natural hazards

Taking the pulse of an extreme landscape

Olivia Trani December 17, 2019

With the help of an EGU Science Journalism Fellowship, science journalist Katherine Kornei was able to follow a research team in Taiwan studying the dynamic landscape of Taroko National Park and its landslides. On the EGU blog Kornei reflects on the expedition. Image courtesy of Katherine Kornei.

Welcome to Taroko National Park. Would you like to borrow a safety helmet? In this precipitously steep landscape, covering one’s head is strongly encouraged. Rockfalls and landslides, triggered by frequent seismic activity and torrential rainfall, are mainstays in Taiwan’s preeminent national park. Evidence of this mass-wasting is everywhere: roadways are littered with fallen rocks, boulders choke ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Civita di Bagnoregio – the dying town

Elenora van Rijsingen November 11, 2019

Civita di Bagnoregio - The Dying Town. Credit: Elenora van Rijsingen (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

On top of a steep cliff standing out from the surrounding countryside, lies the small town of Civita di Bagnoregio, one of the most famous villages of Italy. It is often called the dying town, although more recently people have started to refer to it as fighting to live. What this little town is fighting against is the threat of erosion, as its walls are slowly crumbling down. Located in central I ...[Read More]

How extreme events impact Earth’s surface: reports from the 6th EGU Galileo conference

Maarten Lupker November 6, 2019

Researchers convene at the Bhote Kosi valley in Nepal for a week long EGU Galileo Conference on how rare and catastrophic events influence Earth system dynamics. (Credit: Kristen Cook)

Throughout the year, EGU hosts a number of meetings, workshops, and conferences for the geoscience community. While the EGU’s annual General Assembly brings more than 15,000 scientists together under one roof, the EGU Galileo Conferences allows a smaller number of scientists to discuss and debate issues at the forefront of their discipline. In this blog post, the organisers of the 6th Galileo Conf ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: At the edge of a wildfire

Teamrat Ghezzehei July 29, 2019

Boundary of the Carpenter One Fire. Credit: Teamrat Ghezzehei (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The Carpenter 1 fire burned approximately 11,000 ha in the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest) near Las Vegas, Nevada between July 1, 2013 and its containment on August 18, 2013. The left side of the photo shows the fire affected arid desert scrub ecosystems at 1500 m (foreground) to subalpine pine ecosystems at 3400 m (background). The foreground of the pho ...[Read More]