2023 draws to a close. Looking back, our NH Division Blog has rolled out 20 different posts! We’ve chatted with awesome medallists, tackled current challenges in natural hazards, and showcased key projects and activities in the field. But who are the lovely and creative minds behind this? In this year’s final post, we’re going to find out together. The Blog Editorial Team is cu ...[Read More]
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Seismology
What is Distributed Acoustic Sensing?
In this blog we give a succinct introduction to Distributed Acoustic Sensing for the starting seismologist, or the interested reader. The blog is by no means a complete overview and serves as a starting point for you to understand DAS and get started with the data. It was written by SM ECS members Ana Nap and Katinka Tuinstra. By now, Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is a pretty widely kn ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
Modelling Magma Propagation in Three Dimensions – Or: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love Simplicity
The crisis unfolding these days in Grindavík, Iceland reminds us of how important it is to forecast volcanic activity. Predicting the outcomes of volcanic unrest, or a magmatic intrusion making its way towards the surface, essentially amounts to three questions. Will there be an eruption? How much time before it starts? Where exactly will the eruption occur? Answering any of these questions is a d ...[Read More]
GeoLog
Swamps may be considered spooky, but is there more than meets the eye?
Swamps are spooky. This is the prevailing notion from the depiction of wetlands – the saturated lands of swamps, bogs, and fens – in the media. From the folktales of Will-o’-the-Wisps guiding travellers astray to the many, many swamp monsters of Scooby Doo, the sign is clear: a scrawled “stay away from here” thrust deep in the mud, writ by centuries of storytellers. As a reputation it’ ...[Read More]
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology
Survivors! Resilience and adaptations of freshwater ostracodes in ancient Lakes Petén Itzá (northern Guatemala) and Chalco (central Mexico) to climate and environmental changes over the last 80,000 years
The North American Tropics hosts lakes of diverse origins and limnological characteristics, which are located along a broad altitudinal gradient, from 0 to 5675 masl. The region possesses several ancient lakes that have accumulated sediments continuously, in some cases for >400,000 years. Study of those lake deposits has enabled scientists to infer past climate and environmental conditio ...[Read More]
Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology
Revisiting the roots of minerals’ names: A journey to mineral etymology
Hello everyone!! In an earlier blog, my colleague Eliot Carter discussed the etymology of elements. As a PhD student in geochemistry, mineralogy, Petrology and Volcanology, we all regularly deal with a large number of minerals. Among them, some are very common and a few are hardly known. However, sometimes we forget the basics to deal with the complicated things. In fact, PhD students mostly face ...[Read More]
Hydrological Sciences
Floods and droughts: two sides of the same hydrological coin
This is not (only) a flood. Inspired by Magritte’s painting: ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ After an alarming dry winter, the European continent has been enduring weeks of a record-breaking heatwave across the southern regions, while coping with scattered, intense precipitation and flash floods. In Zaragoza (Spain), recent flash floods swiftly transformed the previously dry landscape into raging rivers ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
Physics-Based Machine Learning – Curse or Blessing?
The advance of Artificial Intelligence is impacting all spheres of human activity, and Geosciences are no exception. In this week’s post, Denise Degen from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, gives us a glimpse of what this means for Geodynamics. Discussing the advantages and caveats of different approaches, she shows how physics-based Machine Learning may help us investigating and understanding comp ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
On the usefulness of geodynamic numerical models
Within the vast realm of geoscience, the intricate mechanisms governing Earth’s internal processes continually pose challenges for researchers attempting to unveil its mysteries. This blog post acknowledges the inherent limitations of geological and geophysical data while highlighting the important role that geodynamic modeling plays in bridging these datasets. The motivations for this discu ...[Read More]
Tectonics and Structural Geology
Exploring Submap: Subduction Zones Data Mapping and Analysis in just a few clicks
Subduction zones are areas where one tectonic plate dives beneath another one and sinks into the Earth’s mantle, creating powerful earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Understanding the intricate details of subduction zones can be a daunting task, and retrieving the necessary data often feels like an uphill battle. But fear not! The Geosciences Montpellier Laboratory in France has come to the rescu ...[Read More]