Stuff we linked to on Twitter last week

Blogs in motion

The Scienceseeker Geosciences category is now nicely populated with many more geoblogs, but it turns out the list I submitted is already out of date, as a couple more blogs have already popped into existence:

• Extremo-files, from @Annie_Onymous
• Geograde

Volcanoes

• Erik Klemetti takes on the public and media’s obsession with Yellowstone. Hint: An eruption is not imminent.
  http://bigthink.com/ideas/26641
  Then, all his good work is undone when a physicist is interviewed on TV about the Yellowstone “supervolcano” and does a rather poor job, unless the job was ‘confuse, worry, and sensationalise.
  http://bigthink.com/ideas/26680
  But Erik still found the time this week to post an awesome resource – links to all the world’s volcano webcams:
  http://bigthink.com/ideas/26619
• Now here’s what I would call a BIG volcanic bomb (Etna, 6 September 1999):
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/etnaboris/539520970
  (via @etnaboris)
• Beautiful! A truly lovely snow-covered volcano from space! )
  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/24/fire-and-ice/
  (via @BadAstronomer, @dhunterauthor)

Earthquakes

• Encouraging to see: rebuilding after M7.7 Gujarat, India earthquake takes account of future quakes, follows guidelines ignored before the quake.
  http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_2001-gujarat-earthquake-structural-design-now-at-the-epicentre_1499343
• Earthquake drill in British Columbia, modelled on California Shakeout. Raising awareness in this region is probably even more important than in California, but it appears that, at least for a similar initiative in Oregon, there is still some way to go.
  http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/01/25/bc-earthquake-drill-shakeout.html

Landslides

• High resolution before and after images of the Brazil landslides at the Landslide Blog
  http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2011/01/26/before-and-after-high-resolution-images-of-the-brazil-landslides/
• Landslide deaths peak in El Nino years while total landslides increasing. Odd: l’d have guessed opposite.
  http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2011/01/24/trends-in-landslide-impacts-in-asia/
  (via @theAGU)

Fossils

• Great post from Brian Switek discussing why the biggest mammals were/are still dwarfed by the largest dinosaurs
  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/jumbo-shrimps-why-mega-mammals-still-looked-puny-next-to-the-biggest-dinosaurs/
• New evidence that T. rex was hunter, not scavenger [based on ecological modelling, rather than morphology].
  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110126081714.htm

(Paleo)climate

• Is our 2nd winter in a row of abnormal mid-latitude cold and high latitude warmth linked to climate change? )
  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/science/earth/25cold.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
  (via @jfleck)
• Dan Satterfield answers: How do scientists forecast #climate in 100 yrs, when they can’t predict next week’s weather?
  http://blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience/2011/01/24/is-this-why-many-tv-weathercasters-are-skeptical-of-climate-change/
  (via @HeidiCullen)
• A thought-provoking point! : Peruvian glacier melt challenges US security
  http://hot-topic.co.nz/peruvian-glacier-melt-challenges-us-security/
  (via @Geoblogfeed)

Water

• The Colorado River and the civilisation it waters are in crisis.
  http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=18013810
  (via @thirstygecko, @ddimick)
• The first ever photo of a snowflake, plus links to more modern ones. via
  http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/2011/01/tims-weather-world-first-photo-of-a-snowflake.html
  (via @WGNWeatherGuy)
• Receeding Flood Waters around Rockhampton, Queensland [image] #NASA
  http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=48916&src=twitter-nh
  (via @NASA_EO)
• Huge Brazilian Belo Monte dam given go ahead
  http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/brazilian-dam-clears-hurdle/
  (via @Revkin)
• Nice post on permeability in layered rocks and why direction matters. Yay, more hydrogeology blogging.
  http://www.agilegeoscience.com/journal/2011/1/27/what-is-a-darcy.html
• Attn undergraduates: Great research opportunity in water this summer at Virginia Tech
  http://www.eng.vt.edu/vt-research-fellowships-interdisciplinary-water-sciences-and-engineering
• The science behind the "boiling water turns to snow" demo
  http://www.geologyinmotion.com/2011/01/boiling-water-turns-to-snow.html
  (via @alexwitze)
• Flooding in South Africa and extreme rain forecast through March. [La Nina strikes again]
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/24/south-africa-flood-death-toll
  (via @lockwooddewitt)
• Persistent Drought to Linger Across Southern US: [La Nina strikes again, again]
  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110122105606.htm
  (via @HeidiCullen)

Environmental

• California uses almost 1/5th of its electricity to move & treat water
  http://thedailywogan.net/?p=1002
  (via @robinlloyd99)
• Thought-provoking article discussing the environmental and political issues surrounding Canada’s tar sands
  http://www.economist.com/node/17959688

Planets

• Looking forward to this: 1 month ahead of its hoped-for encounter, Stardust spots Deep Impact-ed comet Tempel 1
  http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002893/
• Uranus: more ice giant than gas giant, tipped on its side, & a weird magnetic field. We should definitely send a probe.
  http://news.discovery.com/space/uranus-pathfinder-mission-to-the-mysterious-ice-giant.html
• Shots by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe of the small moon, Phobos:
  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/24/phobos-is-like-totally-groovy/
  (via @geosociety)

General Geology

• Holy habitable hoodoos, batman! Check out some of Callan Bentley’s photos from Capadoccia, Turkey.
  http://blogs.agu.org/mountainbeltway/2011/01/27/capadoccia-1/
  (via )
• Lake Vostok drilling in Antarctic ‘running out of time’ – slowed by drilling through 1m ice crystals!
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979
  (via @ProfAbelMendez)
• Great analogy between pasta & rocks, one of the many, many, food-related entries for the upcoming Accretionary Wedge:
  http://pascals-puppy.blogspot.com/2011/01/food-mechanics.html
  (via @highlyanne, @kuchtam)

Interesting Miscellaney

• Many good people (including Chris) are featured in the Science Careers article on blogging & careers article by @VivRaper.
  http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2011_01_28/caredit.a1100007
• Scientists ARE good communicators: Tim Radford explodes a pernicious myth
  http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110126/full/469445a.html
  (via @edyong209, @DrMichaelBrooks)
• Must-read ScienceOnline reflections from Kate Clancy:
  http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/01/science-online-2011-even-when-we-want.html
  This post catalysed some wonderful discussions of the issues facing women science bloggers, and women scientists in general, including an awesome, funny, thought-provoking dialogue between Scicurious and Miriam Goldstein on gender and women scientists being judged on their looks.
  http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/01/27/lets-talk-about-sex-in-science/
  Sheril Kirshenbaum is an inspiration and a veteran of many women sicence bloggers conversations, but she’s hopeful this time. Read her thoughts on this round of the discourse:
  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/01/28/rising-against-the-wind/
• @KateClancy also did a great job of summarizing the #scio11 MLK session: Underrepresentation Hurts Us All. We’re sorry to have missed it.
  http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/01/science-online-2011-underrepresentation.html
  (via @davidkroll)
• Great post by Biochembelle on the mixed legacy of Fritz Haber, who gave the world the Haber_Bosch process, but also chemical warfare. Lots of food for thought on nature of greatness.
  https://biochembelle.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/shadows-of-greatness/
• Nature: ‘Blogs and tweets are ripping papers apart’. How to react? As John Hawks says, WRITE BETTER PAPERS!
  http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110119/full/469286a.html
• Map of scientific collaboration between researchers. Of course, this indicates a lack of communication rather than lack of good science being done; I wonder what cool stuff we’re missing?
  http://flowingdata.com/2011/01/27/map-of-scientific-collaboration-between-researchers/
  (via @highlyanne, @flowingdata)
• Where do you others with your surname live?
  http://worldnames.publicprofiler.org/
  (via @Mary_H)