Geolog regularly brings readers information about recent research in the geosciences as well as updates on the EGU’s activities. Part of what makes Geolog such an engaging read is the wonderful variety that guest posts add to our regular features. Whether you are an early-career researcher, an established scientist, a student, or a professional in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences, we would love to feature your voice!
What we’re looking for
Many of our guest contributions feature in the Geosciences column, which highlights recent research across the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. We welcome a wide array of topics and formats, including but not limited to:
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Fieldwork & expedition stories: Personal accounts, field notes, and photo-essays from Earth science events, conferences, and fieldwork.
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Research highlights: Overviews of recently published findings in peer-reviewed journals, especially research published in open-access EGU journals.
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Geoscience in context: Insightful commentaries or opinion pieces on the latest geoscientific developments or articles that connect geoscience to broader societal, policy, and environmental issues.
Tips for writing a standout Geolog post
Writing a blog post is a fantastic way to practice communicating your research to a wider audience. Here are a few tips to help you craft a great blog piece:
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Hook your reader early: Start with an engaging story, an intriguing or thought-provoking question, or a real-world example in your opening lines. Explain why this science matters before jumping into the details.
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Tell the story behind the science: Readers love hearing about the scientific process! Share the human side of your work, like the excitement of a breakthrough, the challenges faced during fieldwork, or how a research project came together.
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Keep it conversational & accessible: Imagine you are explaining your work to a colleague in a different department. It’s important to remember that perhaps a significant majority of readers do not have the expertise you have. Use clear and accessible language and break up long paragraphs to make your post inviting to read.
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Use visuals to tell the story: Visuals are your best friend when writing a blog post! Don’t forget to submit a photo or more (that is either yours, free to use under either the Public Domain or specific Creative Commons licenses, or you have explicit written permission to use). Also, adding diagrams and maps in-text bring your piece to life and help readers visualise your ideas.
Editorial guidelines
Originality & Generative AI (GenAI): We cherish the unique, authentic voices of our contributors. EGU does not permit the use of Generative AI (GenAI) tools to write text or create images, audio, or video content for any blog post across all divisions. GenAI-generated visuals are predicated on the uncredited extraction of artwork and photography repurposed for commercial gain. We strongly encourage you to write using your own words to ensure authenticity and integrity in every post.
Audience: Unlike EGU’s division blogs, Geolog posts are aimed at a broad scientific audience. Please bear this in mind when suggesting and writing your post. While the language used can be a bit more detailed than that used in mainstream news articles, care should be taken to avoid discipline-specific jargon and define technical terms clearly on first use (You can do so by adding notes or hyperlinks!)
Length: Blog posts should ideally be anywhere between 800 and 1,300 words long.
Images & multimedia: Descriptive captions and sources should be used for images. The author, artist, or photographer should be credited, together with a link to the original source where applicable. All images must be open access; if they are not, explicit written permission must be obtained from the copyright holder prior to publication. (Tip: You can use any image from EGU’s repository Imaggeo!)
References & citations Where relevant, include inline hyperlinks directly to the publications you discuss. If you want to add formal citations, you should follow the style used by Copernicus in EGU journals and must link directly to the DOI, as shown in this example:
Lee, G., Jun, K.-S. and Chung, E.-S.: Integrated multi-criteria flood vulnerability approach using fuzzy TOPSIS and Delphi technique, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 1293–1312, doi:10.5194/nhess-13-1293-2013, 2013.
Got an idea?
We want to make the pitch process as easy and approachable as possible! If you have an idea for a blog post, simply send a short paragraph outlining your proposed topic to the EGU Media and Engagement Manager at media@egu.eu. We look forward to reading you!