GeoLog

Peat Bog

Swamps may be considered spooky, but is there more than meets the eye?

October 30, 2023
Swamps may be considered spooky, but is there more than meets the eye?
Credit: Original image by Vitalie Petra

Swamps are spooky. This is the prevailing notion from the depiction of wetlands – the saturated lands of swamps, bogs, and fens – in the media. From the folktales of Will-o’-the-Wisps guiding travellers astray to the many, many swamp monsters of Scooby Doo, the sign is clear: a scrawled “stay away from here” thrust deep in the mud, writ by centuries of storytellers. As a reputation it’ ...[Read More]

When nature isn’t “natural”: Reflections on World Wetlands Day

February 2, 2023
Credit: Ragnar Sigurdsson (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)
Credit: Ragnar Sigurdsson (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

In 1821, peat cutters discovered a body similar to a mummy, pinned down by two wooden stakes deep in the mud. The body’s face still held red hair and a beard, their teeth were well preserved, and a hoop of willow was wrapped around their throat. But this wasn’t the dry, hot climate of Egypt but a cold and rain-sodden bog of Ireland. Later assessment suggested that these were the remain ...[Read More]