Joe Mason
@moreorloess.bsky.social
UW Madison Geography, opinions are mine. Geomorphology, soils, dunes, loess, in the Midwest, Great Plains, northern China. He/him. Living on Ho-Chunk lands.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NYC’s Lander Recommends Dropping $42 Billion BlackRock Mandate
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging three of the city’s pension funds to drop BlackRock Inc. because of “inadequate” climate plans, the latest move to penalize investment firms for failing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Meanwhile the soil temperature at a little over a meter depth (40 inches) is just slowly, slowly easing toward winter (still relatively balmy down there, though).
November 26, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Meanwhile the soil temperature at a little over a meter depth (40 inches) is just slowly, slowly easing toward winter (still relatively balmy down there, though).
A month (almost) of midlatitude weather in wind data from the Arlington mesonet site, in open fields north of Madison. Solid blue is wind direction swinging back and forth, open circles are wind gusts, peaking with NW to N winds. Just had the strongest gust of the month so far, more to come this AM.
November 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
A month (almost) of midlatitude weather in wind data from the Arlington mesonet site, in open fields north of Madison. Solid blue is wind direction swinging back and forth, open circles are wind gusts, peaking with NW to N winds. Just had the strongest gust of the month so far, more to come this AM.
Sitting in our living room watching and hearing the wind gusts pick up outside.
November 26, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Sitting in our living room watching and hearing the wind gusts pick up outside.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Super proud of @alyssa-phillips.bsky.social 's paper, now out on biorxiv! She resolves the origin(s) of polyploid big blue-stem, a dominant species in the midwest tall-grass prairie. Her common garden analysis also informs on environmental adaptation and hints at the impacts of polyploidy.
The origins and adaptive consequences of polyploidy in a dominant prairie grass
Polyploidy is ubiquitous across North American prairies, which provide essential ecosystem services and rich soil for agriculture. Yet the mechanism driving polyploid abundance is unclear. Multiple hy...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Super proud of @alyssa-phillips.bsky.social 's paper, now out on biorxiv! She resolves the origin(s) of polyploid big blue-stem, a dominant species in the midwest tall-grass prairie. Her common garden analysis also informs on environmental adaptation and hints at the impacts of polyploidy.
This account is too distracting! I have to look up every one of these places. New Sharon is on the great tabular divides of southern Iowa, with wet, miserably gray soils formed in fine loess over old glacial tills. Near Pella, Oskaloosa, and What Cheer, and of course you all know where they are.
November 26, 2025 at 3:29 AM
This account is too distracting! I have to look up every one of these places. New Sharon is on the great tabular divides of southern Iowa, with wet, miserably gray soils formed in fine loess over old glacial tills. Near Pella, Oskaloosa, and What Cheer, and of course you all know where they are.
On the weekend after Thanksgiving, in 1985, I believe, we had 17 inches of snow in Stevens Point. My boss in custodial services at UW Stevens Point called in whoever wanted overtime on Sunday morning, and we worked 8 or 10 hours shoveling that snow off every damn entranceway and ramp and steps.
Big weather changes are in store today.
This AM: Dense fog over southern Wisconsin.
This PM - Thanksgiving: A windy winter storm will bring heavy snow to northern Wisconsin.
Widespread 12”+ totals and blizzard conditions possible. Parts of Ashland and Iron Counties could see 20-30” of snow!
This AM: Dense fog over southern Wisconsin.
This PM - Thanksgiving: A windy winter storm will bring heavy snow to northern Wisconsin.
Widespread 12”+ totals and blizzard conditions possible. Parts of Ashland and Iron Counties could see 20-30” of snow!
November 26, 2025 at 3:06 AM
On the weekend after Thanksgiving, in 1985, I believe, we had 17 inches of snow in Stevens Point. My boss in custodial services at UW Stevens Point called in whoever wanted overtime on Sunday morning, and we worked 8 or 10 hours shoveling that snow off every damn entranceway and ramp and steps.
Reposted to mark what looks like it will be the real beginning of winter in Wisconsin.
November 26, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reposted to mark what looks like it will be the real beginning of winter in Wisconsin.
Apple pie, made with a good crust and good apples, is very very good. So is cherry pie. If you don't like them, more for me.
November 26, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Apple pie, made with a good crust and good apples, is very very good. So is cherry pie. If you don't like them, more for me.
As most of you probably know by now, Wisconsin splits almost evenly in elections for president and statewide offices. But six of eight House members are Republican.
NEW: The Wisconsin Supreme Court has appointed two different 3-judge panels to hear challenges to the state’s court-adopted congressional map - the decisions in both cases drawing strong dissents.
November 26, 2025 at 2:10 AM
As most of you probably know by now, Wisconsin splits almost evenly in elections for president and statewide offices. But six of eight House members are Republican.
Reposted by Joe Mason
NEW: The Wisconsin Supreme Court has appointed two different 3-judge panels to hear challenges to the state’s court-adopted congressional map - the decisions in both cases drawing strong dissents.
November 25, 2025 at 8:20 PM
NEW: The Wisconsin Supreme Court has appointed two different 3-judge panels to hear challenges to the state’s court-adopted congressional map - the decisions in both cases drawing strong dissents.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Pretty good article on the challenges facing the local Tyson plant that closed, and any would be buyers.
www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/...
www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/...
Tyson goes first
Let’s dig into some realities of the business to better understand Tyson’s decision to close its beef plant.
www.beefmagazine.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Pretty good article on the challenges facing the local Tyson plant that closed, and any would be buyers.
www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/...
www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/...
Reposted by Joe Mason
Very excited and proud to have our second paper from the @giflab.bsky.social accepted and published in the proceedings of the 6th Spatial Data Science Symposium, to be held next week!
Here is a link if you'd like to read it: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Here is a link if you'd like to read it: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
A vision for participatory models of animal movement: a case study with Moose
A case study and vision for co-developing simulations of animal movement in coupled socioecological systems.
doi.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Very excited and proud to have our second paper from the @giflab.bsky.social accepted and published in the proceedings of the 6th Spatial Data Science Symposium, to be held next week!
Here is a link if you'd like to read it: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Here is a link if you'd like to read it: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Reposted by Joe Mason
Monthly rainfall in northern Africa and around the Mediterranean (just rediscovered that I made this to talk about the monsoons and Mediterranean climates, lecture topic tomorrow). Yes, should add a scale, but more blue is more rain and it's the spatial and temporal patterns that matter anyway.
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Monthly rainfall in northern Africa and around the Mediterranean (just rediscovered that I made this to talk about the monsoons and Mediterranean climates, lecture topic tomorrow). Yes, should add a scale, but more blue is more rain and it's the spatial and temporal patterns that matter anyway.
Tried taking a core in a grove of trees in a state park (with permission!). Hit something hard, ran an auger down and pulled up rotting boards and electrical wires. It was at least three feet of construction debris, maybe a building pushed into its basement, no clue on the surface it was there.
![Comic: Typical Geologic core sample. [Cylindrical core sample with labels for difference sections from top to bottom] Topsoil, till, granite bedrock, bottomsoil, roof of subway car, floor of subway car, more granite, municipal water main [gouge in core sample], slightly different granite, piece of screaming spelunker’s forearm, cool crystals with no resale value, mangled fragments of drillbit from previous attempt, some boring intrusive rock that’s basically granite but has a name like “diorite” or “Andalite” that you always have to look up, netherrack, Balrog wing. [break between next chunk of core sample] Granite, topsoil, cement, floorboards, carpet, possessions of a confused and angry homeowner in the other hemisphere.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreicffnydtpbb2x24cfbblv2qtcwbr37zyw44vtqx47ocj2a26b2j2u@jpeg)
November 25, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Tried taking a core in a grove of trees in a state park (with permission!). Hit something hard, ran an auger down and pulled up rotting boards and electrical wires. It was at least three feet of construction debris, maybe a building pushed into its basement, no clue on the surface it was there.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Major new review paper on dust, with emphasis on its aspects related to human health:
Querol et al., ES&T Air: Desert Sand and Dust Storms and Desert Dust Episodes: Major Patterns to be Accounted for to Protect the Health of Exposed Population: A Review
doi.org/10.1021/acse...
Querol et al., ES&T Air: Desert Sand and Dust Storms and Desert Dust Episodes: Major Patterns to be Accounted for to Protect the Health of Exposed Population: A Review
doi.org/10.1021/acse...
Desert Sand and Dust Storms and Desert Dust Episodes: Major Patterns to be Accounted for to Protect the Health of Exposed Population: A Review
Sources of desert dust, atmospheric transport, recorded concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter (PM), physical, compositional, and biological characteristics, and likely direct and indirect i...
doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Major new review paper on dust, with emphasis on its aspects related to human health:
Querol et al., ES&T Air: Desert Sand and Dust Storms and Desert Dust Episodes: Major Patterns to be Accounted for to Protect the Health of Exposed Population: A Review
doi.org/10.1021/acse...
Querol et al., ES&T Air: Desert Sand and Dust Storms and Desert Dust Episodes: Major Patterns to be Accounted for to Protect the Health of Exposed Population: A Review
doi.org/10.1021/acse...
Riding the bus out Monroe Street on the West Side of Madison, and yeah, these are very nice little very expensive houses and I kind of miss the strip malls with tattoo parlors.
November 25, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Riding the bus out Monroe Street on the West Side of Madison, and yeah, these are very nice little very expensive houses and I kind of miss the strip malls with tattoo parlors.
Post a movie from where you are from. (Not the movie but where it was filmed, far from Punxsutawny, PA).
November 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Post a movie from where you are from. (Not the movie but where it was filmed, far from Punxsutawny, PA).
Reposted by Joe Mason
Big weather changes are in store today.
This AM: Dense fog over southern Wisconsin.
This PM - Thanksgiving: A windy winter storm will bring heavy snow to northern Wisconsin.
Widespread 12”+ totals and blizzard conditions possible. Parts of Ashland and Iron Counties could see 20-30” of snow!
This AM: Dense fog over southern Wisconsin.
This PM - Thanksgiving: A windy winter storm will bring heavy snow to northern Wisconsin.
Widespread 12”+ totals and blizzard conditions possible. Parts of Ashland and Iron Counties could see 20-30” of snow!
November 25, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Big weather changes are in store today.
This AM: Dense fog over southern Wisconsin.
This PM - Thanksgiving: A windy winter storm will bring heavy snow to northern Wisconsin.
Widespread 12”+ totals and blizzard conditions possible. Parts of Ashland and Iron Counties could see 20-30” of snow!
This AM: Dense fog over southern Wisconsin.
This PM - Thanksgiving: A windy winter storm will bring heavy snow to northern Wisconsin.
Widespread 12”+ totals and blizzard conditions possible. Parts of Ashland and Iron Counties could see 20-30” of snow!
Reposted by Joe Mason
NEW: We cannot continue to pump CO2 into the Atmosphere without re-arranging the Biosphere. Ellen Welti and I analyze datasets from the US Long Term Ecological Research site at Konza Prairie and reveal wholesale reorganization of plant biomass and biogeochemistry, with implications for its food web.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
NEW: We cannot continue to pump CO2 into the Atmosphere without re-arranging the Biosphere. Ellen Welti and I analyze datasets from the US Long Term Ecological Research site at Konza Prairie and reveal wholesale reorganization of plant biomass and biogeochemistry, with implications for its food web.
Reposted by Joe Mason
If you are interested in a primary source for the beginning of next semester, may I recommend the earliest recorded indigenous description of Appalachia, translated by yours truly?
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
Luisa and Teresa of Appalachia — Scott Cave
www.scottcave.net
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 AM
If you are interested in a primary source for the beginning of next semester, may I recommend the earliest recorded indigenous description of Appalachia, translated by yours truly?
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
I'm working on a published version and would love any feedback you have as well.
www.scottcave.net/blog/2025/10...
Listening to Folkways records of Jean Ritchie to try to remember which ones my mother had. I've got some of her old records, include a set of Pablo Casals recordings on old 78s. It's remarkable how little musical talent I have with a parent like her.
November 25, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Listening to Folkways records of Jean Ritchie to try to remember which ones my mother had. I've got some of her old records, include a set of Pablo Casals recordings on old 78s. It's remarkable how little musical talent I have with a parent like her.
Monthly rainfall in northern Africa and around the Mediterranean (just rediscovered that I made this to talk about the monsoons and Mediterranean climates, lecture topic tomorrow). Yes, should add a scale, but more blue is more rain and it's the spatial and temporal patterns that matter anyway.
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Monthly rainfall in northern Africa and around the Mediterranean (just rediscovered that I made this to talk about the monsoons and Mediterranean climates, lecture topic tomorrow). Yes, should add a scale, but more blue is more rain and it's the spatial and temporal patterns that matter anyway.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Today, after months of requests, I toured the Broadview ICE Processing Facility. I want to share what I saw.
The facility has no food vendor, no medical care, and detainees have to use toilets in the middle of shared cells. These are in no way suitable conditions to be holding anyone — period.
The facility has no food vendor, no medical care, and detainees have to use toilets in the middle of shared cells. These are in no way suitable conditions to be holding anyone — period.
November 25, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Today, after months of requests, I toured the Broadview ICE Processing Facility. I want to share what I saw.
The facility has no food vendor, no medical care, and detainees have to use toilets in the middle of shared cells. These are in no way suitable conditions to be holding anyone — period.
The facility has no food vendor, no medical care, and detainees have to use toilets in the middle of shared cells. These are in no way suitable conditions to be holding anyone — period.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Cut-over long leaf yellow pine forest. The tract extends for thirty-seven miles. A lumber industry owner did no replanting and cut out on 1931 after eighteen years of operations. They employed approximately 3000 men. Near Kiln, Mississippi […]
[Original post on mastodon.ozioso.online]
[Original post on mastodon.ozioso.online]
November 24, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Cut-over long leaf yellow pine forest. The tract extends for thirty-seven miles. A lumber industry owner did no replanting and cut out on 1931 after eighteen years of operations. They employed approximately 3000 men. Near Kiln, Mississippi […]
[Original post on mastodon.ozioso.online]
[Original post on mastodon.ozioso.online]