Good morning, readers. It feels like it’s been eons since I posted a topic on the blog; that means it’s high time to research, write, and inform. I’ve written a lot about individual volcanoes around the world and, believe me, I have yet to scratch the surface of this topic. Something that I’ve often overlooked … More What’s Next for Volcanism in Love?
Good morning readers and happy summer solstice! I’ve decided to take the time to talk a little bit about myself beyond geology. Whether you want it or not, here goes. I was born and raised in the Bay Area; growing up, when I wasn’t studying during the school year, my summers were devoted to … More Meet Your Author!
Contrary to what you might have thought, hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” is not a practice exclusive to the 21st century. USGS has records and data collected all the way back from 1947, used to help determine the environmental impact over the last 63 years. What is fracking, and why should you care? First of all, … More What the Frack: What Hydraulic Fracturing is and What You Need to Know About it
In 1968 a tiny volcanic island off the coast of Iceland formed seemingly overnight. Scientists watched as each day the underwater volcano spewed enough magma to form an island. Hot magma meeting the cold sea water contributed to its formation, as it allowed the lava to cool quickly enough, while more magma was rising, to … More Making an Island: A Volcanic Story
That’s right, you read correctly. Sorry LOTR fans, but it’s not just Tolkien’s world that injects pure magic into the country. New Zealand lends even more proof that the world of rocks is more intriguing and awe-inspiring than you may think. New Zealand is known, thanks largely in part to the Lord of the Rings … More New Zealand’s Home-Grown Magic is Thanks to More than Just Lord of the Rings
Yellowstone is one of the many places where the more research I do about it, the more anxious I am to see it in person. A professor of biological sciences at the university I worked at recently did some amazing research at Yellowstone on extremophile bacteria (that is, bacteria that can survive in extreme conditions … More Yellowstone Caldera: Your Favorite Neighborhood Supervolcano
In a recent conversation with a close friend from Grad school, the issue of earth’s true age came up. Why, you ask? For those who know me, I was raised Catholic (Confirmed, even), but have faced many conflicts with the church I grew up in, and follow more academic schools of thought when it comes … More Radiometric Dating and My Hunt for Answers
Unfortunately, the name Pompeii is now marred by the painfully embarrassing abomination that was Pompeii, that is, the movie. The movie should really have been titled Gladiator: The Lower-Budgeted Remake With Less Talented Actors. Admittedly, the title doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as Pompeii. Nonetheless, you get my point. Lucky for me, I had … More Evidence That No Italian Goes Quietly: A Look at Italy’s Mount Vesuvius
Ever see Crater Lake and wonder how it came to be? If you haven’t, great, because that’s why I’m here. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to see it, either by visiting or flying over it on your way to Seattle, it’s hard not to recognize how beautiful this volcano is. That’s right, Crater Lake … More Wizard! Oregon’s Crater Lake and Wizard Island
Although Halloween is over, it’s never too late to talk about this eerie volcanic structure. I learned about Shiprock a little off-hand in a Geology class, when we were covering dikes, lava tubes and necks in covering important features of a volcano. Shiprock happened to be a perfect example of these subterranean pieces of a volcano’s … More The Volcanic Skeleton of Shiprock, New Mexico
Volcanism 