Science Feeds

The American Meteorological Society tonight posted a statement supporting the NWS office that was criticized by an unsigned NOAA statement Friday night. (See here and here). In addition, an all-hands email was sent Saturday by NWS Director Uccellini and the Deputy Director/Executive Council. Note the sentence I highlighted in the email. Note the Washington Post is reporting tonight that top NOAA officials warned employees not to correct the President in …

The post American Meteorological Society & NWS Leadership Issue Statements Supporting NWS Employees/ WAPO- Forecasters Warned Not To Give Opinions on Forecast! appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Last Sunday morning the forecasters at the NWS were giving a huge sigh of relief. It had been certain for at least two days that Hurricane Dorian would not be an issue there. The forecast cone from the NHC by midday Saturday continued to show Florida and areas up the Eastern Seaboard would be in the path of Dorian.  Then the phones started ringing off the hook and social media …

The post Anger Among Public and Meteorologists after False Unsigned NOAA Statement appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

On Sunday the NWS in Birmingham put this tweet out: It was correct based on the guidance and on the public forecasts issued by the National Hurricane Center. Their forecast was actually nearly spot-on as well.  Tonight an unnamed person at NOAA issued this statement (below) Friday evening. This statement is false. The tweet from the NWS in Birmingham was correct. This is a dark day for NOAA. I have …

The post NOAA Issues False Statement About Alabama Hurricane Impacts appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Convection in Earth’s mantle is the “engine” driving plate tectonics. Hot material rises to the Earth’s surface from the boundary between the planet’s core and mantle, at a depth of about 3000 kilometers. Cold material then flows downward due to oceanic tectonic plates sinking into the mantle at subduction zones on the Earth’s surface.

The post New research provides better look at ocean plate under Central America appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Science writer Gabe Popkin shared two fold photos with me this week – both from near Sargans, Switzerland, adjacent to the Rhine River Valley and the border with Lichtenstein. The photos shows the mountain called Gonzen. There, Jurassic limestones crop out in a very wavy pattern: I don’t know the geology of this area in any kind of detail, but I decided to trace out a distinctive upper surface of …

The post Friday fold: Gonzen, Switzerland appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

After a phase of accelerated movement in the last few days, the large Velsemannen rockslide in Norway underwent a significant failure overnight

The post Veslemannen in Norway – major movement, and possibly a significant failure, reported appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Every Alaskan owns at least one version of a sensitive scientific instrument: the thermometer. But what is it measuring?

The post Thermometers at work everywhere in Alaska appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Saturn may be doing a little electromagnetic shimmy and twist which has been throwing off attempts by scientists to determine how long it takes for the planet to rotate on its axis, according to a new study.

The post Making sense of Saturn’s impossible rotation appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

A global database of giant landslides on volcanic islands In a paper just published in the journal Landslides, Blahůt et al. (2019) describe the compilation of a new global database of giant landslides on volcanic islands.  This database is hosted on the website of the Institute of Rock Structure & Mechanics. The authors note that “the records can be downloaded as a spreadsheet or as a kml file for interrogation …

The post A global database of giant landslides on volcanic islands appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

I am a classroom teacher and am also a member of a local astronomy club. We do lots of public events, but my favorite events are those I put on for my students and their families.

The post Guided Star Gazing appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

At Bacon Cove in eastern Newfoundland, there is a nice example of an angular unconformity between Ediacaran and Cambrian sedimentary rocks.

The post An unconformity at Bacon Cove, Newfoundland appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Cape Deichmann becomes an island as it disconnects from Hutchinson Glacier. Landsat images from 2010 and 2019. The Hutchinson (H) and Polaric Glacier (P) region of East Greenland indicating three locations of island forming or about to form in 2010 and 2019 Landsat images.  Point #1 is Flado Island, Point #2 and Point #3 is Cape Deichmann Ziaja and Ostafin (2019)  noted the formation of a new island at Cape …

The post Hutchinson Glacier, Greenland Releases New Island appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Mercury’s ancient magnetic poles were far from the location of its poles today, implying its magnetic field, like Earth’s, changed over time, a new study says.

The post Mercury’s ancient magnetic field likely evolved over time appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Much like x-rays can show broken bones (or noses), seismic equipment can show us what’s going on in Earth’s interior. While seismologists can’t take quick snapshots like medical doctors can, they can provide an image of tectonic plate movements over time to help the scientific community – and local communities – understand geophysical phenomena from mountain formations to volcanoes to the earthquakes that rock their world.

The post E21 – X-rays of the Earth’s Gooey Center appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Two articles published in Nepali newspapers in the last few days have examined the disastrous impacts of dozer roads in mountain areas

The post The tyranny of dozer road building appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

On 22nd January 2018 a train was derailed by a landslide at Loch Eilt in north-west Scotland. The RAIB report explains why the landslide was not retained by a catch fence installed at the location.

The post The landslide-induced train derailment at Lock Eilt in Scotland in January 2018 appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

I'm a professional storyteller. It's a weird thing to say and has been a weirder realization to come to. But, it's true.

The post Storytelling basics: A (mini) series appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

August 26th is Women’s Equality Day. To celebrate women’s contributions to Earth and space science, we’re devoting this week to featuring Q&As with inspirational women in STEM. #WomensEqualityDay! Today, we’re excited to feature Maggie Walser. Maggie is a senior program officer for the Gulf Research Program at the National Academy of Sciences. She is an AGU member since 2007 based in Washington, D. C.  Her volunteer experience includes AGU Congressional Science …

The post Women’s Equality Week Q&A with Maggie Walser appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The Friday fold is a guest contribution to "Mountain Beltway" from the manager of the AGU Blogosphere, Larry O'Hanlon. It shows apparent crumpling of a few sedimentary layers at the toe of a soft sediment slump at Calafia State Beach in southern California.

The post Friday fold: Calafia State Beach appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Scientists have long noted these flood-causing/wildfire-relieving “long, narrow plumes of enhanced atmospheric water vapor.” If you were to study weather maps of the entire Earth today, you would see about 11 atmospheric rivers.

The post Atmospheric rivers sometimes soak Alaska appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.