Tag Archives: plumes

Mantle Plumes May Be Real (or maybe not)

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

Tuzo

“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?

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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Conspiracies are Everywhere

Bison, anticipating a massive volcanic eruption, seen fleeing Yellowstone. Yellowstone National Park sits atop the world’s largest supervolcano.  The accompanying caldera will one day tip its hat and obliterate half of the American states. Or maybe not. This blog entry … Continue reading

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Goddess Pele is stirring

The goddess Pele may be restless again.  It seems that the legendary fire-woman, believed by early Hawaiian islanders to live under the sea and breathe lava into the throats of mountains, may be stirring. According to the ancient legends, the … Continue reading

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