This one was a challenge to write, and a challenge to get my head around, but I was challenged to write it, so challenge accepted and challenge fulfilled! Kaleidoscope of ice Frozen water, mineral ice, a simple structure, orientation concise. A fabric is woven from many crystals intertwined, axes interlocked. C-axes, crystalline kaleidoscopes of greys, blues and whites, reflecting, refracting and ...[Read More]
With a name like “atmospheric rivers” this subject is an absolute gift to the poetically-inclined! Atmospheric rivers I float high in the sky, higher than the jagged, ice-hewn nunatak peaks I see below me as I peer over the side of my coracle made of clouds. Down there, beneath frayed candifloss, Greenland glows white in bright polar sunlight. My coracle bobs and sways as I go with the ...[Read More]
Concepts accepted in geology always have room for revision. In this case, time itself is revised! This one melted my brain a little. Deep time, deep circulation, deep thinking Plate tectonics, amongst the most evocative subjects in geology. The entire skin of the earth shifting and reorganising continuously, the most profound of motion. So deep and ancient, that humans struggle to understand it. E ...[Read More]
I find the idea of nature-based solutions hugely appealing. Let’s explore what it means! Nature-based harmony Over billions of years, natural ecosystems have co-evolved solutions that prevent their damage and destruction. So why do we think we can do better, with only 10,000 years of innovation? We can restore and reproduce the natural behaviour of ecosystems in the places we inhabit, Nature ...[Read More]
This post is for everyone needing to relax during the conference, specifically written to accompany the Mindfulness Hour pop-up event on Thursday 29th April at 17:00 CEST. Calmscape Amidst the chaos of a conference, it can be hard to find peace, to stop and switch off. If you know where to look, even the hubbub. hustling, bustling corridors of the Austria Center hides a place of calm. Dart through ...[Read More]
Escalating geoscience Whether you approach through the urban greenspace tranquillity of the Donaupark, or trickle down from the platform at Kaisermühlen in the turbulent river of geoscientists that flows through the covered walkway, you arrive at the plaza in front of the triangular ziggurat of the Austria Center. The concrete meadow throngs with all sorts of geoscientists, from all over the world ...[Read More]
This year at vEGU21 we have a whole range of brilliant science-art activities, events and sessions taking place over the two weeks to entertain, educate and inspire you! From the special session on the Art-Science interface, EOS 7.4 to the Kids Art initiative being run by our Cryospheric Science and Natural Hazards Divisions, the #ActualLivingScientist gallery, to show the diversity of people and ...[Read More]
During the week of #shareEGU20 we were very fortunate that both of our Artists in Residence, Stacy Phillips and Priyanka das Rajkakati agreed to participate virtually. We will feature some of Priyanka’s work in a later post, but in case you missed it during the week we wanted to share some of Stacy’s photography, to perhaps give you some ideas about how you can represent, communicate a ...[Read More]
The EGU Kids Art activity normally happens in person in the creche at the conference centre during the general assembly (GA). We decided at the GA last year that the theme would be Volcanic Paint! Maike and I decided to move the activity online to hopefully bring a smile to a few of your faces – I know it has been bringing a smile to my face every day for the last week or so. We wanted to share as ...[Read More]
At the annual EGU General Assembly in April, more than 16,000 scientists from 113 countries convened in Vienna to share exciting research and discuss the latest advances in their field. During this conference, the EGU hosted two artists in residence to engage with scientific research in a dynamic setting and be inspired by new scientific discoveries. This year, we interviewed the 2019 artists in r ...[Read More]