disaster

May GeoRoundUp: the best of the Earth sciences from around the web

Olivia Trani May 31, 2019

Mirror mirror in the sea... Credit: Mario Hoppmann (distributed via imaggeo).

Drawing inspiration from popular stories on our social media channels, major geoscience headlines, as well as unique and quirky research, this monthly column aims to bring you the latest Earth and planetary science news from around the web. Major story The impact that humans have left on the planet’s landscape is so profound, that up to one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinctio ...[Read More]

A better framework for disasters

Robert Emberson November 13, 2018

The 2018 Carr Fire that burned 229,651 acres in California. It's currently listed as the seventh-largest wildfire recorded in the state's modern history. (Photo: Bureau of Land Management California via Bureau of Land Management California)

The end of the Northern hemisphere summer tends to be a good time to regroup from natural hazards, as the frequency and intensity of storms, as well as the incidence of wildfires, tends to trail off. At the time of writing, however, Hurricane Willa had just crashed into Mexico, while Typhoon Yutu has just hit the Northern Mariana Islands so hard that any equipment designed to record wind-speed had ...[Read More]

Geosciences column: Shelter island – building a barrier to protect the coast

Sara Mynott June 27, 2014

The latest Geosciences Column features recent research into tsunami hazards and explains how island building out to sea can help protect buildings on the shore… Barrier reefs are well known for holding off the wrath of the ocean and sheltering the serene lagoons that stretch between them and the mainland. Barrier islands possess the same protective power, taking the impact of waves that have built ...[Read More]