Category Archives: society

Earthquake prediction is a fool’s errand

If you want to make earthquake scientists jumpy, all you need to do is ask, "can you predict the next earthquake?" In fact, any variation on the theme of ‘earthquake’ and ‘prediction’ will do – unless it is one which … Continue reading

Categories: deep time, earthquakes, geohazards, geology, ranting, society

A very slow magnetic doom

Why an ‘imminent’ reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field doesn’t mean what most people think it means. Continue reading

Categories: deep time, geology, palaeomagic, public science, society

Earthquake warning systems are hard, but not having one is worse.

The premise of earthquake early warning systems is simple. An earthquake produces several different kinds of seismic waves that race away from the rupture point. Because they are different kinds of vibrations, they travel at different speeds; and the farther … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geophysics, links, society

Speak up for NASA’s Earth Science funding

It’s Earth Science Week and Congress is still debating the budget for this fiscal year. That means that science funding is still on the line. The American Geophysical Union is running a campaign encouraging members to speak up for NASA’s … Continue reading

Categories: by Anne, hydrology, public science, society

Hurricane Harvey and the Houston Flood: Did Humans Make it Worse? (Part 2: Urbanization)

There’s been a lot of speculation and discussion about the role of urbanization in contributing to the flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Fortunately, urban hydrology is my specialty, so even though I’ve never been to Houston, I feel like … Continue reading

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology, society