Monthly news from EGU: Science policy, bombing raids, glacial geoengineering (September 2018)
- EGU news
- 1 October 2018
The September 2018 edition of the EGU email newsletter, the monthly information service for Union members, is now available.
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EGU and EFG establish dialogue with policy makers on how the geosciences can help overcome Europe’s societal challenges
- EGU news
- 28 September 2018
On 26 September 2018, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) and the European Federation of Geologists (EFG) have jointly convened the ‘Horizon Geoscience: overcoming societal challenges, creating change’ dinner debate. Held at the Royal Academy of Belgium, the event has gathered nearly 80 policymakers from European institutions, media representatives, and geoscience professionals from different sectors and fields of expertise.
Impact of WWII bombing raids felt at edge of space
- Press release
- 26 September 2018
Bombing raids by Allied forces during the Second World War not only caused devastation on the ground but also sent shockwaves through Earth’s atmosphere which were detected at the edge of space, according to new research. University of Reading researchers have revealed the shockwaves produced by huge bombs dropped by Allied planes on European cities were big enough to weaken the electrified upper atmosphere – the ionosphere – above the UK, 1000km away. The results are published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Annales Geophysicae.
Glacial engineering could limit sea-level rise, if we get our emissions under control
- Press release
- 20 September 2018
Targeted engineering projects to hold off glacier melting could slow down the collapse of ice sheets and limit sea-level rise, according to a new study published in the European Geosciences Union journal The Cryosphere. While an intervention similar in size to existing large civil engineering projects could only have a 30% chance of success, a larger project would have better odds of holding off ice-sheet collapse. But study authors Michael Wolovick and John Moore caution that reducing emissions still remains key to stopping climate change and its dramatic effects.
Deadline for climate action – Act strongly before 2035 to keep warming below 2°C
- Press release
- 30 August 2018
If governments don’t act decisively by 2035 to fight climate change, humanity could cross a point of no return after which limiting global warming below 2°C in 2100 will be unlikely, according to a new study by scientists in the UK and the Netherlands. The research also shows the deadline to limit warming to 1.5°C has already passed, unless radical climate action is taken. The study is published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Earth System Dynamics.
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Contrasting biosphere responses to hydrometeorological extremes: revisiting the 2010 western Russian heatwave
- Biogeosciences
- DOI 10.5194/bg-15-6067-2018
- 16 October 2018
Northern forests enhanced their productivity during and before the 2010 Russian mega heatwave. We scrutinize this issue with a novel type of multivariate extreme event detection approach. Forests compensate for 54 % of the carbon losses in agricultural ecosystems due to vulnerable conditions in spring and better water management in summer. The findings highlight the importance of forests in mitigating climate change, while not alleviating the consequences of extreme events for food security.
The importance of small artificial water bodies as sources of methane emissions in Queensland, Australia
- Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
- DOI 10.5194/hess-22-5281-2018
- 15 October 2018
Artificial water bodies are a major source of methane and an important contributor to flooded land greenhouse gas emissions. Past studies focussed on large water supply or hydropower reservoirs with small artificial water bodies (ponds) almost completely ignored. This regional study demonstrated ponds accounted for one-third of flooded land surface area and emitted over 1.6 million t CO2eq. yr−1(10 % of land use sector emissions). Ponds should be included in regional GHG inventories.
The climate of a retrograde rotating Earth
- Earth System Dynamics
- DOI 10.5194/esd-9-1191-2018
- 12 October 2018
Model experiments show that changing the sense of Earth’s rotation has relatively little impact on the globally and zonally averaged energy budgets but leads to large shifts in continental climates and patterns of precipitation. The retrograde world is greener as the desert area shrinks. Deep water formation shifts from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific with subsequent changes in ocean overturning. Over large areas of the Indian Ocean, cyanobacteria dominate over bulk phytoplankton.
Building a Raspberry Pi school magnetometer network in the UK
- Geoscience Communication
- DOI 10.5194/gc-1-25-2018
- 10 October 2018
As computing and geophysical sensor components have become increasingly affordable over the past decade, it is now possible to build a cost-effective system for monitoring the Earth’s natural magnetic field variations, in particular for space weather events, e.g. aurorae. Sensors available to the general public are ~ 100 times less sensitive than scientific instruments but only 1/100th of the price. We demonstrate a system that allows schools to contribute to a genuine scientific sensor network.
EGU announces 2019 awards and medals
- GeoLog – EGU official blog
- posted 7 hours ago
From 14th to the 20th October a number of countries across the globe celebrate Earth Science Week, so it is a fitting time to celebrate the exceptional work of Earth, planetary and space scientist around the world. This week, the EGU announced the 45 recipients of next year’s Union Medals and Awards, Division Medals, and Division Outstanding Early Career Scientists Awards. The aim of the awards is to recognise the efforts of the awardees in furthering our understanding of the …
Educators: apply now to take part in the 2019 GIFT workshop!
- GeoLog – EGU official blog
- posted 1 day ago
The General Assembly is not only for researchers but for teachers and educators with an interest in the geosciences also. Every year the Geosciences Information For Teachers (GIFT) is organised by the EGU Committee on Education to bring first class science closer to primary and high school teachers. The topic of the 2019 edition of GIFT is ‘Plate tectonics and Earth’s structure – yesterday, today, tomorrow’. This year’s workshop will be taking place on 8–10 April 2018 at the EGU …
Imaggeo on Mondays: Life between the arid mountains of Gansu, China
- GeoLog – EGU official blog
- posted 3 days ago
Even within Earth’s more arid environments, you can find life! This featured photo was taken near the Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, about 50 km away from Lanzhou city, the capital of Gansu province in Western China. The area lies in a region between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau, with an elevation ranging from 1,500 m to 2,200 m. The landscape is dominated by a network of ridges and valleys; the Loess Plateau in particular is known for its highly …