GeoLog

Regular Features

Imaggeo On Monday: Geoscientific selfie at the Dead Sea

Imaggeo On Monday: Geoscientific selfie at the Dead Sea

This is an aerial image taken from a balloon at around 150m height, at the eastern shoreline of the Dead Sea. Such “selfies” are scientifically valuable, providing important data that help researchers to analyze the morphology of the retreating lake and investigate associated hazards like sinkholes, subsidence and landslides. The older shorelines, visible as lines on the shore stand fo ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: Patterns in the landform

Imaggeo On Monday: Patterns in the landform

The badlands at the Zabriskie Point (Death Valley, California, USA) rest upon a mudstone foundation. In the prehistoric lakes of Death Valley, fine grained sediments were deposited to form soft rocks. The clay minerals in the mudstone are shaped like tiny plates, which helps create the layers. The combination of the almost impermeable mudstone and Death Valley’s low rainfall makes plant grow ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Thunderstorm asthma, the unexpected impact of lightning storms on pollen allergies.

Geosciences Column: Thunderstorm asthma, the unexpected impact of lightning storms on pollen allergies.

In October 2015 a series of massive thunderstorms rolled across the Eastern Mediterranean. In the hours and days that followed many people living along the Israeli coast had to go to their nearest medical centre because they were experiencing respiratory problems, which appeared very similar to asthma. But what could have caused these breathing problems? Well in research recently published in Natu ...[Read More]