The mountains are calling! But the trail to get there is pretty bumpy…can everyone come along? When we imagine a geologist striding through the mountains, carrying heavy samples and equipment, the picture omits a lot of people. Scientists with mobility, vision and hearing impairments or other disabilities have a much longer road to walk to get to the field sites geologists often seek. We talked to Anita Marshall, a researcher and advocate for accessible field courses about innovative practices for bridging the gap between remote field sites and curious scientists who may not be able to easily reach them in person. This episode was produced by Avery Shinneman and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.

The mountains are calling! But the trail to get there is pretty bumpy…can everyone come along? When we imagine a geologist striding through the mountains, carrying heavy samples and equipment, the picture omits a lot of people. Scientists with mobility, vision and hearing impairments or other disabilities have a much longer road to walk to get to the field sites geologists often seek. We talked to Anita Marshall, a researcher and advocate for accessible field courses about innovative practices for bridging the gap between remote field sites and curious scientists who may not be able to easily reach them in person.  This episode was produced by Avery Shinneman and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Illustration by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>.

Fieldwork rocks: Can it be accessible for all?

Many of us know that tree rings can tell us how old a tree is. But there’s so much more we can learn from these seemingly simple lines. In the mid 1800’s, right before the start of the U.S. Civil War, North America began to experience unusually low rainfall that lasted approximately 10 years. This drought, on par with the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, may have played a role in the near extinction of the American Bison due to the migration of people to areas that were lusher and more conducive to farming.Max Torbenson, formerly a postdoc at The Ohio State University in their Civil Engineering Department, now a Research Associate at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, studied tree rings to learn about past environments and climates. While he admits that it’s difficult to attribute the effects of the drought to altering any specific part of the Civil Wars, reports do describe issues in supply chains due to rivers drying up and shortages of water for troops and animals used for transportation.  In the latest episode of AGU’s podcast Third Pod from the Sun, Max describes how the work he and others are doing can inform us about how climate change has been influencing wildlife and humans for hundreds of years. Listen as Max recounts his journey as a scientist, takes us to remote field locations full of danger, and fills us in on why he fell in love with U.S. This episode was produced Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner.

Many of us know that tree rings can tell us how old a tree is. But there’s so much more we can learn from these seemingly simple lines.  In the mid 1800’s, right before the start of the U.S. Civil War, North America began to experience unusually low rainfall that lasted approximately 10 years. This drought, on par with the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, may have played a role in the near extinction of the American Bison due to the migration of people to areas that were lusher and more conducive to farming. Max Torbenson, formerly a postdoc at The Ohio State University in their Civil Engineering Department, now a Research Associate at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, studied tree rings to learn about past environments and climates. While he admits that it’s difficult to attribute the effects of the drought to altering any specific part of the Civil Wars, reports do describe issues in supply chains due to rivers drying up and shortages of water for troops and animals used for transportation.   In the latest episode of AGU’s podcast Third Pod from the Sun, Max describes how the work he and others are doing can inform us about how climate change has been influencing wildlife and humans for hundreds of years. Listen as Max recounts his journey as a scientist, takes us to remote field locations full of danger, and fills us in on why he fell in love with U.S.  This episode was produced <a href="https://linktr.ee/ecologyofshane" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shane M Hanlon</a> and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>.

Fieldwork rocks: Tree rings of the Civil War

You might think of a deserted island when you picture being marooned, but for some geology researchers the island is their research ship. To collect samples of rocks and sediments from deep beneath the ocean, scientists park a ship called the JOIDES Resolution in place out at sea. That gives them plenty of time to drill for their samples, but it also means spending two months offshore. We talked with Luan Heywood, a marine science technician who sails for six months a year on the JR and with Ally Peccia, a grad student who sailed on a two-month expedition, about the science they do on the ship and how they felt about their time at sea.This episode was produced by Sara Whitlock and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner.

You might think of a deserted island when you picture being marooned, but for some geology researchers the island is their research ship. To collect samples of rocks and sediments from deep beneath the ocean, scientists park a ship called the JOIDES Resolution in place out at sea. That gives them plenty of time to drill for their samples, but it also means spending two months offshore. We talked with Luan Heywood, a marine science technician who sails for six months a year on the JR and with Ally Peccia, a grad student who sailed on a two-month expedition, about the science they do on the ship and how they felt about their time at sea. This episode was produced by <a href="https://twitter.com/saraewhit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sara Whitlock</a> and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>.

Fieldwork rocks: Marooned on purpose

Every year between June and November, researchers take to the skies to better understand and measure hurricanes. Heather Holbach is part of NOAA’s Hurricane Research division and is one of the scientists on the flight team who gets up close and personal with hurricanes. Flying directly into the eye of the storm gives her insight and information, that tracking the storms on the ground doesn’t. This field work is essential for informing forecasting models and the response on the ground.This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner.

Every year between June and November, researchers take to the skies to better understand and measure hurricanes. Heather Holbach is part of NOAA’s Hurricane Research division and is one of the scientists on the flight team who gets up close and personal with hurricanes. Flying directly into the eye of the storm gives her insight and information, that tracking the storms on the ground doesn’t. This field work is essential for informing forecasting models and the response on the ground. This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>.

Fieldwork rocks: Head in the (funnel) clouds

Seismologist Margaret Boettcher has ventured to the depths of South African gold mines and the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a quest to find earthquakes that are predictable enough to measure and simple enough to understand. Performing fieldwork in these locations presents unusual challenges, such as being so crammed in an elevator shaft with miners that Margaret’s feet couldn’t touch the bottom, and dredging rocks from the seafloor using a bucket on a 3.5-kilometer-long cable. On Margaret’s most recent series of expeditions to the Gofar transform fault 1,500 kilometers west of the Galapagos Islands, she and many of her team members couldn’t even join the cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they worked out ways to participate remotely, which had the added benefit of opening up the research to more people.This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner.

Seismologist Margaret Boettcher has ventured to the depths of South African gold mines and the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a quest to find earthquakes that are predictable enough to measure and simple enough to understand. Performing fieldwork in these locations presents unusual challenges, such as being so crammed in an elevator shaft with miners that Margaret’s feet couldn’t touch the bottom, and dredging rocks from the seafloor using a bucket on a 3.5-kilometer-long cable. On Margaret’s most recent series of expeditions to the Gofar transform fault 1,500 kilometers west of the Galapagos Islands, she and many of her team members couldn’t even join the cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they worked out ways to participate remotely, which had the added benefit of opening up the research to more people. This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>.

Fieldwork rocks: From sea to quaking sea

Joris De Raedt, a passionate scientific illustrator dedicated to capturing the beauty and significance of nature through his art, strives to foster a deep connection between people and the fauna and flora that inhabit our world. Despite utilizing modern tools like a graphic tablet, his illustrations pay homage to a timeless style of documenting the natural world.Joris’s field experiences, both alongside his family and within various projects, have enriched his understanding of the intricate relationships within ecosystems. Through his art, he aspires to instill a sense of respect for nature and highlight the immense value of endangered species and ecosystems.This episode was produced by Anupama Chandrasekaran and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner. 

Joris De Raedt, a passionate scientific illustrator dedicated to capturing the beauty and significance of nature through his art, strives to foster a deep connection between people and the fauna and flora that inhabit our world. Despite utilizing modern tools like a graphic tablet, his illustrations pay homage to a timeless style of documenting the natural world.Joris’s field experiences, both alongside his family and within various projects, have enriched his understanding of the intricate relationships within ecosystems. Through his art, he aspires to instill a sense of respect for nature and highlight the immense value of endangered species and ecosystems. This episode was produced by Anupama Chandrasekaran and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>.

Fieldwork rocks: Picturing science

It’s that time of year again where many scientists head out into the field, from far-flung locations to local backyards. In recognition of the lengths that some scientists go to to get answers to questions that only the field can provide, we’re sharing stories of science from quaking earth, to roaring winds, to choppy seas, and beyond!And, as a special treat, head over to our newsmagazine Eos for their special issue this month, Out of office, featuring some of our interviewees talking about their fieldwork experiences.This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young.

It’s that time of year again where many scientists head out into the field, from far-flung locations to local backyards. In recognition of the lengths that some scientists go to to get answers to questions that only the field can provide, we’re sharing stories of science from quaking earth, to roaring winds, to choppy seas, and beyond! And, as a special treat, head over to our newsmagazine Eos for their special issue this month, <a href="https://eos.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Jun23.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Out of office</a>, featuring some of our interviewees talking about their fieldwork experiences. This episode was produced by <a href="https://linktr.ee/ecologyofshane" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shane M Hanlon</a>, and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.karenromanoyoung.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Karen Romano Young</a>.

Fieldwork rocks

Wildfires seem to be happening more often, and in 2020, Colorado experienced the worst fire season in its recorded history. Extreme fire events are often assumed to be caused by climate change, but it is not immediately clear this is the case. Heat, humidity, precipitation and wind speed all play a role in fire risk, and the exact way that these factors combine changes from day to day. Forest management practices and increased human activity in high-risk areas can also increase fire risk, and this makes it more challenging to pinpoint the reason why more fires are occurring. Colorado State University professor Dan Cooley has used multivariate statistical analysis of Fire Weather Index data to demonstrate that climate conditions in northern Colorado have changed in ways that make fires more likely to occur there – even if it is often impossible to attribute individual fires to this climactic shift.This episode was produced by Ty and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner. Find a companion to this episode from our friends over at Carry the Two. 

Wildfires seem to be happening more often, and in 2020, Colorado experienced the worst fire season in its recorded history. Extreme fire events are often assumed to be caused by climate change, but it is not immediately clear this is the case. Heat, humidity, precipitation and wind speed all play a role in fire risk, and the exact way that these factors combine changes from day to day. Forest management practices and increased human activity in high-risk areas can also increase fire risk, and this makes it more challenging to pinpoint the reason why more fires are occurring. Colorado State University professor Dan Cooley has used multivariate statistical analysis of Fire Weather Index data to demonstrate that climate conditions in northern Colorado have changed in ways that make fires more likely to occur there – even if it is often impossible to attribute individual fires to this climactic shift. This episode was produced by Ty and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>. Find a c<a href="https://www.imsi.institute/podcast/matt-huber-on-modeling-paleoclimates/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ompanion to this episode</a> from our friends over at Carry the Two.

Solving for climate: Understanding the "wild" in wildfire

The different temperatures humans experience can be as localized as the variance from a suburban area to its urban center. The urban heat island effect - UHI for short - is one such danger. Cities are hotter due to concrete and asphalt absorbing and retaining heat, less tree cover, AC units pumping out hot air, and more. Most worrisome is how hot it remains at night, when bodies are trying to cool down and recover from hot daytime temps. Scientists like Angel Hsu are using data collected by satellites and citizens to translate these urban effects into numbers policymakers can use when leading climate change mitigation efforts on local levels.This episode was produced by Jace Steiner and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner

The different temperatures humans experience can be as localized as the variance from a suburban area to its urban center. The urban heat island effect - UHI for short - is one such danger. Cities are hotter due to concrete and asphalt absorbing and retaining heat, less tree cover, AC units pumping out hot air, and more. Most worrisome is how hot it remains at night, when bodies are trying to cool down and recover from hot daytime temps. Scientists like Angel Hsu are using data collected by satellites and citizens to translate these urban effects into numbers policymakers can use when leading climate change mitigation efforts on local levels. This episode was produced by <a href="https://twitter.com/scisteiner" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a> and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://twitter.com/scisteiner" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>

Solving for Climate: The silent killer in your urban backyard

We all know the saying “history repeats itself” but to what extent is that true when it comes to Earth’s climate? In order to understand and even predict future climates, transitions from one historical climate state to another can be mathematically modeled by atmospheric scientists like Dr. Matthew Huber. However, there’s something special about how anthropogenic climate change is impacting climate transitions, and it’s Dr. Huber’s job to capture this oddity with math!This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Jace Steiner. Find a companion to this episode from our friends over at Carry the Two. 

We all know the saying “history repeats itself” but to what extent is that true when it comes to Earth’s climate? In order to understand and even predict future climates, transitions from one historical climate state to another can be mathematically modeled by atmospheric scientists like Dr. Matthew Huber. However, there’s something special about how anthropogenic climate change is impacting climate transitions, and it’s Dr. Huber’s job to capture this oddity with math! This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by <a href="https://www.collinwarren.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collin Warren</a>. Artwork by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/opiartsy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jace Steiner</a>. Find a companion to this episode from our friends over at Carry the Two.

Solving for climate: Earth’s next top (climate) model

Third Pod from the Sun is back, and we’re going weekly! We’re breaking things up into six-week mini-series and our first series is all about the true, personal stories from scientists, for everyone. Join us as we combat misconceptions about sharks, learn how to lasso lizards, hear from a Martian here on Earth, spark science joy via TikTok, journey to Antarctica, and fight over food with some capuchins!

I am a non scientist but I have an interest in science-related topics. This podcast is fun to listen to and informative without being overly technical. Very interesting topics and fun hosts — Nanci and Shane!

Love this podcast!

Third Pod from the Sun connects with scientists in environmental fields about their work and the experience of doing it. I think AGU has really filled a niche with this podcast - this is exactly the kind of stuff I want to hear about! Keep up the good work!

The human stories of research

Third Pod from the Sun

Kathy Crane is a true adventurer. As one of the first women in the field of marine geophysics in the 1970s, she hypothesized and then helped discover the existence of hydrothermal vents on the Galápagos Rift along the East Pacific Rise in the mid-1970s and was one the first people to see many of the strange creatures that make their home in this improbable environment.  Using a temperature-monitoring system that she developed for a a deep-tow seafloor towing system, she discovered temperature anomalies, as well as seafloor images of volcanic features, which provided strong support for her hypothesis about the existence of hydrothermal vents – cracks in the crust of the deep ocean floor where tectonic plates move away or towards one another, thereby releasing by hot magma that forms vents that heat the surrounding cold seawater.  Aboard the submersible Alvin, she also discovered never before seen animal life – mussels, clams, and most beautifully, tube worms – where it was once thought impossible, all of which led to led to the discovery of the biological process of chemosynthesis. Of the tube worms, Kathy said “they looked like roses. Pristine white stems that were part of the worm, and they were fixed holdfast onto the basalt rocks below them, and at the top was a head that was scarlet red with, looked like, pink petals coming out, which is where it got all its nutrients and everything taking the chemistry off of the ocean water. Absolutely beautiful place.”  Throughout, she had to deal with scientists sabotaging each other, build tools never used in the deepest marine environments, and survive aboard sea rickety research vessels. This episode of Third Pod has it all!

Kathy Crane is a true adventurer. As one of the first women in the field of marine geophysics in the 1970s, she hypothesized and then helped discover the existence of hydrothermal vents on the Galápagos Rift along the East Pacific Rise in the mid-1970s and was one the first people to see many of the strange creatures that make their home in this improbable environment. Using a temperature-monitoring system that she developed for a a deep-tow seafloor towing system, she discovered temperature anomalies, as well as seafloor images of volcanic features, which provided strong support for her hypothesis about the existence of hydrothermal vents – cracks in the crust of the deep ocean floor where tectonic plates move away or towards one another, thereby releasing by hot magma that forms vents that heat the surrounding cold seawater. Aboard the submersible Alvin, she also discovered never before seen animal life – mussels, clams, and most beautifully, tube worms – where it was once thought impossible, all of which led to led to the discovery of the biological process of chemosynthesis. Of the tube worms, Kathy said “they looked like roses. Pristine white stems that were part of the worm, and they were fixed holdfast onto the basalt rocks below them, and at the top was a head that was scarlet red with, looked like, pink petals coming out, which is where it got all its nutrients and everything taking the chemistry off of the ocean water. Absolutely beautiful place.” Throughout, she had to deal with scientists sabotaging each other, build tools never used in the deepest marine environments, and survive aboard sea rickety research vessels. This episode of Third Pod has it all!

Rifts Beneath the Ocean Floor

Xavier Le Pichon came to Lamont Geological Observatory in 1959 and spent four months aboard the R/V Vema as a physical oceanography technician. The research cruise set out to test the existence of the mid-ocean ridge system: a long chain of seismically active mountains running along the ocean floor. Le Pichon would go on to be one of the scientists on the forefront of the plate tectonics revolution – a theory that changed the way we understand our planet. Instead of being a solid mass, scientists discovered Earth is made up a series of plates that move and slide past each other, causing volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and geological formations. It was the discovery of the mid-ocean ridge system and magnetic anomalies on the ocean floor that led scientists to develop the theory of seafloor spreading, the process by which oceanic crust is renewed and a key piece in the development of plate tectonic theory. In this new Centennial episode of Third Pod from the Sun, Le Pichon recounts the changes that took place in Earth science during the 1950s and 60s that led to the solidification of the theory, his own work developing the first global plate kinematic model and reconstructing how the planet looked like billions of years ago, and what it was like to be a young scientist challenging deeply held scientific theories. This episode was produced by Nanci Bompey and mixed by Collin Warren.

Xavier Le Pichon came to Lamont Geological Observatory in 1959 and spent four months aboard the R/V Vema as a physical oceanography technician. The research cruise set out to test the existence of the mid-ocean ridge system: a long chain of seismically active mountains running along the ocean floor. Le Pichon would go on to be one of the scientists on the forefront of the plate tectonics revolution – a theory that changed the way we understand our planet. Instead of being a solid mass, scientists discovered Earth is made up a series of plates that move and slide past each other, causing volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and geological formations. It was the discovery of the mid-ocean ridge system and magnetic anomalies on the ocean floor that led scientists to develop the theory of seafloor spreading, the process by which oceanic crust is renewed and a key piece in the development of plate tectonic theory. In this new Centennial episode of Third Pod from the Sun, Le Pichon recounts the changes that took place in Earth science during the 1950s and 60s that led to the solidification of the theory, his own work developing the first global plate kinematic model and reconstructing how the planet looked like billions of years ago, and what it was like to be a young scientist challenging deeply held scientific theories. This episode was produced by Nanci Bompey and mixed by Collin Warren.

Plate Tectonics: The Theory that Changed Earth Science

The ocean floor is a deep, dark, cold, scary place filled with terrifying creatures and scorching fissures where boiling magma emerges from Earth’s crust. So what’s it like to be a scientist whose job it is to study these dangerous things up close and personal?  In this episode, Adam Soule of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution describes his experiences descending to the seafloor in the human-occupied submersible Alvin. Listen to Adam describe the painstaking work of documenting every sea creature he observes on the ocean floor and the sense of awe he feels when he goes somewhere no human has been before. Finally, find out how scientists perform basic bodily functions while crammed inside a sub the size of a minivan.  Learn more about Alvin and ocean bottom research on the Woods Hole website and watch videos of Alvin’s dives on the Woods Hole YouTube page.

The ocean floor is a deep, dark, cold, scary place filled with terrifying creatures and scorching fissures where boiling magma emerges from Earth’s crust. So what’s it like to be a scientist whose job it is to study these dangerous things up close and personal? In this episode, Adam Soule of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution describes his experiences descending to the seafloor in the human-occupied submersible Alvin. Listen to Adam describe the painstaking work of documenting every sea creature he observes on the ocean floor and the sense of awe he feels when he goes somewhere no human has been before. Finally, find out how scientists perform basic bodily functions while crammed inside a sub the size of a minivan. Learn more about Alvin and ocean bottom research on the <a href="http://www.whoi.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Woods Hole website</a> and watch videos of Alvin’s dives on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/WoodsHoleOceanInst/videos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Woods Hole YouTube page.</a>

Alvin and the Ocean Deep

In the 1800s and early 1900s, dozens of men stationed at harbors around the United States would record water levels and send them to a central office in Washington, D.C. where they were used by engineers building the country’s infrastructure. Along with these readings, the tide gauge operators also sent letters detailing their lives at these outposts and the difficulties they faced, from extreme weather to personal dramas.    Stefan Talke, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Portland State University, uncovered these letters as he and his colleagues combed through archives and libraries for tide gauge data to reconstruct to reconstruct mean sea level, tidal processes, and extreme events in cities like New York and Boston. In this episode, hear about the hidden lives of tide gauge operators and how Talke and his colleagues are using the information they find to understand how cities will be affected by rising sea levels due to climate change.  

In the 1800s and early 1900s, dozens of men stationed at harbors around the United States would record water levels and send them to a central office in Washington, D.C. where they were used by engineers building the country’s infrastructure. Along with these readings, the tide gauge operators also sent letters detailing their lives at these outposts and the difficulties they faced, from extreme weather to personal dramas. <a href="https://www.pdx.edu/profile/stefan-talke" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stefan Talke</a>, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Portland State University, uncovered these letters as he and his colleagues combed through archives and libraries for tide gauge data to reconstruct to reconstruct mean sea level, tidal processes, and extreme events in<a></a> cities like New York and Boston. In this episode, hear about the hidden lives of tide gauge operators and how Talke and his colleagues are using the information they find to understand how cities will be affected by rising sea levels due to climate change.

The Secret Lives of Tide Gauge Operators

The Johnstown Flood occurred on May 31, 1889, after the failure of the South Fork Dam, which is located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam, constructed to provide a recreational resource in part to support The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, broke after several days of extremely heavy rainfall that liquified the dam and blew out the earthen structure, resulting in a torrent of water that killed some 2,200 people. In this episode of Third Pod from the Sun, Neil Coleman, a professional geologist who resides just outside of Johnstown and teaches geophysics part time at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, describes how a confluence of greed, poor engineering decisions, and hydrology led to one of the most catastrophic disasters in American history. Coleman also delves into the formal investigation of the event by American Society of Civil Engineers that was subsequently buried, the cast of characters – including the leading steel and rail industrialists of the era – who were involved, the lack of accountability for the victims – save for a re-coop on the loss of a few barrels of whiskey, and the impact on the region that echoes to this day. He also provides insight into how the flood serves as a case study for current day hydrologists and engineers hoping to prevent, respond to, and investigate current and future flooding events.

The Johnstown Flood occurred on May 31, 1889, after the failure of the South Fork Dam, which is located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam, constructed to provide a recreational resource in part to support The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, broke after several days of extremely heavy rainfall that liquified the dam and blew out the earthen structure, resulting in a torrent of water that killed some 2,200 people. In this episode of Third Pod from the Sun, Neil Coleman, a professional geologist who resides just outside of Johnstown and teaches geophysics part time at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, describes how a confluence of greed, poor engineering decisions, and hydrology led to one of the most catastrophic disasters in American history. Coleman also delves into the formal investigation of the event by American Society of Civil Engineers that was subsequently buried, the cast of characters – including the leading steel and rail industrialists of the era – who were involved, the lack of accountability for the victims – save for a re-coop on the loss of a few barrels of whiskey, and the impact on the region that echoes to this day. He also provides insight into how the flood serves as a case study for current day hydrologists and engineers hoping to prevent, respond to, and investigate current and future flooding events.

The Johnstown Flood: A Most Avoidable Tragedy

Venus, Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor, is a rocky world close in size to our own. In our solar system, it is the planet most like Earth. But Earth and Venus have taken different developmental paths, creating curious contrasts for scientists interested in planetary evolution. Conditions on Venus are not friendly to exploration. The thick, reflective atmosphere that makes Venus the brightest planet in Earth’s sky also obscures its features. Under that warming blanket of clouds, visiting spacecraft found a hot, dry surface inimical to Earth life and electronics. Siddharth Krishnamoorthy, a physicist and engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, is a part of a team seeking to learn more about the geology of our sister planet by listening for quakes…Venusquakes. To avoid the 460-degrees-Celsius (860 Fahrenheit) heat and 90 atmospheres of pressure at Venus’ surface, they plan to loft their sensors high in Venus’ atmosphere by mounting them on a modern version of eighteenth-century state-of-the-art flight technology: the balloon. In this episode, he describes what we know about Venus and its mysteries, the benefits of ballooning for Venusian exploration, and how the weather at 60 kilometers (37 miles) above Venus’ surface is like a mild December night in Washington, DC—except for the sulfuric acid. This episode was produced by Liza Lester and mixed by Adele Coleman.

Venus, Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor, is a rocky world close in size to our own. In our solar system, it is the planet most like Earth. But Earth and Venus have taken different developmental paths, creating curious contrasts for scientists interested in planetary evolution. Conditions on Venus are not friendly to exploration. The thick, reflective atmosphere that makes Venus the brightest planet in Earth’s sky also obscures its features. Under that warming blanket of clouds, visiting spacecraft found a hot, dry surface inimical to Earth life and electronics. <a href="https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/dr-siddharth-krishnamoorthy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Siddharth Krishnamoorthy</a>, a physicist and engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, is a part of a team seeking to learn more about the geology of our sister planet by listening for quakes…Venusquakes. To avoid the 460-degrees-Celsius (860 Fahrenheit) heat and 90 atmospheres of pressure at Venus’ surface, they plan to loft their sensors high in Venus’ atmosphere by mounting them on a modern version of eighteenth-century state-of-the-art flight technology: the balloon. In this episode, he describes what we know about Venus and its mysteries, the benefits of ballooning for Venusian exploration, and how the weather at 60 kilometers (37 miles) above Venus’ surface is like a mild December night in Washington, DC—except for the sulfuric acid. This episode was produced by Liza Lester and mixed by Adele Coleman.

Ballooning on Venus

The Arctic Ocean is topped with a layer of frozen sea water – sea ice – that grows every winter and shrinks every summer. To study the ice in detail, researchers hop aboard an icebreaker ship that can plow through the sharp, cold ice floes without being damaged. But two years ago, the Canadian icebreaker Amundsen was called off its scientific mission to assist the Canadian coast guard with search and rescue operations in the North Atlantic Ocean. In May and June of 2017, an unprecedented amount of sea ice was choking the normally open waters around Newfoundland. The thick ice trapped many unsuspecting ships and sunk some boats when the ice punctured their hulls. In this episode, University of Manitoba sea ice expert David Babb recounts the 2017 rescue operations the Amundsen took part in. David discusses what it’s like to live and work on an icebreaker and describes the unusual conditions that allowed a record amount of Arctic sea ice to flow south and wreak havoc on ships in the North Atlantic that year.  

The Arctic Ocean is topped with a layer of frozen sea water – sea ice – that grows every winter and shrinks every summer. To study the ice in detail, researchers hop aboard an icebreaker ship that can plow through the sharp, cold ice floes without being damaged. But two years ago, the Canadian icebreaker Amundsen was called off its scientific mission to assist the Canadian coast guard with search and rescue operations in the North Atlantic Ocean. In May and June of 2017, an unprecedented amount of sea ice was choking the normally open waters around Newfoundland. The thick ice trapped many unsuspecting ships and sunk some boats when the ice punctured their hulls. In this episode, University of Manitoba sea ice expert David Babb recounts the 2017 rescue operations the Amundsen took part in. David discusses what it’s like to live and work on an icebreaker and describes the unusual conditions that allowed a record amount of Arctic sea ice to flow south and wreak havoc on ships in the North Atlantic that year.

Science Turns to Search and Rescue

Building instruments to search for the building blocks of life in the rocks of Mars is no small feat. These gadgets must endure spaceflight, landing on the Martian surface, intense radiation, wild swings in temperature, uneven surfaces and then beam data collected millions of kilometers away back to expectant researchers on Earth. In this episode, NASA geochemist Jennifer Stern gives an insider's view of the ups and downs of testing and deploying one of these instruments - a mass spectrometer used on the Mars Curiosity Rover. Listen to Jennifer describe testing this instrument in some of the harshest environments on Earth, including the Atacama Desert in Chile and Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago near North Pole. Jennifer's path to NASA was an adventurous one that found her sampling methane in Florida landfills as a doctoral student, braving anoxic caves in Mexico, and a hazing ritual that included singing death metal songs in Norway.

Building instruments to search for the building blocks of life in the rocks of Mars is no small feat. These gadgets must endure spaceflight, landing on the Martian surface, intense radiation, wild swings in temperature, uneven surfaces and then beam data collected millions of kilometers away back to expectant researchers on Earth. In this episode, NASA geochemist <a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sed/bio/jennifer.c.stern" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Jennifer Stern</a> gives an insider's view of the ups and downs of testing and deploying one of these instruments - a mass spectrometer used on the Mars Curiosity Rover. Listen to Jennifer describe testing this instrument in some of the harshest environments on Earth, including the Atacama Desert in Chile and Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago near North Pole. Jennifer's path to NASA was an adventurous one that found her sampling methane in Florida landfills as a doctoral student, braving anoxic caves in Mexico, and a hazing ritual that included singing death metal songs in Norway.

From Landfills to Martian Hills

Water is the most essential of essentials. We can survive weeks without food but only days without water. And it’s something that many of us take for granted. But water is not as plentiful, available, and clean in all parts of the world. And with climate change, water is going to become (and is already) a limited resource to some.  From Arizona to Katmandu, Chris Scott, Research Professor of Water Resources Policy at The University of Arizona, has traversed the globe to learn how we use water, problems populations are facing with contamination and access, and to work with governments, residents, and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone has access to clean, abundant water. In this episode, Chris told us some amazing stories of the places he’s traveled to, the people that he’s met, and the challenges that he’s faced. 

Water is the most essential of essentials. We can survive weeks without food but only days without water. And it’s something that many of us take for granted. But water is not as plentiful, available, and clean in all parts of the world. And with climate change, water is going to become (and is already) a limited resource to some. From Arizona to Katmandu, <a href="https://udallcenter.arizona.edu/people/christopher-scott" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chris Scott</a>, Research Professor of Water Resources Policy at The University of Arizona, has traversed the globe to learn how we use water, problems populations are facing with contamination and access, and to work with governments, residents, and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone has access to clean, abundant water. In this episode, Chris told us some amazing stories of the places he’s traveled to, the people that he’s met, and the challenges that he’s faced.

Polluted Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink

Drilling engineer and ice core scientist Robert Mulvaney has driven thousands of kilometers over Antarctica in the past few years in a snow tractor, creeping slowly over one of the highest points of the ice sheet, near a location known as Dome C. He’s looking for the perfect place to drill one and a half million years into the past. Gas trapped in the ice as it formed holds clues to Earth’s past climate and, Mulvaney believes, the atmospheric conditions that influenced the onset and denouement of the major glaciations of our current ice age. To drill that far into the past, Mulvaney, the science leader of the Ice Dynamics and Palaeoclimate team at the British Antarctic Survey, and his colleagues with the EU-funded Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice Core project need to find the perfect ice patch that is both thick enough to span 1.5 million years, yet has not melted at the bottom into a lake under the ice. In this episode of Third Pod from the Sun, he talks about camping at the bottom of the world, the beauty of the ice and how Antarctica is still the continent of exploration. This episode was produced by Liza Lester and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Drilling engineer and ice core scientist Robert Mulvaney has driven thousands of kilometers over Antarctica in the past few years in a snow tractor, creeping slowly over one of the highest points of the ice sheet, near a location known as Dome C. He’s looking for the perfect place to drill one and a half million years into the past. Gas trapped in the ice as it formed holds clues to Earth’s past climate and, Mulvaney believes, the atmospheric conditions that influenced the onset and denouement of the major glaciations of our current <a href="https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/ice-ages-what-are-they-and-what-causes-them/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ice age.</a> To drill that far into the past, Mulvaney, the science leader of the Ice Dynamics and Palaeoclimate team at the British Antarctic Survey, and his colleagues with the EU-funded <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/beyond-epica/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice Core</a> project need to find the perfect ice patch that is both thick enough to span 1.5 million years, yet has not melted at the bottom into a lake under the ice. In this episode of Third Pod from the Sun, he talks about camping at the bottom of the world, the beauty of the ice and how Antarctica is still the continent of exploration. This episode was produced by Liza Lester and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Antarctica's Oldest Ice

At the heart of our solar system is an enormous, churning ball of hot plasma. The Sun blows a stream of charged particles over our planet, creating the solar wind. Sometimes the Sun flares bursts of x-rays, or burps bursts of charged particles, which can sweep over Earth and potentially create havoc for power grids, satellites, and GPS networks. There is weather in space, and it has more consequences for civilization than you might think.Solar physicist Dan Seaton studies the Sun at the University of Colorado in Boulder and NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, where he is working to understand the Sun’s atmosphere and predict when events on the Sun will affect the near-Earth environment. In this episode, Dan explains how space weather and space weather prediction is analogous to Earth weather—and how it is not—and how what happens on the Sun can affect us here on Earth. Read a new paper by Dan and his colleagues about how solar flares disrupted radio communications during the September 2017 Atlantic hurricane relief effort. 

At the heart of our solar system is an enormous, churning ball of hot plasma. The Sun blows a stream of charged particles over our planet, creating the solar wind. Sometimes the Sun flares bursts of x-rays, or burps bursts of charged particles, which can sweep over Earth and potentially create havoc for power grids, satellites, and GPS networks. There is weather in space, and it has more consequences for civilization than you might think.Solar physicist <a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/researcher/daniel-b-seaton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dan Seaton</a> studies the Sun at the University of Colorado in Boulder and NOAA’s <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">National Centers for Environmental Information</a>, where he is working to understand the Sun’s atmosphere and predict when events on the Sun will affect the near-Earth environment. In this episode, Dan explains how space weather and <a href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">space weather prediction</a> is analogous to Earth weather—and how it is not—and how what happens on the Sun can affect us here on Earth. Read a new paper by Dan and his colleagues about how <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/solar-flares-disrupted-radio-communications-during-september-2017-atlantic-hurricane-relief-effort/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">solar flares disrupted radio communications during the September 2017 Atlantic hurricane relief effort</a>.

Inside the Boiling Center of the Solar System

Earlier this year, scientists reported that radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents and weapons testing is present in ice sediments on the surface of glaciers in the Arctic, Iceland, the Alps, the Caucasus, British Columbia and Antarctica. The presence of this radioactivity poses a potential problem to humans and animals living near glaciers. As the ice melts as a result of climate change, the radioactive fallout could wind up in rivers and streams, and potentially make its way up the food chain. In the latest episode of Third Pod from the Sun, University of Plymouth scientist Caroline Clason details how she and her team discovered the radioactive fallout on the glaciers and what questions they are still investigating, including the potential effect of the radionuclides on ecosystems. This episode was produced by Nanci Bompey and Lauren Lipuma and mixed by Robyn Murray and Jon Schriner.

Earlier this year, scientists reported that radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents and weapons testing is present in ice sediments on the surface of glaciers in the Arctic, Iceland, the Alps, the Caucasus, British Columbia and Antarctica. The presence of this radioactivity poses a potential problem to humans and animals living near glaciers. As the ice melts as a result of climate change, the radioactive fallout could wind up in rivers and streams, and potentially make its way up the food chain. In the latest episode of Third Pod from the Sun, University of Plymouth scientist Caroline Clason details how she and her team discovered the radioactive fallout on the glaciers and what questions they are still investigating, including the potential effect of the radionuclides on ecosystems. This episode was produced by Nanci Bompey and Lauren Lipuma and mixed by Robyn Murray and Jon Schriner.

A Nuclear Legacy Buried in Ice

About 11,000 years ago, the Sahara desert turned green. The region received ten times the rain that falls there now, filling lakes and supporting savannahs, woodlands, and human communities. This was not the first time our species had encountered a green Sahara. Every 20,000 years or so, the wobble in Earth’s axis called precession brings the northern hemisphere a little closer to the Sun in summer, and more rain to the Sahara. The wet period ended abruptly, 5,000 years ago, leaving rock art and artifacts in the sand. But the people were not gone, they had just moved. As the sands took back the Sahara, people congregated along the Nile valley, and the Egyptian civilizations arose.Our guest Jessica Tierney is interested in how climate changes influence human migrations. Tierney is a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson where she studies past climate change, from the time of the dinosaurs, to the human diaspora 60,000 years ago, to more modern shifts in North America’s own Southwest monsoon. She learns about Earth’s past climate from mud laid down on the ocean floor over the millennia like a column stretching backward in time. In this centennial episode, she reveals the secrets of the mud, how humans may have weathered climate swings of the past, and what the past can tell us about our warming world.This episode was produced by Liza Lester and mixed by Collin Warren.If you are interested in how scientists core mud from the bottom of the ocean, don’t miss our past episode “Deep sea drilling with Dawn.”

About 11,000 years ago, the Sahara desert turned green. The region received <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/1/e1601503" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ten times the rain</a> that falls there now, filling lakes and supporting savannahs, woodlands, and human communities. This was not the first time our species had encountered a green Sahara. Every 20,000 years or so, the wobble in Earth’s axis called precession brings the northern hemisphere a little closer to the Sun in summer, and more rain to the Sahara. The wet period ended abruptly, 5,000 years ago, leaving rock art and artifacts in the sand. But the people were not gone, they had just moved. As the sands took back the Sahara, people congregated along the Nile valley, and the Egyptian civilizations arose.Our guest <a href="https://www.geo.arizona.edu/~jesst/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jessica Tierney</a> is interested in how climate changes influence human migrations. Tierney is a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson where she studies past climate change, from the time of the dinosaurs, to the human diaspora 60,000 years ago, to more modern shifts in North America’s own Southwest monsoon. She learns about Earth’s past climate from mud laid down on the ocean floor over the millennia like a column stretching backward in time. In this centennial episode, she reveals the secrets of the mud, how humans may have weathered climate swings of the past, and what the past can tell us about our warming world.This episode was produced by Liza Lester and mixed by Collin Warren.If you are interested in how scientists core mud from the bottom of the ocean, don’t miss our past episode “<a href="https://thirdpodfromthesun.com/2018/11/01/e11-deep-sea-drilling-with-dawn/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Deep sea drilling with Dawn</a>.”

When the Sahara was Green

Mining is more than just harvesting natural resources – it’s about who owns those right and what the land that those mines are on mean to the people who live there. Lydia Jennings of the Pascua Yaqui and Huichol Nations grew up seeing friends and family fighting to advocate and protect their communities from being mined. Later in life she became an avid trail runner who loves to do anything outdoors, a path that led her to study environmental science. These days, she works to identify soil health biogeochemical indicators of soil reclamation, in order to make modern mining reclamation more effective and cost efficient, while also learning how policy has placed many mines on/or bordering tribal nations and extraction on public lands. Note: Since recording this interview, the number of federally-recognized tribal nations has increased from 572 to 576. This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Mining is more than just harvesting natural resources – it’s about who owns those right and what the land that those mines are on mean to the people who live there. Lydia Jennings of the Pascua Yaqui and Huichol Nations grew up seeing friends and family fighting to advocate and protect their communities from being mined. Later in life she became an avid trail runner who loves to do anything outdoors, a path that led her to study environmental science. These days, she works to identify soil health biogeochemical indicators of soil reclamation, in order to make modern mining reclamation more effective and cost efficient, while also learning how policy has placed many mines on/or bordering tribal nations and extraction on public lands. Note: Since recording this interview, the number of federally-recognized tribal nations has increased from 572 to 576. This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Special Release: Tribes, Trails, and Tailings

In 1959, the United States built an unusual military base under the surface of the Greenland ice Sheet. Camp Century was a hub for scientific research, but it also doubled as a top-secret site for testing the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from the Arctic. When Camp Century was decommissioned in 1967, its infrastructure and waste were abandoned under the assumption they would be forever entombed beneath the colossal sheet of ice.  But climate change has warmed the Arctic more than any other region on Earth, and parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet are melting faster than snow can accumulate. What will happen in the coming decades if the melting ice exposes the biological, chemical, and radioactive waste left behind at Camp Century?  In this episode, University of Colorado Boulder glaciologist Mike MacFerrin recounts Camp Century’s intriguing history and its role in the Cold War. He discusses the potential hazard Camp Century’s waste poses to the environment and surrounding communities and examines what, if anything, should be done about it now. 

In 1959, the United States built an unusual military base under the surface of the Greenland ice Sheet. Camp Century was a hub for scientific research, but it also doubled as a top-secret site for testing the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from the Arctic. When Camp Century was decommissioned in 1967, its infrastructure and waste were abandoned under the assumption they would be forever entombed beneath the colossal sheet of ice. But climate change has warmed the Arctic more than any other region on Earth, and parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet are melting faster than snow can accumulate. What will happen in the coming decades if the melting ice exposes the biological, chemical, and radioactive waste left behind at Camp Century? In this episode, University of Colorado Boulder glaciologist <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/geography/michael-mike-macferrin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mike MacFerrin</a> recounts Camp Century’s intriguing history and its role in the Cold War. He discusses the <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/melting-ice-sheet-could-release-frozen-cold-war-era-waste/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">potential hazard</a> Camp Century’s waste poses to the environment and surrounding communities and examines what, if anything, should be done about it now.

Centennial episode 4: Toxic City Under the Ice

Thousands of feet below the surface of the Earth is salty water that hasn’t seen the light of day in millions or even billions of years. Miners working deep underground had encountered and wondered about the origin of this water for decades, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that scientists started to investigate where this water was coming from and what it might contain – giving researchers clues into how life survives in the deepest parts of our planet.  In this episode, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Toronto, describes the process of going deep underground to find and research the origin of this old water, including the discovery of the oldest water on Earth. Barbara also describes how research into the origin of water on our planet and the life potentially contained in these fluids helps scientists understand where life might lurk on other planets, like Mars. 

Thousands of feet below the surface of the Earth is salty water that hasn’t seen the light of day in millions or even billions of years. Miners working deep underground had encountered and wondered about the origin of this water for decades, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that scientists started to investigate where this water was coming from and what it might contain – giving researchers clues into how life survives in the deepest parts of our planet. In this episode, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Toronto, describes the process of going deep underground to find and research the origin of this old water, including the discovery of the oldest water on Earth. Barbara also describes how research into the origin of water on our planet and the life potentially contained in these fluids helps scientists understand where life might lurk on other planets, like Mars.

The Oldest Water on Earth

The Clean Air Act of 1970 was one of the first and most influential environmental laws passed in the United States. But why was this law needed in the first place, and what inspired lawmakers to want to regulate air pollution levels? Two tragedies in the mid-20th century showed air quality was an issue lawmakers needed to address. In October 1948, a cloud of toxic smog settled over the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, and hung there until Halloween. The town was home to the largest nail mill in the world at the time, which burned more coal than the nearby city of Pittsburgh. The poison fog killed 20 residents in five days and sickened thousands more. Just four years later, a similar but larger-scale event happened in London. In December 1952, pollution from coal-fired powerplants and chimneys, as well as emissions from new diesel buses, created a smog so thick residents couldn’t see their own two feet. Thousands died and tens of thousands were sickened by the poison cloud that persisted for five days. In this Centennial episode of Third Pod from the Sun, physician Devra Davis recounts the effects of the Donora and London smog events and describes why they were so deadly. A Pennsylvania native who grew up in the town of Donora, Devra shares her memories of living in the polluted town and how the deadly smog affected her family. She also recounts the research she conducted on the London smog event and how her work showed the death toll from the disaster was much higher than the British government reported. Finally, Devra describes how these two tragedies served as catalysts for enacting the first clean air laws in the United States and abroad. Read more about the Donora smog even in Devra’s book, When Smoke Ran Like Water. This episode was produced by Lauren Lipuma and mixed by Robyn Murray and Jon Schriner.  

The Clean Air Act of 1970 was one of the first and most influential environmental laws passed in the United States. But why was this law needed in the first place, and what inspired lawmakers to want to regulate air pollution levels? Two tragedies in the mid-20th century showed air quality was an issue lawmakers needed to address. In October 1948, a cloud of toxic smog settled over the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, and hung there until Halloween. The town was home to the largest nail mill in the world at the time, which burned more coal than the nearby city of Pittsburgh. The poison fog killed 20 residents in five days and sickened thousands more. Just four years later, a similar but larger-scale event happened in London. In December 1952, pollution from coal-fired powerplants and chimneys, as well as emissions from new diesel buses, created a smog so thick residents couldn’t see their own two feet. Thousands died and tens of thousands were sickened by the poison cloud that persisted for five days. In this Centennial episode of <a href="https://thirdpodfromthesun.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Third Pod from the Sun</a>, physician <a href="https://ehtrust.org/about/dr-devra-davis/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Devra Davis</a> recounts the effects of the Donora and London smog events and describes why they were so deadly. A Pennsylvania native who grew up in the town of Donora, Devra shares her memories of living in the polluted town and how the deadly smog affected her family. She also recounts the research she conducted on the London smog event and how her work showed the death toll from the disaster was much higher than the British government reported. Finally, Devra describes how these two tragedies served as catalysts for enacting the first clean air laws in the United States and abroad. Read more about the Donora smog even in Devra’s book, <a href="https://ehtrust.org/publications/when-smoke-ran-like-water/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">When Smoke Ran Like Water.</a> This episode was produced by Lauren Lipuma and mixed by Robyn Murray and Jon Schriner.

Night of the Killer Smog

Water is one of the things that none of us can live without. Yet, it’s taken for granted in so many parts of the parts, and even in parts of the U.S. But what would happen if we ever hit day zero, or the day that the water ran out. That probably won’t happen but Paula Buchanan is here to tell us that we still need to be vigilant.  Buchanan is a doctoral student in Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University where she studies, water stewardship, or how we can more effectively use our limited water resources. She’s also one of AGU’s Voices for Science Advocates. Voices for Science is an initiative of AGU’s Sharing Science Program that centers around training scientists to address the critical need for communicating the value and impact of Earth and space science to key decision makers, journalists, and public audiences.  This is the first of three episodes where we’ll feature Advocates from different scientific disciplines. In this first episode, Buchanan talks about what it’s like to work in diverse communities in Atlanta, travel to the bottom of a rock quarry featured in the walking dead, call out Senator Cory Booker, and more! This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Water is one of the things that none of us can live without. Yet, it’s taken for granted in so many parts of the parts, and even in parts of the U.S. But what would happen if we ever hit day zero, or the day that the water ran out. That probably won’t happen but Paula Buchanan is here to tell us that we still need to be vigilant. Buchanan is a doctoral student in Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University where she studies, water stewardship, or how we can more effectively use our limited water resources. She’s also one of AGU’s Voices for Science Advocates. Voices for Science is an initiative of AGU’s Sharing Science Program that centers around training scientists to address the critical need for communicating the value and impact of Earth and space science to key decision makers, journalists, and public audiences. This is the first of three episodes where we’ll feature Advocates from different scientific disciplines. In this first episode, Buchanan talks about what it’s like to work in diverse communities in Atlanta, travel to the bottom of a rock quarry featured in the walking dead, call out Senator Cory Booker, and more! This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Special Release: Managing Emergencies in a Water World

Mineralogist Jeff Post has a one-of-a-kind job: he’s curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, a collection of over 375,000 rock and mineral specimens housed at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. In addition to spectacular specimens of rare minerals and crystals, the collection contains over 10,000 gemstones, including the infamous Hope Diamond, one of the most valuable objects on planet Earth. In this episode, Jeff describes his day-to-day work of maintaining and growing this invaluable collection, which includes being personally responsible for the Hope Diamond and countless other treasures. Listen to Jeff recount the history of the Hope Diamond and its legendary curse and hear how museum curators have made a hall of minerals into a world-class tourist destination. This is the first episode in a two-part series. Be sure to check out the next episode after this to follow Jeff through the mineral and Gem vaults at NMNH. This episode was produced by Lauren Lipuma and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

Mineralogist Jeff Post has a one-of-a-kind job: he’s curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, a collection of over 375,000 rock and mineral specimens housed at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. In addition to spectacular specimens of rare minerals and crystals, the collection contains over 10,000 gemstones, including the infamous Hope Diamond, one of the most valuable objects on planet Earth. In this episode, Jeff describes his day-to-day work of maintaining and growing this invaluable collection, which includes being personally responsible for the Hope Diamond and countless other treasures. Listen to Jeff recount the history of the Hope Diamond and its legendary curse and hear how museum curators have made a hall of minerals into a world-class tourist destination. This is the first episode in a two-part series. Be sure to check out the next episode after this to follow Jeff through the mineral and Gem vaults at NMNH. This episode was produced by Lauren Lipuma and mixed by Kayla Surrey.

(Hope) Diamonds are Forever - Part 1

University of Washington biologist Kristin Laidre travels to the Arctic to study animals many of us have only seen in pictures. She has successfully tracked down the elusive narwhal and been up close and personal with a polar bear seeking to understand how the loss of sea ice and the effects of climate change are altering Arctic ecosystems.  In this episode, Kristin talks about what it is like to study these creatures, including the first time she saw a narwhal, what polar bear fur actually feels like and how climate change is impacting these animals.    Read more about Kristin’s research in a press release from the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting. 

University of Washington biologist <a href="https://staff.washington.edu/klaidre/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kristin Laidre</a> travels to the Arctic to study animals many of us have only seen in pictures. She has successfully tracked down the elusive narwhal and been up close and personal with a polar bear seeking to understand how the loss of sea ice and the effects of climate change are altering Arctic ecosystems. In this episode, Kristin talks about what it is like to study these creatures, including the first time she saw a narwhal, what polar bear fur actually feels like and how climate change is impacting these animals. Read more about Kristin’s research in a <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/research-uncovers-the-mysterious-lives-of-narwhals/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">press release</a> from the 2018 <a href="osm.agu.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ocean Sciences Meeting</a>.

Chasing Narwhals, Unicorns of the Sea

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The best podcast episodes on global issues affecting everyone. Covering topics such as the #metoo movement, climate change, the impact of technology and some of the biggest global issues facing us right now. For anyone interested in learning more about the world, and some of the issues we're facing, pick an episode below and start listening! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!