Dr. Shannon Cofield 🪨🌊
@geoshanz.bsky.social
Geological Oceanographer | Researching sediments from the Deep Sea to Mars
• Ph.D. in tiny Arctic rocks, oceans, + squiggly lines
• Exploring extreme environments w/ robot friends
✍️ https://geoshanz.blogspot.com
Prev 🐥: @ MarsRoverMapper (ODU+NASA-JPL)
• Ph.D. in tiny Arctic rocks, oceans, + squiggly lines
• Exploring extreme environments w/ robot friends
✍️ https://geoshanz.blogspot.com
Prev 🐥: @ MarsRoverMapper (ODU+NASA-JPL)
Pinned
History of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet, MIS 11 to present
Understanding the history of large Arctic ice sheets is important in knowing the possibilities for future climate change and its impact on existing ic…
www.sciencedirect.com
🚨New Paper: "History of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet, MIS 11 to present" - Cofield & Darby (2025)
Utilized ice rafted debris + Fe-grains from a deep-sea Arctic sediment core to reconstruct ice movement/ timing for Barents Sea Ice Sheet through MIS 11 (~440 ka).
*Proxy explanation in🧵
(1/n) 🌊🧪
Utilized ice rafted debris + Fe-grains from a deep-sea Arctic sediment core to reconstruct ice movement/ timing for Barents Sea Ice Sheet through MIS 11 (~440 ka).
*Proxy explanation in🧵
(1/n) 🌊🧪
LIFE HACK for these freezing temps:
☝️Go to thrift store
✌️Navigate to men’s sweaters (women’s = overwhelmingly polyester)
🤟Hunt for 100% wool sweaters (Tip: check material tags! Bonus pts for Merino)
👊Jump for joy at the <$15.00 price tag
Base layer ✅
☝️Go to thrift store
✌️Navigate to men’s sweaters (women’s = overwhelmingly polyester)
🤟Hunt for 100% wool sweaters (Tip: check material tags! Bonus pts for Merino)
👊Jump for joy at the <$15.00 price tag
Base layer ✅
December 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
LIFE HACK for these freezing temps:
☝️Go to thrift store
✌️Navigate to men’s sweaters (women’s = overwhelmingly polyester)
🤟Hunt for 100% wool sweaters (Tip: check material tags! Bonus pts for Merino)
👊Jump for joy at the <$15.00 price tag
Base layer ✅
☝️Go to thrift store
✌️Navigate to men’s sweaters (women’s = overwhelmingly polyester)
🤟Hunt for 100% wool sweaters (Tip: check material tags! Bonus pts for Merino)
👊Jump for joy at the <$15.00 price tag
Base layer ✅
🚨 New video drop:
⛴️ 2025 USGS Hawai'i expedition (R/V Kilo Moana)
Love seeing my happy colleagues/ IA teammates in their element 🌊🧪
This sampling expedition builds upon our previous 2023 E/V Nautilus mapping expedition #NA157 (+ a following NOAA expedition- thank you!).
Mahalo Team 🌺
⛴️ 2025 USGS Hawai'i expedition (R/V Kilo Moana)
Love seeing my happy colleagues/ IA teammates in their element 🌊🧪
This sampling expedition builds upon our previous 2023 E/V Nautilus mapping expedition #NA157 (+ a following NOAA expedition- thank you!).
Mahalo Team 🌺
Expedition Recap - Hawaiʻi Abyssal Nodules and Associated Ecosystems
In Fall 2025 the Hawaiʻi Abyssal Nodules and Associated Ecosystems Expedition, led by USGS scientists, investigated the geology, minerals, and environmental setting of the deep seabed offshore Moku o ...
www.usgs.gov
December 4, 2025 at 6:20 PM
🚨 New video drop:
⛴️ 2025 USGS Hawai'i expedition (R/V Kilo Moana)
Love seeing my happy colleagues/ IA teammates in their element 🌊🧪
This sampling expedition builds upon our previous 2023 E/V Nautilus mapping expedition #NA157 (+ a following NOAA expedition- thank you!).
Mahalo Team 🌺
⛴️ 2025 USGS Hawai'i expedition (R/V Kilo Moana)
Love seeing my happy colleagues/ IA teammates in their element 🌊🧪
This sampling expedition builds upon our previous 2023 E/V Nautilus mapping expedition #NA157 (+ a following NOAA expedition- thank you!).
Mahalo Team 🌺
Dear Loosey-Goosey Rossby Waves,
The polar bears called. It’s time to go home.
xoxo,
The 🥶 Mid-Latitudes.
🧪
The polar bears called. It’s time to go home.
xoxo,
The 🥶 Mid-Latitudes.
🧪
December 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Dear Loosey-Goosey Rossby Waves,
The polar bears called. It’s time to go home.
xoxo,
The 🥶 Mid-Latitudes.
🧪
The polar bears called. It’s time to go home.
xoxo,
The 🥶 Mid-Latitudes.
🧪
🪨 Deep-sea mining news out of Norway:
Hot off the press (12/03/2025) 🌊🧪
Hot off the press (12/03/2025) 🌊🧪
Norway freezes plans for Arctic seabed mining after budget deal - ArcticToday
Norway has halted all plans for Arctic seabed mining after a budget deal with the Socialist Left Party, postponing licensing until at least 2025 as the government faces growing environmental and inter...
www.arctictoday.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
🪨 Deep-sea mining news out of Norway:
Hot off the press (12/03/2025) 🌊🧪
Hot off the press (12/03/2025) 🌊🧪
Rhythmites in lacustrine sediments @ Gale crater, Mars, and what they might mean… about… past… 🌖[s- plural!?]
👀 #AGU25
(Really bummed I’ll be missing so many exciting presentations this year!)
👀 #AGU25
(Really bummed I’ll be missing so many exciting presentations this year!)
NASA's Curiosity Rover found evidence of tides in the sediments of an ancient lake. Today's Martian moons aren't big enough to to do that.
Mars may once have had a much larger moon, which then shattered (perhaps repeatedly), creating the smaller moons of today. 🧪🔭
agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/me...
Mars may once have had a much larger moon, which then shattered (perhaps repeatedly), creating the smaller moons of today. 🧪🔭
agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/me...
December 2, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Rhythmites in lacustrine sediments @ Gale crater, Mars, and what they might mean… about… past… 🌖[s- plural!?]
👀 #AGU25
(Really bummed I’ll be missing so many exciting presentations this year!)
👀 #AGU25
(Really bummed I’ll be missing so many exciting presentations this year!)
Hej! Deep-Sea Team:
📆 COBRA Events @ #AGU25 (🔗 below)
🔦All events are top notch, so I'd like to shine an extra spotlight on the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey NSF Town Hall (12/17 @ 1300). The Decadal will guide ocean research over the next 10 yrs- please stay involved!!!
🌊🧪 (1/2)
📆 COBRA Events @ #AGU25 (🔗 below)
🔦All events are top notch, so I'd like to shine an extra spotlight on the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey NSF Town Hall (12/17 @ 1300). The Decadal will guide ocean research over the next 10 yrs- please stay involved!!!
🌊🧪 (1/2)
December 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Hej! Deep-Sea Team:
📆 COBRA Events @ #AGU25 (🔗 below)
🔦All events are top notch, so I'd like to shine an extra spotlight on the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey NSF Town Hall (12/17 @ 1300). The Decadal will guide ocean research over the next 10 yrs- please stay involved!!!
🌊🧪 (1/2)
📆 COBRA Events @ #AGU25 (🔗 below)
🔦All events are top notch, so I'd like to shine an extra spotlight on the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey NSF Town Hall (12/17 @ 1300). The Decadal will guide ocean research over the next 10 yrs- please stay involved!!!
🌊🧪 (1/2)
#AGU25 Jen is presenting✌️posters [at her very first major conference] about her #STEMSEAS experience on the R/V Atlantis.
📍San Diego, CA ➡️ Dutch Harbor, AK (AT50-37)
Please stop by + ask her about our 25ft seas! Consider that your secret handshake. So proud of her & our entire STEMSEAS crew
🌊🧪
📍San Diego, CA ➡️ Dutch Harbor, AK (AT50-37)
Please stop by + ask her about our 25ft seas! Consider that your secret handshake. So proud of her & our entire STEMSEAS crew
🌊🧪
December 1, 2025 at 9:42 PM
🚨 New #NOAA website documenting on our 2025 Aleutian Islands, Alaska Expedition aboard the R/V Atlantis #AT50-38
- Learn more about our science objectives, sampling operations, HOV Alvin dives, cruise track/ mapping efforts, expedition team/ partners, and additional resources. 🌊🧪 (1/2)
- Learn more about our science objectives, sampling operations, HOV Alvin dives, cruise track/ mapping efforts, expedition team/ partners, and additional resources. 🌊🧪 (1/2)
November 30, 2025 at 12:38 AM
When your friends are taking 1,463 photos of the space shuttle, you must sacrifice one image.
“The Shannon Photo-💣-with-🫶”
📍 Space Shuttle Discovery @ Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum, Virginia
“The Shannon Photo-💣-with-🫶”
📍 Space Shuttle Discovery @ Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum, Virginia
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 AM
When your friends are taking 1,463 photos of the space shuttle, you must sacrifice one image.
“The Shannon Photo-💣-with-🫶”
📍 Space Shuttle Discovery @ Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum, Virginia
“The Shannon Photo-💣-with-🫶”
📍 Space Shuttle Discovery @ Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum, Virginia
We had a visitor. 🌊🧪
November 25, 2025 at 4:55 PM
We had a visitor. 🌊🧪
Blue Ridge Mountains (Virginia, 🇺🇸) putting forth a solid effort to mimic an emoji. 🌄
November 24, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Blue Ridge Mountains (Virginia, 🇺🇸) putting forth a solid effort to mimic an emoji. 🌄
So... about today.
Dr. Sylvia Earle was in the chat 🌊🧪
If you missed the live debate, the recording will be posted shortly. Highly recommend if you're interested in current happenings with deep-sea mining.
Dr. Sylvia Earle was in the chat 🌊🧪
If you missed the live debate, the recording will be posted shortly. Highly recommend if you're interested in current happenings with deep-sea mining.
November 21, 2025 at 8:15 PM
So... about today.
Dr. Sylvia Earle was in the chat 🌊🧪
If you missed the live debate, the recording will be posted shortly. Highly recommend if you're interested in current happenings with deep-sea mining.
Dr. Sylvia Earle was in the chat 🌊🧪
If you missed the live debate, the recording will be posted shortly. Highly recommend if you're interested in current happenings with deep-sea mining.
🚨 Upcoming live debate
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
November 17, 2025 at 2:27 PM
🚨 Upcoming live debate
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
As we gear up for the first full week back, a colleague (Navy SEAL BUDS Instructor) reminded me:
“99% of life boils down to one simple axiom… Never panic.”
Whether it’s at your desk, getting tumbled by the ocean, or chased by a bear (wait- maybe that’s wrong?), you can control your reaction. 😎
“99% of life boils down to one simple axiom… Never panic.”
Whether it’s at your desk, getting tumbled by the ocean, or chased by a bear (wait- maybe that’s wrong?), you can control your reaction. 😎
November 16, 2025 at 11:20 PM
As we gear up for the first full week back, a colleague (Navy SEAL BUDS Instructor) reminded me:
“99% of life boils down to one simple axiom… Never panic.”
Whether it’s at your desk, getting tumbled by the ocean, or chased by a bear (wait- maybe that’s wrong?), you can control your reaction. 😎
“99% of life boils down to one simple axiom… Never panic.”
Whether it’s at your desk, getting tumbled by the ocean, or chased by a bear (wait- maybe that’s wrong?), you can control your reaction. 😎
Also- Check out their COBRA webinar 🌊🧪
“Ecology and ecosystem services of inactive hydrothermal vent deposits”
Dr. Jason Sylvan (Texas A&M University) & Dr. Amanda Achberger (Louisiana State University)
Watch recording here:
“Ecology and ecosystem services of inactive hydrothermal vent deposits”
Dr. Jason Sylvan (Texas A&M University) & Dr. Amanda Achberger (Louisiana State University)
Watch recording here:
November 15, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Also- Check out their COBRA webinar 🌊🧪
“Ecology and ecosystem services of inactive hydrothermal vent deposits”
Dr. Jason Sylvan (Texas A&M University) & Dr. Amanda Achberger (Louisiana State University)
Watch recording here:
“Ecology and ecosystem services of inactive hydrothermal vent deposits”
Dr. Jason Sylvan (Texas A&M University) & Dr. Amanda Achberger (Louisiana State University)
Watch recording here:
Excited to follow along w/ this novel approach. The 2-year window is always high-stress via constraints for Mars missions (i.e., launch/ deliverable delays 😮💨).
@coreyspowell.bsky.social Will this trajectory also have implications for return missions [in the context of crewed Mars missions]?
@coreyspowell.bsky.social Will this trajectory also have implications for return missions [in the context of crewed Mars missions]?
NASA's just-launched ESCAPADE mission is trying out a novel trajectory to Mars, one that's slower but allows much more flexible launch dates. The flight path also provides a bonus science session at the L2 equilibrium point near Earth. 🧪🔭
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
November 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Excited to follow along w/ this novel approach. The 2-year window is always high-stress via constraints for Mars missions (i.e., launch/ deliverable delays 😮💨).
@coreyspowell.bsky.social Will this trajectory also have implications for return missions [in the context of crewed Mars missions]?
@coreyspowell.bsky.social Will this trajectory also have implications for return missions [in the context of crewed Mars missions]?
In the past few days, we've experiencing the beauty of Earth's magnetic field (hello #aurora). But, what about Mars?
Check out NASA's #ESCAPADE mission- launching *NOW* to study Mars magnetosphere!
3... 2... 1... LAUNCH! 🧪🚀 #PlanetarySci
Check out NASA's #ESCAPADE mission- launching *NOW* to study Mars magnetosphere!
3... 2... 1... LAUNCH! 🧪🚀 #PlanetarySci
ESCAPADE - NASA Science
ESCAPADE will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment.
science.nasa.gov
November 13, 2025 at 8:55 PM
In the past few days, we've experiencing the beauty of Earth's magnetic field (hello #aurora). But, what about Mars?
Check out NASA's #ESCAPADE mission- launching *NOW* to study Mars magnetosphere!
3... 2... 1... LAUNCH! 🧪🚀 #PlanetarySci
Check out NASA's #ESCAPADE mission- launching *NOW* to study Mars magnetosphere!
3... 2... 1... LAUNCH! 🧪🚀 #PlanetarySci
Reposted by Dr. Shannon Cofield 🪨🌊
If you have a very low-latitude aurora observation from tonight, please record your exact time and rough location and DO NOT DELETE your photo. These observations will be important for scientific research of this event.
Comment below if you have a low-latitude aurora sighting.
Comment below if you have a low-latitude aurora sighting.
November 12, 2025 at 2:04 AM
If you have a very low-latitude aurora observation from tonight, please record your exact time and rough location and DO NOT DELETE your photo. These observations will be important for scientific research of this event.
Comment below if you have a low-latitude aurora sighting.
Comment below if you have a low-latitude aurora sighting.
REALLY hope the #ISS is able to capture some images of this storm. Bet the auroras are unbelievable from the Cupola!
Both red and green were clearly visible to the eye in Massachusetts about an hour ago! This is the best I've ever seen in the states, but nights like this really make me miss Calgary.
November 12, 2025 at 3:32 AM
REALLY hope the #ISS is able to capture some images of this storm. Bet the auroras are unbelievable from the Cupola!
UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)
The sun is doing things! Auroras are popping off… sadly, it’s cloudy in northern Virginia.
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
November 12, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The sun is doing things! Auroras are popping off… sadly, it’s cloudy in northern Virginia.
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
Okay, I was just in Newport, RI and saw this in a window display. Confirmed- it’s ADORABLE!!! 🦞
November 11, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Okay, I was just in Newport, RI and saw this in a window display. Confirmed- it’s ADORABLE!!! 🦞
Really, REALLY hope this does not happen. After exploring Unalaska and sailing the Aleutians this year, lack of (or absent) tsunami warnings would be devastating for the coastal communities. 🌊🧪
NOAA cut funding for critical parts of the tsunami and earthquake detection system in Alaska, primarily in the Aleutians. I spoke to Wash Post about negative impacts. But, hey, what are the chances of a deadly tsunami being triggered in Alaska? (Gift article, not behind paywall) ⚒️ wapo.st/4qKvavQ
This lab is key for tracking deadly waves. Its sensors are about to go offline.
After NOAA cut funding to the lab that’s been monitoring seismic activity for more than 25 years, nine stations tracking tsunami-causing earthquakes for the agency will go offline by the end of the mo...
wapo.st
November 11, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Really, REALLY hope this does not happen. After exploring Unalaska and sailing the Aleutians this year, lack of (or absent) tsunami warnings would be devastating for the coastal communities. 🌊🧪