Faint green smudge...

shown in this image is Comet Lulin as it passes Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo (click to enlarge.) This is a lousy image, plain and simple, but I post it to show that stars do indeed have "color" that reflects their temperature, and the comet is glowing green as cyanogen (CN) gas is volatilized from its nucleus and the ions excited in the solar wind. I captured this image the evening of 27 February: 1 min exposure on non-tracking mount, ISO 1600, f/2.8, Canon 30D with 300 mm telephoto lens.

Mount Redoubt aerial video...

shot by USGS personnel on 7 February 2009 showing the volcano, plume, and vents.

Link to weekly status report.

Everything is spinning...

out of control. To wit:

Reusable toilet wipes.

Pay to pee when you fly.

I remember joking with another grad student buddy that someday you'll need a receipt if you take a dump. I fear that day has arrived.

Update: On further reflection I think this is a crappy idea that needs to be pooh-poohed immediately.

It's a living wall of bats...

at roost in the James River Bat Cave near Mason, Texas (click to enlarge.) Donna and I visited this protected cave in 2005 which shelters more than 8 million bats during the summer in a large maternity colony - it's one of the largest aggregations of mammals on Earth! These tiny, hairless Mexican Free-tail bats are mostly all newborn pups in this photo (look closely and you'll see the mom's are covered with brown hair.) I've inserted my hand in the photo for scale - not to harass the little cuties.

The Nature Conservancy manages the property and they provide free evening programs at the cave entrance at dusk when the bats take flight to forage for insects throughout the night. It is well worth the visit to this very special place in order to witness this amazing display of nature (cave entry is forbidden.) Here's an article Donna wrote about this special place while she was working for Bat Conservation International.

It's field work Friday...

as I check on the state of the aquifer in the Rathdrum Prairie, Idaho. No office hours today.

Third time's the charm...

for the liftoff of STS-119? NASA has scheduled the launch of Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station for 12 March after a month-long delay investigating potentially faulty fuel valves.

Wise words...

Our ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature.

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Breaking News!

Genetic scientists develop sheep with brain of a goat.

Size 9 hominid footprints...

recently discovered in Kenya in strata dated to be ~ 1.5 million years old. The well preserved impressions mark the appearance of an early form of Homo erectus in the fossil record.

Now if we could just discover hominid and dinosaur prints together then the creationists may have an argument.

UPDATE: Link to more complete article.

A cup of coffee a day...

may keep skin cancer at bay. A new study holds some good news for the caffeine addicted.

By golly, I think I'll have another cup. And a biscotti. Or a chocolate muffin.

Cornucopia of Google Earth...

geology layers and datasets can be found at SDSU's Department of Geological Sciences. Follow the link and you will find a wide variety of .kmz files that can be downloaded and imported into Google Earth to enable geologic map overlays for a wide variety of locations, themes and topics.

Warning: many of these files are huge and you'll need a high bandwidth Internet connection.

Ruggedized digital camera...

that seems appropriate for geological field work and adventure travel is the new Canon D10. It certainly looks dorky but it may be worth considering if you're shopping for a new camera that can take some abuse. I own two Canon digital cameras (30D and G10) and their image-stabilized binoculars and can vouch for the high quality of their products. The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW is another one to consider.

That's some fish!

A face-on view of Histiophryne psychedelica, a new species of frogfish, photographed at Ambon Island, Indonesia by David Hall (click image for an alternative view.) Link to short article with video.

I wonder what it tastes like? Perhaps served with a rice pilaf? And an appropriate heavily-oaked Chardonnay.

Credit: ©David Hall/seaphotos.com

Specialized graph paper...

can be freely downloaded from this web site. Most geology students will find this a useful source for triangular graph paper used for plotting ternary diagrams. Alas, no stereonets!

Go spelunking on-line...

at The Virtual Cave where you can explore solution caves, lava tubes and other special subterranean places. The content and photography are both excellent.

If you want to learn more about caving you should visit the National Speleological Society. Important note: caves contain sensitive ecosystems and one must trod carefully in these delicate underground wildernesses. Please.

Pictographs...

in Horseshoe Canyon, an isolated district of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, are superb examples of Fremont culture rock art (click to enlarge.) This image shows only a small portion of the Great Gallery; the entire sandstone panel is ~ 200 feet long and ~ 15 feet high, and the Barrier Canyon Style paintings consist of life-sized anthropomorphic figures. The largest individual, the so-called Holy Ghost shown above, is about seven feet tall. I last visited this site in 2006 during a traverse of Bluejohn Canyon when I snapped this pic.

Pop quiz: what's the difference between a pictograph and a petroglyph?

My dashing locks...

won't stay vibrant forever, it seems. Why hair turns gray (apparently it's not due to wisdom.)

The top 10...

quirkiest awards in science: the Ig Nobel awards that represent "achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced."

Without a doubt!

Is the Internet warping our brains?

Huge dust storm on Mars...

as imaged by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in December 2008 (click to enlarge.) Given the low atmospheric pressure and density on Mars the wind velocity is calculated to be about 40 to 50 mph (18 to 22 m/s) in order to suspend such large masses of fine particles. Additionally, since Mars is so dry, the dust remains suspended in the atmosphere far longer than on Earth.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

Wise words...

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.

- A. A. Milne

"Conquistador" is the least used...

word in the English language based on a frequency analysis of common words. The WordCount web site is an interesting look at the way we use language.

Indeed, I have seldom been able to use the word conquistador in casual conversation.

Natural hazard mortality map...

shows your likelihood of dying due to flooding, earthquakes, heat, etc. (click to enlarge.) Link to general article and to abstract.

Looks like we're pretty safe in Spokane County.

Comet Lulin...

is frustrating me, or more correctly, the weather is frustrating my efforts at photography. So, here's a terrific photo-gallery of images from across the world. I'm still going to keep trying but the weather forecast doesn't look good. Dang.

Two homes are compared...

in terms of their eco-friendliness and energy use. You'll be surprised at the results.

Then again, maybe you won't.

Historic geology text...

now accessible on-line. Sir Charles Lyell's 1871 tome "Elements of Geology" can be viewed chapter by chapter. It does indeed make for some fascinating reading.

You don't know where you're going unless you know where you've been.

What I'm reading...

right now:

Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer.

I have been fascinated by parasitism ever since my invertebrate zoology course as an undergraduate. Hey, everybody's got to eat.

Wise words...

I would defend the liberty of consenting adult creationists to practice whatever intellectual perversions they like in the privacy of their own homes; but it is also necessary to protect the young and innocent.

— Arthur C. Clarke

Sell crazy someplace else,...

we're all full up here. A Blaine, Washington resident has filed paperwork for a citizen's initiative with the Secretary of State that would prohibit:

"state use of public money or lands for anything that denies or attempts to refute the existence of a supreme ruler of the universe, including textbooks, instruction or research"

The italicized emphasis is mine. Here's the full text of Initiative Measure 1040.

You can't make this stuff up.

Minerva Terrace...

at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park (click to enlarge,) is a picturesque example of travertine deposition resulting from the geothermal precipitation of calcium carbonate (calcite/limestone.) This is the type of mineral deposit that perhaps has been discovered on Mars, and if so, could be home to a microbial ecosystem. I snapped this image in August 2006.

"Confluence hunting"...

is the name given to a recently contrived adventure goal: using GPS to find and visit points of intersection between latitude and longitude. Seems pretty silly to me to seek out entirely arbitrary places based simply on a cartographic coordinate system. What's next? Traveling to the points that coincide with corners of USGS 7.5' topographic maps?

However, a truly fun activity can be had by going geocaching. Just make sure the map datum and that entered in the GPS receiver agree.

Wise words...

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

— Philip K. Dick

Hoax alert...

regarding this recent photo of a giant snake swimming in a river in Borneo (click to enlarge.) First, only two photos have allegedly been taken of the creature, and second, this story magically appears shortly after an article announcing the discovery of an enormous fossil snake. Hmmm.

To me it looks like a mediocre Photoshop touch up. Moreover, if you were in a helicopter and sighted such a beast, wouldn't you circle back and take dozens and dozens of photographs?

Launch of STS-119...

still uncertain due to problematic fuel valves.

Better safe than sorry.

It is a day filled with...

listening to budding young scientists at the 3rd Inland Northwest High School Science Symposium at the EWU Riverpoint campus in Spokane.

About one dozen oral presentations will be made by regional high school students reporting on their research projects in four sessions during the day. Abstracts have been provided to the judges: Profs Black and Lightfoot from the Department of Biology will join me and several other technical professionals from local industry. The panel of judges has a short question/answer period with each presenter following their talk. I can vouch from prior experience that the questions are sharp yet encouraging, and sometimes, deflating. After all the presentations have been heard, the judges meet late in the day and decide the ranking, with various scholarship opportunities going to the upper echelon winners. An awards banquet follows in the evening. A nice day for all involved.

I remember doing stuff like this when I was a kid and I loved it. I'm sure that's part of why I'm a professor.

Three bad computing habits...

you need to break right now. Very good advice. I practice all of them and couldn't agree more.

RELATED: Be aware of terms-of-service agreements for popular web sites/services.

Ancient hot springs on Mars...

are convincingly described in this article in the journal Astrobiology where comparisons are made with related terrestrial deposits.

La Brea Tar Pits...

are still yielding valuable Pleistocene fossils. This world famous site, sitting in the heart of urban Los Angeles, and featured in the horrible geo-disaster movie "Volcano," is a must visit for any geologist.

Comet C/2007 N3 Lulin...

is fast approaching and the weekend weather forecast looks pretty good. Here is a finder chart for the coming weeks (click to enlarge.) I downloaded the latest ephemeris (orbital data) and created this sky map showing the trajectory of the comet across the southern sky - simply look south with the chart in front of you. Unfortunately one has to wake up at 4 am to see this interesting object, which eliminates most students. No telescope necessary, but binoculars are helpful.

Link to more information about Comet Lulin.

Wise words...

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

-- Immanuel Kant

MESA stands for...

Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement, an awkward acronym for one of the country's most innovative and successful K-12 educational programs. MESA works with thousands of educationally disadvantaged students so they excel in math and science and ultimately contribute in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Approximately 200 7th and 8th grade MESA participants invaded campus today from Spokane District 81, visiting the university for various enriching activities. I presented a short slide-illustrated travelogue about my adventurous work in large cave systems in Central America, including an acknowledgment to my 8th grade earth science teacher who stimulated my early interest in geology and speleology.

This is a good age to get kids engaged in scientific inquiry. They're curious, they haven't quite discovered the opposite sex, yet, and they're not entirely snots.

M6.9 earthquake...

north of New Zealand in the subduction zone near the Kermadec Islands just popped up on our departmental seismometer. Link to USGS report. Link to news report.

Pluto discovered...

on this date in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh (the planet, not Mickey's dog.) If you've kept up with recent events you know that this distant and diminutive body in the solar system has been reclassified by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 to "dwarf planet" status.

I concur with the new ranking despite the upset Mr. Tombaugh's surviving relatives may feel due to this abrupt demotion. Simply put, if Pluto were discovered today it would certainly not be defined as a planet by the IAU. Remember, science is a continuous process of gathering new knowledge and reevaluating and reorganizing definitions and relationships.

Navajo Arch...

along Devils Garden trail in Arches National Park, Utah, is a photogenic example of a well-formed natural arch (click to enlarge.) Students accompanying me on the spring break excursion will learn about the stress/strain regime that results in these stable landforms. Note the expansion joints that parallel the shape of the opening.

IMPORTANT: students registering for my GEOL 455 field course must attend the pre-trip meeting on 9 March at noon in SCI 118.

Pop quiz: what's the difference between an arch and a natural bridge?

Intellectual dishonesty...

at Cedarville University, Ohio, where a new geology degree program is set to launch later this year, according to the school's website:

The program will be unique in that no other Christian school, that holds to a literal six-day account of Genesis, offers geology as a major for undergraduates. The course of study will be taught from both naturalistic and young-earth paradigms of earth history.

"It is extremely important to develop critical thinking skills within the minds of young scientists,” describes Whitmore (associate professor of geology.) “We believe that using a two-model approach of earth history will be advantageous to our students, since others are only taught a one-model, naturalistic approach. Geologists are important when it comes to thinking about earth history, especially within a biblical context."

Note: italicized emphasis added.

I wonder if they'll teach that the Earth is flat? Sheesh.

UPDATE: Check out professor Whitmore's background. Really, what did you expect? It doesn't say if he is a member of the Flat Earth Society or not.

Even more from the local Dayton Daily News.

First image of "water" on Mars...

possibly taken by the Phoenix lander in May 2008? A controversial series of images perhaps suggests a perchlorate brine may have splashed on the spacecraft's legs during landing. Here's the technical paper.

The chemistry works, and the images are compelling.

Right-turn theory...

suggests you'll save gas and money. So much so that UPS has adopted this strategy as a cost-cutting measure in their global delivery service. I chatted with the UPS driver at the university today and he confirms this is the protocol.

And it's green, too.

The perfect gift...

for the gadget guy. The Casio G-Shock MTG-1500. It's a tad pricey, but hey, you're stimulating the economy.

Voting with your feet...

can be an effective strategy. The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is boycotting the city of New Orleans as a site for their annual conference in 2011. This response is due to the state having recently passed legislation allowing for so-called "intelligent design" to be taught in science classes. Here's the letter from the organization's president to Governor Jindal.

Bye bye, Louisiana. Rock on, nerdy biologists.

See my earlier related post.

Arriving in the mail...

today is the hear/see/speak no evil monkeys statue (click to enlarge.) They are sitting on books with labels on their spine such as "Darwin," "Evil," "Man and Apes" and "Why?"

Priceless.

Is there a stealth biosphere...

on Earth? Some scientists propose this interesting idea.

Be vigilant, there are aliens among us!

Wise words...

Generally speaking, I think it is fair to say that I am a friend to the creatures of the earth when I am not busy eating them or wearing them.

— John Hodgman

Martian gullies may have formed...

by flowing liquid brine. This makes sense since surface pressure and temperatures on Mars do not allow for pure water to exist in liquid form. Link to abstract. Link to image showing gullies.

Science, is, so cool.

Spring quarter registration opens...

this week. I'd like to plug some of my colleagues' new upper-division course offerings for the coming term:

• Dr. McCollum is teaching GEOL 496 (sec 1) Geology of Eastern Washington (4 cr.)
• Ms. Case is teaching GEOL 496 (sec 2) Applied GIS for Earth Science (3 cr.)
• Dr. Nezat is teaching GEOL 496(sec 3) Isotope Geology (5 cr.)

Professor "Indiana" Jones...

denied tenure at Marshall College. Here's the now-public letter of denial from the chair of the tenure review committee.

Indeed, it's a publish or perish world in academia. Looting, murder and mayhem just doesn't impress departmental personnel committees like it used to.

An image of Earth...

from space showing the glacial-capped Mount Redoubt volcano and Cook Inlet, Alaska (click to enlarge.) The sediment-laden Drift River drains the north side of the volcano and lahars generated during the 1989-1990 eruption temporarily closed the Drift River Oil Terminal seen near the mouth of the river. Crescent Lake, the aquamarine body of water southwest of the summit, was also created by volcanically-generated mud and debris flows from a prior eruption, ~3,500 yrs ago, that blocked the natural drainage in the tributary valley.

Image credit: Landsat satellite on 16 August 2000 (NASA.)

Happy birthday to...

one of my astronomical heroes, Galileo Galilei, who was born on this date in 1564 in Pisa, Italy. Galileo is best known for his use of the telescope in observational astronomy: he studied and sketched sunspots, discovered four moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. He was also an an advocate of the Copernican system, that is, the Earth revolves around the Sun and not vice versa, in direct contradiction to church dogma at the time. Gasp! Heresy!

I still haven't forgiven the Catholic church for subjecting him to the inquisition for his heliocentric views and keeping him under house arrest until his death in 1642.

STS-119 launch date slides...

to 27 February according to NASA mission managers as further tests and analyses are performed on the main engine fuel valves on Shuttle Discovery.

Environmental hypocrite of the year...

so far is Prince Charles of Wales. He will embark on an environmental awareness tour of South America in a private Airbus commercial-class jet next month.

When people who say there's a crisis begin to behave like there's one, then maybe, just maybe, I'd give them some respect.

Happy Valentine's Day...

from Mars. Here's an image of a heart-shaped graben that is 2.3 km wide, located on the east flank of the Alba Patera volcano in northern Tharsis (click to enlarge.) How romantic, eh?

Nothing expresses love quite like a Martian graben.

What about Redoubt,...

you ask? No, it hasn't erupted yet but it's far from quiet. Here's the weekly update from the AVO. Check out the RSAM plots that show the volcanic tremors' ebb and flow, certainly suggestive of the movement of magma.

And the winner...

among 18 entries to the Darwin birthday cake competition is this creative entry featuring barnacle taxonomy (a major research interest of Darwin's) and a gene pool.

This was my personal favorite, a chocolate tiktaalik, a genus of an extinct lobe-finned fish from the late Devonian Period.

There was representation of the geology program in an entry featuring the Galapagos archipelago with volcanic islands made of cake. Great job, NP and MF! Thanks, sincerely, for being there. San Cristobal Island was particularly yummy.

Additionally, dean Judd Case was a fine stand-in for the man of honor.

Everyone who entered this fun event is getting an environmental science t-shirt.

Taking the fun out of...

Valentine's Day (tomorrow!) Mathematical solutions to heart curve functions.

But this is good news: chocolate can be healthy.

Mmm. Chocolate.

Spokane aquifer atlas...

is online at this Spokane County website. I am co-author of this publication and students and teachers will find it useful when discussing the geologic setting of our sole source of fresh water in the greater Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area. Individual pages can be downloaded as .pdf documents.

Snow drought continues...

in the western US. Here's the mountain snowpack map for the western states as of 1 February. Despite the extraordinarily heavy snows at the end of 2008 very little has been added to the mountain snowpack in January.

Budget crisis at EWU...

may result in big layoffs said acting president Dr. John Mason, according to this article in the Spokesman-Review yesterday. Additionally, perhaps you've also seen this article describing the NCAA sanctions against the EWU football program.

So, given this context, I share with you a brief e-mail I sent to the acting president:

Dr. Mason:

Let me help.

Since it has been established that we have an unethical and corrupt athletics program at EWU, let's start there. Please stand up and have the clarity of vision, following the lead of WWU, and kill this money pit. Maintaining an athletics program at Eastern is not a prime mission of the university (please take a close look at the mission statement.) If there aren't significant cutbacks in this area of the university during this crisis then that will broadcast to the faculty how unserious this administration is at solving the budgetary problem before us.

Thanks for your consideration.

John Buchanan, Ph.D.
Professor of Geology

For your edification, here's a link to EWU Mission Statement.

Despite the on-going lip service of protecting academic programs by this administration I have my doubts that will occur. I'd urge students to get involved and raise their voices during this critical time for the University. Even if you don't agree with me, express your thoughts during this process. Use your highly evolved brains and opposable thumbs to call or write those who will affect your future!

Contact: Dr. John Mason (acting EWU president)
Contact: EWU Board of Trustees

Wise words...

Evolution is cleverer than you are.

- Francis Crick

Science nerds...

party down with Darwin. What a bunch of wild and crazy animals. Whoa.

Elsewhere, here's the range of reaction in Rapid City, South Dakota to the mention of this special day in the local newspaper. Scroll through all the comments.

Hat tip: the Bu bro.

Are you paraskavedekatriaphobic?

Then tomorrow is going to be a really stressful day for you. More about Friday the 13th phobia.

Don't worry, things will be better on the weekend. But you'll suffer again in March and November this year. Bummer.

Happy birthday to you...

Charlie Darwin. He was born on this day in 1809 at his family home in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, the fifth of six children. This lad eventually grew up to become one of the most influential and revolutionary scientists of all time.

Link to Wikipedia entry, and here's a nice summary of his life. Oh yeah, somebody else named Abraham Lincoln was born today too, and in the same year.

And for goodness sake don't forget the lecture and birthday cake competition events tomorrow sponsored by the Department of Biology.

That's going to make a big mess...

to clean up. An unprecedented collision between two Earth-orbiting satellites occurred yesterday where a US Iridium communications satellite struck a non-functional Russian Cosmos 2251 craft - or vice versa. The US Strategic Command is presently tracking two debris clouds in 790 km high orbits (more than twice the height of the International Space Station.)

Oops.

UPDATE: Diagram showing collision point over Siberia.

UPDATE: This raises issues of international space law.

It's an uphill battle...

for acceptance of evolutionary theory in today's society. This Gallup poll shows that 39% of the general population (but only 24% of church goers) accepts the scientific explanation for the diversity of life.

I would think that a religious-minded person would find a greater appreciation for all life in the world if it were universally intertwined somehow. Funny that they prefer to believe in magic.

An alternative view...

of Charles Darwin and his contributions during his anniversary week. Plus recipes using endangered species.

Arriving in the mail...

yesterday was this wonderful statue of Darwin's Ape that I had ordered last week (click to enlarge.) It's cast out of faux bronze with a resin human skull and it has nice detailing. Just in time for Charlie's birthday.

I like it so much I ordered the hear/see/speak no evil monkeys statue to go with it. Really.

How common are Earth-like planets?

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope is nearly ready to launch, with liftoff scheduled for 5 March.

The mission will attempt to identify potentially habitable exoplanets (that is, those having a rocky crust and that lie within the "Goldilocks" zone around other stars) using the transit method. As these small planetary bodies pass in front of the star around which they orbit there should be an observable dimming of star light, and Kepler's optics are optimized to detect such minor decreases in stellar magnitude.

Faster, please.

Wise words...

"Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid."

— John Wayne

Stoopid is...

as stupid does. No serious celebration of Darwin's contributions to science would be complete without an amusing detour to the Darwin Awards web site where they "honor those who improve the species...by accidentally removing themselves from it!"

Natural selection in real time. Have a laugh, at someone else's unfortunate expense.

Evolution Matters!

You bet it does!
The Department of Biology is sponsoring a lecture in honor of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday anniversary. The lecture, by Dr. Carol Anelli (WSU,) will occur this Friday, 13 February, at 2 pm in SCI 137 and is entitled: Evolution Matters! Historical and Current Contexts in Darwin's Dual Anniversary Year.

Following the lecture there will be a birthday cake competition (link to previous post) where prizes will be awarded for creativity, execution and taste. Cakes must reflect some aspect of Darwin's work.

Mmm. Cake.

What's that cookin' in the sed lab?

I'm very slowly heating a cornstarch/water solution in an 600 ml beaker in a drying oven in order to hasten dessication and simulate the formation of columnar jointing in basalt. This technical paper on Order and Disorder in Columnar Joints describes an experiment that successfully duplicated the structure in the laboratory and inspired my effort. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the outcome of my tinkering, which is likely to take at least a week or two.

Hey, if you can't get out in the field during the winter there's always the laboratory.

AVO updates...

are now available via an RSS feed that I have added in the right column, below my profile. The links there should be continuously updated when there is new information. Click on any link and you will see expanded information.

Wise words...

When I view all beings not as special creations, but as the lineal descendants of some few beings which lived long before the first bed of the Cambrian system was deposited, they seem to me to become ennobled.

— Charles Darwin

End of the world...

delayed another few months. The start up of the Large Hadron Collider has been pushed from September to November. (See related post.)

Oh well. Guess I'll need to lecture during fall term after all. Dang.

Webcam view of Mount Redoubt...

that continuously updates (click to enlarge.) The AVO reports that volcanic tremors continue to dominate the seismic activity, and there is a plume of steam rising above the crater. NOTE: If the image is dark it is nighttime at the volcano in Alaska!

Be patient, folks. It's just a matter of time.

Comet Lulin...

is now a naked eye object in the constellation Libra and its closest approach to Earth (0.41 AU - less than half the distance of Earth to the Sun) will occur on 24 February. You'll have to be an early riser to see this object, preferably from an observation point far from city lights.

Information sheet (description and sky maps.)

I'm keeping track of this comet, and the weather, and will strive to take an image or two in the weeks ahead. If I am successful I will post it here.

An image of Earth...

from space showing central and southern Utah (click to enlarge.) That's the Great Salt Lake in the upper-left and the snow covered Wasatch range oriented north-south just left of center. If you know your Colorado Plateau geography you can easily identify the Green, San Juan and Colorado Rivers, the San Rafael Swell, the Henry, Abajo and La Sal Mountains among other prominent landforms.

Note: I'm actually in this image though I doubt you can see me. At the time the photo was taken I was on leave and doing fieldwork in the Moab area in the right-center portion of the image. No, it doesn't help to squint.

Image credit: Envisat's (ESO) Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on 27 April 2008

I ain't afraid...

of no snakes. Well, maybe I am of this one that lived during the Paleocene. Yikes!

Hat tip: MR

RELATED: How did prehistoric animals get so big?
Hat tip: JB

Extremophiles rule...

other worlds, most likely. I've always held a fascination for creatures able to adapt to seemingly hostile environments (hostile at least to us.) Here's a press release describing new discoveries related to tube worms that populate hydrothermal vents on the deep ocean floor. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find comparable organisms thriving in the ice-covered ocean of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, clustered around similar hot springs.

Wise words...

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

-- Winston Churchill

Innovative new laptop from Apple!

I'll stick with my new ASUS netbook despite its lack of stylish embellishments.

A brilliant claret cup cactus...

to brighten the blog this weekend and to remind everyone that Valentine's Day is next Saturday. I photographed this scarlet gem at Arches National Park last spring along the Devils Garden trail, and this specific type of cactus is one of my favorite plants in the desert (click to enlarge.)

Knock, knock...

Who's there? It turns out some presumptuous Christians wanting to proselytize. Really. Just moments ago my quiet Saturday morning at my digital cottage in the forest was disrupted by these uninvited intruders. I sent them on their way with a respectfully polite and cheery "thanks, but no thanks" but I really wanted to say more.

Hey, I fully realize that I'm going to Hell and I don't need anyone to remind me of that fact. I anticipate better parties, more fascinating people, and certainly a lot more interesting geology there than what the alternative offers.

The readout on Redoubt...

shows the increase in seismicity at the volcano during the last two days on the right-side of this continuously updated RSAM plot (click to enlarge.)

The AVO reports: "Redoubt Volcano continues to be in a state of unrest. Seismic activity remains elevated and consists of relatively continuous tremor that fluctuates in amplitude over time." Read the weekly update for a complete summary.

SATURDAY EVENING UPDATE: A steam plume is visible in the webcam and has been since this morning. An observation and gas overflight is underway.

Don't fall into...

the largest holes on Earth. Mostly pictures with some descriptions - keep scrolling.

First rule of holes: if you find yourself in one, stop digging.

Countdown to the end...

of all things. The Large Hadron Collider may start up again in September. Doomsayers predict the device (a grand particle physics experiment seeking the elusive Higgs boson) will spin off Earth-gobbling black holes that will consume us all.

So I guess fall quarter classes will be canceled - it's been nice knowing you. Be sure to do something especially fun this summer.

The EWU Geology Club will meet...

this coming Tuesday, 10 February, at 11 am in SCI 115.

This has been a public service announcement. Now back to regular blogging.

Columnar jointing...

spotted in high resolution images of a crater wall on Mars (click to enlarge.) A recent technical paper describes the discovery of these volcanically-generated structures that result from the cooling of ponded lava. These structures are very common in the Miocene-age flood basalts on the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. Moreover, the suspected pillow structures seen in the image strongly suggests the presence of water coeval with the extrusion of the lava flow.

I tweaked the image a bit by rotating it so that the downslope direction is to the lower right, and by making slight adjustments to brightness/contrast. The annotations in red are also mine. HiRISE image PSP_005917_2020 courtesy NASA/JPL.

Wanna see Mars? It's as close as a short drive to the Grand Coulee.

Wise words...

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I've found it!), but 'That's funny...' "

- Isaac Asimov

The space elevator...

is a considerably more efficient way to get payloads into Earth orbit as an alternative to rockets. This seemingly far-fetched and sci-fi based technology may be closer than you think as scientists begin to master techniques for making high tensile strength tethers.

The Spaceward Foundation is sponsoring competitions to encourage innovative designs and is awarding hefty prizes to drive development.

Faster, please.

The heartbeat of Redoubt...

summarized for the last ten days. The RSAM (Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement) plots shown above (click to enlarge) display the earthquake activity in the form of a frequency plot through time. This episode of unrest started 25 January and at that time the AVO elevated the status of the mountain to WATCH.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: a significant but short term increase in seismicity just occurred and it appears at the right-side of the RSAM plot above. (Note: this plot is updated in real time.) The AVO notes the burst in activity but reports no eruption.

One week until...

the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday. We're taking it very seriously in the sciences. To wit:

Darwin Day Celebration

When: Friday, February 13 @ 3pm (directly
following the biology seminar at 2pm)
Where: Science Room 175
What: Darwin’s Birthday Cake Competition

In honor of Charles Darwin’s 200^th birthday the Biology Department will be holding a cake competition.

Any group or individual may compete. Cakes must reflect some aspect of Darwin’s work. Prizes will be awarded for creativity, execution, and taste!

(Cakes can be delivered to the biology department office for safekeeping)

Hope to see you there!

I am flattered to have been invited to serve as a judge for this celebratory event. That means I'll have to taste each cake. I have it on good authority that Mr. Darwin himself may make an appearance. I sincerely hope that the geology students consider making an entry in this fun contest. Do us proud.

Did I mention that there will be cake? Homer Simpson, eat your heart out.

Global warming?

What global warming? The national forecast map for overnight lows this evening shows that approximately 90 percent of the country will experience below freezing temperatures.

Global warming? Bring it on.

Did construction of a new reservoir...

and its subsequent filling with water cause the devastating M7.9 earthquake in China on 12 May 2008 where ~70,000 people died? Some scientists certainly believe so, especially because of the close proximity of the reservoir to the fault, and that such a large magnitude event hasn't occurred at this location in centuries. I don't believe in coincidences either, and other earthquakes have been attributed to dam projects elsewhere. However, in this case, I remain skeptical.

A simple quantitative analysis of the circumstances of this tremor leads me to doubt that crustal loading was indeed the cause. I calculated the additional weight of the water relative to the weight of the column of crustal rocks to the 19 km depth of the focus. The added weight of the impounded water contributed only 0.3% of the total mass of the underlying rocks, which, in my opinion, is an insignificant load. Perhaps other factors were at work, say, increased pore fluid pressures that may have "lubricated" the fault plane?

Shameless self-promotion: if you are interested in hazardous Earth processes then you should consider enrolling in my GEOL 360 course during spring term.

Google Mars...

is too cool for school. Here's a screen shot (click to enlarge) of the Olympus Mons region of Mars showing the reference frames for all of the satellite imagery available at this location which, by the way, is the largest volcano in the solar system. The new iteration of Google Earth 5.0 includes this Mars viewer, and this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg as to its capabilities.

Guess what I'll be exploring the next several weeks?

Dinosaur dung...

has been stolen from the Natural History Museum in London. Several coprolite specimens have vanished and museum staff regard them as "priceless."

[Insert countless inappropriate jokes here.]

I hope the dastardly thieves at least washed their hands after their caper.

Six mysteries of...

the solar system. Learn more about our neighborhood in space.

Hat tip: CN

STS-119 mission...

is delayed one week due to potentially faulty fuel valves. Shuttle Discovery is on the pad and poised to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) with liftoff originally scheduled for 12 February. NASA is investigating a flaw in critical valves that regulate the hydrogen fuel supply to the main engines. The new launch date will be announced once the investigation yields some answers.

This flight to the ISS will deliver and install the final starboard solar array which will provide enough power to double the present crew to six (to occur later this year.) Read about the STS-119 mission objectives here.

Volcanic seismicity during...

the last 10 day period for Redoubt station RSO EHZ (click to enlarge) courtesy of the USGS/AVO. This is what the pulse of an active volcano looks like - rocks cracking, harmonic tremors, long-period events... oh my.

Geologic Investigations Map...

I-2800 from the U.S. Geological Survey is now in a downloadable form on the web. The map is entitled This Dynamic Planet and it consists of a world map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters, and plate tectonic features. Students will recognize this wall map since it is posted in most of the classrooms and laboratories in the geology department.

Warning: read the web page linked above before you download these huge .pdf files.

An image of Earth...

from space showing the channeled scablands of eastern Washington (click to enlarge.) J Harlen Bretz proposed the outrageous idea of a catastrophic flood origin of many of the landforms in this region without the benefit of satellite imagery. The braided flood channels carved by the outburst of glacial Lake Missoula are clearly obvious in this image where overlying soils have been stripped to barren basalt bedrock.

This image includes the Grand Coulee with Banks Lake on the west (left), the community of Moses Lake (bottom left) and the Spokane River - Columbia River confluence (upper right.)

Image credit: Enhanced Thematic Mapper on NASA’s Landsat 7 taken on 23 July 1999 (NASA)

Wise words...

"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing."

- Wernher von Braun

Joke o' the week...

Q: Why did the dinosaur cross the road?

A: Chickens hadn’t evolved yet.

— Anonymous

Welcome to Jurassic Park,...

sort of. An extinct ibex has been resurrected through cloning.

As a favor to all of you, I will resist any attempts at cloning myself.

My hydrogeology students can stop...

banging their heads against the wall. The exam is over. Relax.

A hint of joyful things...

to come in the spring. That's an image of native arrowleaf balsamroot from my undisturbed (never cultivated) property southwest of Cheney, America.

Hang in there. Good things will come to those that wait.

Google Earth 5.0 (beta)...

has been released. Here's the link.

Cool content: access to all Mars imagery. More: Google Ocean

Warning: don't download and use this nifty program unless you have a high-bandwidth connection to the net.

Groundwater mining is occurring...

in the confined aquifers contained within the Columbia River Basalt Group. A recent study shows that groundwater levels are rapidly declining in eastern Washington. Although this is packaged as "news" it certainly is not.

The groundwater resource in semiarid eastern Washington has been exploited for decades in order to improve crop yields on what were formerly dryland farms. As an increasing number of wells were completed in these deep aquifers the water use has increased dramatically, exceeding the amount that naturally recharges the same aquifers, so the lowering water surface is the result. It's analogous to writing more and more checks from your bank account while never depositing sufficient funds to maintain a positive balance. Eventually you go bust.

A request has been made for $ 2.5 million in order to construct a groundwater model to "find potential solutions" to this problem. What a waste! Let me help! The solution is simple - pump less groundwater through improvements in irrigation infrastructure and plant only those crops that are low water tolerant, or return to a more manageable form of sustainable dryland farming. No amount of computer modeling will create, nor find, new water!

/end_rant

UPDATE: Here are two monitoring well hydrographs (click to enlarge) I grabbed from the USGS NWIS web site that show the degree of groundwater mining that is occurring in parts of Adams County.
Not exactly a picture of proper groundwater resource management in my opinion.

Hydrocarbon rains...

may fill lakes on Titan, the largest moon orbiting Saturn. The Cassini team has released this statement that describes seasonal changes taking place near the south pole of the body. Follow this link to see the imagery that supports the conclusion that methane rain seasonally fills these intermittent lakes with liquid methane.

Instead of a water cycle it's a hydrocarbon cycle. Just don't smoke if you visit Titan.

I'll need better glasses...

in order to read the smallest letters ever written. Stanford University scientists are creating letters that are one-third of a billionth of a meter in size.

How did they do it? Well, it has something to do with physics of course.

UPDATE: Mount Redoubt...

continues to shake and vent gas through the weekend. These images were gathered by Alaska Volcano Observatory personnel during an overflight of the mountain on Sunday (click on images to enlarge; click on link for current status.)

The upper image shows the steaming vents that are developing on the north side of the summit, while the lower image shows the melting glacial cap at the site of the enlarging fumaroles.

Be patient. It's the calm before the storm.

Groundhog Day 2009!

Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow? Will there be six more weeks of winter, or an early arrival of spring?

Check it out, check-it-outers: Groundhog.org

A look at the origin and history of Groundhog Day.

For those that appreciate the clockwork precision of astronomical events, this holiday falls on a cross-quarter date, the middle of astronomical winter, approximately mid-way between a solstice and an equinox.

I've always thought it peculiar that we rely on a rodent's shadow to predict the weather.

UPDATE: It's official... six more weeks of winter.

While we wait on Redoubt...

another Pacific rim volcano erupts near Tokyo dusting the city with a light fall of ash.

And the US Air Force has transferred aircraft and personnel from Alaska to Tacoma in a precautionary move.

Yeah, I'd be listening to the warnings issued by the AVO too. Redoubt's gonna pop. Count on it.

I'm a doer and a visionary...

based on an analysis of my blog and my web pages, respectively. Here are the unadulterated results:

ESTP - The Doers:

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

ENTP - The Visionaries:

The charming and trend savvy type. They are especially attuned to the big picture and anticipate trends. They often have sophisticated language skills and come across as witty and social. At the end of the day, however, they are pragmatic decision makers and have a good analytical ability.

They enjoy work that lets them use their cleverness, great communication skills and knack for new exciting ventures. They have to look out not to become quitters, since they easily get bored when the creative exciting start-up phase is over.

Interesting. I've always thought of myself as reclusive and shy.

It may be Super Sunday...

but I won't be watching the Superbowl. Not even for the commercials, nor for potential "wardrobe malfunctions."

Although I most certainly possess a Y chromosome, it apparently lacks the usually-dominant football gene.

Boom and bust...

cycles are an unfortunate part of the mining industry, whether due to exhaustion of an ore body or changing economic circumstances. The latter seems to have caused the closure of Teck Cominco's zinc-producing Pende Oreille mine at Metaline Falls, Washington.

I have been told that several geologists remain on the skeleton staff in order to continue to characterize the ore body in case the mine re-opens in the future.

A hot picture...

for a chilly winter day (click to enlarge.) Here we see two volcanologists approaching a vigorous lava flow on Kilauea volcano in an attempt to grab a sample of the ~1,100 C molten material. I snapped this image from a hovering helicopter near the new breakout from the Pu'u 'O'o vent in August 2007.

Just look at that new pahoehoe. Like I said before: every geology student needs to visit this dynamic volcano at some point in their life.

My small dinner party...

with friends/colleagues last evening was a smashing good time. It was fun to share the yummy Thai shrimp curry I had prepared with company.

Highlights of the evening involved us gathering in the frigid darkness on the back deck to catch a very bright transit of the International Space Station - it cruised by directly overhead in its 220-mile high orbit. Then we viewed what can arguably be described as the best geo-comedy ever made, the 1990 movie Tremors. It's Jaws but with giant, vicious worms. No spoilers here - just watch it sometime. I promise it's big fun. (Note: the sequels are lousy - don't bother.)

But perhaps the most memorable experience of the entire night involved kumquats. I had never tasted one of these gems before, and I can best describe them as tiny citrus bombs that explode in your mouth. Give 'em a try sometime to zest up a salad - support the kumquat growers of America.

See, science nerds can have fun too.