Tag Archives: Earth Science

The Boneyard XIII

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Grrrrrrrrrrrrr….

Welcome to the Lucky 13th Edition of The Boneyard … the Web Carnival about Bones and Stuff.

“The Boneyard is a blog carnival covering all things paleo, from dinosaurs to pollen to hominids and everywhere in between. It’s held every two weeks (the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month), traveling around to a different blog for each installment, connecting some of the best blogging on ancient life.”

The previous edition of The Boneyard is here, at Dragon’s Tales. The next edition of The Boneyard will be Here at Archaeozoology. If you would like to submit an entry to the next edition, you may do so here. As always, thanks to Brian for originating and managing this carnival.

Continue reading The Boneyard XIII

Boreal and South American Birds

i-218e473f6c30fde98e1b38a4f3d892ff-Canadian_warbler.jpgFall, a very sunny, very breezy day on the lake, Amanda and I sitting in the cabin minding our own business.Suddenly, …thwack…… well, it was a sort of tiny miniature thwack, but a thwack nonetheless. Peering outside through the window, we could see the the last death throws of a tiny greenish bird that had run into the window. The lighting conditions must have been just right for this bird to think that it could fly through the cabin, because this was an odd and unusual event. (We later made further adjustments to the window to see to it that this did not happen again, of course.)But ex morbido cum ergo identeo, or words to that effect … we were at least able to get a really good look at this tiny warbler, it being dead and all. And it turned out to be one of those rare Canadian tundra species that is only seen in Minnesota for a few minutes while it is whizzing past on its way to Ecuador or even beyond Ecuador. Continue reading Boreal and South American Birds

Jolly ol’England

Old books can be wonderful sources of information, ideas, and even inspiration. I collect them and sometimes even read them. Reading a 100 year old book in your field of interest is a challenge and can be a rewarding experience.It is a challenge because it is dangerous. I worry that I might accidentally learn something that is no longer true. What if I remember it at some later time, like at a cocktail party or while giving a lecture, but don’t remember the source: “… As is well known, flies spontaneously generate from certain forms of mud …” Continue reading Jolly ol’England

Berry Go Round #3

Welcome to Berry Go Round #3, the blog carnival deicated to all things botanical.The previous installment, Berry Go Round #2, is located here, at Further Thoughts. If you would like to submit an item to the next Berry Go Round, you may use this handy submission form. The Berry Go Round Home Page is here. Continue reading Berry Go Round #3

How Old is the Grand Canyon?

I want to refer you two two items, one older piece by me and another very new, fresh out of the box piece by Carl Zimmer. Not that I’m trying to compare Zimmer and me. But the two posts are somewhat complementary, yet very much on the same page.How to Date the Grand Canyon: Go With the FlowAbducted by Aliens … and dropped off at the Grand CanyonWell, you’ve got to admit they are both pretty attractive titles….

Airbus 320 Gone Wild

My colleague Christian Reinboth (Frischer Wind) sent me this amazing video. Christian says it has been circulating on the European YouTube circuit (which, from our American perspective could be known as “TheirTube“). It has been very windy in Europe lately, as you know from the amazing Wind Turbine Catastrophic Failure videos (Wind Turbines Gone Wild).This is an Airbus 320 trying to land in a very strong cross wind: Continue reading Airbus 320 Gone Wild

An Ocean of Despair

Almost half of the world’s oceans have been ruined to some degree … often very severely … by human activity. You’ve heard a lot on the news and in the blogosphere about this lately. This increased interest is in part because of the recent production (Feb 15th Science) of a map of the ocean showing these impact.Here is the map:i-1ad466ce88f4a52acfcaf1b830db6cc8-ocean_map_small.jpgClick Here to View Larger Image Continue reading An Ocean of Despair

Darwin and the Voyage: 11 ~ Elephants and Horses

In 1833, Darwin spent a fair amount of time on the East Coast of South America, including in the Pampas, where he had access to abundant fossil material. Here I’d like to examine his writings about some of the megafauna, including Toxodon, Mastodon, and horses, and his further considerations of biogeography and evolution. Continue reading Darwin and the Voyage: 11 ~ Elephants and Horses

Darwin and the Voyage: 09 ~ Fossil Quadrupeds

Charles Darwin wrote a book called Geological Observations on South America. Since Fitzroy needed to carry out intensive and extensive coastal mapping in South America, and Darwin was, at heart, a geologist more than anything else (at least during the Beagle’s voyage), this meant that Darwin would become the world’s expert on South American geology. Much of The Voyage is about his expeditions and observations. Part of this, of course, was figuring out the paleontology of the region. Continue reading Darwin and the Voyage: 09 ~ Fossil Quadrupeds

Are We In The Anthropocene? No.

ResearchBlogging.orgProposals to give the latter part of the present geological period (the Holocene) a new name … the Anthropocene … are misguided, scientifically invalid, and obnoxious. However, there is a use for a term that is closely related to “Anthropocene” and I propose that we adopt that term instead. Continue reading Are We In The Anthropocene? No.

New Study of Antarctic Ice Loss

Blogging on Peer-Reviewed ResearchThe amount of ice lost to the sea from Antarctica has increased by 75 percent in the last 10 years. This is the result of an increase in glacial flow. It had previously been thought, and perhas was the case, that Greenland ice loss outpaced the Antarctica. This is no longer the case. Continue reading New Study of Antarctic Ice Loss

The Evolution of the Modern Climate: New Evidence from Plant Remains

Blogging on Peer-Reviewed ResearchThings are just not like what they used to be. You know this. You know that the Age of Dinosaurs, for instance, was full of dinosaurs and stuff, and before transitional fossil forms crawled out of the sea to colonize the land, all animals were aquatic, etc. But did you know that from a purely modern perspective, the Miocene was the most important geological period? Continue reading The Evolution of the Modern Climate: New Evidence from Plant Remains

Bill Stone: Journey to the center of the Earth … and beyond!

Bill Stone, the maverick cave explorer who invented robots and dive equipment that have allowed him to plumb Earth’s deepest abysses, explains his efforts to build a robot to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. The plan is to send the machine to bore through miles of ice and swim through a liquid underworld that may harbor alien life. And if that’s not enough, he’s also planning to mine lunar ice by 2015.

Continue reading Bill Stone: Journey to the center of the Earth … and beyond!

Edward Burtynsky: TED Prize wish: Share the story of Earth’s manufactured landscapes

Accepting his 2005 TED Prize, photographer Edward Burtynsky makes a wish: that his images — stunning landscapes that document humanity’s impact on the world — help persuade millions to join a global conversation on sustainability. Burtynsky presents a riveting slideshow of his photographs, which show vividly how industrial development is altering the Earth’s natural landscape. From mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine, his images are simultaneously beautiful and horrifying

Continue reading Edward Burtynsky: TED Prize wish: Share the story of Earth’s manufactured landscapes