Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Anne Jefferson

@annejefferson.bsky.social

7.4K followers 850 following 310 posts

Watershed hydrology and geomorphology prof and Lake Champlain Sea Grant Director here for science, the environment, and life as an academic & mom. Formerly @highlyanne. Posts are personal and do not represent organizations. Reposts are not endorsements.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · Dec 20

Year in review wrap up post for the Watershed Lab at UVM, in which I brag about how many cool things my lab group is doing.

all-geo.org/jefferson/wa...

Watershed Lab’s 2024 in Review – Dr. Anne Jefferson's Watershed Lab

all-geo.org

6 18

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · 16d

Check out this great new video on a resilient rain garden that got buried by sediment in the 2023 Vermont flood and today is more beautiful and functional than ever. all-geo.org/jefferson/ne...

Vegetation and sediment with a bank sign in the background.

Flowering plants and greenery on wood chips in a depression, with a bank sign in the background.

2 1 13

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Li Li 李黎 @lireactivewater.bsky.social · 29d

Upcoming #WARR talks on water chemistry + pollution in substantially modified urban streams flowing through densely populated landscapes

Drs. Elizabeth Herndon + Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social

REgister: psu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

@waterbarnes.bsky.social @devonkerins.bsky.social

7 11

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Clare Fieseler, PhD @fieseler.bsky.social · Aug 29

SCOOP: Revolution Wind employed 80 fishermen over the past 2 years, paying out $9.5 million to captains, deckhands, and fishing boat owners. Trump's pause means he just put Trump-voting fishermen out of work.

When Trump paused Empire Wind, the fishermen stayed quiet.

This time, they spoke to me.👇

‘It’s madness’: Trump-voting fishermen oppose Revolution Wind halt

The Rhode Island offshore wind project, now nearly finished, employed 80 fishermen to help with construction. With Trump's pause, they are losing vital…

www.canarymedia.com

16 110 230

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁 @minibubbly.bsky.social · Aug 23

According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data, Northern Border Crossings are down 39.27% from July 2024 to 2025 and down 36.13% in Northern New York (including Champlain Rouses Point Crossing and Trout River Crossing).

#Boycott #ViveLeCanada #Canada 💪🏻🍁

www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...

With Canadian tourism on the decline, Vermont leaders work to repair cross-border relations

Lindsay Kurrle, Vermont’s Secretary of Commerce and Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture, said they have recently returned from a trip north to meet with a member of the Canadian Parliam...

www.ctvnews.ca

53 110 300

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Cian 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (he/him) @cbdawson.bsky.social · Aug 20

Hydrogeologists say no, absolutely positively no. 😭 ⚒️

Forget phd level, most 2nd graders could do better. Maybe even kindergartners.

8 17 39

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Ryan J Hollister @phaneritic.bsky.social · Aug 12

Flood managed aquifer recharge paired with forecast-informed reservoir operations led to a 40-60% reduction in aquifer overdraft. That’s pretty significant! But still need to reduce withdrawals.

Screenshot of article text that reads:
“Essentially, Flood-MAR uses the aquifer as an underground reservoir that increases the total storage capacity of the watershed.
While this practice alone cannot solve the water crisis, the study found that combining it with Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) and strategic infrastructure investment can achieve a 40% to 60% reduction in groundwater overdraft”

6 24

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Aug 6

Scientists have identified the microbial culprit responsible for the largest sea star wasting disease (SSWD) epidemic ever documented in the wild: A strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida, which proliferates in warm water during seasonal variations and anomalous marine heating events.

Scientists identify bacterium behind devastating wasting disease in starfish

After 90% loss of global sunflower sea star population in 10 years, researchers hope decline can now be tackled

www.theguardian.com

4 53 180

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Chris Rowan @allochthonous.bsky.social · Aug 6

⚒️ Does anyone have any more info on this ‘7 volcanoes in Kamchatka wake up’ story? It doesn’t match with the latest bulletins from KVERT (kvert.febras.net) and the stories don’t really give many details. Would be nice to know which 7, and what they’re actually doing…

Seven volcanoes wake up in Russia's Kamchatka after powerful quake

Klyuchevskoi, Krasheninnikov, Avachinsky and others have all woken up following the 8.8 magnitude quake, the strongest in the region since 1952.

apnews.com

4 18 35

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

mivox is exHAUNTed 👻 @bs.mivox.net · Aug 5

Whether you’re in Alaska or not, please consider donating to keep Kotzebue Public Radio on the air. 💔

Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · Jul 27

On Sunday AM KOTZ (our public radio station) plays hymns sung in Inupiaq. My dad loves hearing Inupiaq. Another thing we'll miss if KOTZ closes (now slated to close in May without federal funding). They also have a huge stash of "Eskimo stories", all in Inupiaq, that aren't available anywhere else.

KOTZEBUE BROADCASTING INC.

Site for Kotzebue Broadcasting Inc.

kotz.org

1 18 33

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Chris Rowan @allochthonous.bsky.social · Jul 30

⚒️ Overnight there was an M8.8 #earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Earthquake (160.2°E, 52.5°N), at a depth of 20.7 km, close to the Kamchatka Trench: a subduction zone boundary between the Kuril-Kamchatka and Pacific plates. The USGS PAGER alert level is RED

Compiled info🧵follows:

The Earthquake Event Page application supports most recent browsers, view supported browsers. Or, try our Real-time Notifications, Feeds, and Web Services.

earthquake.usgs.gov

1 12 29

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Jul 28

Polar Icebreakers May Be Key to Jumpstarting American Shipbuilding New Report Finds

The recently-signed ICE Pact, focused on the development of icebreakers, represents a unique opportunity to revitalize American shipbuilding, a new report by the Wilson Center, a think tank, finds.…

gcaptain.com

4 2 12

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · Jul 29

I feel like someone could convince the WH that an Antarctic ice breaker is key to global domination. But the means might defeat the ends.

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · Jul 29

So much waste. Loss of research, loss of talent, and loss of capacity for years to come.

Science Magazine @science.org · Jul 28

The National Science Foundation plans to abruptly end operation of the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer, the sole U.S. research ship capable of braving the farthest reaches of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. scim.ag/4mB8LOX

NSF plans abrupt end to lone U.S. Antarctic research icebreaker

Imminent termination of the RV Nathaniel B. Palmer shocks polar scientists

scim.ag

5 1 11

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · Jul 29

Even as someone who has read a lot & done research on beach #microplastics, this story from the BBC is horrifying. I really hope the companies involved can be held more responsible. www.bbc.com/news/article...

BBC uncovers lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka

Scientists warn the damage to the environment after the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster could be much more enduring.

www.bbc.com

1 7

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Li Li 李黎 @lireactivewater.bsky.social · Jul 29

Interested in #bigdata #river #Biogeochem #interdisciplinary collaboration? A postdoc opportunity in the Sullivan group, one of the most supportive & nurturing mentors I ever know.

sites.google.com/oregonstate....

Sullivan Lab - Opportunities

Recruiting Postdoc Scholar in Big Data and River Biogeochemistry

sites.google.com

1 10 14

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Gund Institute for Environment @gundinstitute.bsky.social · Jun 30

A discarded toy on a Lake Champlain beach may take a different form one day: millions of microplastic bits, says @uvmvermont.bsky.social prof. @annejefferson.bsky.social.

Learn about what Jefferson and colleagues are finding as they scour Lake Champlain for microplastic sources: go.uvm.edu/xen2p

Microplastics are in Lake Champlain and in us. These scientists want to know their source

Researchers on Lake Champlain are doubling down on years of research to try to figure out how tiny pieces of toxic plastic are getting into the lake, which serves some 200,000 people with drinking wat...

go.uvm.edu

1 2 1

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · Jun 26

National Science Foundation staff were notified that their office space will be taken over by Department of Housing and Urban Development. It's unclear where the 1,800+ NSF employees will work. Renovation plans apparently include a personal gym for the HUD secretary & family eos.org/research-and...

National Science Foundation Staff Booted From Headquarters - Eos

Staff at the National Science Foundation (NSF) were notified on 25 June that the agency’s office space, located in Alexandria, Va., will be taken over by Department of Housing and Urban Development (H...

eos.org

24 130 180

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · Jun 26

Universities must respect academic freedom. Tulane apparently does not.
www.wwno.org/education/20...

Tulane scientist resigns citing university censorship of pollution and racial disparity research

Kim Terrell, a researcher with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, resigned Wednesday, saying in a letter the university had sacrificed academic integrity for political expediency.

www.wwno.org

1 2 10

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Chris Rowan @allochthonous.bsky.social · Jun 20

Hasn’t a couple of decades of increasing reliance on phone navigation taught us it’s a seriously bad idea to trust a computer to shorten your route?

In Vermont, we annually place bets on how long it will take a truck to get stuck in Smuggler’s Notch (a “shorter” mountain route) once it opens.

2 2 19

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Kate Aronoff @katearonoff.bsky.social · Jun 18

Wild how the Fed chair saying that *entire regions of the United States* won’t be able to get a mortgage in the next decade barely registered as a news event

430 6.8K 17K

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · Jun 10

Working with folks fighting plastic pollution in the Lake Champlain Basin continues to give me hope for the future of civic engagement. Here's a great profile of one of our local environmental leaders. www.sevendaysvt.com/news/lakekee...

Lakekeeper Julie Silverman Is a Watchdog for Lake Champlain

On the beach, on the water and at the Statehouse, the educator and advocate works to protect the 450-square-mile lake that links two states and two countries.

www.sevendaysvt.com

2 1 8

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · May 28

When we communicate science, we often don't say where the resources for it come from. This is clearly a mistake: people consuming science should know who is funding it--and if that funding is being taken away. So, I decided to document the funding sources of every scientist mentioned in my book.

graph with scientist names on the x axis and colored indicators for NIH, NSF, and Other funding. Also indicators for active pre-1960 and Outside US

2 35 110

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Melaine Le Roy @subfossilguy.bsky.social · May 28

Seeing Blatten buried again and again, from every angle...

Properly staggering! 😮😱

14 190 420

Anne Jefferson @annejefferson.bsky.social · May 21

A beautiful essay by former colleague Jacqueline Curtis on how changes to the best-laid plans can end up working out OK - or even wonderfully - in the end. This feels needed and timely as so many scientists struggle with the cruelties of 2025.
www.science.org/content/arti...

Abandoning my long-held career plans was painful—but I love where I landed

The author was about to start law school when Hurricane Katrina sent her back to science

www.science.org

2 6

Reposted by Anne Jefferson

Mount St. Helens in 1980 @mountsthelens1980.bsky.social · May 18

#MSH45 | “A Big Black Cloud”
Unless you were near the mountain, the first sign was the sky.
A towering black mushroom cloud rising fast.

In Cowlitz County, emergency dispatchers begin fielding calls.
No alerts. No answers. They’re piecing it together in real time.

6 47 150