Tag Archives: history

How the Earth’s Mystery Mineral Got Its Name

Posted on December 11, 2014 by

We seldom get to see a sample of the Earth’s most common mineral. It resides within the mantle at extreme heat and pressure not found on the surface. We think that the mineral resides within the mantle – we are … Continue reading →

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Tuzo

Posted on November 26, 2014 by

“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

The Theory of Everything

Posted on November 18, 2014 by

The marriage of Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde – as told through the ex-wife’s memoir – has become the stuff of a Hollywood tragic-romance. I have not read her memoir but have read excerpts and reviews of it. The Jane … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, History, People, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

We Love Comets… but it wasn’t always that way

Posted on November 12, 2014 by

So, today we kissed a comet. Many of us shared the excitement of the European Space Agency’s successful landing. Something built on the Earth is now sitting on a comet, traveling at 135,000 kilometres an hour, heading towards an even … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Engineering, Exploration, History, Religion, Science Education, Space | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Age of Man?

Posted on November 6, 2014 by

Well, this is not the Age of Aquarius. Last week, geologists met in Berlin to discuss  renaming our current geological epoch – the Holocene. They say it began when the ice age ended, 11,700 years ago. The geologists in Berlin … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture, Oceans, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pope Francis and the Magic Wand

Posted on October 30, 2014 by

Pope Francis has been in the news for the past few days. The pontiff has a habit of saying what he’s thinking and he sometimes does this at surprising venues. This time he was speaking at the unveiling of a … Continue reading →

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Shutting Down the Plumes?

Posted on October 24, 2014 by

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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