What is ‘geofolklore’?

Geofolklore is a distinct category of folklore that links cultural expressions with the abiotic landscape and geological features, such as erratic boulders. It is closely connected to its geographical and environmental context, encompassing elements of tradition that arise from human interaction with the abiotic environment and express local knowledge, beliefs, and values.

Tensions have developed on the assumption that regulation is bad for business; however, this opinion is far from monolithic: strong, science-based regulation establishes a scope within which businesses can act to minimise risk and provides direction in the face of uncertain futures.

In celebration of our LGBTQIA+ community, this blog highlights some of the activities we undertook throughout the last year. Below, you can find answers to such questions as:

What are the current challenges encountered by LGBTQIA+ geoscientists?

How does EGU support its queer members?

How can you be an ally to your LGBTQIA+ colleagues?

How does hauntology relate to glaciers, and to ongoing glacial decline?

The way people and societies have related to glaciers[3] has changed over time. Echoes of those cultural relationships persist, affecting personal, scientific, and political decisions.

How do earthquakes and volcanic activity affect energy systems, such as geothermal exploration or carbon dioxide sequestration?

For me, the connection is quite natural: the physics is always the same. Whether we talk about an active volcano, a subduction zone, or an engineered geothermal system, it all comes down to pressure changes in the subsurface.

Growing up queer means forging yourself into an observer: a watcher of others, yourself, and yourself in the minds of others; a panopticon installed by cistheteronormativity, ceaselessly on the lookout for undesirable thoughts and behaviors, punishing yourself for producing them whilst surveilling the (re)action of others.

The challenges that deaf people face can be exacerbated when they belong to more than one marginalised community. How does this manifest?

Intersectionality means many deaf people also experience marginalisation based on ethnicity, sexuality, gender or other identities. For example, 91% of deaf Ecuadorians are dissatisfied with their access to healthcare.

The notion that STEM fields are apolitical ignores how scientific investigations are influenced by people’s own ideas and bias. The result is a culture uncritically considered as “normal”. Those who do not conform suffer […]

It is the new year and new resolutions draw you onward. Yet motivation is fickle, and too often good intentions wither before bearing fruit. You may have drawn a plan to keep you in check, but how do you build on this to achieve sustainable growth?

It’s a common sight: gyms flourish with new members in January, only for their numbers to thin as the months progress.

This fatigue is common not just for exercise, but riddles all resolutions, be it related to learning a new skill, building a business, or starting a new hobby. How do you keep going?

In June 2024, climate activists sprayed Stonehenge orange, demanding urgent action from the British government to phase out fossil fuel. This divisive act evoked a destructive yet often overlooked impact of climate change: the damage and destruction of cultural heritage.

Could you tell our readers about the geology communication project you’re involved in: Chosi Ndabazomhlaba?

Chosi Ndabazomhlaba was born from the need to include groups of people that have been previously excluded from the scientific community as a result of colonialism and apartheid. South Africa is a beautiful country, with a number of geological wonders such as the Cape Fold Belts and the Blyde River Canyon.

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’s not great.

In 1821, peat cutters discovered a body similar to a mummy, pinned down by two wooden stakes deep in the mud. The body’s face still held red hair and a beard, their teeth were well preserved, and a hoop of willow was wrapped around their throat. The peat cutters were looking at a progenitor to their labour; a heritage of knowledge and practice which reached out to them from the past.

D4ought remains a hazard under-served by the imagination, its risk devalued compared to other hazards like flooding and storms. This lesser appreciation can have a deadly consequence: the public may be underprepared or unaware of how they should act under drought conditions, whilst policy- and decision-makers de-prioritize its position in risk mitigation strategies.

Given the threat it poses, why does drought hold such a loose grip on how we perceive its risk?