Field work is not without its trials and tribulations, getting there, for instance can be an adventure in itself. Once you arrive you can expect long days, sandwiches for lunch and frustration at losing your way or equipment not working as you expect it to. Despite all of that, one of the primary draws of the geosciences is being able to spend time in the great outdoors. In the fourth instalment o ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Paramo Soil
What lies between 3000m and 4800m above sea level in the mountains of the Andes? A very special place dominated by an exceptional ecosystem: The Páramo. Picture lush grasslands with a unique population of flora and fauna, some of which is found nowhere else on Earth. Páramos stretch from Ecuador to Venezuela, across the Northern Andes and also occur at high elevation in Costa Rica. The climate her ...[Read More]
Geosciences Column: Adapting to acidification, scientists add another piece to the puzzle
In the latest Geosciences Column Sara Mynott sheds light on recent research into how ocean acidification is affecting the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. The findings, published in Biogeosciences, reveal large differences between the abilities of different animals to adapt and highlight the urgent need to understand the way a greater suite of species are responding… Large Marine Ecosyst ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: Trapped air
Can you imagine walking into the depths of an icy, white, long and cavernous channel within a thick glacier? That is exactly what Kay Helfricht did in 2012 to obtain this week’s Imaggeo on Mondays photograph. Tellbreen Glacier is a small glacier (3.5Km long) in the vicinity of the Longyearbyen valley in the Svalbard region of Norway. Despite its limited size, it is an important glacier. One of the ...[Read More]
The known unknowns – the outstanding 49 questions in Earth sciences (Part I)
Science is about asking questions, as much as it is about finding answers. Most of the time spent by scientists doing research is used to constrain and clarify what exactly is unknown – what does not yet form part of the consensus among the scientific community. Researchers all over the globe are working tirelessly to answer the unresolved questions about the inner workings of our planet, but inev ...[Read More]
Shape the scientific programme at the EGU 2015 General Assembly
Time is running out, so if you have a great idea for a conference session but haven’t quite put it into practice: now’s your chance! Until this time next week (12th September) you can submit your session ideas and take part in organising the scientific programme for the EGU General Assembly in 2015. What you need to do: Take a look at the sessions that have already been suggested within the Progra ...[Read More]
GeoCinema Online: Our changing Climate
Welcome to the third instalment of Geocinema! The focus this week is on climate change and how it impacts on local communities. Sit back, relax and make sure you’ve got a big bucket of popcorn on the go, as this post features a selection of short documentaries as well as trailers of feature length films. Documenting the effects of the warming conditions on the surface of our planet is the primary ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: A massive slump
One of the regions that has experienced most warming over the second half of the 20th century is the Potter Peninsula on King George Island in Antartica. It is here that Marc Oliva and his collaborators are studying what the effects of the warming conditions on the geomorphological processes prevailing in these environments. “Permafrost is present almost down to sea level in the South Shetland Isl ...[Read More]
GeoCinema Online: The Geological Storage of CO2
Welcome to week two of GeoCinema Screenings! In a time when we can’t escape the fact that anthropogenic emissions are contributing to the warming of the Earth, we must explore all the options to reduce the impact of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The three films this week tackle the challenge of separating CO2 from other emissions and then storing it in geological formations deep ...[Read More]
Imaggeo on Mondays: The Valley of the Souls
Simon Gascoin captured this image of the badlands of the Palca canyon. The Palca canyon is located near the city of La Paz, Bolivia. Like much of the geology in the vicinity of La Paz, the canyon comprises mainly unconsolidated glacial formations, which are highly susceptible to wind and water erosion. The imposing spires, which can reach up to 200m in height, are fluvioglacial deposits that resul ...[Read More]