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Women in Geoblogging I: Maps, Science Education, and Geology in Space

Yesterday, I gave you a ginormous list of women geobloggers. Let us now explore their blogs. Settle in for some terrific geoscience, my darlings!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Yesterday, I gave you a ginormous list of women geobloggers. Let us now explore their blogs. Settle in for some terrific geoscience, my darlings!

A Cartographer's Toolkit by Gretchen Peterson

Maps are essential to doing geology. Gretchen Peterson shows you the elements of these critical tools, introducing you to all sorts of intriguing techniques. Cartography is a fascinating science. I'm glad to see a geoblogger writing on it.


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Opportunity Costs: To Make the Map or Not?

If you fear making a map due to the critiques it might engender, think of it this way:

Is the opportunity cost of not making the map that you won’t steer people wrong…literally? Then it’s important to re-think the map data and concept. Maps with incorrect information that you have sufficient belief that people will rely on should not be published. All maps have some incorrect information so you would need to ascertain the severity of the incorrect information (is there a road that will lead drivers over a cliff?) as well as the quantity of the incorrect information and then make a subjective decision.

My GeoHipster Interview

The greatest change has been the movement from cartography as a medium that only specialists could use to cartography as a medium that everyone can use. This new ease-of-use has resulted in an influx of design-oriented, rather than science-oriented mappers to join the field. As a results, the aesthetic level of all maps has increased dramatically and thereby engaged the public to such an extent that they’ve become demanding users of maps rather than blasé bystanders by virtue of the maps’ enhanced readability, interactivity, and beauty. This is all good.

Clasticphile by Marisa Boraas

Geology really is the science for people who love all the science. Marisa Boraas chose the geosciences so that she could have her "physics, biology and chemistry in one great package...oh, and still get outside." She doesn't post often, but when she does, you can expect to look at geology in ways you've never expected - and maybe hear a new geo-joke!

Fancy Lady Geology and Plate Tectonics!

Well, you can put fake nails on a geologist, but you can't keep her from thinking about geology. As the nails have grown out over the past couple weeks, instead of thinking about removing them, I started thinking about plate tectonics. From early on in geology we are exposed to the saying that plates move about as fast as your fingernails grow. Now, I had a way to see exactly which plate my nails were most like!

Welcome and Accretionary Wedge #57

This spreading ridge sits over the central support of the house and as the edges settle, the center is apparently staying put a little better. look at those beautiful slip faults bounding the divergent wood "plates".

Four Degrees by Flo Bullough and Marion Ferrat

Get your environmental geoscience on at Four Degrees, which explores the intersection of science and civilization.

Rocks in the right place at the right time…

Flo looks two examples of the strange and important ways that geology and where it’s located can affect international governance and regulation. From the presence of tiny coralline islands to ownership of the Arctic!

Looking to the past to see into the future

The Earth’s surface temperatures can have a profound effect on the Earth’s ice sheets, the huge layers of ice thousands of metres thick that cover Greenland and Antarctica. Over the past few decades, satellites have monitored the changes of these icy landscapes, revealing that parts of Greenland and West Antarctica are melting. This is important as it contributes to sea level rise, which can have significant impacts on vulnerable coastal lands.

GeoEd Trek by Laura Guertin

Teaching geoscience is critical to ensuring we have informed citizens and a new generation of scientists. Laura Guertin explores techniques, technologies, and outreach that will help ensure the best learning experience possible.

Backtrack to… student feedback via video vs. red pen

Is it time to throw away your red grading pen, and to start providing feedback to your students via individual video clips? Two Australian researchers think so. But the question still remains… will students do anything with your feedback?

Dr. G’s #AGU14 Spotlight – The MAVEN Mission to Mars

The AGU 2014 Fall Meeting Public Lecture focused on the NASA MAVEN Mission to Mars. Learn more about the information shared from the earliest stages of this atmospheric-detection mission.

GeoLog and Geology Jenga by Laura Roberts-Artal

Laura Roberts-Artal edits GeoLog, the official blog of the European Geosciences Union. She also blogs with Daniel Schillereff at Geology Jenga, which is full of combined geological goodness.

Imaggeo on Mondays: An explosive cloud

One of the world’s most volcanically active regions is the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. It is the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk microplate (belonging to the large North America Plate) which drives the volcanic and seismic hazard in this remote area. The surface expression of the subduction zone is the 2100 km long Kuril-Kamchatka volcanic arc: a chain of volcanic islands and mountains which form as a result of the sinking of a tectonic plate beneath another. The arc extends from Hokkaido in Japan, across the Kamchatka Peninsula, through to the Commander Islands (Russia) to the Northwest. It is estimated that the Pacific Plate is moving towards the Okhotsk microplate at a rate of approximately 79mm per year, with variations in speed along the arc.

Outreach on the slopes.

One of the beauties of living in Munich is that the Alps are, practically, on your door step. As I mentioned in one of our more recent posts, now that I am here, I’m looking forward to exploring the city, its surroundings and further afield!

All those awesome blogs, and can you believe we've only just gotten started?