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Zoltán Sylvester

@zzsylvester.bsky.social

Research professor at UT Austin | geology | sedimentology | rivers | python | mountains | running | opinions are my own | he/him zsylvester.github.io

1960 Posts2258 Follower1328 Folgt
Paul Byrne@theplanetaryguy.com · last mo.

This is my first Fourth of July as a US citizen. It's hard to feel pride in this country right now. The spirit of hope and optimism that permeates US culture is dimmed. But it's not extinguished. This dark moment will pass. There are better days ahead, if we work for them.

The Statue of Liberty
Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · last mo.

I'm just a small-town political scientist, frightened & confused by the ongoing casual media normalization of the lawless authoritarianism, but it seems that the wild illegality & unconstitutionality of this should be mentioned somewhere in the hed, dek, lede, or main text of this very long article.

Eric Lipton NYT@ericlipton.nytimes.com · last mo.

Here’s a look at Mr. Trump’s construction projects — some completed, some underway and some yet to begin. By Luke Broadwater, Marco Hernandez, Junho Lee and Elena Shao Photographs by Jared Soares www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

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

I went to a different conference recently and had very similar thoughts. You cannot attract young people to geoscience by ignoring climate change, repeatedly pointing out how much fossil fuels we still need, and downplaying the success and potential of renewable energy.

"Can Al discover a new oil field?" was the keynote talk at The Geological Society of London's Al in the Geosciences conference yesterday. "Leaving hydrocarbons in the ground is suboptimal" is a literal quote from the talk. I attended the conference as both a speaker and a panelist. I was surprised to find that I was the only person in the (quite large) audience willing to speak up on the issue of climate change in response. As the UK's learned society for Earth Science, the Geological Society surely has a real responsibility to raise awareness of climate change, and to act. Geological knowledge supports society in so many ways, and so many of those are compatible and necessary for achieving global sustainability goals. We have a responsibility to celebrate endeavours that bring us closer to a sustainable future, rather than those that push such a future further from our reach.This post might look like a lot of virtue signalling but I feel it needs to be said. And yes, I do put petrol in my car. We have to work together to achieve a future that works for everyone. An unsustainable energy source that temporarily satisfies demand at the expense of the entire planet's future is surely not something to be celebrated, however dependent we may currently be on it. If future generations look back on us in disbelief at how we left things for them, I will feel ashamed. However, the rapid rise and global adoption of renewables does make me hopeful. It was a very interesting conference to be at and I am grateful to the organisers for organising it and for having me to speak. A conference where not everyone in the room has the same view is perhaps the most important conference of all, especially in the age of polarising social media (like this!). Next time, let's give a keynote to climate science too and consider the options.
Ed Hawkins@edhawkins.org · last mo.

What is the future of summers in England? Our choices matter. A high-emissions future will commit our children and grandchildren to live in a world where the summers of 1976 & 2025 are cold. A global net-zero emissions future means that we can stabilise the climate & those summers will be normal.

England average summer temperatures in a high emissions futureEngland average summer temperatures in a global net-zero emissions future
Katie Hinde@mammalssuck.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"For too long, the university has ignored the wisdom of the donor class and hired based on academic excellence. Regrettably, this has led to the underrepresentation of discredited viewpoints in elite higher education." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/wer...

We’re Diversifying the University by Hiring More Crackpots

“For too long, the university has ignored the wisdom of the donor class and hired based on academic excellence. Regrettably, this has led to the underreprese...

mcsweeneys.net

Amanda Katz@katzish.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Yo, anyone want to be a Bird Identification Machine Learning Software Engineer for the wonderful Cornell Lab of Ornithology, home of the Merlin app?!? It’s remote! I do not have these skills but maybe you do! #jobs jobs.hr.cornell.edu/us/en/job/WD...

Machine Learning Software Engineer in Ithaca, New York, United States of America | Information Technology at Cornell University

Apply for Machine Learning Software Engineer job with Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, United States of America. Information Technology at Cornell University

jobs.hr.cornell.edu

Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦@watershedlab.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🚨New paper about the second largest tsunami ever recorded, just published in @science.org A short 🧪⚒️🌊 thread #EGU26 @ucalgary.bsky.social @ucalgaryscience.bsky.social doi.org/10.1126/scie...

A 481-meter-high landslide-tsunami in a cruise ship–frequented Alaska fjord

Early in the morning of 10 August 2025, a >64 × 106 m3 landslide struck Tracy Arm fjord in Alaska. The landslide was preconditioned by glacial retreat caused by climate change. The resulting 481 m run...

doi.org

@terrawonderer.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Congrats to Shang Tian and Dongfeng Li, our paper on Arctic river sediment it out today! We highlight how small Arctic rivers have increased sediment and changed disproportionally faster (over the satellite record). New machine-learning approach on landsat data. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Increasing river sediment concentration and flux across the pan-Arctic - Nature Geoscience

The total sediment flux from land to the ocean across the pan-Arctic has risen by 15% since 1980, driven by greater river discharge, intensified thermokarst disturbances and wildfire activity, accordi...

nature.com