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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.

Jupiter’s moon Io
Posted inNews

Scientists Discover Stromboli-Like Eruption on Volcanic Moon

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 27 December 20175 January 2022

Jupiter’s moon Io is known for its lava fountains and roiling lava lakes, but scientists had never seen such an intense eruption in their data until now.

Surf’s up!
Posted inGeoFIZZ

Sketch Your Science: Our Guesses About Your Sketches

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustratorMohi Kumar headshot by JoAnna Wendel and M. Kumar 18 December 20174 October 2021

Eos staff do their best to guess what scientists were drawing on the Sketch Your Science wall at the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting in New Orleans, La.

Destroyed antenna and tide gauge
Posted inNews

Hurricanes Expose Vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico Seismic Network

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 12 December 20176 June 2022

Could overreliance on cell networks to transmit data leave instruments in the dark after the next storm hits?

Veteran journalist Dan Rather speaks to a packed auditorium of AGU meeting attendees.
Posted inNews

Dan Rather’s Vision for Scientists in an Era of “Fake News”

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustratorMohi Kumar headshot by JoAnna Wendel, Randy Showstack and M. Kumar 12 December 201711 April 2023

Scientists must embrace communication, and communicators must work harder to tell more nuanced and compelling science stories, the newsman said to an auditorium full of scientists.

Glacier front
Posted inNews

Science at the Border Between Ice and Ocean

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 11 December 201711 April 2023

A suite of instruments, including drones, remotely operated boats, and multibeam sonar, is helping scientists understand a little-studied area at the front of a calving glacier.

A lidar image of mysterious features on Earth called a Carolina Bays.
Posted inNews

Four Planetary Landscapes That Scientists Can’t Explain

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 11 December 201711 April 2023

These are just a handful of the hundreds of mysterious features across our solar neighborhood that beg to be studied closer.

Fossil of an Ediacaran creature
Posted inFeatures

Hunting Rare Fossils of the Ediacaran

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 13 November 201730 January 2023

The search for fossil imprints and casts of squishy organisms takes time, perseverance, and sometimes a sprinkle of luck.

Satellite image of Nile River
Posted inNews

Volcanic Woes May Have Contributed to Ancient Egypt’s Fall

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 23 October 201728 March 2023

Ice cores and ancient river records suggest that volcanic eruptions may have reduced the flow of the Nile River. Failures of the Nile floods that usually irrigated Egypt’s farms could have fed social unrest.

Galileo image of Europa
Posted inNews

Geologic Map of Europa Highlights Targets for Future Exploration

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustrator by JoAnna Wendel 20 October 201711 January 2022

The first such map of the icy moon puts its strange surface features into perspective.

High resolution map of Gulf of Mexico.
Posted inFeatures

Ten Mesmerizing Geophysical Maps That Double as Works of Art

JoAnna Wendel, freelance science writer and illustratorMohi Kumar headshot by JoAnna Wendel and M. Kumar 13 October 20173 December 2021

From tiny seafloor features in the Gulf of Mexico to craters pocking the surface of Mars, the details on these maps captivate and fascinate.

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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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