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Category Archives: General geoscience
Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS): Bullying, Propaganda, and a complete disregard for threatened natural habitats.
The Mining Association of Nova Scotia lacks the necessary depth to help navigate the public debate about critical minerals in a time of climate change and biodiversity collapse Continue reading
Posted in critical minerals, General geoscience, mining, Nova Scotia
4 Comments
Sine-Saloum Delta, Senegal. A tiny exploration.
I recently spent a few days in the Sine-Saloum delta in Senegal. You have likely never heard of this delta and that’s not surprising. It’s small and not very well researched. As a delta sedimentologist, I was mesmerized by the … Continue reading
Posted in coastal systems, General geoscience, Geoheritage
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New Banner picture! Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault at Cape Chignecto, Nova Scotia
Figure 1. The western extremity of the Cobequid Chedabucto Fault complex in Nova Scotia. The Cape in the distance is called Cape Chignecto It is a glorious view from the beach at Advocate Harbour. We look West towards Cape Chignecto. The … Continue reading
Exxon, climate change and sequence stratigraphy
My favourite periodical is the New York Review of Books. It is a high-brow magazine that contains in-depth articles by outstanding writers and thinkers on a range of topics from fundamental physics to poetry and everything in between. And excellent … Continue reading
Posted in climate change, Energy, General geoscience
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Extreme tides and Winter ice
Figure 1. Winter ice on the salt marshes of Minas Basin photographed from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, March 1, 2007. View to the North. What is an estuary? An estuary is a bay with an open connection to the sea. Rivers … Continue reading
Posted in climate change, General geoscience, Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
Tagged Atlantic, Canada, climate, Climate Change, coastal zone management, earth science, energy, environment, geology, geoscience, Ice Age, Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, oceanography, Quaternary, Science, Sea Level, sedimentology, tides
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Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper 10 – a question of Iron
The preamble to this review series is here —– Halverson, G.P., F. Poitrasson, P.E. Hoffman, A. Nédélec, J.-M. Montel and J. Kirby, 2011, Fe-isotope and trace element geochemistry of the Neoproterozoic syn-glacial Rapitan iron formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. … Continue reading
Nova Scotia’s own Great Unconformity
The Angular Unconformity (U) at Nova Scotia’s Rainy Cove, separating intensely folded and faulted early Carboniferous shales and sandstones of the Horton Group (labeled 1 below the unconformity) and gently inclined, undeformed sandstones and conglomerates of the Wolfville Formation (2) at … Continue reading
A #tsunami is really a tidal wave, except it isn’t
Katsushika Hokusai, Great Wave off Kanagawa. Image from Wikimedia. Original in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the Great Sumatra earthquake which triggered the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami that killed a quarter million people. … Continue reading
Four Billion Years and Counting: Canada is as old as the Earth and this book tells all
Just published! 400-pages on Canada’s geologic heritage in both official languages for only $39.95! Order your English language copy here and your French copy here. The book’s website has tons of freely downloadable illustrations and other materials for … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Geoheritage
Tagged Canada, earth science, energy, environment, evolution, extinction, geology, Ice Age, natural disaster, natural hazard
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Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper 9 – measuring the thickness of polar sea ice through time
The preamble to this reviews series, categorized as “Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper”, is here. — de Vernal, A., R. Gersonde, H. Goosse, M.-S. Seidenkrantz, and E.W. Wolff, 2013, Sea ice in the paleoclimate system: the challenge of reconstructing sea … Continue reading
Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper 8 – Earth in the firing range
The preamble to this review series is here. All reviews in this series are categorized as “Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper” (see right hand column). — Spray, J.G. and L.M. Thompson, 2008, Constraints on central uplift structure from the Manicouagan … Continue reading
#Women in (Earth)Science: Dr. Lui-Heung Chan (@FindingAda)
It’s 30 years ago this Fall that I registered for ‘Chemical Oceanography’, a graduate level class at Louisiana State University as part of my PhD program in Marine Sciences. The class was taught by Dr. Lui-Heung Chan, a quiet woman whom … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Women in geoscience
Tagged climate, Climate Change, earth science, geology, geoscience, oceanography, Science, women
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And then there were two: Global #Geoparks in Canada
UPDATE: 19 NOVEMBER 2015. Great News!! Global Geoparks are now official UNESCO sites. “A what? ” “A Global Geopark” “Okay, I give up” Most of you have no idea what a Global Geopark is. That’s not surprising, because – according to my … Continue reading
Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper – 7: very old warm seas in what is now Nunavut (and why there is a Lead-Zinc ore body there)
The preamble to this review series is here. All reviews in this series are categorized as “Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper” (see right hand column). ===== Turner, E.C., 2009, Mesoproterozoic carbonate systems in the Borden Basin, Nunavut. Canadian Journal of … Continue reading
Granites, Glaciers and the Ocean: a hike
We hiked, the other day – a well-known coastal trail, but new to me. So much still to discover here and it’s not like we haven’t been trying. The trail is in Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park and takes the … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Geoheritage, Nova Scotia
Tagged Atlantic, batholith, Canada, continent break-up, earth science, geology, geoscience, granite, Ice Age, Nova Scotia, Quaternary, Sea Level
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Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper 6 – Would CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers carry an environmental risk for shallow aquifers?
The preamble to this series is here. All reviews are stored in the category “Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper” (see right hand column). ===== Lemieux, J.-M., 2011, (Review:) The potential impact of underground geological storage of carbon dioxide in deep saline … Continue reading
Canada’s Geoheritage Surge: Geoscience Heritage, Geoparks, Geosites, Geotourism
UPDATE – OCTOBER 20 2014. It’s here! “Four Billion Years and Counting: Canada’s Geologic Heritage”. Offered to you by the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences for CAD$39.95 only – order your copy from Nimbus — Left: A fossil tree at … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Geoheritage
Tagged Canada, earth science, geoheritage, geology, geoscience, geosites, geotourism
1 Comment
Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper – 5: refining seismic risk assessment in Canada
The preamble to this series of reviews is here. All reviews can be found under the category “Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper” Atkinson, G.M. and K. Goda, 2011, Effects of Seismicity Models and New Ground-Motion Prediction Equations on Seismic Hazard … Continue reading
A Tidal power lagoon in Nova Scotia’s Scott’s Bay?
Nova Scotia is where I live – a 700-odd km long NE-SW peninsula that more or less parallels the edge of the continent. What (almost) separates us from that continent is the Bay of Fundy, the Canadian extent of the Gulf … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, General geoscience, Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
Tagged Atlantic, Canada, Climate Change, earth science, energy, environment, geology, geoscience, Nova Scotia, oceanography, Science, Sea Level, tides
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Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper 4 – Ice ages and Klondike gold
The pre-amble to this series of reviews is here Froese, E.G., Zazula, G.D., Westgate, J.A., Preece, S.J., Sanborn, P.T., Reyes, A.V., Pearce, N.J.G., 2009, The Klondike goldfields and Pleistocene environments of Beringia. GSA Today, v. 19, no. 8, p. 4-10. … Continue reading
A no-brainer for every earth scientist: time travel!
Because this is a WordPress blog, I receive the weekly WordPress writing challenges, which are all about encouraging and helping aspiring fiction writers, which I am not. However, this week’s challenge is irresistible – Time Travel! This is the challenge … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Nova Scotia
Tagged Canada, Chixculub, Deccan Traps, DPChallenge, extinction, Glooscap, Holocene sea level rise, Ice Age, K-T extinction, Minas Basin, MiqMaq, Quaternary, tides, time travel
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Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper 3 – the importance of finding layered oceanic crust
The preamble to this review series is here. Gillis, K.M., J.E. Snow, A. Klaus, N. Abe, A.B. Adriao, N. Akizawa, G. Ceuleneer, M.J. Cheadle, K. Faak, T.J. Falloon, S.A. Friedman, M. Godard, G. Guerin, Y. Harigane, A.J. Horst, T. Hoshide, … Continue reading
Blue Beach is not for sale
(Originally posted in March 2014. Updated a few times, last in May 2017) Left: Google Earth image showing location of Blue Beach – Avonport Station coastline. Right: aerial photo of the cliff (in the shade) and beach at low … Continue reading
The Eemian and the #Anthropocene
Figure 1. River Eem at town of Eemdijk (to the right), Netherlands. The view is to the North. Eem floodplain (ca. 1 m below MSL) to the left. Location of photo: 52o15’17.65″N, 5019’38.42″E The Eemian interglacial warm period is known … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience
Tagged Anthropocene, Climate Change, Eem, Eemian, Glacial, Interglacial, Netherlands, Quaternary, Sea Level
1 Comment
Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper – 2: The Canadian contribution to the International Polar Year
The preamble to this review series is here. — Melling, H., R. Francois, P.G. Myers, W. Perri, A. Rochon, R.L. Taylor, 2012, The Arctic Ocean – a Canadian perspective from IPY. Climate Change, DOI 10.1007/s10584-012-0576-4. Published online at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-012-0576-4/fulltext.html The … Continue reading
Tantalum, your smart phone and the world economy
I listen to BBC World Service a lot. Today I caught the program “More or Less” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qshd), presented by Tim Harford. “More or Less” is about “the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life”. Today’s … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience
Tagged BBC, Canada, economy, electronics, environment, indigenous, mining, rare earths
1 Comment
Canadian Earth Science for @PMHarper – 1: The end of the last Ice Age off Newfoundland
The preamble to this review series is here. Roger, J., Saint-Ange, F., Lajeunesse, P., Duchesne, M.J., and St-Onge, G., 2013, Late Quaternary glacial history and meltwater discharges along the Northeastern Newfoundland shelf. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 50, p. … Continue reading
The King of Sand: Paul Edwin Potter
I only ever truly loved two textbooks. I only ever loved these books because they were capable of captivating my attention, enhancing my understanding, and making me realize the depth of the subject. Most textbooks are poorly written encyclopedias that … Continue reading
What Research does Society need / want? A reflection on cutting public science institutions
From 1997 to 2002 I was president of the Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG, http://www.kngmg.nl). One of my tasks was to present the Society’s highest scientific award, the “Van Waterschoot van der Gracht Medal”[1] to a … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience
Tagged Canada, earth science, public good, public sector, public service institutions, scienc policy, Science
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Dreikanter: The biography of my favourite ventifact
(photo E. Kosters) This is my favourite ventifact, a real Dreikanter, a German word meaning ‘three sider’. This vernacular term became the formal label for a ventifact with three sides. My Dreikanter is a well-sorted pure quartz sandstone of a … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience
Tagged Climate Change, dreikanter, earth science, geology, geoscience, Ice Age, Quaternary, Science, ventifact
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The 2nd Sichuan earthquake in 5 years / why we need more art in science communication
Yesterday, on April 20, 2013, an earthquake struck in China’s Sichuan province. Because this is the blog of an earth scientist, I’ll give you the link to the USGS’s report: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000gcdd#summary . This write-up is excellent and that’s how we … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Geoscience and Art, Natural hazards
Tagged Ai Wei Wei, Art, China, earthquake, geoscience, natural disaster, natural hazard
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What is a natural disaster?
I recently watched a very informative webinar by Munich Re. It was their annual webinar on the world’s natural disasters, for 2012 that is. All Munich Re’s webinars are here. I highly recommend dedicating an hour of your time to watch some … Continue reading
Posted in General geoscience, Natural hazards
Tagged Munich Re, natural disaster, natural hazard, risk
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The tidal landscape banner photo: Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada
UPDATED December 29, 2014 This was my blog’s banner photo until January 1, 2015. What are you looking at? In a world of Google Earth where everyone has a GPS in their cell phone, I should start with the coordinates. … Continue reading
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