EGU Scientific Divisions

The Carbon Potential of Peat

Hazel Gibson January 10, 2020

Northern carbon sink. Credit: Mélina Guêné-Nanchen (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

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 far? How much capacity do the planet’s natural carbon sequestration reserves actually ha ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: When boulders hitch a ride from glaciers

Ian Watkinson January 6, 2020

Glacially transported boulders, Glen More. Credit: Ian Watkinson (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

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 valley, hummocky morraines are littered wi ...[Read More]

Taking the pulse of an extreme landscape

Olivia Trani December 17, 2019

With the help of an EGU Science Journalism Fellowship, science journalist Katherine Kornei was able to follow a research team in Taiwan studying the dynamic landscape of Taroko National Park and its landslides. On the EGU blog Kornei reflects on the expedition. Image courtesy of Katherine Kornei.

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 choke ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Rain on the Namib Desert

Olivia Trani December 16, 2019

Rain in the Namib Desert. Credit: Christoph Schmidt (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

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 81,000 square kilometres in southwest Africa, stretching throughout the entire co ...[Read More]