In today’s interview, we meet Dr Fabio Corbi, a researcher at IGAG-CNR, the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the Italian National Research Council. Fabio has experience in analogue modelling of megathrust earthquakes and he is currently exploring the potentiality of machine learning in this research field. Hi Fabio, would you briefly tell us about you and your career? ...[Read More]
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GeoLog
Cyclone Idai disaster: European agencies foresee climate danger but poor countries stumble.
Cyclone Idai, which was labelled by the UN as possibly the worst climate calamity to ever hit the Southern Hemisphere, pounded Beira, Mozambique, in March 2019. The European Space Agency images revealed that a huge new inland ´lake´ measuring about 80 miles by 15 miles, an area the size of the European state of Luxembourg, had suddenly been created by the catastrophe. However, millions of residen ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Atmospheric Rivers: A blanket for Antarctic winter sea ice
The mysterious appearance and disappearance of the Weddell Polynya, a giant hole in the sea ice cover, has long puzzled scientists. Recent work reveals that the polynya is initiated and maintained by gigantic and formidable atmospheric currents: atmospheric rivers! Read on to find out more… Each year, approximately 15 million square kilometers of ice forms in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica d ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The Sassy Scientist – Welcome to Hotel California
Congratulations Glenn! You survived your socially distanced PhD defence and after three months in your mum’s spare room you are raring to go, chomping at the bit, and approaching the start line for the next stage of your academic career. Having spent the last eight years in education, it’s time to start a new job! What should I do on my first day at work in a new place? Dear Glenn, Whe ...[Read More]
Tectonics and Structural Geology
TS Must-Read – Ramsay (1980) Shear zone geometry: a review
Ramsay’s 1980 important contribution is a practical and theoretical handbook about shear zones, where the reader can find a detailed classification of shear zones, their description, and mathematical explanation. A definition of the concept of shear zones opens the article, followed by the shear zones classification into three types, namely brittle (e.g., Fig. 1a), brittle-ductile (e.g., Fig ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
Rift linkage and rotating microplates
2020 left your head spinning? This week Derek Neuharth from GFZ Potsdam introduces us to the spinning microplates that can be found in extensional plate boundaries such as the East African Rift System and the East Pacific Rise. Divergent plate boundaries Microplates are enigmatic features that form in the boundaries between tectonic plates. Generally, plate boundary dynamics are divided into three ...[Read More]
Atmospheric Sciences
Community Effort to explore the Papers that shaped Tropospheric Chemistry
The genesis of the idea to explore the influence of certain papers on shaping the field of tropospheric chemistry came when editing a textbook chapter I had written a decade earlier. As I edited it I thought, what really is new; text-book worthy over the last 10 years? In some senses what is text-book worthy at all? These type of questions inspired me to think about where atmospheric chemistry has ...[Read More]
Tectonics and Structural Geology
TS Must-Read – Brace and Kohlstedt (1980) Limits on Lithospheric Stress Imposed by Laboratory Experiments
In 1980 Brace and Kohlstedt published a short paper that constrains the strength of continental lithosphere by extrapolating laboratory measurements of rock strength to geological conditions. Their approach follows earlier work by Goetze and Evans (1979) and relies on two key considerations. First, the brittle strength is given by the frictional strength of rocks following Byerlee’s law (Bye ...[Read More]
Soil System Sciences
The importance of our SSS (…Soil Support Staff!) #3
Happy New Year! It’s January, and time for us to continue our monthly series of blog posts dedicated to highlighting the great work carried out by technicians, laboratory assistants, and research support staff in soil science. This month, we sat down (virtually, of course) with Jonathan J. Gottlieb (J.J.), the Head of the Laboratory for the Conservation of Waterlogged, Organic, Archaeological mat ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo On Monday: “Smoking” peaks of the Patagonian batholith
The indigenous name of the 3405 meter high Fitz Roy mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile, is frequently translated as “smoking mountain”. This photo may visually explain an origin of this name. On the day the photo was taken, vortices downwind of the peak drew warmer, humid air from below, forming banner clouds at the leeward site of the Fitz Roy mountain an ...[Read More]