12 Months of Highly Allochthonous

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Anne Jefferson

While one year is but a proverbial blink of the eye to those who think in geologic time, we’re still indulging in some year end reflections and looking back on our posts from 2010. On the off chance you want to look back with us, here are the first lines and links to the first posts from each month this past year.

January: Wind gaps are fossil rivers: water once flowed through these valleys, but now that water has been diverted to flow elsewhere. [On the 8th day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 8 streams reversing…, a post by Chris, part of his epic 12 days of Christmas series]

February: Today President Obama announced that in his next budget he was going to cut funding for NASA’s Constellation Program, and with it the plan to send people back to the Moon. [What is a manned space programme actually for?, a post by Chris]

March: The further back in time we go, the more and more fragmented the Earth’s geological record becomes. [Earth’s forgotten youth – and beyond, a research blogging post by Chris]

April: Late on Tuesday (or Wednesday morning local time) western China was shaken by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake. [Tectonics of the Qinghai Earthquake, a post by Chris]

May: The causes of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that has led to 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) of oil a day being leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, and an oil slick that can be seen from space, are still murky. [Drilling for oil is more risky than it used to be, a post by Chris]

June: Welcome to the latest edition of the Accretionary Wedge geoblogging carnival. We’ve been delighted by the response to our call for your favourite geological imagery, and the number of nominations we’ve received has been matched by their diversity – images have ranged from the microscopic to continental scales, from the depths of geological time to the present day, from the igneous to the sedimentary. [Accretionary Wedge #25: An Illustrated Glossary of Cool Geologic Things, compiled by Chris and Anne from contributions by geobloggers far and wide]

July: The fossil record prior to 550 million years ago is so patchy that every discovery is going to cause some fanfare. [How do we know Gabon’s ‘multicellular’ fossils are 2.1 billion years old?, a research blogging post by Chris]

August:I’ve just spent the last few days travelling around western Scotland, with the furthest point I visited being the Scottish island of Islay. [Glacial deposits new and old in the Scottish isles, a post by Chris]

September: One year ago, Kim Hannula, Pat Campbell, Suzanne Franks, and I launched a survey about women geoscientists reading and writing in the blogosphere. [Diversity in the geosciences and the impact of social media, a research blogging post by Anne]

October: Last October, geobloggers lead by Kim Hannula, Erik Klemetti and us raised nearly $10000 for earth science education in US public schools through a fundraising challenge with DonorsChoose.org. This year we’re going to do even more to bring needed supplies, books, and field experiences to science classrooms around the US. [Teaming up with DonorsChoose to bring Earth Science to Schools, a post by Anne. To date, $1674 has been given through our challenge.]

November: Geomorphologists increasingly recognize that the way water is delivered to and moves through a hillslope, river, or landscape affects surficial processes and geomorphic form. [What do you mean by “hydrogeomorphic processes”? (Some thoughts following my GSA session on the topic.), a post by Anne]

December: It turns out that, by US standards at least, I’m quite close to the Driftless Area that Anne posted about earlier this week. But unlike that corner of Minnesota, Illinois is whatever the opposite of ‘driftless’ is: it was covered by ice 20,000 years ago, and was blanketed with a thick layer of sediment released from that ice as it melted over the next 10,000 years or so. [The flat of the land, a post by Chris]

Categories: bloggery

The 12 geological days of Christmas: a reprise

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Chris Rowan

A post by Chris RowanMerry Christmas, everyone! I’m having a rather strange Christmas this year – most of my unwrapping this year has been of the flat-pack furniture variety, as my new flat in Chicago slowly starts to look a little less minimalist. Whilst I’m busy doing that, I thought new readers and old might enjoy my 12 geological days of Christmas series: conceived in a fit of bored madness as I rode a train to see my family last December, it not only proved to be quite a challenge to actually keep up the once-a-day posting schedule, but also a huge amount of fun. For me, anyway.

The words below are sung to the obvious tune, and (mostly) just about scans – although my festive gift to you is not to post anything resembling audio of me trying to sing it myself.

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

an APWP

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

2 concordant zircons

…and an APWP.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

3 Helmholtz coils

…2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

4 index fossils

…3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

5 focal mechanisms!

…4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

6 fields a-flipping

…5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

7 glaciers melting

…6 fields a-flipping,
5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

8 streams reversing

…7 glaciers melting,
6 fields a-flipping,
5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

9 isotopes fractionating

…8 streams reversing,
7 glaciers melting,
6 fields a-flipping,
5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

10 probes a-probing

…9 isotopes fractionating,
8 streams reversing,
7 glaciers melting,
6 fields a-flipping,
5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

11 terranes amalgamating

…10 probes a-probing,
9 isotopes fractionating,
8 streams reversing,
7 glaciers melting,
6 fields a-flipping,
5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

12 folds a-plunging

…11 terranes amalgamating,
10 probes a-probing,
9 isotopes fractionating,
8 streams reversing,
7 glaciers melting,
6 fields a-flipping,
5 focal mechanisms!
4 index fossils,
3 Helmholtz coils,
2 concordant zircons,
and an APWP!

Categories: geology

Participate in the AGU panel on geoblogging, even if you are not at the meeting

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Anne Jefferson

Later this afternoon, your friendly neighborhood geobloggers will convene at the AGU meeting for a panel on the payoffs and perils of blogging. Panelists include both Chris and Anne, Brian Romans from Clastic Detritus, Jess Ball from Magma Cum Laude, Cian Dawson from Point Source, and Erik Klemetti from Eruptions. We’re aiming to set up a very participatory discussion, so if you are a current blogger or blog reader or are thinking about starting to blog, we are looking for your thoughts and questions.

If you are at the meeting, please join us from 2 to 4 pm in Moscone West room 3000. Even if you are not at the meeting, you can still participate. Here’s how:

Go to this website: http://handouts.projectionnet.com/AGUPress/FM2010.aspx, where you will see a webstreaming window on top that will show, to the right, the speakers’ PowerPoint slides in real time (including video), and, to the left, live video of the speaker table and panelists. You will be able to hear audio of the press conference via the same web page. Below the webstreaming window, there’s a chat window: If you want to use the chat room to send questions, etc., you will have to first register (clicking on the Register link at the bottom of the page).

Categories: bloggery, conferences

How the conference presentation was done

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Chris Rowan

Any resemblance to the task of producing my poster for AGU is purely coincidental.

(Click for a larger version)

Categories: academic life, bloggery, conferences

Where we’ll be at AGU

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Anne Jefferson

‘Tis the season to…. go to a conference? A couple of weeks before Christmas might not seem like the most sensible time to hold a big international conference, but next week tens of thousands of geoscientists will descend on the Moscone Center in San Francisco for the AGU Fall Meeting. They’re coming to present their latest work, and see what everyone else in their field is up to. Data will be mulled over, new ideas will be inspired and grant proposals dreamed up, new connections will be forged and old connections will be strengthened. And there will be beer. As Brian Romans says, for geologists it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Both the Highly Allochthonous bloggers well be there this year, along with a whole host of our friends and colleagues, both online and off. For the past few days we’ve been going through the scientific program to try and identify which talks and posters we want to go and see. This is not a trivial task – many sessions run in parallel everyday, and it’s not unusual to find yourself torn between the cool science on offer at two or more of them. Here are our tentative schedules, which are subject to change based on whim, burnout, and bumping into old friends in the hallway.

Sunday

A post by Anne JeffersonI’m starting my AGU week a day early by participating in the 5th Annual Berkeley Catchment Science Symposium. This day-long event features four long-format talks by watershed scientists doing provocative work. With 40 minutes for each talk and 20 minutes for Q&A, I’m looking forward to getting to hear some cutting-edge watershed hydrology in depth. (My PhD advisor, Gordon Grant, is giving one of the talks, based in part on my PhD work, so I’ll try not to heckle that one from the audience.) In addition to the long talks, there is time for short (3 minute) pop-ups, and I’ll probably give one about the urban watershed work with which I’m now involved.

A post by Chris RowanUnlike Anne, I’m at a bit of a loose end on Sunday at the moment, although with so many old colleagues arriving from Europe I’m sure I’ll find something to do. If the weather looks nice, Andrew Alden brought my attention to a little expedition to find a fault, which looks like it’s being organised by my old South African geoblogging pal Christie Rowe (formerly at the Cape).

Monday
A post by Anne JeffersonIn the morning, I’m probably going to be browsing posters in session H11G. Measurements and Modeling of Storage Dynamics Across Scales I. In the early afternoon, I’m going to have to decide between talks in C13C. Innovative Modeling and Snowmelt Partitioning in Mountain Environments I (3010 Moscone West) and H13I. Measurements and Modeling of Storage Dynamics Across Scales II (3016 Moscone West). I’m a co-author on a talk in the latter session, so it might be nice to hear the questions from the audience. Later on, I’m hoping to catch some talks in the sessions H14D. Megascale Hydrogeology: The Promise and Challenge of Examining Groundwater Systems at Regional and Continental Scales I (3016 Moscone West) and H14B. From Pores to Catchments: Coupling Hydrologic Concepts and Models Across Multiple Scales II (2002 Moscone West).

A post by Chris RowanIt looks like my Monday is going to start off grand and sweeping – just the way I like it- with talks in T11G & T12C. The Wilson Cycle Revisited: From Microplates and Mobile Terranes to Supercontinent Dispersals I & II. I’d also like to browse the posters for GP11A. Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism General Contributions I. In the afternoon, I’ll probably end up browsing the Wilson Cycle session posters before heading for T14B. Subduction Zone Segmentation Over Multiple Earthquake Cycles II

Tuesday
A post by Anne JeffersonOn Tuesday a number of fantastic sessions on groundwater-surface water interactions take off. In the morning there are poster sessions H21B. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Dynamics and Patterns Across Spatial and Temporal Scales I and H21C. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Linking Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Modeling and Management Frameworks I . There’s also poster sessions H21G. Water Resources Science and Strategies for Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change I and EP21C. Megaflooding: Causes, Processes, and Effects that are liable to draw me in. Somehow, I’ll have to get through all those posters by 10:00, because the latter half of the morning features the must-attend Langbein Lecture by Bill Gray on the topic of “Opportunities for Impacting the Trajectory of Hydrologic Model Development.”

In the afternoon, my various research interests put me in conflict again. There’s session EP24B. The Morphodynamics of Big Rivers: What Do and Don’t We Know? I (308 Moscone South), relevant to some work a graduate student and I are trying to finish up this spring. But at the same time, there’s H24C. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Linking Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Modeling and Management Frameworks II (2009 Moscone West) with some fantastic talks relevant to other work I’m doing. They are not even in the same building!

A post by Chris RowanThere’s not much standing out for me on Tuesday morning at the moment, except for DI22B. Time Variability of the Geomagnetic Field I. Posters for that session are in the early afternoon, and T23C. The Formation and Deformation of the Mediterranean Basins, Continental Margins, and Arcs III also looks interesting. And I’ll finish up the day with GP24A. Frames of Reference for Plate Motion looks to be a great relevance to the project I’m starting here in Chicago, (which is all about global plate reconstructions).

Wednesday
A post by Anne JeffersonI’m sensing a pattern as, once again, Wednesday morning is likely to find me heading to the poster hall, this time to take in H31D. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Stream Tracers and Techniques I. But I’m going to have to split my time between those posters and more groundwater/stream talks in H31J. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Dynamics and Patterns Across Spatial and Temporal Scales II (3014 Moscone West). Either way, I’ll probably be cognitively primed for my own talk H32C-04. Spatial heterogeneity in isotopic signatures of baseflow in small watersheds: implications for understanding watershed hydrology at 11:05 am in H32C. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Dynamics and Patterns Across Spatial and Temporal Scales III (3014 Moscone West).

In the afternoon, I’ll definitely stop by Chris’s poster and try to catch some talks in H33I. Groundwater Inputs to Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans II (3020 Moscone West) and H34A. Groundwater/Surface Water Interactions: Stream Tracers and Techniques II (3014 Moscone West).

A post by Chris RowanWednesday morning will probably see me gracing a mix of talks from T31E and T32B. New Advances in Studies of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas I & II, T31F. What Lies Beneath “Stable” Eastern North America I and GP32A. Geomagnetic Secular Variation Determined From Paleomagnetic Observations I. But who knows – maybe I’ll take a brief detour into stream water isotopes instead.

In the afternoon I’ll be manning my poster GP33C-0959: Oman’s low latitude “Snowball Earth” pole revisited: Late Cretaceous remagnetisation of Late Neoproterozoic carbonates in Northern Oman, ready to confuse awe people with the wonders of paleomagnetism. I don’t have to be there for the full period between 2 and 6, so I may wander through the other posters in my section for a while, as well as the posters for GP33A. Frames of Reference for Plate Motion II. If you want to swing by, give me a tweet!

Thursday
A post by Anne JeffersonIn the morning, I’ve got a bunch of posters to see, spread across too many sessions to list, and I’m aiming to see some talks in EP42A. Advances in Critical Zone Research: Interactions Among Water, Rock, and Life at Earth’s Surface I (310 Moscone South). In the afternoon, I’ll be participating in the blogging panel (and you can too!), but I’m definitely going to stop by the wonderfully-titled EP43B. Does Size Matter? Does Local Count? The Role of Extrafluvial Events in River and Landscape Evolution Posters.

A post by Chris RowanThursday morning has proven to be one of the more difficult periods to fix a schedule for, because there are several interesting looking large-scale tectonics sessions, such as T41D. Raising a Plateau From Earthquakes, Basins, and Fold-Thrust Belts I, G42A. Plate Motion and Continental Deformation II and T42B. Lithospheric Structure and Cenozoic Tectonics in East Asia: From Tibetan Plateau to the Marginal Seas I, but I’m also severely tempted to drop in on T41C and T42A Fault Behavior Models: Improved Understanding Using Long Paleoseismic Records II & III, which includes talks on the paleoseismology of the Alpine Fault. There are also a couple of interesting looking poster sessions, including B41B. Drilling Deep Time: Windows Into Earth’s Early Biosphere and T41A. Latest Results From EarthScope’s San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth

Then, in what looks like one of the few occasions when Anne and I will actually be in the same conference room this week, I’ll be sitting on the blogging panel between 2 and 4 pm, although at some point I want to check out some posters in G43A. Plate Motion and Continental Deformation III.

Friday
A post by Anne JeffersonOn Friday, I’ll be sad to miss some wonderful geomorphology and hydrology sessions, but I’ll be flying back across the country with a virtual pile of grading on my laptop. When the geomorphologists convene at Berkeley for Gilbert Club on Saturday, I’ll be sitting at my university’s commencement ceremony cheering on our proud seniors (and hopefully not still grading).

A post by Chris RowanLike Anne, I’m unfortunately going to be departing on Friday – although there do look to be several interesting posters in T51B. Great Earthquakes and Active Fault Scientific Drilling and T51D. What Controls Strong Versus Weak Coupling on Subduction Interface Faults?. The latter has some new research on the Hikurangi subduction zone off New Zealand, which was the subject of my PhD thesis research. Maybe I’ll manage a quick browse before I leave for the airport.

So, that’s what our weeks are looking like. Let us know what amazing things we’re missing. And if any readers are attending the conference and giving a talk/poster, feel free to drop the details in the comments – perhaps we’ll get the chance to drop by.

Categories: by Anne, conferences