The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has named journalists Ayesha Tandon, Tim Kalvelage, Kerstin Hoppenhaus and Panos Tsimpoukis as the winners of its 2022 Science Journalism Fellowship. EGU’s funding will allow Tandon to travel to Thailand to report on links between climate impact, migration and displacement patterns, Kalvelage to join a deep sea mining expedition in the Clarion-Clipperton-Zone (CCZ), Kerstin Hoppenhaus to follow scientists and miners down the Zechstein to study its raw material deposits, and finally Tsimpoukis to report from the oceanographic ship L’Europe and SANTORY: SANTORini’s Seafloor Volcanic ObservatorY.

“I am delighted to receive this grant, which will allow me to report on the drivers and consequences of climate-driven migration,” says Tandon, who was awarded €2000. “I will shadow a team of experts as they research perceptions of climate-driven migration in Thailand. I look forward to learning more about the HABITABLE research project – especially given its emphasis on forming local collaborations, which will help the team effectively reach affected communities and avoid predatory scientific practices.”

Kalvelage, who was awarded €1500, says, “Because of the tense economic situation globally, many media are under even greater pressure to cut costs than before. This makes it very difficult for journalists, especially freelancers, to carry out elaborate research. I am therefore grateful to the EGU for supporting me in accompanying researchers on a ship expedition in the North Pacific to report on the potential impacts of mining cobalt-rich manganese nodules in the deep-sea – one of Earth’s last true wildernesses.”

Hoppenhaus, who applied together with associate Sibylle Grunze, shares, “We are very grateful to receive this fellowship. It will allow us to explore the history and the future of mining for a very important raw material in Germany, and to literally go much deeper than it would otherwise have been possible.” EGU awarded Hoppenhaus €1520 to report on this explorative study.

“I am grateful to receive a grant that will allow me to cover in-depth scientific research at Kolumbo, an active submarine volcano near Santorini that scientists have turned into a prototype interdisciplinary undersea laboratory,” says Tsimpoukis, to whom EGU awarded €800. “I hope the articles that result from this journalistic project will highlight both the richness of geosciences and its usefulness in everyday life.”

Ayesha Tandon is the science journalist at Carbon Brief – a UK-based climate journalism and analysis group. She is based in Oxford, in the UK. Prior to working at Carbon Brief, she spent two years at the UK Met Office as a climate science communicator. Ayesha also holds a first class Masters degree from the University of Exeter in Natural Sciences.

Tim Kalvelage, based in Bremen, Germany, is a freelance science journalist, book author, and photographer. His work focuses on climate and ocean science and has appeared in Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Geo, and other print and online media. Before becoming a freelancer, he completed a PhD in marine microbiology and worked as a researcher in aquatic biogeochemistry and as an editor for Spektrum der Wissenschaft. Kalvelage is also a graduate from Reportageschule, a journalism school dedicated to long-form non-fiction writing.

Kerstin Hoppenhaus and Sibylle Grunze are independent filmmakers and science journalists based in Berlin, Germany, where they produce online multimedia projects. They have worked with Zeit-Online, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Undark, BBC Future, and others, and are members of RiffReporter, an award-winning cooperative of freelance journalists.

Panos Tsimpoukis studied biology and epigenetics and proceeded to work as a science journalist in the national Greek newspaper TO VIMA for over three years. His passion for science communication then led him to pursue a masters degree in science communication at the University of Grenoble. In the last year, alongside his work as a science journalist, Panos began pursuing a PhD from the University of Toulouse, focusing on controversies related to science in social media.

The EGU Science Journalism Fellowship is an annual competition open to professional journalists wishing to report on ongoing research in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The winning proposals receive up to €5000 to cover expenses related to their projects. This support is intended to allow the fellows to follow geoscientists on location and to develop an in-depth understanding of their questions, approaches, findings and motivation.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The EGU publishes a number of diverse scientific journals that use an innovative open access format and organises topical meetings plus education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting more than 14,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources. For more information, follow the EGU on Twitter and Facebook.