Other posts on All-geo
- On Earth Science Erratics, Erin Parker talks about the challenge of making geology relevant to students. Join the discussion!
http://all-geo.org/erratics/2012/03/making-it-relevant/ - At Metageologist, Simon Wellings shows how there is more of geological interest in Sicily than just Mount Etna.
http://all-geo.org/metageologist/2012/03/sicily-other-volcanoes/ - Simon also has an update on his quest to find out if earth science is populated by an unusually high proportion of left-handers.
http://all-geo.org/metageologist/2012/03/information-about-left-handed-geologists-results/ - At her lab blog, Anne writes about how she uses social media.
http://hydrogeo.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/how-i-use-new-media/
This was in preparation for a social media workshop, which also led her to ask Twitter: what do you use Twitter for?
http://storify.com/highlyanne/what-do-you-use-twitter-for
Earthquakes
- “Where will the next mega-tsunami hit? (based on recent events, not where we expect it)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/pictures/120309-japan-tsunami-earthquake-anniversary-world-science/
(via @CPPGeophysics, @NatGeo) - Very cool: Detecting storm-triggered landslides using seismic data.
http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2012/03/13/characterizing-landslides-with-real-time-seismic-signals/
(via @davepetley)
Volcanoes
- Santorini showing signs of life – but any eruption would likely be minor.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/339157/title/Greek_volcano_reawakens
(via @EuroGeosciences)
Planets
- 50 Years of the Blue Marble: a visual history of NASA’s imaging if the Earth from space.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/government/info-management/232602356?cid=iwk-slide-last-featured
(Paleo)climate
- Jeff Masters on the March Midwest heatwave: it’s due to a jet stream blocking pattern, which is uncommon in spring
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2050 - Ice on U.S. Great Lakes Has Decreased by 71 Percent Since 1973
http://e360.yale.edu/digest/ice_on_us_great_lakes_has_decreased_by_71_percent_since_1973/3369/ - Nice re-framing of our carbon/energy problem into the economic language of deficits and bankruptcy.
http://serc.carleton.edu/earthandmind/posts/budgets.html
Water
- This week was National Groundwater Awareness Week: what can you do to help protect this valuable resource?
http://www.ngwa.org/Events-Education/awareness/Pages/stewardship.aspx
(via @ngwatweets) - Water tables in China falling >2m/year: pumped for irrigation, which also has energy/climate cost.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/14/china-irrigation-emissions
(via @WanderingGaia)
Environmental
- Naomi Klein argues that real, transformative change of our economic system required to deal with climate change.
http://www.thenation.com/print/article/164497/capitalism-vs-climate
A related, but more top-down vision than Klein’s: a “constitutional moment” in world politics & governance is needed to meet challenges of climate change and sustainability.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6074/1306.summary - Shocking: Scores of UK environmental regulations set to be slashed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/16/environmental-regulations-slashed-red-tape
(via @WanderingGaia) - The oil industry is moving from (depleted) ‘easy’ to ‘tough’ reserves – meaning high petrol prices are here to stay.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/why-gas-prices-are-so-high - Something I worry about: the narrowing window for a transition to a sustainable industrial society
http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2012/03/narrowing-window-for-transition-to.html
(via @Geoblogfeed)
General Geology
- Some amazing photos from the shores of the Dead Sea: examples of tectonic & sedimentary processes involving halite.
http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2012/03/17/wooster-geologists-in-an-extraordinary-world-of-salt/ - Some great visualisations of differences between accuracy, precision, reproducibility, uncertainty from Matt Hall.
http://www.agilegeoscience.com/journal/2012/3/14/shooting-into-the-dark.html - A spectacular GigaPan of mafic cumulates from the Rum Layered Intrusion in Scotland: Stunning geologic beauty!
http://gigapan.org/gigapans/100610
(via @rschott) - Californians, this is what you will lose when state parks close: a priceless collection of minerals:
http://geotripper.blogspot.com/2012/03/priceless-collection-of-minerals-to-see.html - The first 14 photos are definitely very pretty! : 15 (well maybe only 14) reasons to go to Death Valley.
http://geologicfroth.com/15-well-maybe-only-14-reasons-to-go-to-death
(via @drjerque) - Chronozoom: Cool for getting a sense of the immensity of time, but wish there was more info embedded.
http://www.chronozoomproject.org/#/t55 - The recent chalk cliff rockfall in Dover put in context by Dave Petley: occur every 80 years on average?
http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2012/03/15/the-dover-chalk-cliff-rockfall-in-the-context-of-other-such-events/
Interesting Miscellaney
- Thought-provoking discussion of concept-driven versus data-driven visualizations. An especially good point: when you present an ‘ideal’ dataset, you’re being quite conceptual. “Real data have warts.”
http://serc.carleton.edu/earthandmind/posts/hybridvis.html
(via @Geoblogfeed) - Worlds without us, at In Focus. Stark photos of abandonment.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/03/a-world-without-people/100264/
(via @lockwooddewitt) - Amazing video: a booster’s-eye view of a space shuttle launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aCOyOvOw5c - Citizen science taps into extreme adventuring crowd.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/us/matching-adventurers-with-scientists.html
(via @SnowHydro, @paulstoy) - Excellent post by Jacquelyn Gill discussing how scientists can effectively and constructively engage with the media
http://contemplativemammoth.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/how-can-scientists-actively-engage-with-the-media/ - I LOL’d. A field guide to scientific publishing:
http://matt.might.net/articles/peer-fortress/
(via @andyfarke, @mattmight) - Behold the Baloney Detection Kit u2013 a 10-point checklist for science literacy. With a well-done video.
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/03/16/baloney-detection-kit/
(via @brainpicker) - What happens if you breed flies in total darkness for 57 years? Imagine trying to get this experiment funded today…
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/03/14/fifty-seven-years-of-darkness/ - 1000 reasons why feminism still matters: Depressing that (a) the need is so clear and (b) this needs to be pointed out.
http://athousandreasons.com/
Background here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/12/twitters-tales-of-sexism - Good resources & thinking for “escaping the gender trap” for kids.
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/10/escaping_the_gender_trap/ - This resignation of a Goldman Sachs exec via NYT op-ed is a fun read, if a little self-aggrandising
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?pagewanted=all
(via @sethmeyers21)
And here’s a perfect riposte by the Daily Mash: Why I am leaving the Empire, by Darth Vader
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