Author Archives: Ron Miksha

About Ron Miksha

Ron Miksha is a bee ecologist working at the University of Calgary. He is also a geophysicist and does a bit of science writing and blogging. Ron has worked as a radio broadcaster, a beekeeper, and Earth scientist. (Ask him about seismic waves.) He's based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Mantle Plumes May Be Real (or maybe not)

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Geophysicist Tuzo Wilson had a creepy daydream. He imagined himself lying at the bottom of a creek, looking up at water flowing overhead. He blew bubbles. They rose, were caught by the current, and drifted away. He came back from … Continue reading →

Posted in History, How Geophysics Works, Non-drift Theories, People, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Earth Expands on Mystery Diet

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Not long ago, a reader of this blog commented on my story about Alfred Wegener and continental drift. Wegener’s theory, you know, kicked around for about 50 years before enough evidence accumulated to prove its sister theory, plate tectonics. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, Non-drift Theories, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cuba, America, and Oil

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Ron Miksha

With America’s president visiting Cuba this week, I thought it might be helpful to re-post my story “Has Cuba Got Oil?” which I wrote in 2014.  It’s still valid. Cuba still has oil. But I argued that I doubt oil … Continue reading →

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Broken Crystals

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Every now and then, I write a short post on a long-dead geologist whom I had never heard of before, but have discovered that it’s their birthday anniversary. I do this because it forces me to learn something about someone … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Geology, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Charles Darwin, the Geologist

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Originally posted on The Mountain Mystery:
Darwin as imagined by Hornet magazine 1871 It’s his birthday. It seems Charles Darwin’s legacy is experiencing a renaissance. Sure, some 60% of Americans vilify the man and hope he is roasting in hell.…

Posted in Biography, Geology, Reblogs | Tagged | Leave a comment

Wegener’s Death and Drift’s Hiatus

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Over the past few days, I’ve written about Alfred Wegener’s continental drift theory, which is celebrating its 100th year as a spunky idea that explains a lot of our geology. From mountains to earthquakes and deep sea rifts to island … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, Exploration, Geology, People, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

100 Years of Drift: Part 4

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Today, we continue with Alfred Wegener and his continental drift theory. Today’s piece will not be pretty. At times, suppression of Wegener’s idea was ugly. There are a lot of reasons for the vilification. He was an outsider, a meteorologist … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, Geology, History, People | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

100 Years of Drift: Part 3

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Ron Miksha

In today’s blog post, we continue our story of the development of the theory of continental drift – an idea which just celebrated its 100th birthday. Before Alfred Wegener’s 1915 book on contintents in motion, a few others had the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, Geology, History | Tagged | 4 Comments

100 Years of Drift: Part 2

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Ron Miksha

It’s been 100 years since Alfred Wegener proposed his idea of continental drift. Today’s blog continues the story we began yesterday – the tale of Wegener’s life and the development of his grand idea of mobile continents. This time, we’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Geology, History | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

100 Years of Drift: Part 1

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Fifty years ago, we finally figured out why the Earth has mountains. But one hundred years ago, Alfred Wegener had already offered an explanation – it took those extra 50 years for his grand idea to catch on. The continents, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, History, People, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments