GeoLog

Tristan da Cunha

Imaggeo on Mondays: On the way to Tristan’s penguins

November 19, 2018
Imaggeo on Mondays: On the way to Tristan’s penguins
The Penguins of Tristan da Cunha. Credit: Maria Tsekhmistrenko (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic island in the south Atlantic Ocean. In fact, it is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world. Tristan is still volcanically active; the last time it erupted was in 1961. After the eruption, which luckily did not have any casualties, the whole population of around 260 people evacuated the island for some time, but they all returned back to the island b ...[Read More]

GeoTalk: The anomaly in the Earth’s magnetic field which has geophysicists abuzz

September 21, 2017
GeoTalk: The anomaly in the Earth’s magnetic field which has geophysicists abuzz
The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA, the large red area in the image) is a dip in the Earth's magnetic field which allows cosmic rays, and charged particles to reach lower into the atmosphere. This interferes with communication with satellites, aircraft, and the Space Shuttle. While there are theories as to why this occurs, the geologic origin is not yet known. The data were collected by the South Atlantic Anomaly Detector (SAAD) aboard ROSAT. It consists of 10 cm² of Germanium and served as a particle background monitor. The SAAD was used to "safe" the PSPC if rates became too high. Source: ROSAT SAA Guest Observer Facility (NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre) . Credit: S. L. Snowden

Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. In this interview we speak to Jay Shah, a PhD student at Imperial College London, who is investigating the South Atlantic Anomaly, a patch over the South Atlantic where the Earth’s magnetic field is weaker than elsewhere on the globe. He presented some of his recent findings at the 2017 General Assembly. First, coul ...[Read More]