Geobulletin alpha

The Adventures of Archie the Traveling T. Rex: Big Bend National Park 

by Charlotte Brohi Well, it’s Archie reporting in…. After my visit to Paris, I thought it high time I went to a place closer to home that has fossil records of some of my friends in the dinosaur world. Can … Continue reading

What is the U.S. Commitment in Paris? 

The United States has joined 185 countries in promising to curb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, develop other ways to mitigate the impacts and to make communities more resilient to climate change. So what exactly is the United States proposing to

From Waterloo to Paris: Students Serve as Delegates for Kiribati 

Students from 28 masters in development practice programs, including the Earth Institute's Masters in Public Administration-Development Practice at Columbia, are participating in various ways at the climate talks in

Imaging Brooding Brittle Stars Babies! 

Greetings! So, today I am en transit from my month long research trip in Paris back to home base in Washington DC!  So, in the meantime I thought I would share the results of this great new imaging project presented in GigaScience by some colleagues at CapeTown University in South Africa whom I met while I was visiting a few months ago!!  Jannes Landschoff, Anton duPlessis and Charlie

A Daily Dose, Plus Magnum Mondays 

Leading up to the UN Conference on Climate Change this month in Paris, the Earth Institute is posting daily photos and videos from experts working in the field of climate

From Copenhagen to Paris: Holding onto Hope 

I don’t believe for a second that we are on the brink of global destruction. We are on the brink of a global re-distribution and whole scale re-balancing of global goods and bads. But we have been there before and

From Copenhagen to Paris: Low Expectations 

As we head to Paris, the expectations are profoundly lower. The national commitments that countries are putting on the table do not add up to nearly enough to keep us within 2 degrees; instead the plan is to come back every five years and hopefully do better. ... It is still mathematically possible to stay within 2 degrees, but the odds of actually doing so seem to be receding by the

From Copenhagen to Paris: Likely to Fail Again? 

All of the pledges made in Paris will be voluntary. However, countries have not always fulfilled their pledges in the past, and it isn't obvious that this agreement is going to cause countries to behave very differently in the

Paris! Urchins in Abstract! 

This week: more showy echinoderms from one of the greatest museums in the world! Paris! Here's another study in abstracts-focusing mainly on sea urchins! Last week was all about starfish mouths & their spines, etc. I've blogged before about sea urchins from Paris. Here's one... and an older one.. And a similar type of blog from my visit to the natural history museum in Tokyo! 

From Copenhagen to Paris: Getting Beyond Talk 

The climate issue seems to generate a high level of ideologically based politics, emotional rhetoric and political symbolism. It is time to move past symbols to pragmatism and political

Paris 2015: The Starfish Mouth in Abstract 

                           Bonjour and Greetings! My apologies for missing a post last week! I am currently on a research visit at the world famous Museum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris! Between jet lag and getting my work set up, things got away from me!                                                                                      This week, A collection of starfish

Under Pressure, a (Simulated) Climate Agreement 

Coming up with an international climate agreement is hard work. But the students at the Make It Work simulated negotiations in Paris managed to find a way, though they left disagreeing over just how effective the pact would

The Road to Make It Work 

Students throughout Columbia University were notified of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend a student simulation in anticipation of the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference in Paris. Two words jumped out at me immediately: climate and

Born This Day: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 

From the San Jose University webpage: Teilhard de Chardin (May 1, 1881 – April 10, 1955) was a paleontologist, Jesuit priest and philosopher, who was born in Auvergne, France. He lectured in science at the Jesuit College in Cairo, became professor of geology at the Intitut Catholique in Paris, and studied at the Institute of Human Paleontology at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. In

Postdoctoral researcher in functional morphology and paleobiology 

Postdoctoral researcher in functional morphology and paleobiologyProject title: Morphological convergence and functional inferences: an integrative study of the masticatory apparatus in rodents and extinct notoungulates.Supervisors: Guillaume Billet (UMR7207; billet@mnhn.fr), Anthony Herrel (UMR7179; anthony.herrel@mnhn.fr) and Raphäel Cornette (UMR7205; cornette@mnhn.fr).Location: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, FranceSalary: 2500Euro/month (± 2000 Euro net).We are looking for [...]

Cow, closer than you think 

Phew. Back at last to the land of feeble livestock-based humour. Talking of livestock, it was a major revelation quite how much cheese the French consume. We've visited France for weeks at a time before (although not Paris since we were both infants), but although we'd sampled many cheeses from many kinds of French livestock (sheep, goats, cows, chickens etc), we'd not really eaten with

The Strange Deep-Sea Ophiuroids of Paris! Featuring Dr. Tim O'Hara! 

Bonjour once again!! So, my trip to Paris has all but ended and I'll be returning to the United States in a few days. The trip has been a challenging one. The laptop crashed and was out of the loop for two weeks and left me without a computer for data collection and etc.. So, much of my trip has been "old school".. working with paper and notes labelling jars with species names as best as

Road to 2015: A Pivotal Year for Sustainable Development 

The Sustainable Development Goals, to be set by the United Nations in September 2015, will outline the international development priorities for the coming decades. What will the goals look like? How can we measure progress effectively? Where will the funding to implement these goals come from? Can an international climate agreement be reached in Paris next year, and what might it look like? Columbia's Sustainability Media Lab will present "Road to 2015: A Pivotal Year for Sustainable [...]

Gorgeous Goniasterid Starfish! & some Cousteau Connection?? 

 Bonjour from Paris! This week: a new post looking at some cool specimens I'm looking at while researching at the world famous Museum national d'Historie Naturelle!   Home of Lamark and many other natural history legends! Today...two neat specimens with some interesting commentary and history, respectively... First, a rarely encountered species & some taxonomic commentary... 

Petroacoustics Book (free online) 

I got this email today from Patric Rasolofosaon, whom I met at my DISC lecture in Paris. He is a world authority on poroelasticity and has a new book co-authored with Bernard Zinszner.  They have altruistically made the book free online. Chapters 1-3 (of 7) are available now. It is a rare treat when a first-class scientist writes a book synthesizing the state of knowledge and experimental evidence in any field.  On behalf of geophysicists everywhere, thank you Patrick (and [...]