Paper out in Geology
A paper i’m a co-author on is in the September edition of Geology. I’m swamped right now and don’t have time to write a coherent post about it….but I will soon.
In the meantime, check it out (if you have access, of course):
Highstand fans in the California borderland: The overlooked deep-water depositional systems
Jacob A. Covault, William R. Normark, Brian W. Romans, and Stephan A. Graham
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Ideas for a geology blog carnival: Part 2
To all those with earth science-rich blogs,
The success of science blog carnivals such as The Boneyard (paleontology/paleobiology), Tangled Bank (variety of biology-related topics including ecology, evolution, and genetics), and Carnival of the Blue (ocean sciences) makes me yearn for a geology-focused carnival.
So….I’m hoping that this post can serve as a place to bounce ideas around and get the first edition of this carnival up and running. For example, should we have a ‘theme’? Do we want it to focus on a particular topic? Or do we want to highlight the breadth? Does anyone have a good idea for a name? A logo? Do we want a separate blog site, or should we just take turns hosting it?
Let the ideas flow…..hopefully we can reach some consensus and get the inaugural edition, which I can host here, up soon.
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Oh. My. God.
From the annals of American idiocy, I bring you the results of the latest World Net Daily poll. Please use as fodder for humor and/or evidence for the continued demise of America’s grasp and appreciation of science.
The readers of WND are a special group. If you combine the first two answers, the vast majority (nearly 80%) truly believe this is all a hoax. Not that we are wrong about the warming or the attribution, but that it is all made up to take over the world (i.e., a globalist power agenda). I am willing to have discussions with people about the science (although i’m not a climate scientist, I try and keep up). But….I doubt I could even have that discussion with these people. I really hope this is another parody site that duped me into thinking it was real.
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Technology and evolution
I’ve talked about the TED conference talks before. Last time I showed a video of techno-prophet Ray Kurzweil talking about when technology and biology merge. This talk, by Kevin Kelly, discusses the topic of technology and what it means a little differently. Instead of predictions, Kelly discusses what technology is and how it is intermingled with the human species itself.
For example, he talks about how life, in general, develops “hacks” to get through life, or how to “do” life better. In this context, evolution is technology. This is a fascinating way to talk about technology. We are too ensconced in a consumer-centric perspective of regarding technology as a product…something to invent, something to build, something to sell, and something to purchase and utilize. Kevin Kelly discusses a framework where our technological advancement is part of our evolution. As we advance further into biotechnology, this should become even more apparent.
The talk is about 20 minutes….take a break from working and watch it.
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Friday Field Foto #26: Birds on a corral fence
I snapped this photo of some ibis this past March after a long horse ride out of the woods. Happy Friday!
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The joy of research
Not the e-mail I wanted to see from my collaborator this morning:
The calibrated ages for _____ show a major glitch re your attempts to
look at _____.
Awesome.
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From these results, I conclude…
…I need more data.
But, here are the poll results anyway.
I asked the readers what title describes them best. I had a feeling most people reading this blog were involved in science or academics in one way or another.
The students win big time. That is kind of what I expected, which is really cool to see. It’s also nice to see some faculty coming by as well.
I’m not too surprised with the number of industry scientists…there are a lot of them out there. The world needs scientists, so there they are….reading blogs and taking dorky polls instead of working. Plus, I have some experience and affiliation myself with industry.
I guess the big question is who are all the ‘none of the aboves’? Perhaps non-professional scientists — that is, people who love science but don’t necessarily do it as their livelihood? Maybe some journalism or policy types? Who knows….maybe just passers-by.
Thanks for participating.
Oh yeah, one more thing…you may have noticed how I put it in percentages to obscure the low number of samples (n=52, by the way). You should be impressed I did any quantitative analysis…I am a geologist after all.
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Where on (Google)Earth #40?
Just so y’all know, I did not win Wo(G)E #39….sagan did. But, since sagan does not have a blog (but maybe soon?), Kent proposed that the first person to comment could take the next one. And then I strolled on by…right place, right time. So Ron tallied sagan for the win on #39.
So, here we go. Wo(G)E #40 is below. The only clue i’m gonna give is that i’ve been thinking a lot about this river in recent weeks. Click on image for a higher resolution. This is an oblique view and note north arrow.
Good luck!
p.s. to my new readers out there, the Where on (Google)Earth? series started on this blog several months ago, but has now been serialized such that the winner takes the next installment. Simply put the coordinates in the comments below to play….we tend to pick geological features, so bonus if you can say anything about it.
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Top shelf seismometer
The USGS has the ‘Did You Feel It?‘ website for generating shake maps for earthquakes felt by anybody. Late last night, I felt the modest 3.2 quake in Oakland.
I may have been the only one in San Francisco to feel it (they don’t show locations on the map under a certain number of entries, apparently). Why did I feel it and nobody else in SF? Well, it was after midnight, and it was rather late (after midnight). And, it wasn’t a very strong earthquake either.
But, another reason is the bookshelf-liquor bottle seismometer we have in our apartment. On the top shelf of said bookshelf we keep the handful of bottles of liquor we have. When the bus goes by our apartment, they rattle ever so slightly. Something about the slightly warped hardwood floor in this 1940s building makes this set-up a very sensitive recorder of any motion. Last night as I was working late, the bottles rattled, but a lot slower than when the bus goes by. Earthquake! The fact that no bus was going by at that moment was another clue.
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Clastic Detritus 
The personification of nature: a preface
With a post title like that, you might be expecting a long and well-written essay….well, as much as I’d like to do that right now, I have to have will power and keep working on “real” work (some deadlines are approaching fast and furious).
Instead, this post will be a short rant (and preface to a longer, more organized essay) about my dislike for these kinds of phrases:
This is a statement from Wisconsin governor about recent floods and the effect they’ve had on the people of that state. I really think that this personification of natural events should stop. We all do it, and I’m not excluding myself…I can think of a few instances where I’ve made similar remarks. Maybe you’re thinking that this isn’t such a big deal, that it’s merely a colloquialism we use and there is no harm. Perhaps. But, I would argue that the practice of demonizing (and applauding) natural events or systems is unwise and, in the long run, a detriment to our advancement as a species.
But…I need to cut myself off before I blow off the work I’m supposed to be doing right now. If I start writing down my reasons for thinking this, then next thing I know, two hours will have elapsed! Hopefully I can come back to this topic very soon.
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