Earth News Interviews

Imagine if you lived in a world where some humans evolved the ability to fly, use one hundred percent of their brainpower, or the ability to reproduce at twice the normal rate. These evolved humans would certainly have an evolutionary advantage over the rest of us, and likely outcompete us in the long-term. What if a similar situation happened around 541 million years ago? Around this time, in the late Neoproterozoic, the Ediacaran biota, mostly filter-feeding and immobile organisms, faced the threat of extinction from their more agile, burrowing, and mobile competitors that evolved during the late Ediacaran and early Cambrian. A mass extinction ensued, but the definite causes are still being debated. We talk to Associate Professor Marc Laflamme, an expert on Paleoclimate and Paleontology about this fascinating time period. 

Primary Sources Discussed: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825220304815

For this special New Year's episode, Dean and Sofia trade news stories about new discoveries in the Earth Sciences. The discoveries include the finding of the world's oldest crater, a prehistoric tsunami, and the best way to regrow forests. We finally talk about how we started our podcast,  and thank the people who have given us invaluable feedback and made it all possible! Here's to 2021 and a brand new year of science and discoveries!

Compared to other foundational scientific breakthroughs like Mendeleev's periodic table, Einstein's relativity, and Watson Crick and Franklin's double helix DNA model, the discovery of plate tectonics is the youngest and one of the most influential in the Earth Sciences. Since the 1960's geoscientists have been building upon John Tuzo Wilson's groundbreaking plate tectonic theory including Dr. Oguz Gogus who is a professor of geophysics from Istanbul's Technical University. We discuss the continental drip theory, which explains why the geologically active region of Central Anatolia has been uplifted over a very short period of geologic time. 

What happens when the Canadian government tries to simultaneously decrease fossil fuel demand at the same time as giving subsidies to big oil producers? In this episode, we talk to Professor Miriam Diamond, a contaminant scientist and prolific advocate for climate change action. We discuss the carbon and plastic lock-in problem, and how divergent and contradictory policies have thrown a wrench in our plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Primary Sources Discussed:

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/10/13/are-we-locked-into-a-plastic-future.html

We're used to thinking of geologic phenomena as events that take millions of years. Think mountain building, subduction, or even the rock and carbon cycles. In this episode, we talk with Assistant Professor Xu Chu about a new discovery in metamorphic petrology: ultra-fast fluid-rock interactions and what they mean for earth system processes through geologic time. 

Primary Readings Discussed: 

In this special episode of Earth News Interviews, we host six guests in a round table discussion about field courses and their place in geoscience programs. Should they be required for a degree? What are some new methods in teaching the material traditionally learned in the field? How can we ensure people aren't excluded from both the opportunities field courses provide and from a career in the earth sciences?

Primary readings discussed: 

1. https://sisterstem.org/2020/07/22/its-time-to-change-the-geosciences-field-requirements/?fbclid=IwAR3URrwD0wmo6_1nFL7ITE4jD059ZL5aZ8u6tp3l11dlpHFhT6ZaGbn-Y78

2. https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/geology-everyone-making-field-accessible

In this episode, we discuss original University of Toronto research on Earth's microfibre pollution problem. What are microfibres? Where do they come from? What can we do to help turn the tide? All of this and more with U of T's own PhD. Candidate, Samantha Athey!

Primary Readings Discussed:

Your Beloved Blue Jeans Are Polluting the Ocean—Big Time

It's often inconceivable that we can have such a big impact on the environment around us, but nonetheless, humanity has molded the planet to meet its needs. This molding came with its own unintended consequences: Fracking induced seismicity is the crust responding to oil and natural gas exploitation by releasing energy. Even though most of these energy releases are small, some of them are registered as fairly large earthquakes that have the potential to cause infrastructure damage. We talk to induced seismicity expert Dr. Semechah Lui to find out more about the causes and risks of fracking induced seismicity. 

Removing excess carbon in the atmosphere generated from human industrial activity is one of the most relevant geoengineering feats of this century. But what if we told you the oceans and coastal areas have been doing this naturally for billions of years? In this episode, we sat down with PhD candidate Elizabeth Phillips to talk about speeding up the rate of carbon removal in the ocean. We discuss possible dangers to ecosystems, global challenges and social responsibility. 

Primary reading discussed: 

https://theconversation.com/can-we-tweak-marine-chemistry-to-help-stave-off-climate-change-93174?fbclid=IwAR1pXA2-W6hNmz3vILtwH8S7TybDRGc7kdcfzy56_K96YUpXgy5OP84OzcM

Volcanoes have captured the imagination and intrigue of the human civilization because of their unpredictable and destructive nature. Today, hundreds of volcanoes are being monitored for potential warning signs that precede an eruption including gas emissions, seismic tremors and ground deformation. We sit down with volcanologist Paul Ashwell to ask how the monitoring of  volcanoes has improved over the last half century and what challenges still lie ahead. 

Primary reading discussed: 

Forecasting Volcanic Eruptions