Category Archives: History

History of a Science Historian

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Ron Miksha

It’s the birth date of the first American to receive a Ph.D. in science history. I’m surprised how recently he lived. I figured science historians have been around almost as long as science and history – but I. B. Cohen, … Continue reading →

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The Eternal Fires of Coal

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Long after America’s rust belt buildings have eroded to grass-lands, it’s possible that a sign of her once great industrial power will linger. Coal bed fires, it seems, are nearly impossible to extinguish – and there are many underground fires … Continue reading →

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Geology President’s Day

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Americans get a day off today. It’s an occasion to remember the American presidents, especially Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, two of the February-birthday presidents. (The other two were William Harrison and Ronald Reagan.) On this day, Washington, Lincoln, and … Continue reading →

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Charles Darwin, the Geologist

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Ron Miksha

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. Or undergoing reincarnation as a toad, or is still awaiting release from purgatory. … Continue reading →

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Tibetan Mountain Mystery

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Tibet’s mysterious plateau – part of the largest and thickest bit of earth crust anywhere on the planet – was recently subjected to the scrutiny of a group of Kansas University scientists. They flew into Lhasa, capital of Tibet, then … Continue reading →

Posted in History, How Geophysics Works, Non-drift Theories | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Riding the Moho

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Ron Miksha

  Today is the anniversary of the birth (January 23, 1857) of a brilliant geophysicist with an unpronounceable name (unless you are Croatian) – Andrija Mohorovičić. (You may say On-Dree-Ya Mow-Hoe-Row-Vitch-Itch. Or, like many a grad student, you could simply … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Geology, History, How Geophysics Works, Plate Tectonics, The Book | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ben Franklin: Geophysicist

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Ron Miksha

It’s a stretch to claim Benjamin Franklin as a fellow geophysicist. But I think we have more claim to him than the optometrists who consider Franklin a fellow glasses-maker. (Franklin invented bifocals.) Franklin, whose birthday is today, studied lightning and … Continue reading →

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Tonga Shakes. Again.

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Tonga. It’s an archipelago for the seismic history books. Tonga is in the news again, this time the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai was spotted by NASA satellites because the eruptions discoloured the Pacific waters amidst the island kingdom’s 176 … Continue reading →

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2014 as we saw it…

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The Earth and all her sciences were a big deal in 2014. Although this blog – the Mountain Mystery Blog – started in May 2014, it still caught some of the best stories of the year. In chronological order, here … Continue reading →

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Catastrophic Floods

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Ron Miksha

An interesting blog posting, Catastrophic History, produced on the website The Not So Solid Earth, makes the point that much of future archeology will be marine archeology. During the last ice age, a lot of sea water was captured in … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture, History, Oceans, The Book | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments