Regular Features

GeoPolicy: The importance of scientific foresight

Chloe Hill October 27, 2017

Foresight shows us where we are going. Credit: marfis75 (distributed via Flickr).

Many of the issues that society currently faces are complex and research on just one angle or area does not provide sufficient information to address the problem. These challenges are compounded when more than one region (or even the entire planet) is impacted. Many of the decisions and legislations passed by governments today will go on to impact how these issues either develop or are resolved ye ...[Read More]

GeoSciences Column: Forests in flux – log-jams in the Amazon

Robert Emberson October 25, 2017

The impact of log jams on river geomorphology is varied. Unravelling the untouched . Credit: Amajida Roslim (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

Collapsing dams are a staple of disaster films, but the form that these take in natural systems is also surprisingly varied. Streams and rivers can be blocked by a range of rapid and gradual inputs. One of the lesser-known causes of stream blockage is through the accumulation of large woody debris – tree trunks and large branches – to form a log jam. The impact of these jams on river geomorphology ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Ice forming on Chesapeake Bay

Laura Roberts-Artal October 23, 2017

Ice forming on Chesapeake Bay. Credit: Melissa Bukovsky (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Sandwiched between the U.S states of Mayland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York State, the District of Columbia and Virginia, lies Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in North America. It is of huge ecological importance: “the bay, its rivers, wetlands and forests provide homes, food and protection for countless animals and plants”, says the Chesapeake Bay Program. Up to 150 major rivers and stream ...[Read More]

GeoTalk: Hellishly hot period contributed to one of the most catastrophic mass extinctions of Earth’s history

Laura Roberts-Artal October 20, 2017

Could the eruption of the super volcano in present day Siberia have been the cause of a mass extinction 252 million years ago? From the boundless deep. Credit: Martin Mergili (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. Following the EGU General Assembly, we spoke to Yadong Sun, the winner of a 2017 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists, about his work on understanding mass-extinctions. Using a unique combination of sedimentological, palaeontological and geochemical techniques Yadong was able to identify some o ...[Read More]