Author Archives: Thermochronic

Geology and Scrabble

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Thermochronic

I don’t play many on-line games, but ever since my mom and I joined Facebook, we’ve been going back and forth in a regular Lexulous game. Lexulous is a tile based word game, basically the same as Words with Friends … Continue reading →

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Let’s Call a Denier a Denier

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Thermochronic

***Update – In a huge win for everyone who isn’t a doofus, the AP has now officially changed the language it will use to refer to people who don’t accept modern science. From the AP blog: To describe those who … Continue reading →

Posted in earth hazards, impending thermochronocracy, politics, Rants, science and society | Leave a comment

All Salt is Sea Salt

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Thermochronic

OK I’ll put an asterisk in the title because I suppose some salt can come from dried up lake beds but really, doesn’t this drive other geologists nuts? This afternoon I was following a recipe that suggested I use Himalayan … Continue reading →

Posted in Rants, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Climbing Up the Middle of a Pluton

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Thermochronic

I am by no means a climber, but I love rocks and have a great appreciation for people who choose to spend hours and hours with their faces inches away from rocks. I have climbed a few times, and I really got a kick … Continue reading →

Posted in earth science, Figure Hall o' Fame, The Woods | Leave a comment

The Heartland Institute: Comically Ignorant Poop Factory or Greedy Lying Dumbasses?

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Thermochronic

Ignorance is the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. In many ways it should be the main one, seeing as it is ignorance that is the root cause of so much of the evils assigned to the better-known four. I am not of … Continue reading →

Posted in earth hazards, popular science books, Rants, science and society, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Reflections on Thermo 2014 in Chamonix

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Thermochronic

I know that meetings are different from vacations. Meetings are busy, and even when they are in fantastic places, you rarely see more than the convention center and a few restaurants within walking distance. In addition, you usually don’t get … Continue reading →

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He Thermochronology Reading List

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Thermochronic

I was always jealous of geoscientists who started their education in the 70’s; for them, there was only a 10 year backlog of plate tectonics relevant geoscience literature to catch up with. Even under sane circumstances it gets harder and harder … Continue reading →

Posted in (U-Th)/He, geochronology, thermochronology | Leave a comment

Things to Listen To Update

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Thermochronic

A while ago I posted about what I like to listen to when doing the inevitable important-but-dull tasks that occur all of the time in science. As an update, I’ll just link to a recent Slate article rounding up their … Continue reading →

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The Partial Retention Zone

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Thermochronic

One of the most important concepts in thermochronology is the Partial Retention Zone (PRZ for short, referred to as the Partial Annealing Zone in the fission-track world). The term PRZ is used to refer to a variety of things, all … Continue reading →

Posted in (U-Th)/He, dealing with data, geochronology, Primers, thermochronology, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Hot Hand, Freakonomics, Climate Denial, and Closure Temperatures – Assumptions in Models

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Thermochronic

I started listening to a few sports podcasts rather religiously about 3 years ago. I self select for shows, avoiding anything that involves someone with a nickname or who yells all the time, basically avoiding anything that takes sports too … Continue reading →

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