GeoLog

Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

Imaggeo on Mondays: Lava highway in Kanaga Island

March 20, 2017
Imaggeo on Mondays: Lava highway in Kanaga Island
Lava highway in Kanaga Island (Western Aleutians, Alaska). Credit: Mattia Pistone (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

On a rare sunny day, Mattia Pistone (a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC) was able to capture this spectacular shot of Kanaga, a stratovolcano in the remote Western Aleutians, which is usually veiled by thick cloud. The Western Aleutians form a chain of 14 large and 55 small volcanic islands, belonging to one of the most extended volcanic archipelagos on Earth (1900 km), s ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: harnessing Earth’s inner heat

February 27, 2017
Imaggeo on Mondays: harnessing Earth’s inner heat
Leirhnjúkur area near Myvatn lake. Credit: Chiara Arrighi (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

Iceland, the land of ice and fire, is well known for its volcanicity. Most famously, it is home to Eyjafjallajökull: the volcano which caused wide spread mayhem across European airspace when it erupted in 2010. But not all the local volcanic activity is unwelcome. High temperature geothermal areas are a byproduct of the volcanic setting and the energy released can be used to power homes and infras ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Life on bare lava

January 30, 2017
Life on bare lava
Life on a baren rock. Credit: Katja Laute (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

There are plenty of hostile habitats across the globe but some flora and fauna species are resourceful enough to adapt and make extreme environments their home. From heat-loving ants of the Sahara to microbes living in the light-deprived ocean depths, through to beatles who brave the bitterly cold Alaskan winter, there are numerous examples of plants, animals and bugs who strive in environments of ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: the remotest place on Earth?

January 16, 2017
Imaggeo on Mondays: the remotest place on Earth?
Heard. Credit: Anna Lourantou (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Perhaps a bold claim, but at over 4,000 km away from Australia and 4,200 km from South Africa, Heard Island is unquestionably hard to reach. The faraway and little know place is part of a group of volcanic islands known as HIMI (comprised of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands), located in the southwest Indian Ocean. Shrouded in persistent bad weather and surrounded by the vast ocean, Heard Isla ...[Read More]