This photograph was taken in 2012 on a guided tour to Whakaari/White Island, an active volcano 50 km off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The volcano lies on the northern end of the Taupo Volcanic zone and has possibly been active for the past 150,000 years. How dangerous this island is, was demonstrated by a number of explosive eruptions in recent history, the latest of which oc ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: The mirror of the volcano
Lascar volcano is located in the Antofagasta Region of Chile. This stratovolcano (a conical volcano built up over time through successive eruptions of lava, tephra and ash) of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes is the most active volcano of the region, with a height of 5.592 m (18,34 ft). The last phase of eruptive activity before this photo was taken was on October 30, 2015, which produced an ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Monday: Time-proven shelter in drifting snow
During my PhD I was working at the German Neumayer III station in Antarctica for my research on polar atmospheric chemistry. Since my instrument was set up on an observatory south of the main station, every day I would walk past a Scott pyramid tent to go and do my research. One day, in the midst of an Antarctic storm, I caught sight of the tent deep in the drifting snow, and took this picture. Th ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Tertiary Flying Saucers
Besides for the purposes of documenting my research, I like to take photos of rocks under the microscope also because of their aesthetic appeal. It’s an hidden, marvelous world. These flying-saucer-looking objects are in fact the fossil skeletons of a Nummulites (the larger) and a Discocyclina (the one on top left), both belong to the phylum of Foraminifera. These single-celled organisms occupyied ...[Read More]