clouds

Extraordinary iridescent clouds inspire Munch’s ‘The Scream’

Hazel Gibson April 26, 2017

Are the lurid colours and tremulous lines of Munch's 'The Scream', caused by strange and rarer nacreous clouds? L: Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ 1893. R: Mother-of-pearl or nacreous clouds. Credit: Svein Fikke.

Edvard Munch’s series of paintings and sketches ‘The Scream’ are some of the most famous works by a Norwegian artist, instantly recognisable and reproduced the world over. But what was the inspiration behind this striking piece of art? The lurid colours and tremulous lines have long been thought to represent Munch’s unstable state of mind; a moment of terror caught in shocking technicolour. At the ...[Read More]

GeoTalk: How are clouds born?

Laura Roberts-Artal April 7, 2017

Meet Federico, a researcher based at University of Helsinki, working on understanding how clouds are born. Credit: Federico Bianchi

Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. In this interview we speak to Federico Bianchi, a researcher based at University of Helsinki, working on understanding how clouds are born. Federico’s quest to find out has taken him from laboratory experiments at CERN, through to the high peaks of the Alps and to the clean air of the Himalayan mountains. His innova ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Isolated storm

Sarah Connors November 21, 2016

Isolated Storm . Credit: Peter Huber (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Clouds and storms are formed when warm, moist air rises. This causes the air to expand and cool: forming clouds as the moisture condenses onto particles suspended in the air (called cloud condensation nuclei). Normally, air rises from surface heating, or when warm and cold air pockets collide, or if air is pushed upwards when passing over hills or mountains. If this heating, and subsequent rising, ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: Recent and future changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet

Laura Roberts-Artal June 5, 2015

Greenland ice sheet. Credit: Andrew Sole (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu )

Over the past few decades, the Arctic region has warmed more than any other on Earth. The Greenland Ice Sheet is losing mass faster than ever before, and is expected to keep melting with consequences for global sea-level rise and ocean circulation. At a media briefing, during the EGU’s General Assembly in April (stream it here), researchers presented new results on the factors that influence the G ...[Read More]