Geosciences Column

Dive into the depths: 90 Years of Loch Ness monster lore

Devayani Khare November 10, 2023

An oil painting of the Loch Ness monster by Austrian artist Hugo Heikenwaelder. Image credits: Hugo Heikenwaelder, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

Folk tales and myths, they’ve lasted for a reason. We tell them over and over because we keep finding truths in them, and we keep finding life in them. ~ Patrick Ness, American-British author (*nae, this Ness isn’t related to Nessie) Is it an eel? Is it a snake? Is it a diplodocus with fins? No, it’s Nessie! If there’s one myth that has weathered the passage of time and stands in defi ...[Read More]

Biosphere Reserves: What are they and why must we care for them?

Gillian D'Souza November 3, 2023

Credit: Thomas Plenefisch (via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Today, 3 November, is globally recognized as the International Day for Biosphere Reserves. The first edition of this observance day was marked last year, with UNESCO urging our relationship with nature needed “a radical rethink.” As Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO explains, “The logic is simple: to improve our relationship with nature, we must first improve our understanding of how we a ...[Read More]

Swamps may be considered spooky, but is there more than meets the eye?

Simon Clark October 30, 2023

Credit: Original image by Vitalie Petra

Swamps are spooky. This is the prevailing notion from the depiction of wetlands – the saturated lands of swamps, bogs, and fens – in the media. From the folktales of Will-o’-the-Wisps guiding travellers astray to the many, many swamp monsters of Scooby Doo, the sign is clear: a scrawled “stay away from here” thrust deep in the mud, writ by centuries of storytellers. As a reputation it’ ...[Read More]

International Archaeology Day: Challenging stereotypes about migration

Devayani Khare October 13, 2023

Illustration: Nikola Radosavljević, for Migration Narratives in Archaeology, Sidestone Press

Discoveries like excavations of prehistoric civilizations, shipwrecks with long-lost treasures, forgotten cities, and ancient tombs and temples, paint a vivid picture of archaeology and human history. Yet understanding how cultures evolved is often a more laborious process focused on prosaic finds; pottery shards, tools, implements, skeletal remains, art, inscriptions, pollen or soil samples, amon ...[Read More]