Kristen Cook
@kristencook.bsky.social
Geomorphologist with IRD, ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes. EGU Geomorphology Division president. Interested in extreme floods, landslides, and how mountain rivers work, mostly in the Himalaya.
Most fieldwork posts show smiling people, beautiful landscapes, and/or interesting things. For a view of the other side, I give you fieldwork in Nepal with endless rain (thanks cyclone Montha), mud everywhere, and leeches. One of my more difficult trips in recent years...
November 8, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Most fieldwork posts show smiling people, beautiful landscapes, and/or interesting things. For a view of the other side, I give you fieldwork in Nepal with endless rain (thanks cyclone Montha), mud everywhere, and leeches. One of my more difficult trips in recent years...
For some impression of the river, here's the section just upstream of the bridge, from back in 2015. It's not a small channel down here - imagine all of this filled with a raging flood...
September 29, 2025 at 6:14 PM
For some impression of the river, here's the section just upstream of the bridge, from back in 2015. It's not a small channel down here - imagine all of this filled with a raging flood...
The Matai’an landslide dam in eastern Taiwan has failed this afternoon (eos.org/thelandslide...), flooding Guangfu, about 15 km downstream focustaiwan.tw/society/2025.... Even in the middle of a typhoon, the resulting flood produced a detectable seismic signal at stations ~40 km away.
September 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The Matai’an landslide dam in eastern Taiwan has failed this afternoon (eos.org/thelandslide...), flooding Guangfu, about 15 km downstream focustaiwan.tw/society/2025.... Even in the middle of a typhoon, the resulting flood produced a detectable seismic signal at stations ~40 km away.
Day two of the 4th IAG-EGU intensive course for young geomorphogists! Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, a giant landslide, TLS, ERT, and CRN sampling - it was a great day!
September 15, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Day two of the 4th IAG-EGU intensive course for young geomorphogists! Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, a giant landslide, TLS, ERT, and CRN sampling - it was a great day!
My window jungle has reached endgame. At least it helps keep my non-AC office cool in the summer?
August 1, 2025 at 2:21 PM
My window jungle has reached endgame. At least it helps keep my non-AC office cool in the summer?
thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/rasuwa...
Another destructive Himalayan flood, this time transboundary. And like most of these, we can see the seismic signals created by the flood at a DMG station near Kathmandu. The flood is visible seismically about an hour before it arrived at the Nepali border...
Another destructive Himalayan flood, this time transboundary. And like most of these, we can see the seismic signals created by the flood at a DMG station near Kathmandu. The flood is visible seismically about an hour before it arrived at the Nepali border...
July 8, 2025 at 9:07 PM
thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/rasuwa...
Another destructive Himalayan flood, this time transboundary. And like most of these, we can see the seismic signals created by the flood at a DMG station near Kathmandu. The flood is visible seismically about an hour before it arrived at the Nepali border...
Another destructive Himalayan flood, this time transboundary. And like most of these, we can see the seismic signals created by the flood at a DMG station near Kathmandu. The flood is visible seismically about an hour before it arrived at the Nepali border...
Nice misty river view on the way home from the supermarket earlier. Enjoying the coolness ahead of the 34 degrees forecast for next week 😬
June 7, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Nice misty river view on the way home from the supermarket earlier. Enjoying the coolness ahead of the 34 degrees forecast for next week 😬
I'm currently attending the Sagarmatha Sambaad, a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum organized by the government of Nepal, with the theme this year of climate change and mountains. It is a very very different experience from my usual scientific conferences. I feel like I'm entering a whole new world!
May 16, 2025 at 1:31 PM
I'm currently attending the Sagarmatha Sambaad, a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum organized by the government of Nepal, with the theme this year of climate change and mountains. It is a very very different experience from my usual scientific conferences. I feel like I'm entering a whole new world!
My 20th trip to Nepal, and finally I get to ride through Kathmandu in a fancy car with a police escort (I'm not the VIP, I'm just tagging along) 😜. I can now report that even policemen escorts can't help with Kathmandu traffic 😁
May 15, 2025 at 1:10 PM
My 20th trip to Nepal, and finally I get to ride through Kathmandu in a fancy car with a police escort (I'm not the VIP, I'm just tagging along) 😜. I can now report that even policemen escorts can't help with Kathmandu traffic 😁
The airport lounge life. There are worse ways to spend a 5.5 hour layover...
May 14, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The airport lounge life. There are worse ways to spend a 5.5 hour layover...
So, it turns out that San Marino is pretty awesome! Even on a very thunderstormy sort of day. Tiny countries are the best countries?
May 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM
So, it turns out that San Marino is pretty awesome! Even on a very thunderstormy sort of day. Tiny countries are the best countries?
Closing the books on another fantastic EGU general assembly - what a week! Thanks to everyone for bringing your science to EGU, and to the conveners and other volunteers for organizing it all!
May 3, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Closing the books on another fantastic EGU general assembly - what a week! Thanks to everyone for bringing your science to EGU, and to the conveners and other volunteers for organizing it all!
ÖBB for the win! Arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and now I get to enjoy the view from Öztal bahnhof for a bit. The Austrian Alps never disappoint!
April 26, 2025 at 3:11 PM
ÖBB for the win! Arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and now I get to enjoy the view from Öztal bahnhof for a bit. The Austrian Alps never disappoint!
Next step is by bus! ÖBB rail replacement to Öztal, which means a different route than usual. So no Walensee and no Liechtenstein, but a little glimpse of Lake Konstanz! Very curious to see when we get to Öztal - google maps tells me an hour later than the ÖBB timetable tells me...
April 26, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Next step is by bus! ÖBB rail replacement to Öztal, which means a different route than usual. So no Walensee and no Liechtenstein, but a little glimpse of Lake Konstanz! Very curious to see when we get to Öztal - google maps tells me an hour later than the ÖBB timetable tells me...
Not bad Switzerland, not bad 🤩
April 26, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Not bad Switzerland, not bad 🤩
Got my attestation from the SBB allowing me to take an earlier train because of the timetable changes, and now I'm all set for Genève to Zürich!
April 26, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Got my attestation from the SBB allowing me to take an earlier train because of the timetable changes, and now I'm all set for Genève to Zürich!
Here we go! #Train2EGU for #EGU25 First step: nice and easy Grenoble to Geneva. With the timetable messed up by construction in Austria, I'm not sure how the rest is going to go, but at least it's a nice day for a train trip through the Alps 🤩
April 26, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Here we go! #Train2EGU for #EGU25 First step: nice and easy Grenoble to Geneva. With the timetable messed up by construction in Austria, I'm not sure how the rest is going to go, but at least it's a nice day for a train trip through the Alps 🤩
For geomorphologists going to EGU, here is your one-page overview of all of the GM sessions and activities next week! Looking forward to a week of free and open science, EDI discussions and activities, and plenty of talk about climate change...
April 23, 2025 at 4:51 PM
For geomorphologists going to EGU, here is your one-page overview of all of the GM sessions and activities next week! Looking forward to a week of free and open science, EDI discussions and activities, and plenty of talk about climate change...
There's a protest right now by my house, in defense of "free party culture" (actual parties, not political ones, something like unauthorized raves?). They're protesting by playing extremely loud music, and my entire house is vibrating, literally windows rattling. Gotta love French protest culture!
April 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM
There's a protest right now by my house, in defense of "free party culture" (actual parties, not political ones, something like unauthorized raves?). They're protesting by playing extremely loud music, and my entire house is vibrating, literally windows rattling. Gotta love French protest culture!
Look what just arrived! Just a little over two weeks left until the best (and busiest) geoscience week of the year 😁
April 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Look what just arrived! Just a little over two weeks left until the best (and busiest) geoscience week of the year 😁
And I just noticed the first invader of the year! Soon the jungle will be inside the office as well... With precedent - the brown stuff on the wall is the trace of a previous invader, which grew across half the wall at some point before I moved in 😲. Time to do some gardening I guess.
April 4, 2025 at 6:05 PM
And I just noticed the first invader of the year! Soon the jungle will be inside the office as well... With precedent - the brown stuff on the wall is the trace of a previous invader, which grew across half the wall at some point before I moved in 😲. Time to do some gardening I guess.