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)
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.
🧪
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
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
If you missed the broadcast, here’s the absolutely exhilarating landing (+ commentary). “IT WAS HOVERING!!!” 🥹 #ESCAPADE
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
November 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
If you missed the broadcast, here’s the absolutely exhilarating landing (+ commentary). “IT WAS HOVERING!!!” 🥹 #ESCAPADE
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
And my view… 😑
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
And my view… 😑
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)
Wait… clouds are starting to break! Ok, do I drive up to Shenandoah National Park or not…….. tempted.
November 12, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Wait… clouds are starting to break! Ok, do I drive up to Shenandoah National Park or not…….. tempted.
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!!! 🦞
(4/n) Not included in the paper, but here's a quick overview of how we use the "chemical fingerprint" of individual Fe-grains as a tracker for ice movement from a circum-Arctic "source area" to the core site.
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
![Infograph starts on top Left:
1. Arctic climate has changed dramatically over time, aka- "paleoclimate".
2. During glacial periods, icebergs calve off glaciers and sea ice forms- carrying (or "rafting") sediment from their original location.
3. As ice circulates the Arctic, it's only exit [during glacials] is the Fram Strait. When it encounters *slightly warmer waters and starts melting, the sediment drops to the sea floor.
4. We collected a deep-sea sediment core in the "sweet spot" of sediment deposition, the Fram Strait.
5. Sediments are separated by size, then Fe-grains are magnetically separated. We use an electron microprobe to analyze a suite of elements in each Fe-grain, which provides a unique "chemical fingerprint".
6. These chemical fingerprints are matched to a robust database of circum-Arctic Fe-grain "source areas".
How does the proxy come together:
Now we know WHERE the grains came from. We also developed an age model to we can identify WHEN they were deposited. With this information we can select certain time frames and examine which geographic region (or "source areas") were actively dispersing ice and rafting sediments. Aka- we are reconstructing paleo-ice movement with Fe-grains. However, this is only one proxy and should be combined with several proxies and models for a comprehensive understanding of Arctic paleoclimate.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dodtevapzpvqildhsdkltrz3/bafkreigwgrrubbljbeuzmz3v7jpa37r76k2fs7lqv3a3l7n6l5ncuvcoiu@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
(4/n) Not included in the paper, but here's a quick overview of how we use the "chemical fingerprint" of individual Fe-grains as a tracker for ice movement from a circum-Arctic "source area" to the core site.
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
One of my oceanography expedition 🌊 traditions is a proper dance party before deploying equipment.
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
November 8, 2025 at 2:55 PM
One of my oceanography expedition 🌊 traditions is a proper dance party before deploying equipment.
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
Friend sent me this w/ no context.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Friend sent me this w/ no context.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
🚨 - Final - USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
November 7, 2025 at 1:25 PM
🚨 - Final - USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
🎬 Excited to share our expedition member’s hard work.
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
November 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM
🎬 Excited to share our expedition member’s hard work.
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
October 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Shout out to my NOAA + USAF Hurricane Hunter colleagues flying into #HurricaneMelissa. Watching Jamaica closely.
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
October 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Shout out to my NOAA + USAF Hurricane Hunter colleagues flying into #HurricaneMelissa. Watching Jamaica closely.
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
Off on my next adventure 🛫 👋
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
October 24, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Off on my next adventure 🛫 👋
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
I had the incredible privilege to visit the White House on Election Day (Nov 5) 2024.
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
October 23, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I had the incredible privilege to visit the White House on Election Day (Nov 5) 2024.
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing: