Happy Birthday, Jules Verne!

Movie poster for "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Image taken from here.

David Bressan over at the History of Geology blog reminded me that today is the birthday of Jules Verne, one of my favorite authors. Happy Birthday, Jules!

Even more excitingly, on his blog David posted a trailer for the 1959 Disney movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth" starring Pat Boone. This is my all-time favorite movie. I first watched this movie as a young child at my grandmother's house. One day, I found the movie in a pile of VHS tapes of children's movies that my grandma kept to entertain her grandchildren. I watched the movie and loved it. From then on, every time I visited my grandmother's house I had to watch "Journey to the Center of the Earth." You know how children often have one book that they insist on reading every night? Or one movie they insist on watching all the time? Well, my movie was "Journey to the Center of the Earth." If I stayed with my grandma for a week, I'd watch the movie every day. I think my parents purposely did not buy a copy of this movie because if they had then they'd have been forced to watch it even more often.

Many years later, when I was an undergrad at Dartmouth, my mom bought me "Journey to the Center of the Earth" on DVD as a Christmas gift. Perhaps that Christmas gift was the inspiration for the introduction to a paper that I wrote back in undergrad about  hafnium (Hf) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes. Here's a snippet from the introduction of that paper:

"Introduction
Contrary to the portrayal in Jules Verne’s classic novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which a group of scientists reach the center of the Earth by spelunking down a very deep cave, humans have barely scratched the surface of our planet’s outermost crust. Remarkably, almost all of the adventures that seemed so fantastic when Verne wrote about them in the late 1800s have become a commonplace part of human society. Inspired by the imaginings of Verne and others dreamers, humans have developed technology that allows people to travel around the world in far fewer than eighty days, dive far deeper than 20,000 leagues under the sea*, and soar high above the Earth. At least one Verne tale is still a dream, however: humans have not journeyed anywhere near the center of the Earth. In fact, the deepest hole humans have drilled is 12 km deep, a mere 0.2% of the Earth’s 6378 km radius (1). As scientists cannot directly sample mantle or core material, they must rely on other methods to learn about the physical and chemical characteristics of the Earth’s interior.

One of the methods modern scientists use to learn about the chemical composition of the Earth’s interior is the analysis of isotopic compositions in rocks on Earth’s surface. Geochemical analysis of radiogenic Hf and Nd [and other] isotope ratios in erupted lavas is a powerful tool for examining the processes governing the geochemical evolution of magma deep within the Earth's mantle. Isotope compositions and their ratios are minimally affected by the immense physical stresses imposed at
great depths in the Earth’s interior, the processes of magma upwelling to the crust, and the final eruption at the Earth’s surface. Therefore, these analyses can be used to infer the compositions of the igneous source material as well as how these sources mixed and melted to form the rocks on the surface. Combined with major and trace element data, Hf and Nd isotope ratios can even be used to determine the degree of melting that occurred."

If you're curious about the rest, you can read the full paper here, but please keep in mind that I wrote this in 2004 as a very young geochemist and that DUJS is a non-peer reviewed, undergraduate science journal.

If you like bad geology movies, go purchase "Journey to the Center of the Earth." This is a bad geology movie at its best-- the geology is laughably ridiculous, the special effects are sensationally awful, and the story is wondrously entertaining. If you're like me, you'll watch this movie several times a year, so you won't want to have to order it from Netflix every time (sadly, it is not available on streaming). And make sure you order the 1959 version with Pat Boone. The 2008 version with Brendan Frasier isn't nearly as good.

*Note that this is an error in my paper as 1 league ~ 5.6 km. So it is clearly impossible to dive 20,000 leagues in depth since the deepest point of the world's oceans is only ~11 km deep at the Mariana Trench. In the title of his book, Verne is referring to the horizontal distance traveled under the sea, not the depth.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" movie shot, image taken from here.

Movie poster for "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Image taken from here.

Various scenes from "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Image taken from here.

Scientific Perspiration

Before I started a geology blog, I used to sporadically blog about geology over at Skepchick. These days, I blog here at Georneys about geology, and I blog over at Skepchick about other skeptical and scientific things, such as the elusive tree octopus. Occasionally, I will re-post some of my old geology posts from Skepchick. I will also sometimes cross-post on both blogs. The post below originally appeared on Skepchick in 2007 here. Since I am again spending much of my time picking crystals (carbonates this time), I thought it would be timely to re-post this. The post appears below with minor corrections.

Note that I originally wrote this post during my first year of graduate school. Three years later, I still feel that I am an average graduate student. However, I also feel that since I started graduate school I've gained a large amount of confidence and greatly developed my knowledge in geology, chemistry, and mathematics. I have also been humbled. Although I know much, much more than when I started graduate school, I have also more fully realized what an enormous amount of knowledge there is in the world and how much I don't know. Most importantly, I've learned not to be afraid of a little scientific perspiration, be it picking crystals for hours on end, teaching myself an ancient data reduction program, or jumping headfirst into some math.

Carbonate grains under the microscope, Fall 2010.

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
-Thomas Edison

If you’re average but want to be a scientist, there’s hope! With persistence and a fair amount of perspiration, you can still become a great scientist.

Most of us are not scientific geniuses or autistic savants. Most of us are, well, fairly average. We should be. Most people are supposed to be average. Most of us should be C-level students. C is supposed to be average, the recent trend in grade inflation aside.

Alvin Cam

The Alvin Deep-Sea Submersible, Image taken from here.

The Alvin Cam may not be as cute as the Panda Cam, but as deep-sea submersibles go I think that Alvin is actually pretty adorable. Plus, someone has placed a cute stuffed animal dog with a hard hat in front of the camera.

The Alvin Cam monitors the upgrade of Alvin, a deep-sea submersible that has been taking humans deep in the world's oceans since 1964. This makes Alvin the longest-operating deep-sea submersible with over 4,600 dives! Alvin is owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), where I am a graduate student.

Alvin is long overdue for an upgrade. The National Science Foundation is now funding a multimillion dollar upgrade that will install a larger sphere, more view portals, and other improvements. The upgrade will enhance Alvin's capabilities and also make long dives more comfortable.

Over the next year or so, you can watch the Alvin upgrade live by tuning into the Alvin Cam. If you see a really neat event happening on the Alvin Cam, take a screenshot and email it to me at georneysblog (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll post good screenshots on this blog. If you send a really great screenshot, I'll reward you with a WHOI-themed prize*. 

Read more about Alvin and the upgrade here and here and here.

I am particularly excited about the ongoing upgrade because my advisor is the PI (Principal Investigator, aka "the boss") in charge of the upgrade. The upgrade certainly keeps my advisor busy! Remarkably, she still makes time for me amidst meetings with the Navy and engineers as well as many other obligations. My thesis seems very insignificant compared with the Alvin upgrade, so I feel very fortunate that my advisor makes so much time for me. She is a remarkable woman whom I admire very much.

Finally, here's a really neat time-lapse video of Alvin being disassembled during a routine maintenance overhaul in 2005: Alvin Disassembly Movie.

*Don't get too excited yet... might just be a WHOI pencil, though I'll keep my eyes open for good WHOI swag.

The Small World of Science Blogging

Science is a small world. Science blogging is an even smaller world, though happily growing.

A few months ago, I was thrilled to learn that my former classmate Christie Wilcox is not only a biologist and grad student but also an amazing science blogger. Christie and I went to school together for several years. We've fallen out of touch (unless Facebook counts) in recent years, but I highly recommend her blog Observations of a Nerd. Leave this blog now and go read Christie's blog. It's fantastic.

And Christie-- I'm sorry for those times in Middle School when I made fun of you. Next time you're out east (or perhaps I'm in Hawaii? That sounds nicer), we should catch up! I owe you a beer (probably several) for any jokes I may have made at your expense in Middle School.

Christie Wilcox and I in a class photo, circa 1996 or so.

While I'm at it, here are a couple other blogger friends of mine:

Phil and I, Red Rocks, Nevada, circa January 2006.

This is my friend Phil Plait- aka The Bad Astronomer. Go read his blog Bad Astronomy.

Rebecca Watson and I, Woods Hole, MA, circa 2006, the year after Skepchick was founded.

This is my friend Rebecca Watson, fearless leader of the Skepchick bloggers.

As far as geobloggers go, the only other geoblogger I have met in person is Chuck Magee of Lounge of the Lab Lemming. Chuck is a fellow geochemistry nerd and all-around nice guy. Alas, we didn't take a picture at Goldschmidt!

I hope to meet more geobloggers next time I'm at a geology conference-- perhaps at the AGU meeting later this year?

Wadi Rum in Pictures

Lunch in the shade of a rock arch, Jordan, August 2007.

The Middle East is near and dear to my heart. When I was fifteen, I lived with a Palestinian refugee family in Jordan for five months as an exchange student. The experience opened my eyes to the wider world and no doubt changed the course of my life. Ever since, I have been drawn to the Arabic language, the Middle East, and to deserts. I studied Arabic for four years back in undergrad, but I unfortunately have never had the opportunity to study Arabic abroad and truly gain fluency in the language. The Middle East is a tumultuous region, and the semester abroad programs I signed up for kept being canceled because of safety concerns. Also, I had to balance my Arabic studies with a heavy science courseload.

However, I had the good fortune to have several Arab friends in high school and college. I was also adopted by a wonderful Iranian family (who are Persians, not Arabs) which hired me as a part-time nanny for their three wonderful children. I am still very close with the Iranian family; just the other day, the oldest daughter-- who is now in Middle School-- called me up to ask me questions for a science report she was writing on Plate Tectonics. She told me yesterday that she received a perfect score on her report, and I couldn't be prouder.

In graduate school, I have had the opportunity to carry out my thesis research in the deserts of northern Oman. I hope to always do some geology research-- and perhaps even teach one day-- in the Middle East. There is certainly some fantastic geology in the region.

The recent turmoil in Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries worries me, but I am hopeful for the region. The deaths of protesters and policemen sadden me greatly. I have great respect for all those on the street, fighting and marching and shouting for a better life. I hope there is soon a peaceful transition of government in the protesting countries, though I know the struggle will continue long after the streets are empty. In general, I think the biggest problem the Middle East must overcome is a very young population with few job opportunities. This is a problem that will take many years to work through. Again, I am hopeful.

In honor of all of those in the Middle East who are currently struggling in the midst of turmoil, here are a few peaceful pictures of the beautiful desert of Wadi Rum, Jordan. I took these photos when I briefly visited Wadi Rum in August 2007. Note that my blog header picture and my profile picture were both taken at Wadi Rum. Click on any of the photos below to view a larger version.

Wadi Rum Cliff 1, Jordan, August 2007.

Geology Word of the Week: N is for Nabkha

Nabkhas in front of sand dunes in Namibia. Photo courtesy of Michael Welland and used with permission.

def. Nabkha:
1. A mound-like accumulation of wind-blown sediment, usually sand, collected within and behind, and stabilized by, vegetation (definition modified from Khalaf et al., 1995 and Keary, 1996).
2. One of several words of Arabic origin that is used to describe sand features.

On "The Today Show" in 1994: What is the Internet?

Here is a video that has, appropriately, been spidering around the internet recently. This is a clip of "The Today Show" in 1994 where Katie Couric and her co-hosts are discussing a new internet address for the show, but they don't know how to pronounce the @ symbol. Furthermore, they don't really know what the internet is!

Video taken from YouTube.

I find it amazing how far the internet has come since 1994. These days, everyone is constantly updating their blogs, twittering (or tweeting, I guess-- I must admit I haven't got the hang of that one yet), facebooking, and so on. No one has phone books anymore; people just look up everything on omniscient google. The internet even plays a role in politics-- the Egyptian government has recently shut the internet down in an attempt to slow the revolution there.

Science definitely seems to require the internet these days. There are so many online resources-- databases, references, data reduction programs, map programs such as Google Earth, and so much more.  Personally, I can't imagine writing a geology paper without having the MIT library at my electronic disposal. I rarely make physical trips to the library anymore. When I do actually have to make a trip to the library to-- gasp-- copy an old journal article, I do so begrudgingly.

I barely remember a time without the internet. In 1994 I was ten years old and already a regular internet user. A computer guru, my dad started using the internet at home in 1992 or 1993. At first we just had very slow text-based internet. If there were any pictures, my dad turned them off. I would bring up simple text versions of websites and devour the information. I remember I used to look up information about foreign countries I found interesting, and I would plan imaginary trips. By the time I started high school in 1998, I used the internet all the time.

These days, we all use the internet constantly. We even carry it around with us (well, not me... but that's because I'm a poor grad student with a Jurassic cell phone) everywhere we go, constantly updating our statuses on various sites and googleing information as needed with our iPhones and Androids and Black(Crack)berries.

It's incredible how far the internet has come in seventeen years, isn't it? Something Katie Couric couldn't define in 1994 is now an integral part of most people's daily lives, at least in first world countries.

Although, I do enjoy my occasional internet escapes. The longest I've gone without the internet (well, since 1992 or 1993) is about three weeks-- during geology fieldwork or personal camping trips. Soon enough, I imagine even fieldwork won't take me away from the internet. When I was in the (somewhat) remote Oman desert last year, all the locals had cell phones. I've bet they've upgraded to a 4G network by now.