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Richard I. Gibson
History of the EarthEpisodes
Richard I. Gibson
History of the Earth
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Episodes of History of the Earth
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Carbonatites are strange igneous rocks made up mostly ofcarbonates – common minerals like calcite, calcium carbonate. Igneous rocksthat solidify from molten magma usually are high-temperature rocks containinglots of silicon which result
As near as I can tell in the original daily series in 2014,I never addressed the topic of turbidity currents and their sedimentaryproduct, turbidites. But they account for the distribution of vast quantitiesof sediment on continental sh
This episode is about some of the interestingconnections that arise in science.We’ll start with me and my first professional job as amineralogist analyzing kidney stones. My mineralogy professor at IndianaUniversity, Carl Beck, die
Today we’re going back about 280 million years, to what is now Uruguay in South America. 280 million years ago puts us in the early part of the Permian Period. Gondwana, the huge southern continent, was in the process of colliding with North A
Today we’re going back about 280 millionyears, to what is now Uruguay in South America. 280 million years ago puts us in the early part of thePermian Period. Gondwana, the huge southern continent, was in the process ofcolliding with
Today we’re going to the Mountains of theMoon – but not those on the moon itself. We’re going to central Africa. There isn’t really a mountain range specifically named theMountains of the Moon. The ancients, from Egyptians to Greeks,
Today’s episode focuses on one of thosewonderful jargon words geologists love to use: Ophiolites.It’s not a contrived term like cactolith nor some reallyobscure mineral like pararammelsbergite. Ophiolites are actually really importan
In today's episode we’re going to space.Specifically, Mars. You didn’t really think that earth science is reallylimited to the earth, did you? Our topic today will be the Valles Marineris.The Valles Marineris is a longseries of can
As the name implies, mud volcanoes are eruptions of mud –not molten rock as in igneous volcanoes. They’re found all around the world,amounting to about a thousand in total number known. The one thing they have incommon is hot or at le
Smilodon and dire wolves (drawing by Robert Horsfall, 1913)Running time, 1 hour. File size, 69 megabytes. This is an assembly of the episodes in the original seriesfrom 2014 that are about Cretaceous and Cenozoic vertebrates.
Morganucodon, a possible early mammal from the Late Triassic. Length about four inches.Drawing by FunkMonk (Michael B. H.) used under Creative Commons license. Running time, 1 hour. File size, 68 megabytes.This is an assembly o
Vanadium is a metal, and by far its greatest use is in steelalloys, where tiny amounts of vanadium improve steel’s hardness, toughness, andwear resistance, especially at extreme temperatures. As I reported in my bookWhat Things Are Made
You may have seen some of the spectacular images of theearth in southern Algeria, curves and colors like some Picasso in the oppositeof his cubist period. If you haven’t, check out the one from NASA, below. The ovals and swirls, wi
It isn’t true that all geologists drink beer. But many do,and I’m one of them. Today I’m going to talk about theintimate connection between geology and beer. Beer is mostly water, and water chemistry has everything todo with beer sty
Ganoid fish from an old textbook (public domain)Running time, 1 hour. File size, 70 megabytes.This is an assembly of the 15 episodes in the originalseries from 2014 that are about Paleozoic vertebrates. I’ve left the references
What is dynamic topography? Well, it depends on who you ask. Dynamic topography is similar to other terms, like uplift, that have been used in so many different ways that you really have to look at the document you’re reading to understand wha
Most of my career was in analyzing features of the earth’s gravity and magnetic fields, to infer geologic structures for oil exploration. But that doesn’t mean I really understand the whole earth’s fields – and for some aspects of it, neither
Today’s topic is three minerals with the same chemical formula: Kyanite, Andalusite, and Sillimanite. How can three things with the exact same chemical formula, Al2SiO5, be different minerals? Many of you probably recall that besides a distin
For today’s episode of the podcast I’m introducing you to Dr. Petr Yakovlev, a friend and geologist here in Butte at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Petr will be doing occasional guest episodes to give you all a break from my voice, as
Today’s Episode takes us to Australia, the home of the Riversleigh Lagerstätte. Lagerstätten, you may recall, are fossil assemblages that typically have extraordinary diversity as well as extraordinary preservation. The Riversleigh Lagerstätte
Today for episode 381, we’re going to Zealandia. No, it’s not a quirky TV show modeled after Portlandia. It’s the 7th largest continent on earth.We’re not talking continents in the geographic sense, really large land masses like Africa and Sout
The badlands at Makoshika State Park are in Montana, and so am I, but Montana’s big. The park is just outside of Glendive, almost at the eastern border of the state. It took me and my friend about seven hours to get there from Butte, but it wa
Today’s episode, number 379, is about glaciers in what is now the Sahara Desert, and we’re going back 340 million years, to the Mississippian or Early Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic Era.In the original daily episodes of this podcast back
If you’ve listened to this series for any length of time, you know that geologists, like most scientists, are fond of jargon. They use specialized words as shortcuts for particular meanings, like ‘gabbro,’ which is easier to say than “a coarse-
Today’s topic for Episode 377, the Tepuis of South America, was suggested long ago by a listener. Photo of Mt. Roraima by Jeff Johnson, used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.Transcript:The Tepuis are huge, hi
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