Over the next few weeks, we’d like to introduce you to some new faces on the GfGD blog, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives on topics relating to geoscience and sustainable development. We’re delighted to have their input and look forward to their posts. Today we interview Hannah Ritchie – a PhD student doing research in WASH (WAter, Sanitation & Hygiene). Tell us a bit about yourself Hi, I’ ...[Read More]
Soil moisture and rainfall are the two fundamental variables in the water and energy cycle and their knowledge in many applications is crucial. For instance, for predicting the occurrence and the magnitude of flood and landslide events the knowledge of the initial soil moisture condition and of rainfall amount is mandatory. In the last decade, some authors have proposed a completely new approach, ...[Read More]
Measuring the aurora. This picture was taken while doing an optical/radar coordinated campaign in Svalbard, Norway, near the settlement of Longyearbyen. In this campaign, we were measuring for the first time the polarisation of the auroral ‘red line’ of atomic oxygen with a photopolarimeter and were running the radars in order to have a better understanding of the state of the ionosphe ...[Read More]
Geotalk is a regular feature highlighting early career researchers and their work. In this interview we speak with Joel Gill who a geoscientist, based in the UK, who works at the British Geological Survey, supporting their international development programmes, whilst also researching multi-hazards and disaster risk reduction. In addition he leads a not-for-profit organisation, Geology for Global D ...[Read More]
Ice is a viscous fluid: it flows but slowly, reaching up to 100 m/yr for the fastest flowing ice. That’s 0.00001 km/hr, so you’d never see it with the naked eye. But what influences the morphology of the glaciers is the shape of the topography that lies underneath them. Elephant Foot Glacier, shown above, aptly named for its shape, is a textbook-example of a piedmont glacier. These types of glacie ...[Read More]
Tom Doehne has been watching the news reports on the effects of climate change on human civilization. Dumbfounded that the main stream has not peered beyond the variable intensity of weather patterns and the mere notion of rising sea levels, he pondered: Will the increase in ocean level trigger more slippage along subduction zones? Dear Tom, In terms of geophysical research angles this really is a ...[Read More]
As part of EGU’s steps to further accessibility and inclusivity at the General Assembly, we have recently published a dedicated webpage with guidance for parents wanting to bring their children with them to Vienna. Whether you are looking for breastfeeding facilities, wondering about childcare whilst you are presenting or want to bring your 13 year old with you to the conference, this page h ...[Read More]
A scientific career can be a struggle. This week Dave Stegman, Associate Professor at Scripps, draws parallels between being a scientist and being an Antarctic explorer. He dangled in the crevasse, unable to touch the sides; the abyss beneath was hundreds of feet deep; the rope he was suspended from was 14 feet long, connected above to the sledge he had been hauling. Was it luck when his sledge ha ...[Read More]
Groundwater is water stored within permeable geological formations, and nearly a third of Earth’s freshwater supply comes from this source (a). In Africa, the overwhelming majority of distributable freshwater is contained in groundwater, and in the EU, 75% of the population relies on groundwater (b). This dependence on groundwater is steadily rising. As humanity as a whole, figures out how ...[Read More]
On February 9th, a British Airways Boeing 747 landed in London Heathrow airport just four hours and 56 minutes after its take-off in JFK, New York, setting the shortest flight-time for non-supersonic jets over this route. The jumbo jet took advantage of the fast upper-tropospheric winds associated with an exceptionally strong jet-stream which created tail winds of about 400km/h. Over the United Ki ...[Read More]
