Third Pod from the Sun

Latest Episodes:

Special Release: Hawaii’s Volcanoes, Water, and…Vog? Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

Hawaii is frequently described as a paradise in the Pacific Ocean, but for some scientists conducting field work, there can be some challenges to overcome. In this special episode, Kate Brauman, the lead scientist at the Global Water Initiative at the University of Minnesota, describes her field work experiences in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. Kate's research into land use and its impact on the ground water supply required her to work in “extremely rocky muck,” fend off cattle, and try to protect sensitive equipment from corrosive "vog."

Kate also details working in the fog belt on Hawaii, and how forest canopy vs. pasture land can affect the amount of water flowing through the soil. Through this research in Hawaii, as well as other areas across the globe, Kate recognizes and discusses the importance of water management solutions that take local values and needs into account.

This episode was produced by Katie Broendel, Shane M Hanlon, and Liza Lester and mixed by Adell Coleman.

Centennial episode 4: Toxic City Under the Ice Mar 18, 2019

Show notes

In 1959, the United States built an unusual military base under the surface of the Greenland ice Sheet. Camp Century was a hub for scientific research, but it also doubled as a top-secret site for testing the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from the Arctic. When Camp Century was decommissioned in 1967, its infrastructure and waste were abandoned under the assumption they would be forever entombed beneath the colossal sheet of ice.

But climate change has warmed the Arctic more than any other region on Earth, and parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet are melting faster than snow can accumulate. What will happen in the coming decades if the melting ice exposes the biological, chemical, and radioactive waste left behind at Camp Century?

In this episode, University of Colorado Boulder glaciologist Mike MacFerrin recounts Camp Century’s intriguing history and its role in the Cold War. He discusses the potential hazard Camp Century’s waste poses to the environment and surrounding communities and examines what, if anything, should be done about it now.

Polluted Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink Mar 11, 2019

Show notes

Water is the most essential of essentials. We can survive weeks without food but only days without water. And it’s something that many of us take for granted. But water is not as plentiful, available, and clean in all parts of the world. And with climate change, water is going to become (and is already) a limited resource to some.

From Arizona to Katmandu, Chris Scott, Research Professor of Water Resources Policy at The University of Arizona, has traversed the globe to learn how we use water, problems populations are facing with contamination and access, and to work with governments, residents, and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone has access to clean, abundant water. In this episode, Chris told us some amazing stories of the places he’s traveled to, the people that he’s met, and the challenges that he’s faced.

Third Pod LIve: James Balog, Climate Activist Mar 08, 2019

Show notes

Third Pod from the Sun is all about the scientists and the methods behind the science. And who better to talk to about going the extra mile for results than photographer and star of the film Chasing Ice, James Balog?

For three decades, James has broken new conceptual and artistic ground on one of the most important issues of our era: human modification of our planet’s natural systems. He and his Extreme Ice Survey team are featured in the 2012 internationally acclaimed, Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Ice and in the PBS/NOVA special, Extreme Ice. His photos have been extensively published in major magazines, including National Geographic, and exhibited at museums and galleries worldwide. His new film The Human Element, is an innovative—perhaps even revolutionary— look at how humanity interacts with earth, air, fire and water. The film will be released later this year.

We were fortunate to be able to sit down with James at AGU’s Fall Meeting in 2018 for a live interview. In this three-part series, we talked about how he became a photographer, some of his most memorable (and dangerous) moments in the field, and how his work and experiences have shaped him into the climate activist he is now.

Third Pod Live: James Balog, Adventurer Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

Third Pod Live: James Balog, Photographer Mar 04, 2019

Show notes

Rifts Beneath the Ocean Floor Feb 15, 2019

Show notes

Kathy Crane is a true adventurer. As one of the first women in the field of marine geophysics in the 1970s, she hypothesized and then helped discover the existence of hydrothermal vents on the Galápagos Rift along the East Pacific Rise in the mid-1970s and was one the first people to see many of the strange creatures that make their home in this improbable environment.

Using a temperature-monitoring system that she developed for a a deep-tow seafloor towing system, she discovered temperature anomalies, as well as seafloor images of volcanic features, which provided strong support for her hypothesis about the existence of hydrothermal vents – cracks in the crust of the deep ocean floor where tectonic plates move away or towards one another, thereby releasing by hot magma that forms vents that heat the surrounding cold seawater.

Aboard the submersible Alvin, she also discovered never before seen animal life – mussels, clams, and most beautifully, tube worms – where it was once thought impossible, all of which led to led to the discovery of the biological process of chemosynthesis. Of the tube worms, Kathy said “they looked like roses. Pristine white stems that were part of the worm, and they were fixed holdfast onto the basalt rocks below them, and at the top was a head that was scarlet red with, looked like, pink petals coming out, which is where it got all its nutrients and everything taking the chemistry off of the ocean water. Absolutely beautiful place.”

Throughout, she had to deal with scientists sabotaging each other, build tools never used in the deepest marine environments, and survive aboard sea rickety research vessels. This episode of Third Pod has it all!

Bonus Clip: Supporting Women in Science Feb 11, 2019

Show notes

Check out this bonus clip from our most recent episode, Footprints from an Ancient World, where Renata Netto talks about what it's like to be a woman in her field.

Footprints from an Ancient World Feb 04, 2019

Show notes

Renata Netto spends a lot of time on beaches. The Brazilian scientist is an ichnologist, a specialist in the traces of ancient animal behaviors preserved in fossilized footprints, trackways, burrows, nests and other impressions. These “trace fossils” do not hold the animal itself, but a kind of geological memory of its presence on Earth, 60,000 or 600,000 or 600 million years ago. Many trace fossils are entombed in cliffs; the fragile fossils cannot come to the lab, so researchers must study them in the field.

In this episode, Renata recounts sharing beaches with surfers and bargaining for paving stones full of trace fossils. She describes the lost world of Earth’s first large multicellular life, the enigmatic Ediacaran Biota, which lived 635–542 million years ago, and the beauty of a shrimp burrow.

Uncovering the Ozone Hole Jan 15, 2019

Show notes

In the mid-1980s, scientists uncovered a troubling phenomenon: The ozone layer, which protects all living things on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, was rapidly thinning over Antarctica. The discovery set off a race by scientists to figure out what was causing the ozone hole, and eventually the realization that chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators, air conditioners and aerosol cans were reacting in the stratosphere and producing chlorine-containing compounds that were depleting the ozone layer. This work led to the signing of the Montreal Protocol and several key amendments, which banned most ozone-depleting substances and is considered one of the greatest environmental achievements of the 20^th century.

In this second episode of Third Pod from the Sun’s Centennial Series, hear from two NASA scientists who started their careers just as the ozone hole was discovered, and who have continued working on and monitoring the issue for decades.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected