Energy, Resources and the Environment

Going deeper underground – why do we want to know how rocks behave?

Stephanie Zihms August 12, 2016

Photo taken at the Soapbox Science event courtesy of Sarah Caldwell (smcneem)

Imagine you find yourself standing atop a wooden box in the middle of your home town, on a rainy weekend day, with the sole aim of talking to passersby about your research work. It can be a rather daunting prospect! How do you decide what the take-home message of your work is: which single nugget of information do you want members of the public to take away after having spoken to you? Even more im ...[Read More]

New study of natural CO2 reservoirs: Carbon dioxide emissions can be safely buried underground for climate change mitigation

Suzanne Hangx July 28, 2016

The rocks in the Colorado Plateau, USA, are representative for reservoirs currently under consideration for CO2 storage in Europe. Layer Cake . Credit: Suzanne Hangx (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

New research shows that natural accumulations of carbon dioxide (CO2) that have been trapped underground for around 100,000 years have not significantly corroded the rocks above, suggesting that storing CO2 in reservoirs deep underground is much safer and more predictable over long periods of time than previously thought, explains Suzanne Hangx a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Utrech ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The World’s soils are under threat

Laura Roberts-Artal July 22, 2016

Tillage in vineyards with heavy machinery is inducing soil degradation. Utiel, Eastern Spain . Credit: Artemi Cerdá (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

An increasing global population means that we are more dependant than ever on soils. Soils are crucial to securing our future supplies of water, food, as well as aiding adaptation to climate change and sustaining the planet’s biosphere; yet with the decrease in human labour dedicated to working the land, never have we been more out of touch with the vital importance of this natural resource. Now, ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Why is groundwater so important?

Laura Roberts-Artal July 4, 2016

Why is groundwater so important? . Credit: Anna Menció (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Groundwater is an often underestimated natural resource, but it is vital to the functioning of both natural and urban environments. Indeed, it is a large source of drinking water for communities world-wide, as well as being heavily used for irrigation of crops and crucial for many industrial processes. The water locked in the pores and cracks within the Earth’s soils and rocks, also plays an impor ...[Read More]