It was in mid-March 1987 that I first took up my desk at Nature's bookish offices in Little Essex St, not quite 20 years after Jason Morgan's epochal and poorly understood AGU talk on the mechanisms of plate tectonics. Within days I was editing articles on the topic, which seemed as ancient and established as the mountains themselves. So, a further 30 years on, it's unnerving to recognise how young, yet successful the paradigm was. Climate science was similarly finding its feet at the time. These global forces that shape the planet, shape people's lives too, and often in an instant. This is what makes accurate and timely reporting of earth sciences compelling. What's also been transformed is communication. Then, it was by post, or via the new "fax" machine that arrived shortly after me. How that has changed! In this talk I will reflect on the the key role digital media, social media in particular, play in contemporary reporting on geosciences and the environment.

How to cite: Pease, R.: Communicating geosciences in the digital age, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-15433, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15433, 2021.

As geoscientists we are used to being inspired by and seeing the physical and scientific value of the landscapes surrounding us. We are also used to questioning why and how landscapes evolve and as well as trying to unravel the complex interactions between the human and physical landscapes.  However, typically scientific results remain within the scientific community and there is relatively little engagement beyond that community particularly with underrepresented or hard-to-reach audiences.    

From making slime glaciers to discussing whether or not the flow of water over a crayfish in a river is the same as the flow of air over a Formula One car, running geoscience themed outreach and engagement events have provided me with some of the most exciting and rewarding times of my academic career.  In this lecture I will share some of the passion I have for ensuring academic research is shared, is accessible and is inspiring for everyone, not just scientists.  Using examples of how I have engaged with a diverse range of non-academic audiences from school children to governmental policy makers I will talk through the challenges and opportunities these engagement experiences have presented.

Looking to the future I will discuss the potential opportunities the geoscience community has for overcoming current barriers to engagement, the significance of training undergraduate and postgraduate students in delivering engagement activities and the importance of engaging citizens with scientists in order to understand and help mitigate against the impact humans are having on our fragile planet.

How to cite: Ockelford, A.: Is the flow of water over a crayfish in a river the same as the flow of air over a Formula One car; opportunities and challenges of outreach and engagement in the geosciences, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-11034, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-11034, 2021.