Regular Features

Geopolicy: How does scientific uncertainty translate into policy?

Chloe Hill January 26, 2018

Direction and uncertainty. Credit: Elis Alves (distributed via Flickr).

Scientific uncertainty is one of the only things in science that is certain. It’s found in complex modelling systems, in the unpredictability of natural processes and even when there seems to be scientific consensus, a new scientific discovery can recreate ambiguity. But how do policymakers deal with scientific uncertainty when they are making decisions? Policymakers deal with and use scientific u ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Decreasing Moon

Bárbara Ferreira January 22, 2018

Decreasing Moon – seen from Hamburg. Credit: Wolfgang Fraedrich, (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

This picture shows the decreasing Moon on May 6, 2015, two days after the full Moon, as viewed from Hamburg, Germany. There are still 96.4% of the lunar front illuminated. The Moon does not glow on its own, but its surface reflects the sunlight. The Sun always illuminates a complete half of our natural satellite, which, in its orbit around our planet, always turns its face (which we see at full Mo ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Glacier-fed rivers

Laura Roberts-Artal January 15, 2018

Rahpaädno river seen from the Ladebakte mountain. Credit: Jakob Keck (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

A view of the southern edge of the Ladebakte mountain in the Sarek national park in north Sweden. At this place the rivers Rahpajaka and Sarvesjaka meet to form the biggest river of the Sarek national park, the Rahpaädno. The rivers are fed by glaciers and carry a lot of rock material which lead to a distinct sedimentation and a fascinating river delta for which the Sarek park laying west of the K ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The hunt for Antarctica’s oldest time capsule

Ruth Amey January 12, 2018

Preparing the ice corer for deployment, EPICA project, Kohnen Station, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica (Operators: Prof. Dr. Frank Wilhelms and Lorenz Karsten). NB: This image is not related to the study featured in this post . Credit: Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (distributed via Wikimedia Commons).

The thick packs of ice that pepper high peak of the world’s mountains and stretch far across the poles make an unusual time capsule. As it forms, air bubbles are trapped in the ice, allowing scientists to peer into the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere long ago. Today’s Geosciences Column is brought to you by PhD researcher Ruth Amey, who writes about recently published resea ...[Read More]