early August is such a vibe –– it's still technically summer but the new academic year is hurtling towards us like a meteor, unstoppable and imminent did I get all the ambitious things done I wanted? of course not, but I did some of them! (and I focused on recharging)

for those doing stratigraphic characterization of outcrops, we've got a new methods paper out in @sedimentologika.bsky.social presenting a workflow that integrates on-the-ground data with drone imagery to correct distortions and restore depositional geometry ⚒️ oap.unige.ch/journals/sdk...

Yes, Vought and the rest may push this through and enact these changes regardless, but it's important to have the public comments, and analyses of the comments like this, on record. (Also, I appreciate the explanation of how they did their analysis of >50,000 comments.)

Tech Policy Press@techpolicypress.bsky.social · 3w ago

Using an open-source pipeline to read every comment on OMB's proposed grants rule that could have significant impact on science and technology research funding, Christopher Steven Marcum and Abigail Haddad find the verdict "clear and lopsided": ~94% oppose it.

research and teaching advice from people who aren't directly involved in academic research and higher education (but want to influence its direction), updated for the current era (I haven't had this exact conversation with a single individual, but aspects of this occur from time-to-time)

ouch, I don't use it everyday but has definitely been a useful tool for a lot of things I do for example, the kmz for DSDP/ODP/IODP sites is amazing for quickly learning what legacy data might be available for a specific area

Eliot Higgins@eliothiggins.bsky.social · 4w ago

Google Earth Pro will be no longer avaliable for download from June 2027 onwards. It's one of the tools that made my early work possible, so it's really sad to see it go. support.google.com/earth/thread...

I've enjoyed Carbon Brief's coverage/resources for years and this semi-monthly email newsletter is fantastic for getting an overview at a more 'relaxed' frequency and not in a social-media feed of mixed content –– I won't dive into every item in the newsletter, but it's useful to see it all together

Carbon Brief@carbonbrief.org · 2mo ago

Interested in discovering the latest climate science? Sign up to Cited, Carbon Brief’s new fortnightly newsletter. Sign up for free today: bit.ly/4xhzxln

🤩

Zoltán Sylvester@zzsylvester.bsky.social · last mo.

A web app for visualizing stratigraphic datasets (based on the ‘stratigraph’ package and our “Stratigraphy in space an time” paper): zsylvester.github.io/stratigraph-... 🧪 ⚒️

many thanks to multiple Paleozoic mountain-building episodes, early Mesozoic rifting, and (potentially) regional uplift since the Miocene due to enigmatic mantle processes for providing us just enough elevation to lessen the severity of this heat wave

"NSF is trimming budgets for basic science programs by 20-30% even though overall budget is down just 3% ... the goal is to free up funds for a new $1.5 billion initiative ... meant to turn NSF-funded discoveries into new products and industries." The private sector should fund this initiative.

Science Magazine@science.org · last mo.

Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. https://scim.ag/4xY2KCm

I heard something very similar when visiting with an old friend (who is also in marketing) recently –– they are in a management/leadership role and are flooded with bland AI crap from their team members (especially new-hires) –– and it's not that the AI stuff is wrong, just generic and lacking value

how interesting, looking at the creatures that end up settling on ice-rafted debris (aka 'dropstones') at the seabed www.nature.com/articles/d41... a nice figure from the corresponding paper

is this real? this was a serious statement? I hope I'm missing some important context, e.g., automation in relation to a very specific types of research tasks.

Eos@eos.org · 2mo ago

McNutt’s issue #5 is to increase the rate of innovation with the help of automation. “My proposal here is to use AI and robotics to increase the rate of discovery,” she said.

When will the private sector use their influence to defend the U.S. scientific enterprise? Industry has benefitted from public investment in science for decades. If they don't support this degradation, they need to be aggressively and visibly lobbying Congress. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Another red alert for American science

Although research has bipartisan support in the US Congress, and trust in science is above 75% across the country, the Trump administration seems as determined as ever to mortally wound the nation’s s...

science.org

What an absolute legend this vessel is and forever will be. I was fortunate enough to go on three expeditions (2012, 2018, 2023). I snapped this pic in Oct 2023 (at the end of Exp400) in Reykjavík. We disembarked and were about to board that bus to drive away and I stepped aside for a moment 🥲

Dr. Thomas Ronge@thomasronge.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Today, the legendary JR begins her last journey to the shipwrecking yard. Home to many of us, she helped to understand plate tectonics, climate, deep biosphere, earthquakes/volcanoes, and was an integral part in international science and collaboration 🫡 www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/...

imagine if the 'masculine charisma' he's seeking is a commitment to serve/help others (family, community, etc) with modesty and hard work –– instead, the model of 'manly' that these 20-somethings have seen most of their life is self-aggrandizing, bullying narcissism www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/u...

I'm old enough to have watched those pretending to be experts in climate science now pretend to be experts in battery chemistry

in the training I'm now required to take by my institution about use/misuse of generative AI, the video starts off saying that AI is streamlining and boosting productivity –– so, 'streamlining' means spending my valuable time on compliance about the thing that claims to be streamlining 😑

💯!!! these notes keep us going –– I got one earlier this week in the genre of "I didn't think I would like this class at the beginning, but you made it interesting", which made me genuinely feel better (in a visceral way)

Ryan Cordell@ryancordell.org · 3mo ago

Students, if you’re thinking about dropping a note to that teacher or professor about what their class/project/mentorship has meant to you, but you worry it will be cringe or cheesy, let me just tell you they will coast on the fuzzy feelings prompted by that note for months, if not years

Canvas is back up! ... live shot of me downloading all the final-project reports and exporting the grade book just in case we get locked out again 😅

Busy Cat Typing on Laptop Meme

ALT: Busy Cat Typing on Laptop Meme

static.klipy.com

oh boy, Canvas (our learning mgmt system) has been hacked and everyone on campus is locked out ... just in time for the end of the semester 🫨 an article from a couple days ago about this: www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

“PAY OR LEAK”: Hackers Target Big Higher Ed Vendor

The criminal extortion group ShinyHunters breached Instructure last week. The hackers, who have also attacked individual universities, demanded the ed-tech giant pay up or face a data leak.

insidehighered.com

To the students (and their parents) who agree with this, then do not enroll in college. You don't have to be here! I will continue to devote my efforts and time to delivering the best education I can to the students who want to be here. If you think it's all a waste, then please take another path.

Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis@jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 3mo ago

WTF, NYer. "If we agree that college primarily serves a credentialling process that stamps select young people as worthy of work..." We do not. So much for the bastion of erudite journalism. This is sensationalism, damaging our most vital institution: education. www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...

this iris in our backyard blooms every year in the first few days of May #bloomscrolling

is one of those times where multiple things converge –– two proposal deadlines + the end of the semester with several other obligations 🫨 –– just need to get through the next couple of weeks of working essentially all-day-everyday and can take a breather and regroup

interesting piece about the similarities and differences between the energy shocks of the 2020s and those of the 1970s ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

The New Twin Fossil Shock | Ember

How the energy crises of the 2020s speed up the electric age

ember-energy.org

the beauty and drama of this image, my gosh

Jasmine 🌌🔭@astrojaz.bsky.social · 4mo ago

okay i change my mind, THIS is one of the best and most beautiful images from artemis ii

discussing the last deglaciation (~20-10 ka) in my undergrad gen-ed climate course this week and want to incorporate more about the marine biosphere –– for example, what were effects of meltwater pulses (e.g., MWP-1a) on marine life? (besides the drowning of shallow-water corals from SL rise)

oh my

Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · 4mo ago

The #Artemis II astronauts said they needed more superlatives to describe their view of the eclipse, when the Sun was behind the Moon and its near surface was faintly illuminated by Earthshine

"The project isn't the deliverable. The project is the vehicle. The deliverable is the scientist that comes out the other end." I encourage grad student advisors (and grad students) to read this. All the pithy hot takes miss the point, this is a breath of fresh air. ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...

Maybe some are going to chatbots, but others (me 👋) have ditched most social media and are spending time doing things in the physical world w/ real people –– and I have several text threads w/ friends and others that are fun and engaging (and that don't need to be broadcast b/c come on who cares)

Dave Karpf@davekarpf.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Okay so here’s my actual Bluesky-is-dying hypothesis: The entire web is dying. Users aren’t going from BlueSky to another site (x/insta/threada/tiktok). Users are going to chatbots. I know traffic to news sites has cratered (like 90%). My hunch is traffic to all the social platforms is down too.

beautiful day here 😎 –– did some spring cleanup of the moss between flagstone in our little backyard garden, which is basically removing the tiny debris that is covering the tiny plants –– it's either meditative or tedious depending on my mood