Pacaya Lava Flow Tourists and guides ignore the official closing of the National Park around Pacaya Volcano to visit the lava flow that originated that afternoon. Credit: Joel Gill, 2014
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Science snap (#23): Pacaya Volcano
Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala, is almost continuously erupting, making it one of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes and a popular tourist destination. The volcano last erupted on March 2, 2014, shown in the image here taken by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. Although the volcano has been kicking off since January, in March Pacaya erupted with small explosions and diffuse ash plumes, ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
External Conference Opportunities
A number of interesting and relevant external conferences have come to our attention this week. If you’re interested in water and sanitation/hydrogeology or disaster risk reduction then these may be of interest to you! — **Hydrogeology and WASH Conference – What can hydrogeologists contribute to safe water supply and poverty reduction?** When: Thursday 5th June 2014 Where: Geolog ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Guest Blog: Groundwater Quality Management in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Donald John MacAllister, serves on the Executive Committee of Geology for Global Development. He is currently leading the Hazard Factsheet project. Donald John is a PhD student at Imperial College London and is researching the application of self-potential monitoring to seawater intrusion problems in coastal aquifers. He has a BSc in Geophysics from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Commun ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Friday Photo (123) – St. Joseph Cathedral (Antigua, Guatemala)
Ruins of St. Joseph Cathedral (Antigua, Guatemala) This Cathedral was destroyed in the significant 1773 earthquake. Part of the Cathedral has been rebuilt, and the ruins are now opened for tourists to visit. Credit: Joel Gill, 2014
Polluting the Internet
What is the Daily Air Quality Index?
The recent air pollution episode in the UK brought a previously obscure air quality metric into the public consciousness, with the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) appearing in weather forecasts and the media. The index describes the severity of pollution in different areas using a ten-point scale, with a score of ten being the worst score. The question is what is the index based on? The scale itsel ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
European research vacation 2014
National Lampoon’s European Vacation was one of my favorite movies growing up but I hope it is not what happens over the next few weeks. I am visiting colleagues and giving talks at ETH Zurich, Utrecht University, Gottingen University, and then EGU in Vienna. Four countries in three weeks! I thought it might be useful to list my talks and dates here for people who might be interested… ETH Zu ...[Read More]
Green Tea and Velociraptors
Middle-Earth gets a geological makeover
As if J. R. R. Tolkien wasn’t brilliant enough with his creation of Middle-Earth, it appears that using his numerous maps and illustrations provided, supplemented by observations from within the texts themselves, a geological reconstruction can be achieved! I recently came across this old article from the Proceedings of the J. R. R. Tolkien Centenary Conference, Oxford, England, 1992, and figured ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
Great groundwater video!
Display "Groundwater Animation" from YouTube Click here to display content from YouTube. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to load this content. Always display content from YouTube Open "Groundwater Animation" directly Clear graphics, good message and an awesome sing-along. what more could one ask for? the only message that I would add is the importance of virtual ground ...[Read More]
WaterUnderground
The importance of groundwater for climate models
Contributed by Nir Krakauer nkrakauer@ccny.cuny.edu Does water fall if no one hears it? It does. Invisible water flows slowly under the ground, in soil and rock, downhill or from wet to dry areas. This groundwater eventually surfaces at rivers, springs, swamps, and other water features. As rivers and lakes get tapped out or polluted, more groundwater is being pumped out for irrigation and industri ...[Read More]