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17 May 2019
Friday fold: Found folds
This week, for Friday folds, I offer up some random folds that have passed my perceptual transom this week. First up: In the new Netflix series Our Planet, in episode 7 (Fresh Water), an anticline/syncline pair makes a brief appearance as David Attenborough discusses glaciers as a reservoir for fresh water. Here is a screenshot: I’m not sure where this is in the world: Greenland? Antarctica? Let me know in …
25 April 2019
How We Got To Now, by Steven Johnson
I was very impressed with Steven Johnson’s The Invention of Air when I read it last summer. So recently, I decided to sample another of his books, this one a six-part microhistory about innovations that altered the course of human history. The six are: 1) cleanliness/hygiene (specifically in medicine and drinking water), 2) measurement of time, 3) glass (think lenses!), 4) understanding of light, 5) refrigeration, and 6) the recording …
20 June 2016
Cushendun Conglomerate of the Cross Slieve Group, Northern Ireland
Want a geological irony? Here’s one! You’re looking at a rounded boulder of Cushendun Conglomerate, a Devonian “Old Red Sandstone” unit (Cross Slieve Group) exposed at Cushendun Caves, Northern Ireland, U.K. The irony lies in the repetition of history – a tumbling environment of high water energy, rounding cobbles and boulders and depositing them, in order to make the conglomerate. And now, ~400 million years later, history repeats itself, with …
16 November 2015
“Making North America,” episode 3: Human
The PBS series NOVA has a new three-part series called “Making North America” that premiered two weeks ago. Hosted by the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, Kirk Johnson, the series explores the tectonic assembly of terranes that resulted in the bedrock of the continent, the panoply of diverse creatures that have dwelled here in the past, and the human prehistory of our continent. I was …
6 November 2015
“Making North America,” episode 2: Life
The PBS series NOVA has a new three-part series called “Making North America” that premiered last week. Hosted by the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, Kirk Johnson, the series will explore the tectonic assembly of terranes that resulted in the bedrock of the continent, the panoply of diverse creatures that have dwelled here in the past, and the human prehistory of our continent. I was …
29 October 2015
“Making North America,” episode 1: Origins
The PBS series NOVA has a three-part series coming out next week called “Making North America.” Hosted by the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, Kirk Johnson, the series will explore the tectonic assembly of terranes that resulted in the bedrock of the continent, the panoply of diverse creatures that have dwelled here in the past, and the human prehistory of our continent. I was given …
21 September 2010
EARTH: the biography, by the BBC
Last week, I watched the BBC/National Geographic series “EARTH: The Biography,” hosted by Iain Stewart. Stewart is a charismatic host, with a thick Scottish accent that cannot disguise his enthusiasm for geology. The five episodes focus on: volcanoes, ice, oceans, atmosphere, and “rare planet.” Overall, I thought the series did an good job covering some of the greatest stories in geology with an emphasis on presenting the latest ideas. Snowball …
1 April 2010
Geological heroes: call for posts
Ed at Geology Happens recently hosted the twenty-third edition of the geoblog carnival The Accretionary Wedge. I’ve volunteered to host the next edition, and I’ve chosen “heroes” as the theme. I invite all participants (geobloggers and geoblog readers alike) to contribute stories of their heroes. It’s time to pay tribute to the extraordinary individuals who helped make your life, your science, and your planet better than they would otherwise have …
18 February 2010
"Prehistoric": D.C.
Mark your calendars! Prehistoric: D.C. will profile (part of) the ancient past of Washington, D.C., in an episode to air February 28, 9pm, on the Discovery Channel.