climate change

New study of natural CO2 reservoirs: Carbon dioxide emissions can be safely buried underground for climate change mitigation

Suzanne Hangx July 28, 2016

The rocks in the Colorado Plateau, USA, are representative for reservoirs currently under consideration for CO2 storage in Europe. Layer Cake . Credit: Suzanne Hangx (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

New research shows that natural accumulations of carbon dioxide (CO2) that have been trapped underground for around 100,000 years have not significantly corroded the rocks above, suggesting that storing CO2 in reservoirs deep underground is much safer and more predictable over long periods of time than previously thought, explains Suzanne Hangx a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Utrech ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The World’s soils are under threat

Laura Roberts-Artal July 22, 2016

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]

Testing triggers of catastrophic climate change

Sara Mynott June 3, 2016

The research presented during the EGU’s 2016 General Assembly have wide-reaching implications for how we understand planet Earth. In today’s post, Sara Mynott, an EGU press assistant during the conference, writes about findings presented at the meeting which highlight the importance of the biosphere when it comes to understanding the threat posed to our planet by environmental challenges. With the ...[Read More]

The final days of the mountain glaciers

Hazel Gibson May 11, 2016

Gergeti Glacier 1890-2011 (Credit Levan Tielidze)

In 1896 British lawyer, mountaineer and author Douglas Freshfield climbed an obscure mountain in the Caucasus called Kasbek and in his book detailing his adventures he described the mountain: “From this point the view of Kasbek is superb: its whole north-eastern face is a sheet of snow and ice, broken by the steepness of the slope into magnificent towers, and seamed by enormous blue chasms.” D Fre ...[Read More]