Geobulletin alpha

BLUE JAY: KWASKWAS 

If you live in North American, there is a high probability that you have seen or heard the bird song of the Blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758).Blue Jays are in the family Corvidae — along with crows, ravens, rooks, magpies and jackdaws. They belong to a lineage of birds first seen in the Miocene — 25 million years ago. These beautifully plumed, blue, black and white birds can be

Orlando. Words from my friend Monk San. 

By Steve Gough.Monk San is a friend of mine who was born in Sri Lanka and became a Buddhist monk there as a teen; his mother is still there and picks tea for a few dollars a day.  Here he is with my wife, Kate, who brought him to Carbondale to visit her Buddhist group.  Two people I admire very much.He's a Buddhist monk who's broken from his tradition by leaving his monastery and traveling.  He's in a lot of trouble for that.English is not his first language.  I was moved by [...]

You're Doing It Wrong: Microraptor Tails and Mini-Wings 

Type specimen of Zhenyuanlong, doing its best Archaeopteryx impression.Just a short PSA today, and once again, it's about a paleoart meme that has outstayed its welcome.Microraptor was the first time we got a good look at the feather pattern of dromaeosaurids. This is a big problem for two reasons. One, microraptors were small. That means that artists who were looking at them to extrapolate for bigger, more famous "raptors" could easily and somewhat justifiably write off their [...]

Where The Fault Lies 

Rural students in America who want a good education have a steep mountain to climb. Rural areas are generally poor, conservative, and tend toward fundamental religious beliefs, and this is turning out to be a real issue when it comes to teaching science. If you don’t believe me, ask a Biology teacher in rural Alabama, or almost anywhere in Texas. Too often, it’s not just angry parents they have to

Friday fold: core 

At the Rocky Mountain Section meeting of the Geological Society of America this week, there were several displays of interesting cores. I’m not sure where this one came from, but it had a fold in it, and since no one else had volunteered a Friday fold for this week, I took a photo: It’s standard core diameter; I’d guess that’s about 2 inches. Given that I’m headed out on an

A call for upgrading America's infrastructure and, in particular, aging dams 

Hoover Dam, photo by Mike Blake, ReutersImage from the article cited in textI'm not going to summarize the article linked here, but having worked around dams, I truly believe the conclusions of this writer: major investment required to date infrastructure that dates back to the end of WWII, or even

Spheroidal weathering in Columbia River basalt 

I’m in Idaho for the Rocky Mountain section meeting of the Geological Society of America. Yesterday, I was delighted to tour around in eastern Washington’s Channeled Scablands with my colleague Bill Richards (North Idaho College). I took a lot of photos, but here are two to start – lovely examples of “onion skin” style weathering in fractured basalt, producing “kernstones” of increasingly spherical shape: This is a particularly well expressed

There's No Place Like This: Celebrating 100 Years of America's Best Idea 

"There's no place like this". It's something that you hear once in awhile in a crowd of people seeing Yosemite Falls for the first time. You'll hear it from people seeing a geyser explode from the ground in Yellowstone, or gaping at the vast expanse of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. There are other places where you won't hear those words, because you won't be standing in a crowd of people.

Irish Sunshine from Belfast to New York 

St. Patrick’s Day is not as big a deal in Ireland as it is in America, but it was an unusually nice early spring day there today. Most of the sunshine was in the UK portion, (Northern Ireland) but most areas saw plenty of sun. The weather in New York City for the famous parade was much warmer, with sunshine and temps. near 16C (60F). Images are from the NASA

Watch: Building Solutions for Water Challenges 

From aging and leaky pipes to pollution and shrinking aquifers, America’s water infrastructure faces a growing set of challenges. A new video describes how the America’s Water Initiative, a program based at the Columbia Water Center, is trying to address those

Access to research: Nobody in the history of the world has ever liked raisins. NOBODY!! 

THE STORY SO FAR: Erin McKiernan can’t get access to the research she needs in Mexico, Mohammad M.M.H can’t get it in Jordan, and Nora Turoman can’t get it in Serbia. Meanwhile, Christy Collins is in America, but can’t get the research she needs to understand her son’s health condition because she’s not a full-time academic. Josephine Hellberg is a full-time academic

Geological Society of America opposes de-licensing of geologists in Arizona 

The President of the Geological Society of America has weighed in on the legislative proposal to end registration of geologists in Arizona.   We received a copy of the letter Dr. Jon Price sent to Rep. Warren Petersen, the prime sponsor of HB2613: 1 March 2016 The Honorable Warren H. Petersen Chairman, Committee on Commerce Arizona House of Representatives 1700 West Washington Street

Climate Change and Teachers 

There is a very noteworthy paper out today in Science about the teaching of climate science in America’s classrooms, and It’s open source, so non-subscribers can read it. The piece is excellent, so if you know are (or know) a teacher, please share it with them.  The short summary of the Science paper, is that some teachers are telling students things about science that the facts just do not support, chief among

If Journalism is About Truth, Then Why Are Top Newspapers Knowingly Publishing This Lie 

Astrology is bunk. Hopefully you know that, but it really does beg the question of why almost every Sunday paper in America will publish a load of silly lies tomorrow, and yes it does matter. Science literacy is a serious issue in the U.S. How do I know? First of all, not ONE of the top Republican candidates for President of the United States will admit that climate change is

The Time 19th Century Paleontologists Punched it Out 

Edward Drinker Cope wasn’t exactly the most even-keeled of paleontologists. The great “Bone Wars” that sparked a race to uncover America’s prehistory required the enmity of two fossil fanatics, after all, and Cope certainly proved himself capable of throwing jabs and haymakers in print at his friend-turned-nemesis Othniel Charles Marsh. Even among friends Cope was

A Visit to a Remaining Piece of America's Serengeti: A Great Valley Love Story 

Red-shouldered Hawk at entrance to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Every so often, I remember what an extraordinary place I live in. It's sometimes easy to forget while dealing with the air pollution, the lingering drought, and the seemingly non-ending recession, but California's Great Valley is one of the most important provinces in the United States. It provides something like

Fixing What We Broke: A Few Scenes From America's Serengeti Plain 

I live in California's Great Valley, also known as the Central Valley. It's one of the most important agricultural regions on Earth, in that it produces around a quarter of the nation's produce. It's an extraordinary geological province, 400 miles of almost perfect flatness. When I moved to the valley nearly thirty years ago, I thought I was moving to a boring place, featureless, and

Animal Espionage: Meet the Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs of the Wild 

by Greta Brannan Rimpo This week, you’ll have the first chance to experience our new special exhibit, Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America – examining nine major periods in U.S. history when America faced threats from enemies … Continue reading

September 15, 2015 

Ohio Issues Permit No. 2000 for Utica shaleColumbus BizJournals Cobalt Diffusion Treatment of Natural SpinelGemological Institute of America Just Three Producers Drive 2Q Shale Oil/Gas Production in OhioNaturalGasIntel.com Scientists See Deeper Yellowstone MagmaThe University of Utah Global Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing SlowsEnergy Information Administration Using Drones for Earth Science StudiesEOS Earth & Space Science News City

Awesome field trips at GSA Baltimore meeting 

Hi everyone, As the deadline for early registration for the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America nears, I’d like to call your attention to a suite of awesome field trips exploring mid-Atlantic region geology. If you’re traveling to the east coast for the first time for GSA, or if you’ve never ventured beyond the Smithsonian and NSF conference rooms, then you should consider one of these trips as