Geosciences Column

Geosciences Column: A new rock outcrop map and area estimation for the entire Antarctic continent

Jonathan Fuhrmann September 9, 2016

Whale bones, raised beaches and moraine, Byers Peninsula, Antarctica . Credit: Marc Oliva (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Antarctica has been known as “the frozen continent” for almost as long as we have known of its existence. It may be the only place on Earth where, instead of information on the extent of glaciers or ice caps, there exists a dataset of all non-icy areas compiled from satellite imagery. However, this repository is far from perfect: while satellite resolution and coverage have been steadily improving ...[Read More]

GeoSciences Column: Improving together – science writing and football

Mathew Stiller-Reeve August 26, 2016

Some of the writing group at the Geophysical Insitute at the University of Bergen. From right to left: Hella Elisa Wittmeier, Anne Morée, Ragna Breines, Mathew Stiller-Reeve (Credit: Gudrun Sylte)

Writing is something that those pursuing a career in academia are expected to be good at. It is a requirement of the job, yet it is a skill few get any formal training in and simply rely on the old saying that practice makes perfect. But what if there is another way? Mathew Stiller-Reeve is a co-founder of ClimateSnack, a writing group organization, which aims to tackle the problem. In today’s pos ...[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]

Geosciences Column: Pollen tells a 7300 year old story of Malta’s climate and vegetation

Laura Roberts-Artal July 1, 2016

Birch pollen by Per Harald of NTNU, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology. Distributed via Flickr .

Figuring out what the climate was like, and how it changed, throughout Earth’s history is like trying to complete a 1000 piece puzzle. Except that scientists usually don’t have all the nuggets and building a comprehensive picture relies on a multidisciplinary approach in order to fill in the blanks. This is particularly true during the Holocene, which spans the last 11,700 years of the Earth’ ...[Read More]