Episode 48 - Mineral Exploration with Desmond O'Brien

06/25/20 • 93 min

Desmond O’Brien joins the Geology Flannelcast this week. Desmond works in the United States and Canada as a mineral prospector for gold, silver, and zinc. Jesse covers famine in the Roman Empire linked to a volcanic eruption in Alaska, pre-industrial revolution lead pollution in ice cores, and if fossils fall under mineral rights.

Jesse’s Corner:
The volcano that caused famines in ancient Rome? It was in Alaska
Lead pollution in ancient ice cores may track the rise and fall of medieval kings
Court rules ‘Dueling Dinos’ belong to landowners, in a win for science

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Episode 47 - Geochemical Techniques in Archaeology with Alex Brittingham

Alex Brittingham joins the Geology Flannelcast this week to talk about geological techniques used in the field of archaeology. Alex is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Connecticut and studies how Neanderthals used fire.

Jesse’s Corner
Bedrock type under forests greatly affects tree growth, species, carbon storage
Mountain height might be controlled by tectonic force, rather than erosion

Alex’s Links
Alex’s ResearchGate Page
Geochemical Evidence for the Control of Fire by Middle Palaeolithic Hominins

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Episode 49 - Current Events 6/23/20

Here’s a bonus episode for this week because we were late getting our regularly scheduled episode out. We cover current events in geology like the 7.5 magnitude earthquake this week in Mexico, a giant dust storm moving across the Atlantic Ocean, microbes that may live in impact craters, and a mega-blob under New Zealand.

Powerful Earthquake Jolts Southern Mexico and Kills at Least 6
Massive Sahara desert dust plume closing in on the United States
Chicxulub collision put Earth’s crust in hot water for over a million years
Remnant of world's largest 'lava lamp blob' found off New Zealand coast