The last two weeks have been action-packed, with ten schools from seven countries heading online to ask five fabulous geoscientists questions about anything from how the Earth works to what it’s like to be a scientist in the first ever I’m a Geoscientist, Get me out of here! competition. The aim of this thrilling fortnight …[Read More]
EGU Scientific Divisions
Imaggeo on Mondays: Fuelling the clouds with fire
Wildfires frequently break out in the Californian summer. The grass is dry, the ground parched and a small spark can start a raging fire, but burning can begin even when water is about. Gabriele Stiller sets the scene for a blaze beside Mono Lake, exploring the events that got it going and what it may …[Read More]
Geosciences column: Shelter island – building a barrier to protect the coast
The latest Geosciences Column features recent research into tsunami hazards and explains how island building out to sea can help protect buildings on the shore… Barrier reefs are well known for holding off the wrath of the ocean and sheltering the serene lagoons that stretch between them and the mainland. Barrier islands possess the same …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Shaken, not stirred – sediment shows signs of past earthquakes
Nore Praet, a PhD student from Ghent University in Belgium, brings us this week’s Imaggeo on Mondays. She sets the scene for an investigation into past earthquakes and explains how peering through a lake’s icy surface and its murky waters, and into the sediment below can help scientists find out more about the impact of …[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Did Mediterranean salt change the global climate?
The latest Geosciences Column is brought to you by Annabel Slater, who describes a time of dramatic change in the Mediterranean. Slater shares the results of a recently published Climate of the Past study and sheds light on how – in the context of global climate – a little salt can go a long way… Many of …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Plate it up – a recipe for sea ice errors
Last week, a team of cryospheric scientists published a paper in The Cryosphere that showed how tiny plates of ice can lead to spurious estimates of sea ice thickness. This week, we’re featuring their findings, as well as some spectacular sea ice images in the latest in our Imaggeo on Mondays series… Viewing the poles from above is …[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Meshing models with the small-scale ocean
The latest Geosciences Column is brought to you by Nikita Marwaha, who explains how a new generation of marine models is letting scientists open up the oceans. The new technique, described in Ocean Science, reveals what’s happening to ocean chemistry and biology at scales that are often hard to model… Diving into the depths of …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Soil and water conservation in the Dogon Plateau, Mali
Velio Coviello, a scientist from the Research Institute for Hydrogeological Protection, Italy, and one of the winners of the EGU 2014 Photo Contest, brings us this week’s Imaggeo on Mondays. He sheds light on his winning image and the problems associated with conserving soils and water in Western Africa… This picture was taken on Mali’s …[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Long-lived lakes have a lot to tell
The world’s oldest, deepest freshwater lake lies in southeast Siberia: Lake Baikal. Stretching some 600 kilometres across the Russian landscape, Baikal marks what the very early stages of a new ocean – an ancient rift that cleaved the centre of Asia apart throughout the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Today, there are still signs of tectonic activity …[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Could plants be a cheap solution to soil contamination in developing countries?
There are many ways to remove contaminants from the land, but it is a constant battle for scientists to find better and cheaper ways to the job. Recent research published in Soild Earth suggests plants may present a solution – one that’s particularly promising for poor areas. Jane Robb describes the findings… Bolivia has a …[Read More]