GeoLog

agriculture

How Ancient Egyptian Decline Synced With Hydrological Change….And How They Survived

June 10, 2022
How Ancient Egyptian Decline Synced With Hydrological Change….And How They Survived
Fields of the Nile River. Credit: Katja Bigge via Imaggeo

Cairo’s survival was, is, and will be dependent on the flow of the Nile. Since the city was founded in 10th century CE the Nile’s scouring waters have left behind untouched ground onto which the city has spilled and grown. Modern Cairo’s youngest districts are closest to the Nile, founded on earth which was underwater centuries before. It is the river’s changing nature that made the Nile Val ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: A steady silent witness

February 28, 2022
Imaggeo On Monday: A steady silent witness
A steady silent witness. Credit: Francesco Bregoli (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

I took this picture during a sunny field work day in the Mara Wetland, Tanzania. The granitic inselberg appeared to me as a huge silent witness not only of siltation and inundation of the wetland but also of the human actions. Slash-and-burn is widely used to deforest lands and riparian vegetation for new crops and grazing fields along the Mara River. The induced habitat degradation is jeopardizin ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Life between the arid mountains of Gansu, China

October 15, 2018
Imaggeo on Mondays: Life between the arid mountains of Gansu, China
Arid Mountains in Gansu, China Credit: Xiaoming Wang (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Even within Earth’s more arid environments, you can find life! This featured photo was taken near the Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, about 50 km away from Lanzhou city, the capital of Gansu province in Western China. The area lies in a region between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau, with an elevation ranging from 1,500 m to 2,200 m. The landscape is dominated by a network of ridges an ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The World’s soils are under threat

July 22, 2016
Geosciences Column: The World’s soils are under threat
Tillage in vineyards with heavy machinery is inducing soil degradation. Utiel, Eastern Spain . Credit: Artemi Cerdá (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

An increasing global population means that we are more dependant than ever on soils. Soils are crucial to securing our future supplies of water, food, as well as aiding adaptation to climate change and sustaining the planet’s biosphere; yet with the decrease in human labour dedicated to working the land, never have we been more out of touch with the vital importance of this natural resource. Now, ...[Read More]