Autumn is upon the northern hemisphere (the Chicago and Ohio parts of it anyway) meaning that the urge to curl up with a hot drink and some good reading is stronger than ever. We can help with the latter part, at least.
Blogs in motion
- The EGU blog network launched this week. Check out the opening posts from Geology for Global Development, Green Tea and Velociraptors, and Geosphere at their new home.
http://geolog.egu.eu/2012/10/01/welcome-to-the-egu-blog-network/
Volcanoes
- Missed it last week, but Erik Klemetti’s Media Guide to Volcanoes is great. Perhaps I should do one for earthquakes…
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/a-media-guide-to-volcanoes/all/1 - It truly is a gem. One of my favorite volcanic areas on the planet – the central Oregon Cascades:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/three-sisters-volcanic-gem/
(via @eruptionsblog)
Earthquakes
- Economic and political aftershocks of Tokuku earthquake still linger in Japan – and probably will for years to come.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/sep/25/japan-still-afflicted-by-tsunami/?newswatch - Asperities at the plate interface also control occurrence of slow earthquakes/episodic tremor at subduction zones?
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2012JB009249.shtml - Earthquake prediction may be a pipe dream, but automatic systems than warn of incoming seismic waves can save lives.
http://seismo.berkeley.edu/blog/seismoblog.php/2012/10/02/shaking-expected-in-30-seconds
Planets
- Awesome if true: spidery black things on Mars the traces of CO2 geysers?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/10/02/162147810/are-those-spidery-black-things-on-mars-dangerous-yup - Martian geology ahoy! Curiosity approaching a point where three different rock types meet.
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/10011532-glenelg-panorama-sol54.html
(Paleo)climate
- Carbon released from melting permafrost is up, Arctic sea-ice volume is waaay down – oh s**t seems about right to me.
http://tamino.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/oh-shit/ - ‘No longer are we experiencing single anomalous months’. an Inuit on living through Arctic climate change up-close.
http://getpocket.com/s/IF5R - No real consensus in models of Arctic sea ice decline, but spread of results predicts ice free summers by 2030s
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2012GL052868.shtml - Ability of plants to absorb excess CO2 may be less than thought due to limited availability of other soil nutrients
http://www.nature.com/news/earth-s-carbon-sink-downsized-1.11503 - Fall falls fast in Kamchatka: dramatic green->brown colour change in satellite photos less than 2 weeks apart
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79332&src=twitter-iotd
(via @NASA_EO) - “I was a West Nile zombie”: @brianvastag on his firsthand experience on how climate change affects global health
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-science-reporter-becomes-a-west-nile-zombie/2012/10/01/6bab8c2a-091d-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html
(via @alexwitze, ) - In Oregon, Remembering the historic Columbus Day Storm, Oct. 12, 1962.
http://www.oregonlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2012/10/columbus_day_storm_still_howls.html
(via @lockwooddewitt)
Water
- You can measure groundwater levels from orbiting gravity satellite? Mind-blowing. It’s been a *very* dry year in US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nddXeGhZmbk - CUAHSI Fall Cyberseminars: Exploring Cutting Edge Techniques and Advances in Instrumentation,Fridays 3 PM Eastern
http://www.cuahsi.org/docs/2012CyberFlyer.pdf
(via @WaterWired) - From @NatureGeosci, a collection of papers on rivers and their topographic, biogeochemical and cultural significance.
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/focus/rivers/index.html?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureGeosci
(via @RioParana) - Nature Geosci editorial: Ascertaining the influence of rivers on carbon dynamics necessary for understanding climate
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1606 - If you want to Anne me talk about the science of streams in the city, watch this video of her talk at Ashland U on September 20th
http://mediasite.ashland.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=8adee1eb82544f5486282276ff13ca531d
The new water year inspired several of us to write posts.
- Nice Colorado River Basin focused explanation of the water year from @mghydro. Complete with pretty map.
http://hydro-logic.blogspot.com/2012/10/happy-new-water-year.html - From @jfleck, Time for a Lower [Colorado] Basin New Year’s Resolution? – the blog post that inspired the one below. Read them in order and you’ll see why
http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/2012/09/time-for-a-lower-basin-new-years-resolution/ - From @chanceofraincom: I’m in the Lower Basin. Where were my hookers and blow? Wait! I think I know:
http://chanceofrain.com/2012/10/high-good-low-bad-mead-in-september-2012/
(via @WaterWired)
Environmental
- >50% of Great Barrier Reef’s coral lost since 1985. Main causes storms & starfish, some warming-induced bleaching.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19800253 - The shale gas boom is becoming a bit *too* boomy: a supply glut is crashing prices.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/nations-supply-glut-natural-gas-could-worsen-with-introduction-new-pipelines-later-this-nyse-apa-1708139.htm
(via @jfleck) - A new “Golden Age of Oil”? Not so fast – messy reality would like a word…
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2012-10-05/new-“golden-age-oil”-wasn’t
(via @EuroGeosciences) - Europe-wide ‘stress tests’ on nuclear plants find lots of room for improvement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/us-eu-nuclear-idUSBRE8930WO20121004 - Do you always know where your kids are? And is that a good thing? Yes, but look at how different the landscapes are.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/10/01/162079442/do-you-know-where-your-children-are-is-that-always-a-good-thing?ft=1 - Princeton decided to grow only within current boundaries. Can it be done and preserve the ecology within the boundary?
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/dirt/69651/landscape-sponge
(via @TNatureOfCities) - Neat chart from @NACWA showing average annual utility bill per US household. This utilities chart really shows what we pay for and value: cars, cell phone, cable TV over electricity, heat, and water
http://twitpic.com/9tu8n0
General Geology
- Fabulous photos of classic geology: the (very allochthonous) Helvetic Nappes of the Central Alps
http://www.travelinggeologist.com/2012/10/central-alps-helvetic-nappes.html
(via @Geoblogfeed) - Project MOHOLE reborn? Ocean drilling scientists want to spend $1 billion mission to drill 6 km down into the mantle.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/01/tech/mantle-earth-drill-mission/index.html - Cool photos: a German mine where shafts follow a fault plane, with lovely preserved slickensides.
http://www.paleoseismicity.org/blog/2012/10/02/inside-a-fault/
(via @paleoseismicity) - Fascinating article on the genesis and development of Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/page12210.html
(via @David_Bressan) - The venerable, yet chronically misidentified, CTD
http://deepseanews.com/2012/10/the-venerable-yet-chronically-misidentified-ctd/
(via @kzelnio, @deepseanews)
Interesting Miscellaney
- But for the random tides of history, we might all be driving electric cars. Fascinating tech history from Maggie Koeth-Baker
http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/magazine/why-your-car-isnt-electric.html - Good point from Carl Zimmer: it may not be #arseniclife, but a hyper-efficient phosphorous scavenger is still interesting.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/10/03/weirdly-unweird-a-better-end-to-the-arseniclife-affair/
(via @carlzimmer) - Scholars debate etiquette of live-tweeting academic conferences | Inside Higher Ed
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/02/scholars-debate-etiquette-live-tweeting-academic-conferences#.UGrclssalx4.twitter
(via @skmorgane)
More here:
http://scientopia.org/blogs/proflikesubstance/2012/10/02/english-profs-want-to-control-the-internet/
(via @ProfLikeSubst, @JacquelynGill) - Barely believable proposal to pay UK PhDu2019s £30-40,000/yr: I’ve yet to match upper bound six years *after* my PhD
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=421386#.UG1gAJmRvQg.twitter - Still a bit mealy-mouthed about it, IMHO: Trust amends Causeway centre ‘Creationist’ exhibit
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19814284
(via @EuroGeosciences) - [All made possible by geophysics] : Neolithic discovery: why Orkney is the centre of ancient Britain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/p/3ap6p/tf
(via @guardianscience) - At his science writing ‘Masterclass’ Tim Radford argues that scientists and journalists ‘do basically the same thing’. Another key quote: ‘It’s a terrible mistake to think that because you know about a subject you are equipped to write about it’
http://www.agilegeoscience.com/journal/2012/10/6/journalists-are-scientists.html
(via @kwinkunks) - Anne has signed the Commitment to Gender Equality at Conferences
http://forgenderequityatconferences.blogspot.fr/ - As Letter of Reference writing season begins, good advice for student and job applicant letter seekers from @GertyZ
http://scientopia.org/blogs/gertyz/2012/10/01/letters-of-reference/ - A terrific clearinghouse piece about the ins and outs of a personal academic website.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/creating-and-maintaining-a-professional-presence-online-a-roundup-and-reflection/43030
(via @ProfessorIsIn)
Nice plan for content warnings on Mastodon and the Fediverse. Now you need a Mastodon/Fediverse button on this blog.