Lanzhou, China – Earthquake Emergency Shelter Interesting questions about preparedness, local education and awareness were raised on a recent visit to Lanzhou, China, after I was told on a coach from the airport that Lanzhou was not affected by earthquakes. During my visit to the University there, I came across this sign which offered a stark contradiction. Lanzhou regularly experiences smal ...[Read More]
Workshop Advertisement: Dynamics and Impact of Interacting Natural Hazards
The workshop below may be of interest to some of our readers undertaking research into natural hazards, or working within the disaster risk reduction community. Please note that this workshop is not organised by Geology for Global Development: THE DYNAMICS AND IMPACT OF INTERACTING NATURAL HAZARDS An interdisciplinary workshop on current research and future directions 14th‒15th February 2013 To b ...[Read More]
International Day for Disaster Reduction: A Challenge to Geoscientists
Today is the start of Earth Science Week, Global Handwashing Day and the UN’s International Day for Rural Women. Tomorrow is World Food Day, and Wednesday is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. You could write a blog on any one of these, and the role good geoscience can play! Saturday, as some of you may have noticed, was the International Day for Disaster Reduction, and is ...[Read More]
Friday Photo (52) – Taklamakan Desert
We’ve now had a whole year of ‘Friday Photos’ on our old blog and now this new EGU hosted blog. As a special treat today we have not one, but three images from the Taklamakan Desert and some of the highest sand dunes in China. Taklamakan Desert, China: Geotourism close to the oasis town of Dunhuang Another example of geotourism in Gansu Province. The dunes and crescent moon la ...[Read More]
Top Travel Tips (6) – Daniel Sharpe
Over the summer we published a very popular series of posts outlining some Top Travel Tips to help those undertaking mapping projects, fieldwork or research visits overseas. We’ve had helpful posts from those who have spent time in various parts of Africa, Bangladesh, and Chile. Good preparation is essential to get the most out of overseas work. It helps our work be more effective, more effi ...[Read More]
In The News – October 2012
A few things have caught my eye in the news recently, a mix of good and tragic: Toilets in India: The BBC reported last week that the Indian Supreme Court have ordered that every school have clean water and suitable sanitation facilities within six months. If this is obeyed, and goes hand in hand with appropriate hygiene training it could lead to many positive results, as outlined on the Tearfund ...[Read More]
Friday Photo (51) – Loess Collapse/Subsidence
Heifangtai, Gansu Province, China: Collapse in Loess Deposits Ground collapse/subsidence in China, most likely caused by movement of water through the loess deposits from the high relief in the right of this picture, to the low relief in the left of the picture. The scale of the collapse can be seen in relation to the man at the forefront. (c) Geology for Global Development, 2012 For other images ...[Read More]
Lessons from China (3) – Geotourism, A Case Study
In September 2012 I travelled to the Gansu Province of China to take part in the First International Symposium for New Techniques for Geohazards Research and Management. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been highlighting a number of issues, lessons and experiences from this trip. You can read the short archive of this series here. Future posts will examine areas relating to geohazards, di ...[Read More]
Introducing ‘Geology for Global Development’
The EGU is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the geosciences – for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. This is a vision that we at Geology for Global Development both applaud and strongly align ourselves with. Good geoscience is essential to many of today’s global development challenges – a knowledge of geohazards, climate change, sustainable mining, hydrogeology, geotech ...[Read More]