Category Archives: People

Naming Schools after Nobel Laureates

Posted on December 9, 2016 by

The Washington Post recently ran a story about the late Abdus Salam, a physicist who won the Nobel Prize almost 40 years ago. The piece concerns the politics of naming a building at a Pakistani university in honour of a … Continue reading →

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Tunguska’s Kulik

Posted on August 19, 2016 by

Leonid Kulik is probably another geologist you’ve never heard of. Well, it’s his birthday anyway, and here’s your chance to add a new name to your fact file, just in case you get that call from Jeopardy and the Remarkable … Continue reading →

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Mantle Plumes May Be Real (or maybe not)

Posted on May 24, 2016 by

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

Wegener’s Death and Drift’s Hiatus

Posted on February 7, 2016 by

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 , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

100 Years of Drift: Part 4

Posted on February 6, 2016 by

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 1

Posted on February 3, 2016 by

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 →

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Made of Stardust

Posted on November 9, 2015 by

Today, I am remembering a childhood hero, astrophysicist/author Carl Sagan. I was 12 when I bought his first book, Planets, from the Life Science Series. I paid for it from money I earned picking potatoes on the family farm in … Continue reading →

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Finding Oil and Gas where God Dumps Them

Posted on September 7, 2015 by

Well, here’s a great idea. Sarah Palin has offered to head the Department of Energy when Donald Trump becomes president. “I think a lot about the Department of Energy, because energy is my baby: oil and gas and minerals, those … Continue reading →

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Crater Lake

Posted on July 19, 2015 by

During the 1849 California Gold Rush, the easy pickings around Sutter’s Mill were staked off and scooped up rather quickly. The ’49ers, as the first prospectors were called, put gold in the bank while the ’50ers had to look further … Continue reading →

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Another day, another dinosaur

Posted on July 8, 2015 by

You have to wonder when all the dinosaurs will be found. When will nothing remain to be discovered? That day is apparently a long way off. New dinosaurs keep popping out of the ground. In my home province, Alberta, it’s … Continue reading →

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