Joe Levy
@colddirt.bsky.social
permafrost & planetary geomorphologist, assoc. prof of Earth & Env. Geosciences @colgateuniv, linker of climate change to landscape evolution, ice storyteller
Cold deserts are dominated by physical weathering, not chemical weathering, you say? Check out new work in @geosociety.bsky.social Bulletin showing evidence for aluminosilicate weathering in Antarctic #wetlands & #groundwater. doi.org/10.1130/B386... ⚒️🧪❄️🧪💧🧪 Starring @colgate.edu student scientists!
January 27, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Cold deserts are dominated by physical weathering, not chemical weathering, you say? Check out new work in @geosociety.bsky.social Bulletin showing evidence for aluminosilicate weathering in Antarctic #wetlands & #groundwater. doi.org/10.1130/B386... ⚒️🧪❄️🧪💧🧪 Starring @colgate.edu student scientists!
It looks like ~1,000 accepted abstracts for #LPSC2026, down from >2,000 in 2023 (typical range seems to be ~2,000 ± 300 or so).
www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lps...
www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lps...
LPSC 2026 - Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
We’re excited to announce that the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) will take place March 16–20, 2026, at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in The Woodlands...
www.hou.usra.edu
January 26, 2026 at 2:49 PM
It looks like ~1,000 accepted abstracts for #LPSC2026, down from >2,000 in 2023 (typical range seems to be ~2,000 ± 300 or so).
www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lps...
www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lps...
I think my new definition for "mid-career" for #academics is the year that the cat you adopted in grad school and/or the dog you adopted as a postdoc reach the end of their days. This may be the real reason associate profs are so famously glum. It has been a rough few months for household mammals.
January 21, 2026 at 3:18 PM
I think my new definition for "mid-career" for #academics is the year that the cat you adopted in grad school and/or the dog you adopted as a postdoc reach the end of their days. This may be the real reason associate profs are so famously glum. It has been a rough few months for household mammals.
Go giant, slow-moving rocket, go!
If you wanna watch a really big rocket roll very slowly out to the launch pad in Florida, live, go here now m.youtube.com/watch?v=nrVn...
It’s the Artemis II mission, aiming to launch in the coming weeks to send humans to the Moon for the first time in over half a century
🧪
It’s the Artemis II mission, aiming to launch in the coming weeks to send humans to the Moon for the first time in over half a century
🧪
NASA's Artemis II Live Views from Kennedy Space Center
YouTube video by NASA
m.youtube.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Go giant, slow-moving rocket, go!
The many faces of Crystal Geyser in Green River, UT. Spending some time with it this afternoon was a treat after a day in the Jurassic. ⚒️🧪
January 12, 2026 at 12:19 AM
The many faces of Crystal Geyser in Green River, UT. Spending some time with it this afternoon was a treat after a day in the Jurassic. ⚒️🧪
I generally think I have a pretty cool job as a geoscientist, explorer, and teacher, but I also think I will never be as cool (at least not in the eyes of my 12 year old kid) as whoever ends up with these gigs.
JOB ALERT! 📢 For the scientists who love science communication: we’re hiring at @kurzgesagt.org !🌍 Come join our team, the vibes are impeccable.
✍️ Scriptwriter (Remote) kurzgesagt.org/careers/scri...
🔍 Fact-Checker & Researcher (Munich/Berlin/Remote) kurzgesagt.org/careers/seni...
✍️ Scriptwriter (Remote) kurzgesagt.org/careers/scri...
🔍 Fact-Checker & Researcher (Munich/Berlin/Remote) kurzgesagt.org/careers/seni...
Job listing for (Senior) Fact-Checker & Researcher (all genders) |
kurzgesagt
Want to work with kurzgesagt? We have an open role as (Senior) Fact-Checker & Researcher (all genders). Apply now to become part of a great team and start an exciting career!
kurzgesagt.org
January 7, 2026 at 1:38 PM
I generally think I have a pretty cool job as a geoscientist, explorer, and teacher, but I also think I will never be as cool (at least not in the eyes of my 12 year old kid) as whoever ends up with these gigs.
One of my students just submitted their LPSC abstract - # 1439 on deadline morning. Looks like it could be a very sparsely attended meeting. Anyone want to hang out not in TX and have censorship-free conversations about space & planetary science? We could ski & talk Mars here in central NY 🚀🪐🧪
a man wearing glasses stands in front of a blackboard with the words bueller written on it
ALT: a man wearing glasses stands in front of a blackboard with the words bueller written on it
media.tenor.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:21 PM
One of my students just submitted their LPSC abstract - # 1439 on deadline morning. Looks like it could be a very sparsely attended meeting. Anyone want to hang out not in TX and have censorship-free conversations about space & planetary science? We could ski & talk Mars here in central NY 🚀🪐🧪
Higher education #academicsky faculty folks, how does your institution handle faculty governance-related voting? In-person balloting? Do you get an email with a voting link? Sherds in a pot? Your elected faculty representative votes for you?
a kermit the frog is holding a sign that says vote .
ALT: a kermit the frog is holding a sign that says vote .
media.tenor.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Higher education #academicsky faculty folks, how does your institution handle faculty governance-related voting? In-person balloting? Do you get an email with a voting link? Sherds in a pot? Your elected faculty representative votes for you?
Good morning friends at #AGU! If you want to talk permafrost hydrology, drones, or remote sensing, drop by poster 0901 this morning from 10-12:30! #Cryosphere section by the hotdog stand. ⚒️🧪 #drones
December 16, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Good morning friends at #AGU! If you want to talk permafrost hydrology, drones, or remote sensing, drop by poster 0901 this morning from 10-12:30! #Cryosphere section by the hotdog stand. ⚒️🧪 #drones
I do love to see #font news gracing the NY Times. I've always felt that Garamond was the font of borrowed authority. It's on brand that "According to the State Department’s policies, other serif & sans serif typefaces including, Arial, Verdana, Garamond, & Courier, are still allowed on its website."
Calibri’s Run-In With Rubio Wasn’t Its First Controversy
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I do love to see #font news gracing the NY Times. I've always felt that Garamond was the font of borrowed authority. It's on brand that "According to the State Department’s policies, other serif & sans serif typefaces including, Arial, Verdana, Garamond, & Courier, are still allowed on its website."
It's graduate school recommendation letter writing season again, & I have some amazing student scientists to send off into the world to help advance #geoscience research. For some reason, writing letters of recommendation always reminds me of this scene from #StarWars.
November 25, 2025 at 8:11 PM
It's graduate school recommendation letter writing season again, & I have some amazing student scientists to send off into the world to help advance #geoscience research. For some reason, writing letters of recommendation always reminds me of this scene from #StarWars.
Why is watching snowfall so satisfying? Is there an evolutionary explanation? Does it flicker at the same rate as a campfire? You’d think we’d be adapted to seeing it as a hazard, not as the start to a cozy weekend.
November 16, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Why is watching snowfall so satisfying? Is there an evolutionary explanation? Does it flicker at the same rate as a campfire? You’d think we’d be adapted to seeing it as a hazard, not as the start to a cozy weekend.
Be cool like a Michigan elementary/middle sticker contest winner! Go vote!
www.michigan.gov/sos/election...
www.michigan.gov/sos/election...
November 4, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Be cool like a Michigan elementary/middle sticker contest winner! Go vote!
www.michigan.gov/sos/election...
www.michigan.gov/sos/election...
Particularly lovely braid bars in the emriver flume this morning for #SedimentSaturday and Family Weekend at @colgate.edu ⚒️🧪
November 1, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Particularly lovely braid bars in the emriver flume this morning for #SedimentSaturday and Family Weekend at @colgate.edu ⚒️🧪
I am irrationally excited about this. 3rd-grade me took a stab at improving the zipper as part of a science fair project. Alternative take: zippers with tape are user-replaceable. Integrated zips might look and feel nice, but are Apple/JD-level user servicble. #design
www.wired.com/story/the-zi...
www.wired.com/story/the-zi...
The Zipper Is Getting Its First Major Upgrade in 100 Years
By stripping away the fabric tape that’s held zippers together for a hundred years, Japanese clothing giant YKK is designing the future of seamless clothing.
www.wired.com
October 19, 2025 at 1:14 PM
I am irrationally excited about this. 3rd-grade me took a stab at improving the zipper as part of a science fair project. Alternative take: zippers with tape are user-replaceable. Integrated zips might look and feel nice, but are Apple/JD-level user servicble. #design
www.wired.com/story/the-zi...
www.wired.com/story/the-zi...
One of my new favorite moments @colgate.edu was getting invited to judge a Fake Rock competition this week in the first year seminar “Fakes: Deception, Illusion, & Misdirection.” The course is all about illusions, art, and what counts as real. ⚒️🧪 🌎🎨
October 1, 2025 at 1:05 PM
One of my new favorite moments @colgate.edu was getting invited to judge a Fake Rock competition this week in the first year seminar “Fakes: Deception, Illusion, & Misdirection.” The course is all about illusions, art, and what counts as real. ⚒️🧪 🌎🎨
Oreos, cookies, and frosting in lab? It must be clay minerals day in Seds. ⚒️🧪
September 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Oreos, cookies, and frosting in lab? It must be clay minerals day in Seds. ⚒️🧪
I think I figured out why my dataloggers stopped telemetering. The playa they were on decided to spend some more time as a lake. ⚒️🧪
August 21, 2025 at 2:29 PM
I think I figured out why my dataloggers stopped telemetering. The playa they were on decided to spend some more time as a lake. ⚒️🧪
Fun and games with #drone ortho-images. Here's three weeks or so of #Antarctic water track wetlands expanding during the '24-25 austral summer. The gif runs forwards then backwards to help spot change. You can see which way time's moving by looking at the shrinking snowbanks at right.
July 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Fun and games with #drone ortho-images. Here's three weeks or so of #Antarctic water track wetlands expanding during the '24-25 austral summer. The gif runs forwards then backwards to help spot change. You can see which way time's moving by looking at the shrinking snowbanks at right.
Wow, poster putty is a lot stronger in Europe than it is in the US.
July 11, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Wow, poster putty is a lot stronger in Europe than it is in the US.
It’s not “costs” and “savings,” @nytimes.com. It’s “forfeiting the revenue the government needs to its work” and “abandonment of the needy and the future.”
Snuck in there is also expansion of a police state, of course. But it just ain’t “costs” and “savings.”
Snuck in there is also expansion of a police state, of course. But it just ain’t “costs” and “savings.”
June 30, 2025 at 11:56 AM
It’s not “costs” and “savings,” @nytimes.com. It’s “forfeiting the revenue the government needs to its work” and “abandonment of the needy and the future.”
Snuck in there is also expansion of a police state, of course. But it just ain’t “costs” and “savings.”
Snuck in there is also expansion of a police state, of course. But it just ain’t “costs” and “savings.”
Putting together some #drone orthoimages from this past year's #Antarctic fieldwork. I noticed an oblique image in the set (all the mapping shots are nadir). Team dronie! Very RHPC: "And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race. Lost in time and lost in space...and meaning."
June 29, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Putting together some #drone orthoimages from this past year's #Antarctic fieldwork. I noticed an oblique image in the set (all the mapping shots are nadir). Team dronie! Very RHPC: "And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race. Lost in time and lost in space...and meaning."
This is bad for those facing level 11 Awkward Ringlet Index warnings. And, also, for everyone. Be careful in the heat and humidity—it’s the most dangerous weather phenomenon.
wapo.st/4lfEc0x
wapo.st/4lfEc0x
Maps show the cities about to experience extreme humidity and heat
Humidity will soon surge to extreme levels across 40 states. Find out where there will be excessive heat and humidity — and how humidity patterns are changing.
wapo.st
June 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
This is bad for those facing level 11 Awkward Ringlet Index warnings. And, also, for everyone. Be careful in the heat and humidity—it’s the most dangerous weather phenomenon.
wapo.st/4lfEc0x
wapo.st/4lfEc0x
Um, @nytimes.com, Leo IV, who was born in Rome in the year 790 CE, was probably not the first American pontiff. Numeracy (and Roman numeralcy) matters.
June 12, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Um, @nytimes.com, Leo IV, who was born in Rome in the year 790 CE, was probably not the first American pontiff. Numeracy (and Roman numeralcy) matters.
Optimism is submitting new proposals to the 2025 NSF call for research projects requiring Antarctic fieldwork. Advocacy is reminding my senators’ offices that US scientists can’t be leaders in polar #geoscience without funding. Polar environmental change affects all Americans. #StandUpForScience
June 3, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Optimism is submitting new proposals to the 2025 NSF call for research projects requiring Antarctic fieldwork. Advocacy is reminding my senators’ offices that US scientists can’t be leaders in polar #geoscience without funding. Polar environmental change affects all Americans. #StandUpForScience