@fmichael-conway.bsky.social
Reposted
For a long time, the Cambrian explosion sounded like a clean success story.
Life appears. Complexity rises. End of story.
But around 513 million years ago, Earth’s first mass extinction quietly disrupted that narrative.
🧪 #SciComm
buff.ly/T57hhdM
Life appears. Complexity rises. End of story.
But around 513 million years ago, Earth’s first mass extinction quietly disrupted that narrative.
🧪 #SciComm
buff.ly/T57hhdM
How Early Animal Life Survived an Unstable Climate
Why didn’t complex ecosystems vanish after Earth’s first mass extinction?
climateages.substack.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:34 PM
For a long time, the Cambrian explosion sounded like a clean success story.
Life appears. Complexity rises. End of story.
But around 513 million years ago, Earth’s first mass extinction quietly disrupted that narrative.
🧪 #SciComm
buff.ly/T57hhdM
Life appears. Complexity rises. End of story.
But around 513 million years ago, Earth’s first mass extinction quietly disrupted that narrative.
🧪 #SciComm
buff.ly/T57hhdM
Reposted
How does the presence of water affect voclanic eruptions? 🌋
In this new episode of the Geology Bites podcast, Dr. Michael Manga talks about the role water plays in volcanic eruptions on Earth and across the Solar System.
🎧 Listen now: geosociety.co/WetEruptions
In this new episode of the Geology Bites podcast, Dr. Michael Manga talks about the role water plays in volcanic eruptions on Earth and across the Solar System.
🎧 Listen now: geosociety.co/WetEruptions
February 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM
How does the presence of water affect voclanic eruptions? 🌋
In this new episode of the Geology Bites podcast, Dr. Michael Manga talks about the role water plays in volcanic eruptions on Earth and across the Solar System.
🎧 Listen now: geosociety.co/WetEruptions
In this new episode of the Geology Bites podcast, Dr. Michael Manga talks about the role water plays in volcanic eruptions on Earth and across the Solar System.
🎧 Listen now: geosociety.co/WetEruptions
Reposted
512-million-year-old marine fossils highlight life and death at the Cambrian explosion’s close. https://scim.ag/4t6j94X
A motley crew of fossils illuminates an ancient, mysterious extinction event
512-million-year-old marine fossils highlight life and death at the Cambrian explosion’s close
scim.ag
February 2, 2026 at 2:30 PM
512-million-year-old marine fossils highlight life and death at the Cambrian explosion’s close. https://scim.ag/4t6j94X
Reposted
Galle: Happy Face Crater on Mars apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap26020...
These markings were originally discovered in the 1970s in pictures taken by the Viking Orbiter. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that orbited Mars from 1996 to 2006 captured the featured picture.
These markings were originally discovered in the 1970s in pictures taken by the Viking Orbiter. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that orbited Mars from 1996 to 2006 captured the featured picture.
February 1, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Galle: Happy Face Crater on Mars apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap26020...
These markings were originally discovered in the 1970s in pictures taken by the Viking Orbiter. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that orbited Mars from 1996 to 2006 captured the featured picture.
These markings were originally discovered in the 1970s in pictures taken by the Viking Orbiter. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that orbited Mars from 1996 to 2006 captured the featured picture.
Reposted
135 years have passed since the preparation of the 1891 Preliminary Mineralogical and Geological Map of the State of California.
This webpage walks you through the history and evolution of geologic maps of California. www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/rgm/hist...
This webpage walks you through the history and evolution of geologic maps of California. www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/rgm/hist...
January 3, 2026 at 4:18 PM
135 years have passed since the preparation of the 1891 Preliminary Mineralogical and Geological Map of the State of California.
This webpage walks you through the history and evolution of geologic maps of California. www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/rgm/hist...
This webpage walks you through the history and evolution of geologic maps of California. www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/rgm/hist...
Chuska Mtns, Apache County, Arizona, ca. 1917.
West face of Chuska Mountains near near Lukachukai showing rincons and blind windows developed in massive sandstone. "Chinle formation is in the foreground, Tertiary sediments in background. The view includes vertical relief of 1,800 feet. (USGS-1917)
West face of Chuska Mountains near near Lukachukai showing rincons and blind windows developed in massive sandstone. "Chinle formation is in the foreground, Tertiary sediments in background. The view includes vertical relief of 1,800 feet. (USGS-1917)
January 31, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Chuska Mtns, Apache County, Arizona, ca. 1917.
West face of Chuska Mountains near near Lukachukai showing rincons and blind windows developed in massive sandstone. "Chinle formation is in the foreground, Tertiary sediments in background. The view includes vertical relief of 1,800 feet. (USGS-1917)
West face of Chuska Mountains near near Lukachukai showing rincons and blind windows developed in massive sandstone. "Chinle formation is in the foreground, Tertiary sediments in background. The view includes vertical relief of 1,800 feet. (USGS-1917)
The Arizona Science Center’s newest exhibit, Pompeii: The Exhibition, memorializes the impact of the A.D. 79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on the Roman city of Pompeii, near modern Naples. Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano.
www.azscience.org
www.azscience.org
January 30, 2026 at 4:53 PM
The Arizona Science Center’s newest exhibit, Pompeii: The Exhibition, memorializes the impact of the A.D. 79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on the Roman city of Pompeii, near modern Naples. Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano.
www.azscience.org
www.azscience.org
Reposted
"… the US needs to rise above the raw power politics that has come to dominate the country’s relationship with China and recognize that all scientific knowledge is a public good, whatever its national origin," writes H. Holden Thorp in a new #ScienceEditorial. https://scim.ag/3Z1zmLc
January 29, 2026 at 8:11 PM
"… the US needs to rise above the raw power politics that has come to dominate the country’s relationship with China and recognize that all scientific knowledge is a public good, whatever its national origin," writes H. Holden Thorp in a new #ScienceEditorial. https://scim.ag/3Z1zmLc
AZ Geol Survey released a field trip guide by Haxel & others (2025). “Field Trip to a Laramide Shallow Subduction Channel: Orocopia Schist in the Gavilan Hills, SE California; 29 pages with map and a number of field and thin-section photos. library.azgs.arizona.edu/item/AGCR-17...
January 29, 2026 at 5:05 PM
AZ Geol Survey released a field trip guide by Haxel & others (2025). “Field Trip to a Laramide Shallow Subduction Channel: Orocopia Schist in the Gavilan Hills, SE California; 29 pages with map and a number of field and thin-section photos. library.azgs.arizona.edu/item/AGCR-17...
Reposted
Colorado water officials plan for “exceedingly grim” drought forecasts, low reservoir levels
As warm, dry conditions continue in the West, the forecasts for the amount of water flowing through the Upper Colorado River Basin keep dropping.
#ColoradoRiver #drought 🧪
coloradosun.com/2026/01/28/c...
As warm, dry conditions continue in the West, the forecasts for the amount of water flowing through the Upper Colorado River Basin keep dropping.
#ColoradoRiver #drought 🧪
coloradosun.com/2026/01/28/c...
Colorado water officials plan for “exceedingly grim” drought forecasts, low reservoir levels
A warm and dry winter is raising concerns about extremely low reservoir levels, hydropower generation and summer recreation.
coloradosun.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Colorado water officials plan for “exceedingly grim” drought forecasts, low reservoir levels
As warm, dry conditions continue in the West, the forecasts for the amount of water flowing through the Upper Colorado River Basin keep dropping.
#ColoradoRiver #drought 🧪
coloradosun.com/2026/01/28/c...
As warm, dry conditions continue in the West, the forecasts for the amount of water flowing through the Upper Colorado River Basin keep dropping.
#ColoradoRiver #drought 🧪
coloradosun.com/2026/01/28/c...
Reposted
What controls gravel distribution in foreland basins over millions of years? This #GSABulletin study integrates provenance, tectonics, climate, and basin dynamics to build a predictive model from the Kuqa Foreland Basin, Northwest China.
Read the full article: geosociety.co/Zhang_et_al
Image: Fig 4
Read the full article: geosociety.co/Zhang_et_al
Image: Fig 4
January 29, 2026 at 4:01 PM
What controls gravel distribution in foreland basins over millions of years? This #GSABulletin study integrates provenance, tectonics, climate, and basin dynamics to build a predictive model from the Kuqa Foreland Basin, Northwest China.
Read the full article: geosociety.co/Zhang_et_al
Image: Fig 4
Read the full article: geosociety.co/Zhang_et_al
Image: Fig 4
Basalt dike Saguaro National Park East, Tucson, Arizona.
A 2- to 3-meter thick basalt dike (black rock) cutting gneissic rock exposed adjacent to the loop road at Saguaro National Park East, in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, Tucson, Arizona.
A 2- to 3-meter thick basalt dike (black rock) cutting gneissic rock exposed adjacent to the loop road at Saguaro National Park East, in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, Tucson, Arizona.
January 28, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Basalt dike Saguaro National Park East, Tucson, Arizona.
A 2- to 3-meter thick basalt dike (black rock) cutting gneissic rock exposed adjacent to the loop road at Saguaro National Park East, in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, Tucson, Arizona.
A 2- to 3-meter thick basalt dike (black rock) cutting gneissic rock exposed adjacent to the loop road at Saguaro National Park East, in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, Tucson, Arizona.
Reposted
👩🎓🚨 Attention Students!
👉 Discover the AGU Honors, Scholarships, and Grants open to eligible students: buff.ly/q0M1YXO
👉 Discover the AGU Honors, Scholarships, and Grants open to eligible students: buff.ly/q0M1YXO
January 28, 2026 at 3:05 PM
👩🎓🚨 Attention Students!
👉 Discover the AGU Honors, Scholarships, and Grants open to eligible students: buff.ly/q0M1YXO
👉 Discover the AGU Honors, Scholarships, and Grants open to eligible students: buff.ly/q0M1YXO
Reposted
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 1:28 AM
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted
Former non-coal mine workings, particularly where shallow, may collapse and cause & cause surface settlement.
The mining hazard (not coal) dataset provides a subsidence hazard assessment for those looking to identify & mitigate potential ground instability hazards.
www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/min...
The mining hazard (not coal) dataset provides a subsidence hazard assessment for those looking to identify & mitigate potential ground instability hazards.
www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/min...
January 27, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Former non-coal mine workings, particularly where shallow, may collapse and cause & cause surface settlement.
The mining hazard (not coal) dataset provides a subsidence hazard assessment for those looking to identify & mitigate potential ground instability hazards.
www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/min...
The mining hazard (not coal) dataset provides a subsidence hazard assessment for those looking to identify & mitigate potential ground instability hazards.
www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/min...
Reposted
LAST CALL—applications close today. For 40 years, the GSA–USGS Congressional Science Fellowship has placed geoscientists where scientific expertise helps inform national decisions. The next cohort is about to be set.
🔗 Learn more + apply: geosociety.co/CongressionalScienceFellowship
🔗 Learn more + apply: geosociety.co/CongressionalScienceFellowship
January 26, 2026 at 9:20 PM
LAST CALL—applications close today. For 40 years, the GSA–USGS Congressional Science Fellowship has placed geoscientists where scientific expertise helps inform national decisions. The next cohort is about to be set.
🔗 Learn more + apply: geosociety.co/CongressionalScienceFellowship
🔗 Learn more + apply: geosociety.co/CongressionalScienceFellowship
Reposted
Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence this morning
January 26, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence this morning
Reposted
Alex Pretti, the man fatally shot by Border Patrol on Saturday, gave a final salute to a veteran while he was an intensive care nurse in 2024. https://wapo.st/4t1KC81
January 26, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Alex Pretti, the man fatally shot by Border Patrol on Saturday, gave a final salute to a veteran while he was an intensive care nurse in 2024. https://wapo.st/4t1KC81
DIY - Today is the International Day of Clean Energy. For more details visit the United Nations at www.un.org/en/observanc...
International Day of Clean Energy | United Nations
International Day of Clean Energy is a platform to drive the adoption of policies and practices to promote awareness on the sustainable use of energy resources and to strengthen collaboration and coop...
www.un.org
January 26, 2026 at 8:58 PM
DIY - Today is the International Day of Clean Energy. For more details visit the United Nations at www.un.org/en/observanc...
Reposted
Live Science reports on the discovery of a "giant structure" beneath Bermuda, citing a new study in Geology that used seismic waves from distant earthquakes to image a hidden structure below the island that may explain Bermuda's elevation.
Read the #Geology paper here: geosociety.co/Mazza_et_al
Read the #Geology paper here: geosociety.co/Mazza_et_al
January 25, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Live Science reports on the discovery of a "giant structure" beneath Bermuda, citing a new study in Geology that used seismic waves from distant earthquakes to image a hidden structure below the island that may explain Bermuda's elevation.
Read the #Geology paper here: geosociety.co/Mazza_et_al
Read the #Geology paper here: geosociety.co/Mazza_et_al
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released a draft EIS (environmental impact statement)of their “Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.” They serve up the entire report piecemeal at www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRive... .
January 25, 2026 at 4:28 PM
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released a draft EIS (environmental impact statement)of their “Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.” They serve up the entire report piecemeal at www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRive... .
Reposted
This is the US citizen ICE executed today in Minnesota.
Alex Pretti, ICU nurse and mountain climber.
They fired 12 times. 1, and then 3, and then the rest.
Shot him right in the back after he was beaten, pinned to the ground, and pistol-whipped.
Trump sanctioned execution.
Alex Pretti, ICU nurse and mountain climber.
They fired 12 times. 1, and then 3, and then the rest.
Shot him right in the back after he was beaten, pinned to the ground, and pistol-whipped.
Trump sanctioned execution.
January 24, 2026 at 11:43 PM
This is the US citizen ICE executed today in Minnesota.
Alex Pretti, ICU nurse and mountain climber.
They fired 12 times. 1, and then 3, and then the rest.
Shot him right in the back after he was beaten, pinned to the ground, and pistol-whipped.
Trump sanctioned execution.
Alex Pretti, ICU nurse and mountain climber.
They fired 12 times. 1, and then 3, and then the rest.
Shot him right in the back after he was beaten, pinned to the ground, and pistol-whipped.
Trump sanctioned execution.
News release from the US Geological Survey (17 Jan. 2026). The USGS will invest approximately $1.1 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to collect high-resolution hyperspectral data at areas with potential for critical minerals found in mine wastes across AZ and NM.
January 24, 2026 at 5:21 PM
News release from the US Geological Survey (17 Jan. 2026). The USGS will invest approximately $1.1 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to collect high-resolution hyperspectral data at areas with potential for critical minerals found in mine wastes across AZ and NM.
Reposted
Three years after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith finally delivered the legal argument against President Trump on Thursday that he was never allowed to make in court: that Trump "engaged in criminal activity" that undermined democracy.
Listen to "The Daily."
Listen to "The Daily."
Trump’s Investigator Breaks His Silence
Jack Smith, the former special prosecutor, argued a case he was never allowed to in court: that President Trump “engaged in criminal activity” that undermined democracy.
nyti.ms
January 23, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Three years after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith finally delivered the legal argument against President Trump on Thursday that he was never allowed to make in court: that Trump "engaged in criminal activity" that undermined democracy.
Listen to "The Daily."
Listen to "The Daily."
EOS, the newsletter of the American Geophysical Union – the world’s largest Earth and space science association – just issued a special report, “The State of the Science 1 Year On”. If you are interested in how scientists perceive the changes to science in 2025, eos.org
January 23, 2026 at 3:48 PM
EOS, the newsletter of the American Geophysical Union – the world’s largest Earth and space science association – just issued a special report, “The State of the Science 1 Year On”. If you are interested in how scientists perceive the changes to science in 2025, eos.org