My money is on a time traveler trying to save the future.

Four more volcanoes this week were unable to convince me, and other volcanologists over the past 40+ years, that they were actually active in the Holocene. Had to relegate them to Pleistocene status. It's a tephra job, but I enjoy doing it.

If official reports from your agency give a range (say 400-600), don't just say 600 to news media. Also, geologists should remember to convert 14C "years before present" numbers to calendar dates, at least for the last 2,000 years. The 1950 baseline is 75 years ago, creating confusion in the press.

Improved satellite imagery compared to 20 years ago clearly shows that those "dark fresh lava flows on glacial moraines" are just more recent rock avalanches on older avalanches. It's actually a 300-500 ka edifice falling apart and with a sulfur-rich hydrothermal system.

Considering all the geological research done in Colorado, why hasn't anyone done isotopic dating of the supposed Quaternary volcanics near Dotsero Crater in over 50 years? The one Holocene eruption is based on one 14C date (4,150 BP) from a 1962 MS thesis. Never confirmed by later work. Venting...

I love solving volcano mysteries. Latest case resulted in 3 eruptions from the 1880s reclassified as geo/hydrothermal, one from 2003 discredited due to bad aviation observations (wrong volcano). Finally, no Holocene eruption evidence, so volcano age status changed. ~signed, a US government scientist

Solved another eruption mystery, untangling some geological "telephone". It started with a volcanic field paper published as an appendix in govt report about bauxite resources. Volcanic "bombs" ~2 inches long were in a coastal deposit. Shells in layers above and below gave a 500 year window. 1/

All of this could have been avoided if enough people had just decided to vote for a competent Black Indian woman. Racism...the downfall of America.

Livestream of huge lava fountains at Kilauea. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd2T...

Pro tip: if you request help with something that could mean hours of effort, don't send a follow-up for at least 2 weeks. That 15 min spent upon receipt of the original email evaluating the level of effort and allocating time the following week? Yea... now that first 15 min is all you get.

I spoke with Sabrina Valenti, a NOAA budget analyst fired under the DOGE layoffs, about the work she did and her fears for NOAA's future defector.com/an-interview...

Gotta love it when an author cites a conference paper completely unavailable online... where in the abstract they relay that a volcano ended activity by a certain time, and in cited text that it started at that same time. Monday.

Taking a lunch break and saw a sign-board truck driving along the Mall with this message: "Make Polio Great Again".

If anyone in the US is truly shocked by the immediate chaos and cruelty from the new administration, well... you probably weren't paying attention the first time around or during the campaign. Take care, but be aware. Good doggos take lots of naps, not good citizens.

Can't say that I ever considered there might have been "non-magmatic" eruptions in Madison, Wisconsin. Or that the lakes are explosion craters. Or that the Baraboo Quartzite was expelled by landmasses colliding during an earthquake. Despite my knowledge of the area, emailer suggested Zircon dating.

Well this is a photo I shall cherish forever. 🥹

I'm not attending #AGU2024, but will be around if any friends/colleagues want to get together for some food or drinks, or just want to say Hi while visiting NMNH.

Looks like there's finally some real life to this app now. Due to it not being approved yet by my employer for official posts, I won't have much volcano content. However, here's something for Hudson fans...

Right now, there's a lot of journalists and talking heads trying to tell the Dems they need to change their messaging, instead of being honest about the racism, misogyny, and lack of education on the issues that made people vote for a criminal-sociopath. johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/no-the-dem...

I'm tired. It's been a long week. All the tasks and paperwork to be done when a close family member dies leaves little time to for grief.

Any day that I remove a volcano is a good day. Today was a good day. More a merge of two entries, but it counts.

CO2 emissions from all volcanism is orders of magnitude less than that from human activity. A 2-day fissure eruption, as amazing as it looks, contributes a trivial amount.

I say interesting words to reporters sometimes. "Scientists say worldwide volcanic activity in November 2023 is nothing out of the ordinary, contrary to social media posts.... Experts told AFP that... the year has been on the low end of what is considered typical." factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....