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GondwanaTalks

@gondwanatalks.bsky.social
162 followers 140 following 138 posts

I'm geologist Kathelijne Bonne and 🐚GondwanaTalks 🌋 is my multilingual blog. It is a microcosm in which I write about earth science, interspersing the posts with philosopical questions on our human role in nature.🪸

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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#Croatia’s striking red #Mediterranean #soil, known as terra rossa, is common along the #Adriatic coast. Its brick red colour comes from iron, while the soil develops over limestone. It is the terrain of vineyards and olive groves. More on soil on GondwanaTalks: www.gondwanatalks.com/en/soils/
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
What do geologists say on the #geology of #greenland? Is it really the geological goldmine some people want us to believe? New article on my blog in English and Spanish. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/greenland-...
gondwanatalks.com
Greenland: a raw materials paradise? Geologists go beyond the myth.
What does Greenland’s geology really reveal about crucial minerals? Geologists look beyond myths to understand the island’s mind-blowing geological history.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Richard Fortey, #paleontologist and expert in #trilobites, passed away this spring. Read my #tribute to a great writer who influenced important choices in my #life. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/richard-fo... #geology #richardfortey #fossils #trilobite @nhm-london.bsky.social
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Partial #eclipse of the sun on 29 March 2025. Seen from #Belgium it was shrouded by #clouds, which made the spectacle more haunting and #beautiful. Thx E. Niemegeers, J Deltour for the pics. Check my post on the #totaleclipse of the #sun last year: 🖤 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/total-sola... #totality
Projection of the partial eclipse of the sun on 29 march 2025 through vegetation. from Spain by Kathelijne Bonne. Partial eclipse of the sun shrouded by clouds, seen from Belgium, by Jorne Deltour, 29 march 2025. Partial eclipse of the sun shrouded by clouds, seen from Belgium, by Els Niemegeers, 29 march 2025.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
A few impressions from my time in #Fuerteventura. Most people go there for the beaches and all-in hotels, but I came to see the #soilscapes. Go to GondwanaTalks to read the article on this wonderful, forgotten place. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/fuertevent... #soilscience #soil #soilrocks #suelo
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, has astonishing #soilscapes. This #island became a desert after centuries of erosion. Its volcanic colours range from ochre to red, black and mauve. Life clings to rocks, dew and skeletic soils. 🤎🩵🧡 #Fuerteventura #CanaryIslands #Canarias #soilscience
gondwanatalks.com
Fuerteventura: soil, erosion, colors and flora.
Despite being a windblown wasteland, Fuerteventura’s rust-colored soils give rise to remarkable life forms.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Happy birthday Jane Goodall! At 91 you are more active than most people. You remain an inspiration to all. I'm happy to be a #volunteer for #JGIBelgium Read my post on when I met Jane: www.gondwanatalks.com/l/meeting-ja... #JaneGoodall #GoodDayAll
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Read about Jane Goodall, animals and ethical questions on #8M International women's day. A few reflexions on why we eat and keep animals. #empathy #animals #meat #vegan #janegoodall www.gondwanatalks.com/l/animals-we...
gondwanatalks.com
The animals we love and eat, ethical questions, and Jane Goodall.
We feel more empathy for our pets, which have names, feelings and personalities, than for the animals we eat; even though once they all used to live together on family-run farms and were all treated t...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Happy Valentine! Signs of love are everywhere, if you look for them. #love #nature #savetheplanet #planet
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Int'l Day of #women and girls in #science. Read about #MaryAnning the fossil hunter from #Dorset in #Britain. She was pivotal for #Darwin 's theories and in smashing dogmas. ▶️Link: www.gondwanatalks.com/l/women-of-g... Image: ChatGPT, #ammonite probably not accurate. #lymeregis #palaeontology
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
#Santorini, read more about this #volcano and the other volcanoes in Europe, and which ones are the most menacing. 🌋🟧➡️ Link to post: www.gondwanatalks.com/l/grand-tour... Pic: Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels. #geology #eruption #greece #volcanology #volcanoes
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
With #Santorini and #CampiFlegrei being restless, have a read of my article on the #volcanoes of #Europe. Which are our #supervolcanoes? How likely is an #eruption? 🔥🟨 #Naples #Greecevolcanoes #thera #vesuvius www.gondwanatalks.com/l/grand-tour...
gondwanatalks.com
Volcanoes of Europe: a grand tour.
The lesser known volcanoes may well be the most dangerous.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Elements necessary for #life, like phosphorous, how did they form on Earth? Most #phosphorous in rock won't work, it must be bio-available P. All crucial questions to decipher the origin of life. #originoflife #abiology #earth #geology #earthscience #gondwanatalks #lightning #earlyearth #biology
gondwanatalks.com
Did lightning provide phoshorus to ancient life?
The role of lightning during the emergence of life has consequences for extraterrestrial life hypotheses
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Will #war ever stop? The human toll is horrendous, but there is also massive damage to natural resources such as #soil. In this post on #Ukraine, read how the fertile #chernozem soils are affected, and how they fight back! Link to post ▶️ www.gondwanatalks.com/l/chernozems... 🟦 #soilscience #humus
gondwanatalks.com
Chernozems of Ukraine: when bombs hit the soil.
On the impact of war on the most fertile soils in the world.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Do you also think that major natural disasters and their aftermath deserve profound planning and mitigation? Can we deal with a #supereruption? Link to article : ➡️ 🌋 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/supererupt... 🌋 #supervolcano #volcanologist #volcano #aftermath
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Supereruptions, can they happen and how to prepare? How to grow food when a sulphur haze blocks the sunlight? Link to article ➡️🌋 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/supererupt... 🌋 #volcanoes #volcanologist #growingfood #foodcrisis #newfood #gondwanatalks #yellowstone #campiflegrei #tambora #toba
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Stillife of my rocks and minerals. #hematite, pieces of coral, aragonite, amethyst. Check out the #mineral topics on my blog: ➡️💎 www.gondwanatalks.com/en/series/mi...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Fossil ferns helped early earth scientists to literally assemble the idea of #Gondwana and #platetectonics. 🪨Link to post: www.gondwanatalks.com/l/plate-tect...
gondwanatalks.com
Plate Tectonics: The caterpillar tracks of the planet.
Continental drift was first suggested by Alfred Wegener, but it was met with great outrage and disblief by the scientific establisment. Read how his hypothesis was finally proven.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
The way the #geography and #tectonics of the Middle East changed was pivotal in shaping how we became human. A post on how a new ocean, the #RedSea, opened during the final spasms of the ancient #Tethys ocean; and what that meant for human ancestors. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/middle-eas... #evolution
gondwanatalks.com
Middle East and human evolution: Red Sea, Tethys and wandering hominids.
Nowhere but in the Middle East was geography so pivotal in shaping how we became human. A unique geological setting forged either gateways or barriers for migration, which would eventually isolate hum...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
On the Middle East and how we became human. An article on human evolution along the Red Sea, Mediterranean and the #Tethys Ocean. #humanevolution #redsea #aquaticape #waterside #hominids #humanity #redsea #middleeast. Link to post: ➡️ www.gondwanatalks.com/l/middle-eas...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Soil scientists, what am I seeing here? Small soil nodules brought up to the surface by ants or other soil life? #soil #soilscience #bodem #soillife #soils4life #soilscientist #bodemkunde. 🤎Go to soil posts: www.gondwanatalks.com/en/soils/
Picture of soil with dead leafs, plants and small soil particles.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
The first known case of macho behaviour is hundreds of millions of years old. This #trilobite has a trident used for jousting and winning female favours. #richardfortey #palaeontology #geology #fossils #arthropods 🦕🐜 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/gondwana-s...
Fossil of Devonian trilobite with trident used to ward off females.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Wonderful #Wolfmoon. First full moon after the winter #solstice. More on why there is a #moon: 🚀🌕🌙 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/origin-of-...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Lichen in frost in dunes, at the sea front, Belgium. Wonderful life. 🦕🍀 #lichen #life #naturephotography #belgium
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
#Gondwana has always fascinated me. The long gone southern #supercontinent that enabled forming the world we know today. Read more: 🦕 www.gondwanatalks.com
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Have we created an Age of #Fire? Are we living in the #Pyrocene? Some thoughts on the role of fire in our human epoch, and in the geological past, e.g. in the Carboniferous when there was more #oxygen in the air. #ageoffire ➡️🔥https://www.gondwanatalks.com/l/pyrocene-life-on-a-blazing-planet/
Scene depicting wildfire by Kathelijne Bonne, using DALL·E via ChatGPT, OpenAI.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
A few titles I'm reading. Some are entirely consumed while in bars and restaurants (which happens when living in Spain 🍷). Some books were gifts! Thanks to the givers! And to the authors. #marginalian #moss #trilobite #minerals #andreawulf #elainemorgan #thomashalliday #carlorovelli #madelaineboehme
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
A few things about myself and why I started GondwanaTalks. ✨🦕🍀🔭 www.gondwanatalks.com/en/about/ 🐚 #scienceblog #sciencenews #scientist #geology #planet #earth #climate #life #soil
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Moon and Venus early Januari in #Belgium, an amazing sight. See better pics of the night sky taken by my uncle Johan Bonne with his telescope. 🔭 #amateurastronomy #telescope #space #stars #astronomer #sciencerocks #spacescience #gondwanatalks #gondwana ☄️✨ www.gondwanatalks.com/l/amateur-as...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
As California is ablaze with fire, have a reread of this post I wrote in 2022, as it is still valid today. On wildfires in the geological past and how we created the #Pyrocene. 🔥 #ageoffire #wildfire #californiafire www.gondwanatalks.com/l/pyrocene-l...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
All those fires in California remind me once more we may well be living in the #Pyrocene, a geological epoch governed by wildfires. More thoughts on this idea here: www.gondwanatalks.com/l/pyrocene-l... #wildfire #california #geology #anthropogene #holocene #humanity #climatechange
gondwanatalks.com
Pyrocene: life on a blazing planet.
Wildfires now and in the past. How humanity created an age of fire.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
In 2024 I wrote 10 articles in 3 languages! ✨🦕 Which one did you like most? #gondwanatalks #geologyrocks #geology #science #sciencewriter #earthscience #dinosaurs #climate #nature #planet #eclipse #spain Go to all articles: www.gondwanatalks.com/en/articles/
gondwanatalks.com
GondwanaTalks: Natural science for a wide audience.
Read more on lapis lazuli of King Tut's funeral mask, Europe's supervolcano, the Tethys Ocean, the origin of the Moon, and more.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
#Sand is being exploited more quickly than it is replenished by nature. A post on the #geology of sand, cement and the impact of concrete. #gondwanatalks #concrete #pantheon #hormigon #construction #minerals #resources #exploitation #geologyrocks www.gondwanatalks.com/l/sand-cemen...
gondwanatalks.com
Sand, cement and concrete: geology of the building blocks of construction :: Gondwanatalks
Sand is everywhere. Deserts and beaches are full of it. But next to water, sand and gravel are amongst of the most exploited natural resources. Along with cement, they are indispensable for making con...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Thanks for following and supporting GondwanaTalks, closing its fifth year. Best wishes! ✨🎉🥂 Www.gondwanatalks.com.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
On whales with legs and how terrestrial quadrupeds returned to the sea, the legacy of #Cousteau, humans and #water, and meeting #Beluga #whales. 🌊🐳💙 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/ocean-plan...
gondwanatalks.com
Ocean Planet: Cousteau, whales with legs, and aquatic humans.
Our blue planet, as far as we know, is unique in the universe. There is a need to revalue water and the seas, in times of drought, pollution, overexploitation and overfishing. That thought came to me ...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
We live on an ocean planet, occurred to me once more as I walked along a strangely quiet sea in #Belgium. Read my post on #oceans, marine life including #whales with legs and #belugas. 🌊🐋🐟💙 www.gondwanatalks.com/l/ocean-plan...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
How the moon was formed. A Mars-sized proto-planet, #Theia collides with Earth. How did scientists get to this hypothesis? www.gondwanatalks.com/l/origin-of-... 🔥⚡☄️(Artistic image conceptualized by K. Bonne and made using OpenAI's DALL-E model). #space #earth #solarsystem #science #planets
An artistic representation of the collision between Theia, a large planetary body, and Earth. The image shows a dramatic cosmic scene with Theia approaching Earth at high speed, causing a fiery outburst of debris.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
The lunar samples from the #Apollo missions to the #moon are still being analyzed today to understand how the moon formed, as our moon is massive compared to Earth, unlike other planet-moon systems. A fascinating story. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/origin-of-...
gondwanatalks.com
The origin of the Moon: A tale of two planets.
Without the moon, there would be no life. Yet it took a spectacular event to form the Earth-Moon system. How did the moon form? And how did scientists find out?
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Full moon, a sweet sight. But was the moon always there? Check my post on the hypotheses of how the #moon formed,an ongoing field of research full of opposing ideas. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/origin-of-... 🌙🌕 #spacescience #luna #fullmoon #lunascience #nasa #gondwanatalks
Early morning blue sky with pink clouds and bright full moon. Leafless tree reaches up to almost touch the moon.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Excellent book with interviews with scientists by the late #EduardoPunset. On DNA, origin of life, quarks, quanta, strings and why we, are here. I'm reading it in #torrelodones #science #gondwanatalks www.gondwanatalks.com
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
The marine algae by biologist Helena Cruz de Carvalho are unicellular phytoplankton that make shells in unimaginable shapes. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/marine-alg... #plankton #oceanlife #climate #artforearth #earth #gondwanatalks #gondwana
Cyanotype print of a diatom held by Helena Cruz de Carvalho on the seashore.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Can beauty save us? 🐟That is the crux of my last post on mariene algae captured in enchanting #cyanotype by biologist Helena Cruz de Carvalho #biology #algae #marineart #plankton #earth #climatechange #ocean #oceanlife #gondwana #sciencefordummies #scienceandart www.gondwanatalks.com/l/marine-alg...
gondwanatalks.com
Marine algae in cyanotype by biologist Helena Cruz de Carvalho.
Cyanotype is one of the oldest forms of photography and is particularly suited to portray the wonderful life of the ocean. With almost otherworldly prints of marine algae, Helena Cruz de Carvalho brea...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
#stillife of #minerals. Art & science. Coral, aragonite, limestone cobbles, amethyst, hematite. #geologyrocks #geology #geologia #artandscience more in 3 languages on 💎🐚 www.gondwanatalks.com
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
My book #trilobite by Richard Fortey, coffee and the quote on the sugar made my day. This author inspired me to study #geology, a choice I never regretted. #geologyrocks #palaeontology #quotes #coffee #gondwanatalks #gondwana www.gondwanatalks.com
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Sharing a good laugh with #JaneGoodall, was one highlight of several years of doing #volunteer work for the Jane Goodall Institute #Belgium. 👱‍♀️👩‍🦰💃Happy World Volunteer Day! #worldvolunteerday #chimpanzee #wildlife #climate
Jane Goodall and Kathelijne Bonne sharing a good laugh on the Evening of Hope, Belgium, 2022.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Happy World Soil Day! 🌾🍇🍄‍🟫 Studying soil is fascinating, because it opens up a microcosm that connects all spheres of our planet and make it a #habitable one. Never think that #soil is just 'dirt'. Those who think so, don't know what they miss. 🤎💚🩵 learn more: www.gondwanatalks.com #worldsoilday
Mushrooms on leaf litter in Africa. Copyright: E. Bonne.
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
#Soil is life. It nurtures our food, stores carbon, filters water, and supports ecosystems. As a soil scientist, I see its hidden value every day. And through my posts on www.gondwanatalks.com, I want other people to learn about it. Let’s protect this vital resource for future generations! 🌾
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Isn't this soil profile wonderful? It's developed under a Mediterranean climate on Palaeozoic rocks. Actually it was on a beach at the Côte d'Azur. Life can't get much better. #soil #soilscience #earthscience #scientist #worldsoilday #cotedazur #gondwana #soilprofile #geologyrocks
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
What is the #DANA phenomenon? Read more about it in my post on the storms in Spain, focussing on the science of it. Why is it worse, how is it caused? How can the risks be mitigated? www.gondwanatalks.com/l/spain-2024... #jetstream #weather #climate #spain #meteo #geology #soilscience #earthscience
gondwanatalks.com
Spain 2024 floods: how the DANA, soil, sea and Jet Stream interact.
Climate change has intensified the DANA weather phenomenon, unleashing torrential rains across eastern and southern Spain. In parts of the Valencia region, rainfall exceeded annual totals within a sin...
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GondwanaTalks @gondwanatalks.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
What's in a name? #GondwanaTalks is named after the great, lost supercontinent Gondwana, that united Africa, South America, India, Australia, Antarctica and other smaller pieces of land. Read more about how it formed. www.gondwanatalks.com/l/gondwana-s...
gondwanatalks.com
Gondwana, Snowball Earth and the Cambrian explosion of life.
In times when marine life exploded into greater biodiversity than ever before, all southern continents had merged in one enormous landmass, a supercontinent called Gondwana. It didn't sprout from myth...
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