Most lakes in the Northern hemisphere are formed through the erosive power of glaciers during the last Ice Age; but not all. Lake Baikal is pretty unique. For starters, it is the deepest fresh water lake in the world. This means it is the largest by volume too, holding a whopping 23,615.39 cubic kilometres of water. Its surface area isn’t quite so impressive, as it ranks as the 7th largest in the ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: An explosive cloud
Karymsky volcano, 2004. Credit: Alexander Belousov (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)
One of the world’s most volcanically active regions is the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. It is the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk microplate (belonging to the large North America Plate) which drives the volcanic and seismic hazard in this remote area. The surface expression of the subduction zone is the 2100 km long Kuril-Kamchatka volcanic arc: a chain of volcanic isla ...[Read More]
Geosciences Column: The quest for life on Mars
Jarosite deposits on Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Understanding where we come from and whether Earth is the only habitable planet in the Solar System has been a long standing conundrum in science. Partly because it is our nearest neighbour, partly because of its past and current similarities with our own home, Mars, the red planet, is a likely contender in the quest for extra-terrestrial life. In this guest blog post, James Lewis, a PhD student a ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: A Patagonia landscape dominated by volcanoes
Imagine a torrent of hot and cold water, laden with rock fragments, ash and other debris hurtling down a river valley: this is a lahar. A by-product of eruptions of tall, steep-sided stratovolcanoes, lahars, are often triggered by the quick melting of snow caps and glaciers atop high volcanic peaks. The history of the Ibañes River and its valley, in southern Chile, are dominated by their proximity ...[Read More]