The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has announced the three recipients of its prestigious 2024 Science Journalism Fellowship, awarded to support reporting on significant geoscientific research around the globe. Freelance journalists Daniela De Lorenzo, Tim Kalvelage, and Laura Carrau will each receive funding for field reporting projects that explore climate change, biodiversity, and environmental science.

De Lorenzo will receive €1,570 to cover the untold story of High Latitude Dust in Iceland and Finland. Kalvelage will receive €1,300 to report on an expedition to study deep-sea cold-water corals in the Mozambique Channel. Carrau will receive €2,300 to create a documentary focusing on the salinization of the Gambia River and its impact on local communities.

Selected from a pool of competitive applications, the winners’ proposals span a range of environmental issues crucial to understanding our planet’s future. The panel of judges, comprised of geoscientists and science journalists, highlighted the creativity and depth of the reporting projects.

Daniela De Lorenzo: High latitude dust in the Arctic

Daniela De Lorenzo will use her fellowship to document the impacts of high latitude dust storms in Arctic regions, an area of research that remains largely unexplored. Through fieldwork in Iceland and Finland, De Lorenzo’s work will examine how high latitude dust influences climate, air quality, and ecosystems. Her work will help raise awareness of this little-known yet critical issue. De Lorenzo’s articles and photography will be featured in prominent environmental outlets including ENDS Europe and Euronews.

Tim Kalvelage: Cold-water corals in the Mozambique channel

Tim Kalvelage’s project will take him aboard the research vessel R/V Sonne for an international expedition studying cold-water coral reefs in the deep waters of the Mozambique Channel. These ecosystems, critical to deep-sea biodiversity, are facing increasing threats from human activities such as bottom-trawl fishing and deep-sea mining. Kalvelage will produce real-time updates during the month-long expedition, with long-form articles to follow in GEO and Scientific American.

Laura Carrau: The voices of the Gambia River

Laura Carrau, a seasoned documentary filmmaker, will use her grant to produce ‘The Voices of the Gambia River’, a documentary exploring the salinization of the Gambia River due to climate change. The film will focus on how rising sea levels threaten both biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities. Through the support of the EGU fellowship, Carrau’s work will be showcased at film festivals and digital platforms, following the footsteps of her previous success, Memories of a Sea.

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 publishes several 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 18,000 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 next General Assembly will be held from 27 April – 2 May 2025 in Vienna, Austria and virtually. For more information, please check here
If you wish to receive our press releases via email, please use the Press Release Subscription Form. Subscribed journalists and other members of the media receive EGU press releases under embargo (if applicable) 24 hours in advance of public dissemination.