Geosciences Column

Inclusive flood mapping: using citizen science to collect historical flood data in Dakar, Senegal.

Hazel Gibson February 7, 2020

During the month of February, we are focusing on ‘Accessibility and Inclusivity’ here at the EGU. Although these topics are clearly relevant to the General Assembly, some people may wonder whether they also relate to scientific research. Clearly all geoscientists are people, so accessibility and inclusivity matter regardless of what scientific discipline they are in. But there can also be tangible ...[Read More]

The Carbon Potential of Peat

Hazel Gibson January 10, 2020

2020 is being described by many as a tipping point: the year that humanity as a species must take concrete and measurable action to prevent catastrophic climate change. But even if we do manage to slow carbon emissions from 2020 onwards, how would the planet deal with all the carbon dioxide we have produced so far? How much capacity do the planet’s natural carbon sequestration reserves actually ha ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Taking a Breath of the Wild – are geoscientists more effective than non-geoscientists in determining whether video game world landscapes are realistic?

Rolf Hut October 24, 2019

For years, geoscientists have been both fascinated and perplexed by the beautiful (yet often inaccurate) landscapes present in several video games. But are people with a geoscientific education better at telling ‘fake’ natural features from real ones? Rolf Hut, an assistant professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and his colleagues sought to answer this question in a new st ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: How erupting African volcanoes impact the Amazon’s atmosphere

Olivia Trani July 12, 2019

When volcanoes erupt, they can release into the atmosphere a number of different gases initially stored in their magma, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxide. These kinds of gases can have a big influence on Earth’s atmosphere, even at distances hundreds to thousands of kilometres away. A team of researchers have found evidence that sulfur emissions from volcanic eruptions i ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: climate modelling the world of Game of Thrones

Olivia Trani May 17, 2019

Disclaimer: This article contains minor spoilers for Season 8 of “Game of Thrones.” A basic understanding of the world of Game of Thrones is assumed in this post. The Game of Thrones world of ice and fire is an unpredictable place both politically and environmentally. While the fate of the Iron Throne is yet to be confirmed, a humble steward has been working diligently to make some sense of the pl ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Flooded by jargon

Rolf Hut March 28, 2019

When hydrologists and people of the general public use simple water-related words, are they actually saying the same thing? While many don’t consider words like flood, river and groundwater to be very technical terms, also known as jargon, water scientists and the general public can actually have pretty different definitions. This is what a team of researchers have discovered in recent study, and ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Scientists pinpoint where seawater could be leaking into Antarctic ice shelves

Olivia Trani February 21, 2019

Over the last few decades, Antarctic ice shelves have been disintegrating at a rapid rate, likely due to warming atmospheric and ocean temperatures, according to scientists. New research reveals that one type of threat to ice shelf stability might be more widespread that previously thought. A study recently published in EGU’s open access journal The Cryosphere identified several regions in Antarct ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Using volcanoes to study carbon emissions’ long-term environmental effect

Olivia Trani January 17, 2019

In a world where carbon dioxide levels are rapidly rising, how do you study the long-term effect of carbon emissions? To answer this question, some scientists have turned to Mammoth Mountain, a volcano in California that’s been releasing carbon dioxide for years. Recently, a team of researchers found that this volcanic ecosystem could give clues to how plants respond to elevated levels of carbon d ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: How climate change put a damper on the Maya civilisation

Olivia Trani October 25, 2018

More than 4,000 years ago, when the Great Pyramid of Giza and Stonehenge were being built, the Maya civilisation emerged in Central America. The indigenous group prospered for thousands of years until its fall in the 13th century (potentially due to severe drought). However, thousands of years before this collapse, severely soggy conditions lasting for many centuries likely inhibited the civilisat ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The best spots to hunt for ancient ice cores

Olivia Trani July 13, 2018

Where in the world can you find some of Earth’s oldest ice? That is the question a team of French and US scientists aimed to answer. They recently identified spots in East Antarctica that likely have the right conditions to harbor ice that formed 1.5 million years ago. Scientists hope that obtaining and analysing an undisturbed sample of ice this old will give them clues about Earth’s ancient clim ...[Read More]