The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has named journalists Julia Rosen and Vivien Cumming as the winners of its 2018 Science Journalism Fellowship. Rosen will receive €2,200 to travel to the UK to write about the role of soil in the phosphorus crisis, while Cumming is awarded €2,800 to follow scientists in Myanmar to tell the story of carbon in rivers.

“I’m honoured to be awarded this fellowship, which will give me the opportunity to travel to the UK to write about the often overlooked phosphorus crisis,” says Rosen. “I will explore how soil contributes to the pervasive problem of phosphorus pollution, and how it could be part of the solution for weaning the global food system away from relying on mined phosphorus for fertiliser.”

Cumming says: “I am so excited to be able to tell the story of carbon flowing in Himalayan rivers and its impact on global climate. This fellowship will allow me to follow scientists in Myanmar where I will join them to document their journey along some of the largest rivers to flow from the Himalayas. The water in these rivers holds information about our planet’s climate system and we will be collecting samples in order to unravel this information.”

Julia Rosen is a freelance science journalist based in Portland, Oregon who writes regularly for Nature, Science, and High Country News, and has also published stories in Discover and NationalGeographic.com, among other publications. She covers earth and environmental science, and writes about everything from volcanic eruptions to endangered species to climate change. Before she became a journalist, Rosen completed a bachelor’s degree in geology from Stanford University and a PhD from Oregon State University.

Vivien Cumming, also a former academic, is a UK-based freelance photographer, writer and filmmaker. She has filmed and produced short films for BBC Earth and Future, and has contributed written features and photo essays to BBC Earth, BBC Travel and Smithsonian.com, among others. Her photography is also published regularly in The Guardian and NationalGeographic.com. She has spent the last 13 years exploring remote and familiar corners of the Earth, often following scientists on location to report on their work. Cumming has a PhD in Earth sciences from Durham University, UK.

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 €5K 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 has a current portfolio of 17 diverse scientific journals, which use an innovative open access format, and organises a number of topical meetings, and education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting over 13,000 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. The EGU 2018 General Assembly is taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 8 to 13 April 2018. For more information and press registration, please check http://media.egu.eu, or follow the EGU on Twitter and Facebook.

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• More information about the EGU Science Journalism Fellowship, including past winners