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Maturifusus Gastropod Fossil

This fossil is a Maturifusus (J. Szabó, 1983) gastropod fossil found in the clay pits at Buttenheim located in the state of Bayern (Bavaria), Germany. I think it is located in the Lias lithostratigraphic unit which would date to the Jurassic. Fie...
Categories: buttenheim; gastropod; germany; jurassic;

Bulldozers at Big Bend

Inkstain (John Fleck) | 14 August, 2026
My Rio Grande thinking is almost entirely about the bits in New Mexico, but this, happening now at Big Bend, on the US-Mexico border, is worthy of note: Bulldozers have begun plowing up ground at the mouth of Big Bend national park's famed Sant...
Categories: water;

Back to Lake Lahontan, with a guy who knows it well

Lake Lahontan (pale gray) is "a large lake which flooded a number of the valleys of northwestern Nevada at a very recent geological date, but now has passed away."Last May, I visited Lake Lahontan in the company of pioneering geologist Israel Charles...
Categories: Israel Russell; Lake Lahontan; Nevada geology; Pleistocene lake; tufa;

You Asked: Is There a Community Prepared To Withstand a Wildfire?

State of the Planet | 14 August, 2026
A Palisades resident lost her home. Now she wants to know what model she and her neighbors should follow as they rebuild to be more climate resilient....
Categories: Natural Disasters; California wildfires; climate resilience; cs highlights; disaster preparedness; Jeffrey Schlegelmilch; Lisa Allyn Dale; National Center for Disaster Preparedness; wildfires; You Asked;

Hawaiian Islands brace for Lala this weekend

Eye On the Storm | 14 August, 2026
The system could become the first hurricane on record to strike Hawaii's Big Island, where up to 25 inches of rain are possible.
Categories: Eye on the Storm; Feature Article; Weather Extremes; Hawaii; hurricane; Irene Sans; Jeff Masters;

Total solar eclipse edition

Planetary Society Weblog | 14 August, 2026
Europe's stunning eclipse, plus a political victory for science....
Categories: None

Buttenheim Ammonite Fossil

This fossil is an ammonite fossil found in the clay pits at Buttenheim located in the state of Bayern (Bavaria), Germany. I think it is located in the Lias lithostratigraphic unit which would date to the Jurassic. Field of view is about 6 mm. The ...
Categories: None

Geology in the Wild - Adirondack Mountain Reserve

The Geology P.A.G.E | 13 August, 2026
Back in January of 2022, we were invited for a winter hike within the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, and while we had a fantastic time, there is something more important underfoot that needs to be discussed. And that is the geology! 
Categories: Adirondacks; Geology in the Wild; New York;

Columbia Climate School Welcomes Environmental Social Scientist Garrett Albistegui Adler

State of the Planet | 13 August, 2026
Albistegui Adler is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist whose research examines the political and social impacts of climate change and climate variability....
Categories: Education; Peace and Conflict; climate; education; education news; faculty; faculty profiles; social science;

Minoan Meltdown: Could an eruption spark the myth of Atlantis?

We live in a world full of mysteries and wonders... or at least that is the view of most ancient philosophers, such as perhaps Plato in ancient Greece. Atlantis, the legendary island that lay in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, is said to have been completely destroyed overnight. To this day, numerous artists and scientists have sought to unravel the mystery of its demise, sometimes suggesting a volcanic eruption.
Categories: Geomythology; Volcanoes;

Sponge Holdfast Fossil in New Albany Shale

Conodont (on right side) with sponge holdfast fossils found in the New Albany Shale. It dates to the Upper Devonian Period. Specimen from the Barbara Conkin collection and was probably found in Clark or Floyd County, Indiana USA. Thanks to Kenny f...
Categories: conodont; devonian; indiana; new albany shale; sponge;

PTC One-C heads toward Hawaii; life-threatening floods possible

Eye On the Storm | 12 August, 2026
Plus: Cristobal forms as the Atlantic awakens, with two tropical waves heading toward the Caribbean.
Categories: Eye on the Storm; Feature Article; Weather Extremes; Irene Sans;

Ventral Rostrum on an Early Triassic Ammonoid

Ammonoidea | 12 August, 2026
Flattened ammonoid with rostrum  A thorny evolution: first Triassic ammonoid with a ventral apertural elongated rostrumArnaud Brayard, Emmanuel Fara, Nicolas Olivier, James F. Jenks, Kevin G. Bylund, Daniel A. Stephen, Noreen Kittrick,...
Categories: Cephalopods; Early Triassic; Fossils; Mature modifications;

Horrible Megalosaurus larva tears its way out of Matt’s stomach

Historical note: Matt and I were idly going through some of the 276 unfinished draft posts on this blog (don't judge us!) when we stumbled on this -- written on 3 March 2011, but inexplicably not published. Here is is, as written.
Categories: Cetiosaurus; dorsal; goofy; mounts; prosauropod;

Climate Change: A Tale of Two Americas

Open Mind | 12 August, 2026
Until recently, the hottest month on record for USA48 (a.k.a. the "lower 48 states" of the USA) was July 1936, with two of the five hottest months from the 1930s (the "dust bowl" era). Not any more. According to data ... Continue reading ??'...
Categories: climate change; Global Warming;

How Ethiopia Can Make COP32 the Summit That Actually Delivers

State of the Planet | 12 August, 2026
Lisa Sachs believes Ethiopia and the African Union can make this year's COP more effective by focusing on scalable plans for energy systems, finance reform, food security and nature restoration....
Categories: Climate; Viewpoints; Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment; COP; COP32; Ethiopia; Lisa Sachs;

New Albany Shale Conodont Fossil

Conodont fossil found in the New Albany Shale. It dates to the Upper Devonian Period. Specimen from the Barbara Conkin collection and was probably found in Clark or Floyd County, Indiana USA. Thanks to Kenny for the image. Field of view about 3mm....
Categories: conkin; conodont; devonian; indiana; new albany shale;

Mobilidiocy

EGU Geodynamics Division | 12 August, 2026
Guess who's back? Back again! Sassy's back, tell your colleagues!
Categories: Ask The Sassy Scientist; News & Views; Wit & Wisdom;

July 2026 ties with July 2024 as Earth’s hottest month on record

Eye On the Storm | 11 August, 2026
North America, Africa, and Asia all experienced their hottest month on record.
Categories: Eye on the Storm; Feature Article; Weather Extremes; Heat; Jeff Masters;

The Experience of Urban Nature in a Time of AI

The Nature of Cities | 11 August, 2026
I went for a run this morning, on a paved trail that runs along a little creek surrounded by a few loblolly pine trees and some red maples, a little bit of urban nature surrounded by houses, streets, and suburbia. It was humid in the early summer mor...
Categories: Essay; Europe; People & Communities; Awareness; Experiencing Nature; Wildlife People Interactions;

Accounting for Compounding Climate Events in Emergency Management

State of the Planet | 11 August, 2026
Climate researchers Marco Tedesco and David Sathuluri reflect on how a single week of heat, smoke and flooding exposed the vulnerability of NYC....
Categories: Climate; Natural Disasters; Viewpoints; air quality; emergency preparedness; extreme heat; floods; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Marco Tedesco; natural disasters; NYC; wildfires;

Orbiculoidea Brachiopod Fossil

 Orbiculoidea (d'Orbigny, 1847) brachiopod fossil found in the New Albany Shale. It dates to the Upper Devonian Period. Specimen from the Barbara Conkin collection and was probably found in Clark or Floyd County, Indiana USA. Thanks to Kenny for the...
Categories: brachiopod; conkin; devonian; indiana; new albany shale;

Great Dinosaur Mistakes – review

Having examined the changing image of Tyrannosaurus in 2023's The Tyrannosaur's Feathers, Adam Smith, Jonathan Emmett and Stieven van der Poorten have returned with a similarly-themed follow-up book - only this time, featuring a whole range...
Categories: Book Review; Adam Smith; Deinocheirus; Great Dinosaur Mistakes; Iguanodon; Jonathan Emmett; Megalosaurus; Pterodactylus; Stegosaurus; Stieven van der Poorten;

The U.S. just had its hottest month in recorded history, surpassing Dust Bowl record

Eye On the Storm | 10 August, 2026
A long-infamous record from the 1930s has bit the dust.
Categories: Eye on the Storm; Feature Article; Weather Extremes; Bob Henson; drought; Heat; Jeff Masters; wildfire;

Wiring the Spirit’s House

State of the Planet | 10 August, 2026
Lamont scientists Terry Plank and Einat Lev worked with partners in Chile to install a new suite of sensors on the summit of Villarrica, bringing real-time monitoring to one of Chile's most active volcanoes....
Categories: Earth Sciences; Natural Disasters; Chile; cs highlights; cs impacts; Einat Lev; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Terry Plank; volcanoes; volcanology;

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