The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has named journalists Kate Ravilious and Liz Kalaugher as the winners of its second Science Journalism Fellowship competition for projects on reporting continental earthquakes and climate-change effects on ecosystems, respectively. Ravilious will receive €3,500 to join a research team travelling to central Asia, and Kalaugher €1,500 to cover expenses related to a trip to Finland.

Kate Ravilious proposal focuses on Earthquakes without Frontiers, a project involving a team of scientists studying continental faults stretching from southern Europe to central Asia and China that could pose major risks to populations in these regions. She aims to “communicate how little we understand continental earthquakes, how dangerous they can be, and how projects like this one could save many lives in the future,” she writes in her winning proposal.

Liz Kalaugher proposes to report on field work at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in the north of Finland, a region where “the first effects of climate change are starting to bite,” she writes. She will follow scientists to the European Arctic to communicate their research on climate-change impacts on soils, vegetation and local fauna, and to understand how resilient ecosystems are to changes in temperature.

Both winners are invited to attend the EGU General Assembly, taking place in Vienna from the 7-12 April 2013.

Kate Ravilious is an award-winning independent science journalist, based in York, UK. She writes about the latest discoveries in the scientific world and has a particular passion for earth sciences and archaeology. Her work is published in magazines and newspapers and on websites including, New Scientist, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, National Geographic daily news, Archaeology and environmentalresearchweb.

Liz Kalaugher is editor of environmentalresearchweb. Liz has more than ten years’ experience as a science writer and holds a degree in materials science from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in materials science and Certificate in Wildlife Biology, both from the University of Bristol, UK.

The EGU Science Journalism Fellowship is an annual competition open to professional journalists wishing to report on ongoing research in the geosciences. The winning proposals receive up to €5K to cover expenses related to the projects and assistance in liaising with scientists. This support is intended to allow the fellows to follow geoscientists on location and to develop 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. The EGU has a current portfolio of 14 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 10,000 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 2013 EGU General Assembly is taking place is Vienna, Austria from 7-12 April. For information regarding the press centre at the meeting and media registration, please check http://media.egu.eu.

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