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JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator

JoAnna Wendel

JoAnna Wendel is a freelance science writer and cartoonist. She covers topics ranging from the geology of faraway moons to the behavior of animals in our oceans. She served as a staff writer for Eos from 2014 to 2018, then worked in communications in NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division. JoAnna is now freelancing full time as a writer and artist.

Roman aqueduct
Posted inFeatures

Five Weird Archives That Scientists Use to Study Past Climates

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustratorMohi Kumar headshot by JoAnna Wendel and M. Kumar 30 March 20184 October 2021

When tree rings, ice cores, and cave formations can’t cut it, try your luck with whale earwax or bat poop.

Spatter bombs
Posted inNews

Homemade “Spatter Bombs” Can Reveal Volcanic Secrets

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 23 March 201815 November 2022

Researchers use trial and error to develop a technique to create volcanic lava bombs.

Space poetry
Posted inGeoFIZZ

Lunar and Planetary Science Inspires Out-of-This-World Poetry

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 19 March 201811 January 2022

Writing a haiku to accompany your abstract is a long-standing tradition of the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Here are some of our favorites from this year’s program.

ISS robotic arm
Posted inNews

Five Takeaways from Trump’s Proposed Budget for NASA

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 15 February 20186 July 2022

Exploration and privatization dominate the president’s proposed budget for the space agency in the 2019 fiscal year, whereas a major cut to a flagship mission surprises scientists.

Plankton bloom Iceland
Posted inNews

Tyler Prize Honors Two Leaders in Marine and Climate Science

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 7 February 201811 January 2022

Biological oceanographers Paul Falkowski and James McCarthy helped revolutionize the world’s understanding of Earth’s changing climate, both past and present.

Rock hammer flashdrive
Posted inGeoFIZZ

When Your Weird Science Gets Stopped at Airport Security

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 1 February 201813 October 2022

“Gamma ray spectrometer,” “rock hammer,” and “putty knife” are not phrases that airport security likes to hear.

Global temperature map for 2017
Posted inNews

Global Average Temperatures in 2017 Continued Upward Trend

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 19 January 201810 April 2023

Even when the warming from El Niño is removed, 2017 ranks among the hottest years on record.

Wheat fields painting
Posted inGeoFIZZ

A Window into the Emerging Anthropocene…Through Art

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 9 January 20184 October 2022

Want a snapshot of how humans have been changing their landscapes since the Industrial Revolution? Look at artwork at a local museum, one geoscientist says.

Lhotse mountain in the Himalayas
Posted inNews

Read Them Again: Eos’s Most Viewed Stories of 2017

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 2 January 201811 January 2022

From mesmerizing maps to glacial floods and massive earthquakes, here’s a look back on last year’s most popular stories.

Posted inGeoFIZZ

If Scientists Had a Time Machine: No. 1

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 29 December 2017

Where would you go?

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A view of a Washington, D.C., skyline from the Potomac River at night. The Lincoln Memorial (at left) and the Washington Monument (at right) are lit against a purple sky. Over the water of the Potomac appear the text “#AGU24 coverage from Eos.”

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