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18 December 2009
The Art of Science: Progetto Da Vinci
I’m in Moscone South about to go down the escalator to see posters when something catches my eye: a row of pen and ink pictures standing on easels, catching the afternoon light. One in particular compels me to move closer–it is called “Abdallah discovers the science of UV light,” and shows the expression of curiosity and discovery on a child’s face as he realizes that science is cool. At the …
Dust’s Importance to Climate Change
I’m going to start master’s research soon, and one of my options is to work on dust. I tell people about the project, and inevitably I get quizzical looks and raised eyebrows–“Dust? Really?” But dust is a key part of marine fertilization processes. Dust fluxes, especially over oceans (as seen in the NASA image to the right), provide iron and other micronutrients that phytoplankton need, and changes in dust flux …
Kids Grill Scientists About Climate
You may have seen them haunting the corridors of Moscone West’s third floor. Cherubic and about a foot shorter than the adults milling about, their hard to miss! Meet Sam (right) and Toby (left), University of Toronto Professor Steve Easterbrook’s kids. Video camera and mic in hand, they’ve been pulling aside climate scientists after their talks to interview them about climate. It goes like this: A smiling Easterbrook, a computer …
What is the Seafloor Like Under the Gulf of Mexico? Surprisingly, Scientists Know Little
Yesterday I attended a town hall meeting, “Emerging Research Opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico Region.” The purpose of the meeting was to develop cross-disciplinary unification in what are the important tectonic, magmatic, and sedimentological issues in the Gulf. About 15 people attended the meeting, which I found surprising until I heard an interesting comment from meeting convener Dennis Harry of Colorado State University. “Government funding agencies have ignored the …
AGU Public Lecture: Finding Near-Earth Objects and Asteroids Before They Find Us
It may have been a mix of fascination and panic that attracted a full-house yesterday to Don Yeoman’s AGU Public Lecture, titled Near-Earth Objects and Asteroids: Finding Them Before They Find Us. Don began his talk by talking about his brother-in-law who demands to know why Don spends tax-payer dollars on bits of old rock. The audience at the Exploratorium got a thorough preview of what Don will tell his …
Enceladus: Cold Faithful vs. Frigid Faithful
As a small, icy moon of Saturn, Enceladus has been getting its close-up from the Cassini mission. In 2005, spectacular geysers were observed erupting from the surface, fueling speculation that a liquid ocean—and maybe even life—lay just beneath the ice. Unfortunately, geologist Susan Kieffer of the University of Illinois splashed a dose of cold water on those fanciful ideas at the P41C Shoemaker Lecture, Enceladus: Oasis or Ice Ball? The …
From Copenhagen to AGU Fall Meeting to Capitol Hill
The Copenhagen talks, or COP15, have seen organized mass protests, some of which turned violent, but there has been some progress, too. At this point, one of the few concrete successes to point to is the REDD (Reducing Emissions and Deforestation and Degradation) agreement. Under REDD, the carbon dioxide stored in forests would become a commodity to be bought and sold on a global market. Polluting companies could buy emission offsets through …
17 December 2009
It’s Beer O’Clock!
Let’s admit it–Earth scientists love their spirits. I can’t remember a field excursion where after 8-9 hours of thumping, resistivity tests, and mapping, we didn’t get back to camp and imbibe on the amber nectar. I remember a prof in college who exemplified the geo-culture of beer. Days before we went to Mexico to look at outcrops that exposed the KT boundary, he announced in class that we were to …
The Climate Costs of Contrails
Trucks belching emissions are obnoxious, but I don’t feel the same disgust when I see fluffy white contrails in the sky. Maybe I should. Contrails are the artificial clouds formed by condensation of water and emissions from plane engines. New insights into their effects on climate were discussed during session A42A: Climate and Chemistry Impacts of Aviation and Aerospace Emissions I. Contrails form in ice supersaturation regions in the sky, …
An Elegant Evening
On Wednesday night, hundreds of geophysicists closed their laptops, put aside their lab notes, and rolled up their poster presentations to come together to honor 10 luminaries in Earth and space science at the AGU Honors Ceremony. It was an elegant evening. All of the medalists were dressed in their finery – tuxedos, glittering outfits, even a red and gold kimono – and an ordinary lecture hall was transformed with …