China

Imaggeo On Monday: Yardangs in the Gobi desert

Jonathan D. Müller May 24, 2021

Yardangs in the Gobi desert. Credit: Jonathan D. Müller (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Seeing the Yardang rock formations during sunset was a surreal experience. While they seem to have be standing in a sea of water that formed them, the fluid dynamics that actually lead to their existence is the result of wind abrasion by dust and sand and the removal of loose material by wind turbulence. The air flow and resulting pattern of erosion and the distribution of rocks determines their s ...[Read More]

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

Olivia Trani and Xiaoming Wang October 15, 2018

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]

An overnight train view of China’s Anthropocene – Part 2

Conor Purcell August 22, 2018

Tiananmen Square in Beijing, enveloped by heavy fog and haze. (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory, distributed via Flickr)

Science fiction is no match for industrial non-stop China. Electric bikes zip across the cities of Shanghai and Beijing, and soundtrack the neon nights with their passing whirr. Here, some kind of two-wheeled revolution has taken place which are we completely unaware of in the West. It’s Blade Runner meets Total Recall in a future which has already come to pass. The very existence of our ele ...[Read More]

An overnight train view of China’s Anthropocene – Part 1

Conor Purcell August 15, 2018

Air pollution in Shanghai's Pudong region in July 2017. Credit: Conor Purcell

The nighttrain from Shanghai to Beijing is a comfortable affair. The train is new and clean. My travel partner and I can charge our phones and relax on soft beds. The railway is almost frictionless, and overall the experience is similar to any ride in the West. But outside, as the vehicle roars through the early night, things become increasingly hazy. As we reach further out from the Shanghai metr ...[Read More]