Natural Hazards

Imaggeo on Mondays: Sediments make the colour

Eva Eibl July 17, 2017

Sediment makes the colour . Credit: Eva P.S. Eibl (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Earth is spectacularly beautiful, especially when seen from a bird’s eye view. This image, of a sweeping pattern made by a river in Iceland is testimony to it. The picture shows river Leirá which drains sediment-loaded glacial water from the Myrdalsjökull glacier in Iceland. Myrdalsjökull glacier covers Katla, one of Iceland’s most active and ice-covered volcanoes. A high sediment load (the suspen ...[Read More]

GeoSciences Column: Is smoke on your mind? Using social media to assess smoke exposure from wildfires

Laura Roberts-Artal July 14, 2017

A wildfire in the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana, United States . Credit: John McColgan – Edited by Fir0002 [Public domain], distributed via Wikimedia Commons.

Wildfires have been raging across the globe this summer. Six U.S. States, including California and Nevada, are currently battling fierce flames spurred on by high temperatures and dry conditions. Up to 10,000 people have been evacuated in Canada, where wildfires have swept through British Columbia. Closer to home, 700 tourists were rescued by boat from fires in Sicily, while last month, over 60 pe ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Salt shoreline of the Dead Sea

Laura Roberts-Artal July 3, 2017

Salt shoreline of the Dead Sea. Credit: Djamil Al-Halbouni (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This beautiful aerial image (you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was a watercolour) of the Dead Sea was captured by a drone flying in 100m altitude over its eastern coastline. Climate change is seeing temperatures rise in the Middle East, and the increased demand for water in the region (for irrigation) mean the areas on the banks of the lake are suffering a major water shortage. As a result, t ...[Read More]

GeoSciences Column: Can seismic signals help understand landslides and rockfalls?

Laura Roberts-Artal June 9, 2017

Landslide Gschliefgraben . Credit: Robert Supper (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

From the top of a small gully in the French Alps, a 472 kg block is launched into the chasm. Every detail of it’s trajectory down the slope is scrutinised by two cameras and a network of seismometers. They zealously record every bounce, scrape and tumble – precious data in the quest to better understand landslides. What makes landslides tick? In 2016, fatalities caused by landslides tipped 2 ...[Read More]