Category Archives: How Geophysics Works

Created Last Thursday

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Ron Miksha

It’s hard to argue with someone who says that the whole universe was created last Thursday.   Everything in its place, a stage built and actors entering. Is this the way you picture reality? I hope not – you would be … Continue reading →

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

The Geoscientists’ Blind Spot

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Originally posted on The Grumpy Geophysicist:
One advantage of looking back at the history of earth science is to recognize patterns that suggest certain biases. Consider, for instance, continental drift.  Now this is often portrayed as Wegener right, others stupid…

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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

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 →

Posted in Geology, History, How Geophysics Works, Oceans, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Greatest Science Quotes

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Do you mentally collect and muse over science quotes? Some reasonably good web sites have already done this, but so far none of those sites has my all-time favourite. It’s obscure. It was spoken by a geophysicist fifty years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in History, How Geophysics Works, Philosophy, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Banana Peel Tectonics

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Ron Miksha

The 24th annual Harvard Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded to courageous trail-blazing scientists who pushed the limits of curiosity and credulity during the past year. Among the winners of the 2014 prestigious momento were a Canadian who won the Neuroscience … Continue reading →

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Tuzo

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Ron Miksha

“Tuzo’s dead.” That was the first time I’d ever heard of Tuzo. It was April 1993 and I wondered who – or what – Tuzo was. Now he was dead. I had already completed my University of Saskatchewan geophysics degree … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, History, How Geophysics Works, Plate Tectonics, Science Education | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Shutting Down the Plumes?

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Near an Indian Ocean island that regularly exhausts smoke and lava, a group of scientists are trying to unravel one of the great mysteries of the Earth. Their riddle involves the planet’s largest basalt field, dinosaur extinction, and the birth … Continue reading →

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A Fast Trip through the Center of the Earth

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Ron Miksha

When I was a child growing up in North American, I was told that if I dug a hole through the center of the Earth, I would emerge in downtown Beijing. (Or Peking, as it was known in English in … Continue reading →

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