PlanetGeo: The Geology Podcast

Today we have the great pleasure of interviewing Dr. Andrew Calvert, the Scientist-in-charge of the California Volcano Observatory.  In this conversation we cover a huge range of topics from Mount Shasta, to how magmas form and become more silica rich, the role of federal institutes like CalVo in volcano hazard prediction and monitoring, and some details about potassium-argon (K-Ar, as argon-argon...

Today we have a preview to our interview with Dr Andrew Calvert, Scientist in Charge of the California Volcano Observatory, also known as CalVO. Dr. Calvart first fell in love with volcanoes as a young boy growing up in Idaho when Mount Saint Helens erupted.  This was the first ash sample he ever collected, and he and Chris share this connection to volcanoes and their interest in geoscience.  In t...

Dr. Ian Miller is the Director of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, now working with National Geographic as the Chief Science and Innovation Officer.  Dr. Miller is a paleobotanist who has spent his career making amazing discoveries about the ancient Earth using fossils!  In this interview Dr. Miller describes what the Earth looked and felt like in the minutes and days after a meteorite imp...

In this GeoShort, Dr. Ian Miller (Director of Earth and Space Sciences, Associate Curator of Paleobotany for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science) compares the end Cretaceous event that killed the Dinosaurs to other mass extinction events. Jesse and Ian also have a brief discussion about massive lava eruptions that can cause mass extinctions such as the Deccan Traps. Ian also provides an excell...

Learn all the basics of geology in our new conversational textbook - campGEO ! Available here: geo.campcourses.com Today we are talking about the geology of Glacier National Park!  We cover three major things: 1- The Colors:  The rocks in Glacier have stunning colors and you can see them almost anywhere in the park.  The main colors are various shades of red, green, brown, and gray. First off, foc...

We recorded a live podcast episode with Mappy Hour !  We recorded a live episode on the Geoscience a really special place, Glacier National Park and Waterton National Park in Northwestern Montana and Southern Alberta.  The geoscience of these parks is truly special and there are great stories everywhere. A few of the things we mentioned in these questions are the book Geology along the Going-To-Th...

Exciting news!  This Tuesday, May 4th, we will be doing a live podcast recording with Mappy Hour.  Register below! PlanetGeo Mappy Hour Live Recording - Glacier National Park Today we talk Earthquakes!  The list of EQ dating back to antiquity is shocking.  The amplitude and deaths caused are estimated, but a glimpse of this list is very sobering.  Below is a list of some of the important and more...

This is an Earth Day special!  Today we are talking about this really cool study that came out last week in the scientific journal Science (one of the top journals in all of ‘science’).  It is by Charles Marshall and others from Berkeley, and the title is “Absolute abundance and preservation rate of Tyrannosaurus rex” https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6539/284 The authors also wrote this...

Did you know that nuclear fission reactions are natural?  Uranium fission drives many types of nuclear power plants as well as nuclear weapons.  However, these types of reactions occurred on Earth naturally, just billions of years ago.  Today, we discuss the Oklo natural fission reactors in Gabon, Africa.   These natural reactors are not only amazingly cool, but they have a really interesting disc...

Learn all the basics of geology in our new conversational textbook - campGEO ! Available here: geo.campcourses.com Are you planning a trip to the Grand Canyon soon?  Are you interested in seeing some cool geoscience features?  Join us today as we discuss a few great hikes to check out while visiting the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, USA.   We discuss hiking trails such as the South Kaibab...

There is a new climate war afoot.  And, there is a book about it!  Professor Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor at The Pennsylvania State University, has a long history of studying and discussion climate change.  His new book, titled The New Climate War , is out now! In this episode we interview Mike about his journey in academia, what the new climate war is all about, and what he sees as the b...

Welcome to the preview to our full interview with Professor Michael Mann, prestigious climate scientist and author of the new book, The New Climate War.  Professor Mann is a Distinguished Professor at Penn State University, a member of the National Academy of Sciences,  and has won many science and science communication awards.  In this GeoShort we discuss the feeling of discovery that Dr. Mann fe...

Learn all the basics of geology in our new conversational textbook - campGEO ! Available here: geo.campcourses.com “Crying: acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon” - Ron Swanson Today, we talk about the Grand Canyon.  The scenery and geology combine to create one of the Natural Wonders of the World.  If you are planning a trip, or would like to learn more about this spectacular location, list...

In this GeoShort we discuss last week's triple header of large earthquakes off the coast of New Zealand.  There were three major earthquakes that occurred all within a few hours of one another.  The first, a magnitude 7.3 quake, was likely unrelated to the other two, but the second one, a 7.4, was a precursor to the last one!  The last quake as a giant 8.1, a full 11 times larger than the 7.4...

Join us in a wide-ranging discussion with Professor Steve Mattox!  Dr. Mattox is a professor at Grand Valley State University, where he has taught for many years.  Dr. Mattox had a very diverse career before going the faculty at Grand Valley, and we discuss his career path, how he became interested in the Geosciences, and what he thinks of the future of geoscience. Dr. Mattox has led several very...

In this GeoShort, we take a snippet from our discussion with Dr. Steve Mattox from GVSU.  He has an interesting career path that started out in the economic geology sector working for a mining company looking for base metals (copper, zinc, gold, silver).  This took him to some interesting places such as Australia and rural Indonesia.  Steve talks about the interesting skill set that geologists hav...

In this episode we discuss the many ways in which we determine the ages of rocks.  This is a really common and important question that many people have.  Here, we cover some of the basics.  Basically, the methods used to date rocks range from simple intuition that anyone can do if you just spend some time looking at outcrops, to really advanced techniques involving laser and plasma instruments!  ...

Have you seen the viral "cookie monster agate"?  If not, check it out via the link below (or our instagram: @planetgeocast)!  Both Chris and Jesse have had this viral agate image shared with them, and today we discuss how agates are formed, and how the represent a really cool and important geologic process; fluid flow!   Agate is a form of microcrystalline silica (like quartz) that often...

In this episode, we answer a series of really excellent listener questions.    Mrs. White, a high school teacher, assigned our plate tectonics  episode to one of her A.P. classes and they came back with some great questions.  Here they are: 1- how far have we drilled into the Earth and is there any hope of reading the mantle?  We have drilled about 12 km which is a tiny amount.  This took about 20...

In this GeoShort we tell a few stories that highlight how identifying rocks can be sort of difficult, even for those of us with Geology degrees!  Chris likes to call limestone the "Katy Perry" of rocks and Jesse got a question about pumice wrong, one of the easiest rocks to identify on the planet!  So, if you are an amateur rock collector and don't always know what the rocks you fin...

Today we interview Dr. Jackie Faherty of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City!  Our conversation runs wild (and a bit longer than normal!) where we cover everything from Jackie's favorite rock, the overlap between geoscience and astronomy, to the BackYard World Citizen Science project that Dr. Faherty launched several years ago.  Dr. Faherty is an observational astronomer,...

In this GeoShort, we give you a short preview to our full interview Dr. Jackie Faherty (coming out next week Thursday).  Dr. Faherty is an astronomer who now works at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  Dr. Faherty is a prominent astronomer who has published and presented over 100 papers and has a really unique perspective on the Geosciences!  We were absolutely honored that she a...

In this episode we cover....you guessed it, dams!  Dams are incredible manmade features that can not only dominate the landscape but also dominate the river system and fundamentally change how the rivers operate.  We discuss everything from the amount of dams in the United States to major dam failures in the recent past, and highlight some of the basics of how dams fundamentally affect streams whe...

In this GeoShort, we briefly discuss how people measure groundwater, from the fairly rudimentary (stick a measuring tape down a well) to the highly sophisticated (satellites and conductivity!).  We highlight the GRACE satellites that have been used for decades to monitor and predict groundwater levels around the world. And we also briefly discuss work by future Penn State Professor Dr. Chloe Gusta...

Have you ever heard of obsidian?  Mostly likely you have; it is the rock that was commonly used by early humans to make arrowheads and other weapons.  Obsidian is a very beautiful rock types, but it's formation is often misunderstood.  In this GeoShort, we briefly highlight how obsidian is formed and discuss how unique it is.  Obsidian is actually a glass, meaning it has no crystals in it!  I...