As a young scientist undertaking research into natural hazards and disaster reduction, I found the decision yesterday to find a number of scientists guilty of manslaughter very worrying. The case against the scientists is centred on the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009 and argues that they were guilty of providing “inexact, incomplete and contradictory” information. There is helpful a ...[Read More]
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Geology for Global Development
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]
GeoSphere
Geology Photo of the Week #6 – Sept 30 – Oct 5
This is my first official post, besides the welcome post, at GeoSphere – EGU edition. It seems fitting to begin with a post that is part of a continuing series from my old home and is bridging the way to my new one. The photo of the week, while still only six weeks old, is and will stay a regular fixture on my blog. The photo for this week is of some fantastic glacial striations in glaciall ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Perspectives from EGU GA 2011 (6)
This year on the EGU General Assembly blog there will be guest posts from participants about their research and their impressions of sessions. These are personal points of view not EGU corporate views. If you would like to contribute a research or session viewpoint, please email us. This perspective from the European Geosciences Union General Asembly 2011 is from Thomas Smith about how to maximise ...[Read More]
Natural Hazards
Practical Use of Natural Hazard Monitoring Systems during Escalating Risk Scenarios
Mountain hazard regimes are fundamentally shifting. There is consensus not just among concerned scientists, but practitioners of risk management, that mountain hazard regimes are affected by warmer temperatures and intensifying precipitation events. The effects of these changes are further amplified by increasing population density in known hazard zones; with more infrastructure and human settleme ...[Read More]
Hydrological Sciences
Drought in Europe
Many of us are experiencing it right now: Europe is suffering from a long lasting large scale drought (Fig. 1), with record heat and low-flow levels that probably nobody of us has seen before; and current forecasts do not announce any relieve for the coming weeks. The pictures of record low levels in the river Rhine are scaring – knowing how strongly Europe depends on this fluvial transport ...[Read More]
Geomorphology
In the News: A Geomorphologists’ perspective on the Strait of Hormuz
Welcome to In the News: A Geomorphologist’s Perspective! The intent of this series is to explore the geology and geomorphology of places that are currently in the news. For this first installment, we’ll do a quick tour of how geological processes have laid the groundwork for current fighting over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran war, and the Strait of Hurmuz, have dominated the news ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Under the Mediterranean sun: The thousand year tale of changing skies
When you picture the western Mediterranean, you likely imagine sun-drenched beaches, terracotta roofs, and bright blue skies. But has it always been this sunny? A groundbreaking study published in the journal Research provides a definitive answer: it has not. By pulling back the curtain – or rather, the cloud cover – on a thousand years of climate history, scientists have developed the ...[Read More]
Hydrological Sciences
Has groundwater finally gone mainstream?
Groundwater has always had an image problem. Throughout my career, I have lost count of how many times we have described groundwater as an “invisible resource” or similar. It is almost a cliché in hydrogeology. We use the phrase because it captures something really fundamental: groundwater is hidden physically, but it has also been hidden from public consciousness. What people cannot see or easily ...[Read More]
Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology
Minoan Meltdown: Could an eruption spark the myth of Atlantis?
We live in a world full of mysteries and wonders… or at least that is the view of most ancient philosophers, such as perhaps Plato in ancient Greece. Atlantis, the legendary island that lay in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, is said to have been completely destroyed overnight. To this day, numerous artists and scientists have sought to unravel the mystery of its demise, sometimes suggesting a vo ...[Read More]