This week we feature the second instalment in this series, which follows the adventures of Simona Aracri, a PhD student at University of Southampton, and her colleagues. as they spent a month aboard a research vessel, cruising the Mediterranean Sea. Simona and the team of scientists aboard the boat documented their experiences via a blog. This time we discover that chemists are always kept busy on ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: What a thin section has to say about the deformation of the Zagros Mountains
The impressive Zagros Orogeny, as seen from a bird’s-eye view, has featured on Imaggeo on Monday’s blog posts a few times recently. From its fluvial dissection features, through to a false colour LANDSAT 7 image which reveals a velociraptor hiding among fold and thrusts, we’ve looked at the broad scale structures which shape the Zagros mountains. This week, the scale changes entirely: we zoom righ ...[Read More]
Cruising the Mediterranean: a first-hand account of a month at sea – Part 1
Simona Aracri, a PhD student at University of Southampton, spent a month aboard the research vessel, R/V Minerva Uno, cruising the Mediterranean Sea. Simona and the team of scientists aboard the boat documented their experiences via blog. Over the coming weeks we’ll feature a few of the posts the team shared over the one month voyage: you can expect to find out what life aboard a large research ve ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: The Grand Canyon and celebrating Earth Science Week
Today marks the start of Earth Science Week – a yearly international event which aims to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences. The event is promoted by the American Geosciences Institute and the Geological Society of London, amongst others, so be sure to head to their websites to find out more. Our Imaggeo on Monday’s image celebrates Earth Science We ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Mount Etna
In this week’s Imaggeo on Monday’s image an almost Martian looking landscape, with ombre coloured soils, gives way to gently rolling hills, covered in luscious woods and vegetation. Were it not for the trees in the distance, you would be forgiven for thinking this image had been captured by a Mars rover. In truth, it is an entirely more earthly landscape: welcome to the slopes of Mt. Etna! Keep on ...[Read More]
A journey into the Cordon Caulle volcano
There is no escaping the fact that one of the perks of being an Earth scientist is the opportunity to visit incredible places while on field work. There is also no doubt that, geologist or not, walking on an active volcano is awe inspiring. Maybe you’ve had the experience of doing so yourself (if so, share your story with us in the comments section, we’d love to hear from you!), but if ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Moulin on the Athabasca Glacier
The Athabasca Glacier is located in Jasper National Park, in the Canadian Rockies. It is the largest of seven named distributary glaciers carrying ice away from the Columbia Icefield, the largest icefield in the Rocky Mountains. This picture shows a summer meltwater stream running on the surface of the ice disappear in a moulin – a vertical shaft forming part of the glacier’s internal plumbing sys ...[Read More]
GeoTalk: Talking about ‘ocean burps’ with James Rae
Trying to understand the reasons behind the global warming of our climate is a never ending quest for scientists across the geosciences. Scientists often rely on deciphering past change to help us understand, and perhaps predict, what might happen in the future. Many will be familiar with the common saying ‘the past is the key to the future’. This is exactly what James Rae, a research fellow at th ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: The organisation of a river system
The picture shows the Elbe Rivervalley, one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It was taken from the Bastei Bridge close to Rathen, which towers 194 meters above the Elbe River in the state of Saxony in the south-eastern Germany. This region belongs to the national park known as Saxon Switzerland. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic, the Saxon Switzerland National Park ...[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Soil in art
When you think of soil, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The answer will depend on your perception of soil: to some it has a patriotic meaning (“soil of Britain”, for example), while to others it has a strong agricultural connection and to an Earth scientist, well, it’ll depend on their field of expertise. A geotechnical engineer’s perception of soil is different to how it might be view ...[Read More]