on December 2, 2022
Hurricane Kyrill rages across Europe
Geology and GeographyWith wind speeds of over 200 kilometres per hour, Kyrill raged across Europe during the night on Friday. Peak values of the hurricane were measured on the Feldberg in the Black Forest and on the Brocken in the Harz mountains. 47 people died in the hurricane, many were injured. The damage is estimated to be
on December 2, 2022
No more than a pinprick
Geology and GeographyFor years, the drill bit has laboriously hammered and twisted its way into the hard earth’s crust. Time and again it got stuck. Now the press spokesman for the deep drilling programme in Windischeschenbach announced the end of the scientific project: on 12 October 1994, the drilling rig and its measuring equipment had to be
on December 2, 2022
Niagara Falls drained
Geology and GeographyNiagara Falls. It is an unreal picture: Where otherwise around 4 million litres of water plunge into the depths every second, only a bare rock edge now juts into the air. Engineers have drained the US part of Niagara Falls. The water is currently diverted via a tributary. The reason for the diversion of the
on December 2, 2022
New Rhine
Geology and GeographyWhat the Karlsruhe engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla began in 1817 was completed this year: The river loops of the Upper Rhine have been pierced, the Rhine straightened and shortened. With the correction, the bed of the river was also deepened. The Rhine is now navigable as far as Basel. For decades, construction workers had been
on December 2, 2022
New record holder: The oldest rock on earth
Geology and GeographyIt is a sensation for science: In northern Canada, geologists have stumbled upon the oldest rocks ever discovered. They belong to the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt on Hudson Bay and are over four billion years old. An international team of researchers has now dated the rocks in northern Canada to 4.28 billion years. This would make
on December 2, 2022
New heat record
Geology and GeographyThe Lut Desert in Iran is the hottest place in the world. This is the result of satellite data that measure the temperature on the earth’s surface over a wide area. In 2005, it was over 70 degrees Celsius in Lut in the Iranian highlands. This replaced Al Aziziyah in Libya as the record holder.
on December 2, 2022
Monster wave meets “Queen Elizabeth 2
Geology and GeographyA huge wall of water races towards the “Queen Elizabeth 2” on the night of 11 September. The monster wave, which approaches the cruise ship over the Newfoundland Bank and finally rolls over it, is over thirty metres high. Miraculously, the passengers and crew survive the natural disaster almost unharmed. The ship, however, is badly
on December 2, 2022
Mega lake for the city of millions
Geology and GeographySingapore is not poor in water. On the contrary: it is surrounded by sea. But what the city of 5 million needs is not salty seawater. Drinkable fresh water is in demand. That is why the city-state built a huge dam for its water supply: “Marina Barrage”! Until now, Singapore bought almost all its drinking
on December 2, 2022
Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Geology and GeographyA fortnight ago, the oil rig “Deepwater Horizon” exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, millions of litres of crude oil have been leaking into the sea every day. The viscous soup now threatens the coasts in the southeast of the USA in particular. The damage to the environment can hardly be estimated. On
on December 2, 2022
Life sentence for Galileo
Geology and GeographyIn the trial against the mathematician and astronomer Galileo Galilei (68), the verdict has been reached. The judges of the Catholic Church agree: Galileo’s “Copernican world view” contradicts the Bible. Galileo’s claim that the earth revolves around the sun was declared false and not proven. In the Roman Dominican monastery of Santa Maria, the professor