PlanetGeo: The Geology Podcast

Chris and Jesse are recording this intro face to face in Michigan! We had a lot of fun actually recording together rather than from 600 miles apart. Join us in our final Re-release series on water.
Show notes are below:
This week we tackle a big question: why is the ocean so salty? Spoiler alert: it's because of the hard water you may have running through your house!
In this episode we cover three major questions: 1) Why is the ocean salty? 2) Why do rivers keep flowing all the time? and 3) What is hard water? Guess what...they are all related!
Hard water is water that is "hard" to make a lather with. This is caused by dissolved ions in the groundwater. Those ions get there because groundwater interacts with rocks under... wait for it... the ground! This groundwater feeds rivers, which then flow into lakes and ultimately the oceans. The ocean water then evaporates, leaves behind the salty stuff from dissolved rocks, forms clouds and rain, and starts the whole process over again. Except, the salty ions are left behind in the ocean and accumulate over time.
Hard water is extremely important to pay attention to because it can severely damage industrial equipment as well as cost you thousands of dollars in home repairs if you don't get it taken care of it. Here is a link to a United States Geological Survey article that outlines hard water, where it is found, and what it can cause. Check out that picture of the clogged pipe!
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/hardness-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
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Join us as we interrupt our water series re-release to talk about a major current event - the eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga.

It was a huge eruption in the South Pacific from a very active volcano. Its had some smaller eruptions in the last few months, but Saturday morning took the lid off.
In fact, some instrumented Cascade volcanoes - Mt Hood, Mt Saint Helens, and Mt Ranier, detected infrasound records (essentially specialized microphones). The second longer but lower-magnitude signal that shows up later in the plot - is the airwave passing by the station again -- having come from the other direction! That’s right, the airwave has wrapped around the planet! The first wave traveled a distance of ~8500 km (~5300 miles). The second traveled ~32,500 km (20,200 miles)! In fact, barometers at O'hare airport in Chicago picked up the compression sound waves.

You may be wondering: why was there a volcano here in the first place? The answer is: plate tectonics! Tonga is one of the volcanic islands located on top of the Tonga Kermadec subduction zone! This is the convergent plate boundary where the Pacific Plate sinks below the Australian Plate. The Pacific Plate is made of old, cold, and dense rock material that sinks beneath the Australian Plate, where the subducted rocks heat up and melt as crust is recycled. The water and other volatiles rise up as the rocks are melting -- contributing to the "Big Boom" of the eruption.

Why are the eruptions so violent? Potentially? It’s not always violent, but about every thousand years, it let’s loose with huge eruptions. Why doesn’t the cool ocean water cool the magma? If magma rises slowly, there will be a thin layer of steam between the water and the magma. This will allow the outer edge of the magma to cool. If the magma rises fast, the magma is in direct contact with the water. The result is much like a weapons grade chemical explosion that starts a chain reaction where fresh magma is exposed to new water. So this is a combination of magma/water interaction as well as gas charged sticky magma that has been building for the last 1000 yrs. By studying deposits from past eruptions, we know that we might be in for several weeks (or years) of intense volcanic activity.

The violence of the blast triggered tsunamis. About 1.2 meters (4 feet) on the country of Tonga. Hard to get a clear picture of devastation yet because of ongoing eruptions. I don’t think this story is done yet.

Ash reached 20km into the sky and it produced a ton of lightning ~ 100 bolts/sec!

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Instagram: @planetgeocast
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Email: [email protected]
Website: https://planetgeocast.buzzsprout.com/

Download the CampGeo app now at this link.
On the app you can get tons of free content, exclusive images, and access to our Geology of National Parks series.
You can also learn the basics of geology at the college level in our FREE CampGeo content series - get learning now!Like, Subscribe, and leave us a Rating!
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Learn all the basics of geology in our new conversational textbook - campGEO!
Available here: geo.campcourses.com
Join us this week for our interview of Dr. Robin George Andrews. Robin George Andrews is a freelance science journalist based in London. His work has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Gizmodo, Atlas Obscura and elsewhere. He trained as a volcanologist, earning a doctorate in the subject, but then realized that telling people stories of spectacular eruptions and off-world scientific shenanigans brought him more joy than academia ever could. His upcoming book — Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond is out now - go buy a copy!
I must admit, it took Jesse and I a while to realize that the book is called Super Volcanoes - two words. In other words, all volcanoes are super. Most volcanologists strongly dislike the term Supervolcanoes - one word, that is typically used to describe Yellowstone National Park.
Robin has a huge personality which made for a very fun interview. We talked about Hawaii, Yellowstone, deep ocean volcanoes, Tonga, and Marie Tharp to name just a few. Tune in to get all the details. You won't be disappointed.
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Instagram: @planetgeocast
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Email: [email protected]
Website: https://planetgeocast.buzzsprout.com/

Download the CampGeo app now at this link.
On the app you can get tons of free content, exclusive images, and access to our Geology of National Parks series.
You can also learn the basics of geology at the college level in our FREE CampGeo content series - get learning now!Like, Subscribe, and leave us a Rating!
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Have you seen the viral "cookie monster agate"? If not, check it out via the link below (or our instagram: @planetgeocast)!
Both Chris and Jesse have had this viral agate image shared with them, and today we discuss how agates are formed, and how the represent a really cool and important geologic process; fluid flow!
Agate is a form of microcrystalline silica (like quartz) that often forms from super-saturated fluid. These fluids flow through many parts of the Earth's crust, including through small gaps or cavities in volcanic or sedimentary rocks. The super saturated fluids will deposit agate (or calcite or other minerals) within cavities and they are deposited in concentric rings that grew much like tree rings grow! The different rings can have slightly different colors due to small impurities in the minerals that are being deposited.
However, beware! Agate is a porous material so synthetic dyes can be easily applied to natural agates, turning them to very showing, but artificial, colors. In fact, most pink or bright blue agates are actually dyed.
Listen to our GeoShort to learn about the Cookie Monster Agate!
https://www.sciencealert.com/this-geode-like-rock-bears-an-uncanny-resemblance-to-sesame-street-s-cookie-monster
- rockhounds
- rock collecting
- geology in the field
- agates and geodes

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ_A82nOMu0nIvZto6zMPqg
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://planetgeocast.buzzsprout.com/

Download the CampGeo app now at this link.
On the app you can get tons of free content, exclusive images, and access to our Geology of National Parks series.
You can also learn the basics of geology at the college level in our FREE CampGeo content series - get learning now!Like, Subscribe, and leave us a Rating!
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We had such a great conversation with Dr. Andrew Calvert, Scientist-in-Charge of the California Volcano Observatory, that we decided to run it back one more time.
Mount Shasta is clearly a favorite of Dr. Calvert's, and is famous location for hiking, climbing, and skiing. However, it is not a National Park despite the best efforts of the famous John Muir, and is not a true tourist destination. When thinking about visiting Northern California, don't forget to check out Lassen Volcanic National Park to experience more amazing volcano geology! Also, check out our previous discussion with Dr. Calvert about Shastina, the spunky little sister to Mount Shasta. Shastina presents something of a geological conundrum as it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the Cascade volcanoes.
Here is a link to Dr. Calvert's research profile, and a short bio:

Education

Ph.D., University of California – Santa Barbara

Dissertation: Metamorphism and exhumation of mid-crustal gneiss domes in the Arctic Alaska Terrane

M.S./B.S., Stanford University (both degrees conferred June 1992)

Thesis: Structural Evolution and Thermochronology of the Kigluaik Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

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Instagram: @planetgeocast
Twitter: @planetgeocast
Facebook: @planetgeocast
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ_A82nOMu0nIvZto6zMPqg
Email: [email protected]

Download the CampGeo app now at this link.
On the app you can get tons of free content, exclusive images, and access to our Geology of National Parks series.
You can also learn the basics of geology at the college level in our FREE CampGeo content series - get learning now!Like, Subscribe, and leave us a Rating!
——————————————————
Instagram: @planetgeocast
Twitter: @planetgeocast
Facebook: @planetgeocast
Support us: https://planetgeocast.com/support-us
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://planetgeocast.com/