How life makes life on Earth possible
Without life, the Earth would not be a place suitable for life. Sounds like a Catch-22? You bet. But it is true. In this blog post, we will explore how […]
Author Archives: Karsten Eig
How to get life onto land in 3 difficult steps
Why did the fish go on land? Because it is evolution’s nature (to fill ecological niches. That’s why lobe-finned fish went on land around 370 million years ago and became […]
Why you could have been a dinosaur. Or just very ugly.
Imagine that you are a dinosaur. No, seriously, imagine that you are a dinosaur. Start with Velociraptor, the sickle claw killer of Jurassic Park. Replace the sickle and claws with […]
Süd-Tirol and Alto Adige: How the Dolomites made the land of two languages
Süd-Tirol is where good apples come from. Anyone who has eaten apples know the name, and probably thinks Süd-Tirol is in Austria or Germany. But Süd-Tirol is the very northernmost […]
Coal, steam and steel: How geology made the industrial revolution
Before the 18th century, everything in the world was organic, artisan and handcrafted, because there was no other way. Weavers made clothes, blacksmiths made tools and nails, farmers went behind […]
Santorini: The volcano that made the western world
Santorini, in the eastern Mediterranean, is a classic Greek island destination. Dinner at Santorini, when the sun sets over the lagoon deep below, is frequent in listicles over “10 most […]
How geology directs history
1816 was the year without summer. It was the year when rain poured down across Europe. Potatoes rotted in the fields and the grain never ripened. Europe already struggled to […]
Las Canadas caldera: The devil’s cauldron on Tenerife
El Teide is at 3718 meters not only the tallest mountain in Spain, but the third tallest mountain in the world – measured from its base at the seafloor, that […]
Tre Cime de Lavaredo: The landmark of the Dolomites
We went to the Dolomites in the late half of September. End of the summer tourist season. We were the last guests on the hotel, before they closed the doors […]
The Dolomites: when the Alps were a tropical sea
The Dolomites are legendary name to both mountaineers and geologists. The pink and beige mountains, with the characteristic layers, the free-standing towers with flat tables on the top, are on […]