PlanetGeo: The Geology Podcast

Latest Episodes:

A Recent Triple-Threat - Earthquakes Shake New Zealand (GeoShort) Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

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 that occurred nearby.
These earthquakes set off tsunami warnings all around the Pacific ocean from New Zealand to Chile, and everywhere in between. Tsunami warnings even sounded in Canada. Luckily, no major tsunamis occurred.
These earthquakes were generated in a plate tectonic subduction zone, where the Pacific plate is diving beneath the Australian plate to the West. The Pacific plate gets stuck though and then pressure builds up until it break!
Check out our previous episode on Plate Tectonics (Ep. 2) and stay tuned for a longer episode on these megathrust earthquakes coming out in a few weeks!

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The Rise of Geoscience Education: Interview with Professor Steve Mattox Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

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 interesting research projects surrounding geoscience and society. These include quantifying the number of news articles that relate to the geosciences, studying the tools that teachers used, and developing what is effectively an Advanced Placement Geology course for high schools in Michigan.
Teaching is very familiar for Dr. Mattox and he has won numerous awards for his teaching acumen. Most notable among them are the Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year Award in 2020 and the Michigan Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Award in 2012.
See below for a summary of Dr. Mattox's experience and a link to his personal website!
TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Associate Professor, Department of Geology, GVSU, 2003 to present.
Assistant Professor, GVSU, 1998 to 2003.
Lecturer, 2001, University of the Philippines College Baguio, Baguio City, Luzon, Philippines.
Post-doctoral Research Volcanologist, University of North Dakota, 1995-1996.
Lecturer, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 1991-1996.
Visiting Lecturer, School of the Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1991.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Exploration Geologist (east Java, Indonesia), Golden Valley Mines NL, West Perth, WA, 1997.
Exploration Geologist (Kimberley), Precious Metals of Australia, West Perth, WA., 1996-1997.
Consulting Geologist, Belt Collins & Associates, Honolulu, HI, 1993.
Geologic Investigation Contractor, Utah Geological Survey, 1989-1990.
Geologic Mapping Contractor, Utah Geological Survey, 1984-1989.

AWARDS, HONORS, AND GRANTS

GVSU Alumni Association Outstanding Educator Award, 2009.
Michigan Science Teachers Association, College Teacher of the Year, 2008.
Pew Teaching Excellence Award for the Science and Mathematics Division, 2002.
National Science Foundation, co-PI, Volcanology for Earth Science Teachers, 1994-1996, $315,000.
National Park Foundation, to write "A Teacher's Guide to the Geology of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park", 1993-1994, $21,000.

TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTERESTS

Collaborating with undergraduate students in writing/presenting innovative teaching materials.
Establishing a state-wide "AP" geology exam in Michigan.
Completing "Geology Underfoot in Michigan" for Mountain Press.
Learning paleomagnetism as a research method.

https://www.gvsu.edu/geology/mattox-steve-r-29.htm

Gold in The Outback, Stories with Professor Steve Mattox (GeoShort) Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

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 have to make sense of an area. For example, Steve talks about finding gold in a sand and gravel deposit ( a placer), and following the deposits up the watershed to find the source rock, and higher concentrations, of gold.
Tune in next week to hear the full interview with Dr. Mattox!

Rocks get better with age: HOW and WHY we date them Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

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!
We introduce this topic by describing the differences between relative dating, where we put events in order, and absolute dating where we assign numerical ages to specific events. As you might tell from the discussion, the techniques geoscientists use vary widely! We highlight a few of the key principles established by the OG geologists like Charles Lyell, such as the principle of original horizontality, or the law of cross cutting relations. We also discuss the most memorable places that we have seen where these principles are clearly shown!
We then move into discussing how radiometric dating works, and how radioactive decay is very important to our understanding of the age of events on Earth. We highlight specifically the techniques that Jesse uses in the lab he is building at Penn State to date individual parts of tiny mineral grains that are the size of a human hair! Amazingly, these tiny mineral grains can record events billions of years apart from one another! The techniques we use to get actual ages out of these minerals include blasting them with a laser and injecting that material into a plasma so that we can measure the uranium and lead compositions of the mineral. All fancy stuff that doesn't require a white lab coat!

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The Viral Cookie Monster Agate and How Agates Form (GeoShort) Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

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 forms from super-saturated fluid. These fluids flow through many parts of the Earth's crust, including through small gaps or cavities in volcanic or sedimentary rocks. The super saturated fluids will deposit agate (or calcite or other minerals) within cavities and they are deposited in concentric rings that grew much like tree rings grow! The different rings can have slightly different colors due to small impurities in the minerals that are being deposited.
However, beware! Agate is a porous material so synthetic dyes can be easily applied to natural agates, turning them to very showing, but artificial, colors. In fact, most pink or bright blue agates are actually dyed.
Listen to our GeoShort to learn about the Cookie Monster Agate!
https://www.sciencealert.com/this-geode-like-rock-bears-an-uncanny-resemblance-to-sesame-street-s-cookie-monster
- rockhounds
- rock collecting
- geology in the field
- agates and geodes

How We Know What's Inside of the Earth (and Other Listener Questions)! Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

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 years to accomplish and the high temperatures inhibited drilling deeper.
2- what instruments to we use to determine the thickness and structure of the core and mantle since we don't have any direct samples? We study seismic waves traveling through the interior of the Earth.
3- what happens to the asthenosphere as a result of loss of magma during volcanic eruptions? In answering this question, we discuss the misconceptions of what a magma chamber actually looks like. It's a very complicated question that requires a complicated answer.
Join us as we discuss the answers to these questions (we have drilled >12km deep into the Earth, which isn't very far!), discuss how the relate to recent scientific discoveries (what is a magma chamber anyways???), and talk about how we image the interior of the Earth using seismic waves!
Listener questions are always welcomed at PlanetGeo and they usually drive us to think about things more deeply, and sometimes end up with long answers!

Identifying Rocks Can Be Hard! (GeoShort) Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

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 find are called, never fear! It can be hard.
If you want to know more about limestone, listen to Episode 5: Hard Water and What Makes the Ocean Salty!

Astronomy and Geoscience: Interview with Astrophysicist Dr. Jackie Faherty Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

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, meaning that she uses telescopes to study our universe, and she specializes in studying brown dwarfs, which she describes as misfits! Brown dwarfs are somewhere between a planet and a star, and they provide important information about how solar systems ultimately form! Jackie also tells the incredible story of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing with Neil Armstrong piloting the Lunar Lander safely down to the moon's surface, and she tells us that her favorite rock is in fact a sample from Apollo 17!
Jackie and Chris also have a great discussion of astronomy education and how best to convey the inherent interest in astronomy to students. Check it out to learn more!

Jupiter, Space Time, And a Preview to Our Interview with Dr. Jackie Faherty (GeoShort) Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

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 agreed to talk about astronomy, geoscience, and generally interesting topics on PlanetGeo! In this GeoShort, she discusses Jupiter and why she calls it the "bouncer" of our solar system. She believes that if another planet in some other solar system will be found to harbor life, a Jupiter like planet must also exist in that solar system.
Jackie also gives us a glimpse into space time and why it's so difficult for humans to comprehend. This GeoShort is informative and entertaining - Just a short glimpse into the full episode next week.

Dammed if We Do, Dammed if We Don't! Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

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 when they are installed.
Here are some highlights of the statistics we cover!

There are roughly 91,000 Dams in the US
They Impound over 600,000 miles of river or 17% of rivers
The average age is 59 years
The number of high-hazard potential dams is over 15,000 and increasing
It is estimated that over 70 billion dollars is needed to properly upgrade these dams. For perspective, 425 billion dollars are spent each year on Road Infrastructure. About 75% of that comes from state and local governments. 25% comes from Federal.
Dam regulation is largely up to each state and each person is responsible for about 200 dams.
All too many are suffering from a neglected investment in infrastructure.
Dams are this interesting intersection between geology, engineering, government oversight, and humanity.
So why do we build them? So many reasons: hydroelectric, irrigation, flood mitigation, recreation, municipal water

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