what the climate and clean technology communities could do to limit the damage. This tweet, written four years ag ...[Read More]
On Sunday the 13th November, New Zealand’s South Island was struck by a powerful 7.8 M earthquake. Initial analysis by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) indicates that the source of the tremor was faulting on or near the boundary between the Pacific and Australia plates. A tsunami alert (no longer active) was triggered following the earthquake, with risk of tsunami waves along coastal are ...[Read More]
Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. In this interview we speak to Peter Lippert, a palaeomagnetist at the University of Utah, and winner of the 2016 EMRP Outstanding Young Scientist Award. He was granted the award for his contributions to insights into palaeoceanography and continental tectonics through palaeomagnetic studies. Crucially, his work usin ...[Read More]
On account of Mount Etna (Europe’s largest volcano), the island of Sicily is peppered with geological wonders. Starting with the summit craters of the volcano itself, right through to over 200 caves formed within lava tubes, the island is packed with volcanic sights.Chief among them is Gole dell ‘Alcantara, a system of gorges formed 8,000 years ago in the course of the river Alcantara ...[Read More]
Researching the Earth’s climate of the past, helps scientists make better predictions about how the climate and our environment will continue to be affected by, change and adapt to rising temperatures. One of the most invaluable sources of data, when it comes to understanding the Earth’s past climate, are historical meteorological records. Accounts of weather and climate conditions for the Souther ...[Read More]
This week’s contribution to Imaggeo on Mondays is a photograph of a mesocyclone – and its rotating wall cloud – photographed by Mareike Schuster, an atmospheric scientist from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. The picture was taken in June 2012 near Cheyenne, Wyoming in the United States during a field campaign, ROTATE, led by the Center for Severe Weather Research, based in Boulder, Colora ...[Read More]