In the coming weeks there’ll be time for reflection, for debate, for advocacy to build back better. Today the priority has to be ensuring a swift and effective response – getting clean water, food, shelter, medical aid to those that desperately need it. The UK Disasters Emergency Committee is a collective of UK development organisations, working together in emergency situations. They l ...[Read More]
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VolcanicDegassing
Volcán Calbuco: what do we know so far?
Detailed assessments of what happened during the April 22-23 eruption of Calbuco, Chile, are now coming in from the agencies responsible for the scientific monitoring of the eruption (SERNAGEOMIN) and for the emergency response (ONEMI). The volcano is well monitored and accessible, and as a result there has been a great deal of high quality information, and imagery, made available very quickly. In ...[Read More]
VolcanicDegassing
Taking the pulse of a large volcano: Mocho-Choshuenco, Chile
As the recent eruptions of Calbuco and Villarrica in southern Chile have shown, the long arcs of volcanoes that stretch around the world’s subduction zones have the potential to cause widespread disruption to lives and livelihoods, with little or no warning. Fortunately, neither of these eruptions has, so far, led to any reported loss of life – but the consequences of these eruptions ...[Read More]
An Atom's-Eye View of the Planet
Why Kathmandu was so vulnerable
The magnitude 7.9 earthquake that hit Nepal this morning is shocking news. For some time scientists have realised that the Kathmandu valley is one of the most dangerous places in the world, in terms of earthquake risk. A combination of high seismic activity at the front of the Tibetan plateau, poor building standards, and haphazard urbanisation have come together today with fatal consequences. The ...[Read More]
Geology for Global Development
Tragedy in the Himalaya – Largest Earthquake for 80 years in Nepal
(Updated: 27th April 2015) Almost all of you will have seen the tragic news coming from Nepal. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the region between Pokhara and Kathmandu, with at least 1000 killed at the time of writing. This number is likely to go up in the coming hours and days as the true extent of the devastation becomes apparent. Here we note some recommend reading and news sources on the eve ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Scientists share new observations from comet-chasing Rosetta Mission
Scientists working on the European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta Mission provided an update on the comet-chaser and its lander, Philae, at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly last week, as well as sharing new science gained from the duo so far. These new results from Rosetta were announced at a press conference on Tuesday 14 April, with additional research presented at the Rosetta s ...[Read More]
VolcanicDegassing
Calbuco erupts. April 22, 2015.
Volcan Calbuco, which burst into eruption on April 22nd, is one of more than 74 active volcanoes in Southern Chile that are known to have erupted during the past 10,000 years. Unlike its photogenic neighbour, Osorno, Calbuco is a rather complex and rugged volcano whose eruptive record has posed quite a challenge for Chilean geologists to piece together. The little that we do know about Calbuco’s e ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Drinkable rocks!
When water is scarce, you’ve gotta save it, or come up with an ingenious way to get more. Some Spanish shrubs do just that, quenching their thirst with water from rocks. Sara Mynott explains where they source it… Often, in areas where water is sparse, plants use a suite of techniques to harness what limited resources are available in their environment, from hairs that trap moisture in the air to d ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Imaggeo on Mondays: Earthquake Lake
Despite its alluring turquoise waters and rugged mountain backdrop the story behind this beautiful lake is rather more troubling. In today’s Imaggeo on Mondays, the first post since our short break from the traditional format during the General Assembly, Alexander Osadchiev writes about the shaky origins of Sarez Lake. Lake Sarez is situated in Tajikistan, deep in the Pamir Mountains. In 1911 a lo ...[Read More]
Geomorphology
Presentation and data of EGU2015 workshop available online
Wolfgang Schwanghart from the Universtiy of Potsdam gave an excellent workshop on how to analyse your DEM with Matlab at the EGU last week. He posted some information for you in case of interest. Session GM11.3 of this year’s EGU hosted a workshop on TopoToolbox and bedrock river profile analysis. In case you were unable to attend the meeting or the session, but are interested in this topic, ...[Read More]