Field Work

Geosciences Column: The hunt for Antarctica’s oldest time capsule

Ruth Amey January 12, 2018

Preparing the ice corer for deployment, EPICA project, Kohnen Station, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica (Operators: Prof. Dr. Frank Wilhelms and Lorenz Karsten). NB: This image is not related to the study featured in this post . Credit: Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (distributed via Wikimedia Commons).

The thick packs of ice that pepper high peak of the world’s mountains and stretch far across the poles make an unusual time capsule. As it forms, air bubbles are trapped in the ice, allowing scientists to peer into the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere long ago. Today’s Geosciences Column is brought to you by PhD researcher Ruth Amey, who writes about recently published resea ...[Read More]

Communicating Antarctic science…in the Antarctic

Jon Fuhrmann January 10, 2018

An expedition ship is dwarfed by its surroundings in Hornsund, Svalbard. Credit: Jonathan Fuhrmann.

Communicating the fragility of one of Earth’s remotest environments is hugely difficult, precisely due to the location of the poles. Jon Fuhrmann, a freelance science writer and guide on Antarctic cruises, discusses the potential benefits of taking tourists to these once inaccessible locations, especially when it comes to making members of the public aware of the challenges faced by the Eart ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: New life on ancient rock

Gerrit de Rooij January 1, 2018

New life on ancient rock. Credit: Gerrit de Rooij (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

For the start of a new year, we bring you a photograph featuring some of the oldest rocks in the world but bursting with new life. The image, taken by Gerrit de Rooij, of the Helmholtz Centre for Env. Res. – UFZ, comes complete with an informative caption which we’ve included below. May the new year be successful for all our readers. After two days of canooing in the rain on lake Juvul ...[Read More]

The role of exploration geologists in fostering healthy community-industry relationships

Alexandra Mitchell December 20, 2017

Zooming in community . Credit: Velio Coviello (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

In November 2015, the failure of the Fundão tailings dam in Brazil devastated the surrounding landscape and local villages, killing 19 people and leaving the media filled with images of landslides, fallen infrastructure and ruined livelihoods. The limited communication and lack of relationship between joint operators BHP Billiton and Brazilian company Vale with the surrounding communities exacerba ...[Read More]