Ben Johnson

How plate tectonics revolutionized our understanding of Earth - High Country News And how scientist Tanya Atwater was at the center of it all.

Great story about the woman who revolutionized plate tectonics. www.hcn.org/issues/58-1/... in @highcountrynews.org

A line curve showing number of awards for fiscal year 2026 compared to fiscal years 2021-2025 for the Directorate for Geosciences. The fiscal year 2026 curve lies well below curves for other fiscal years.

Directorate for Geosciences

5/11

This just passed subcommittee. Keep calling your reps as I believe it's heading quickly on to the next step.

Late in posting but here’s a paper from a MS thesis in my group! Feels odd to post science in the current context, but this paper is one I’m really glad to see out.

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

Obituary: Gladys Mae West (1930-2026) mathematician who pioneered GPS technology

go.nature.com/4jWMeM8

Attention folks in the weather, climate, disaster, wildfire, and Earth science communities: NSF has just published a new "Dear Colleague" letter inviting feedback (by Mar 13) on the proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). www.nsf.gov/funding/...

So all colleges and universities will bring back the DEI stuff they cut when obeying in advance right...............................................................................................................................................right?

Save NCAR from being dismantled today! The Trump Administration has vowed to dissolve the center that provides critical extreme weather and climate data for our nation.

AGU has a Congressional email and call script up on NCAR:

Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 1 This notice implements several revisions to NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1.

Hi US science folks, NSF has released some policy changes to the document I know you’ve memorized: the PAPPG. Take a look, send me your questions, I’ll add them to our own and try to get some answers. www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...

BREAKING: ‘This hurts’: UNL eliminates 4 programs despite faculty, student pleas The University of Nebraska-Lincoln eliminates the Earth and atmospheric sciences 8-0, educational administration 7-1, statistics 7-1, textiles, merchandising and fashion design 7-1 programs.

It's over.

Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.

www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...

Resumption of Operations at NSF Information for NSF staff and the research community regarding the agency's resumption of operations after a lapse in appropriations.

Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...

They are really planning to go through with these cuts at Nebraska, despite recommendations not to. Unbelievable.

If you want to hire highly qualified, very successful earth and atmospheric sciences faculty in teaching and research, quite a few are probably looking for jobs for next year.

Please sign this

Postdoctoral Research Associate - Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Position Summary The Climate and Paleoclimate Lab in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at WashU in St. Louis seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate in tropical climate/pa...

We're hiring! I'm recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Associate in climate & paleoclimate modeling of the tropical Americas. Come obsess over the tropical rain belt with me! :) Please share w/folks who may be interested. Ad here: wustl.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...

Paleontologists have identified the 410-million-year-old specimens of Spongiophyton nanum from the Ponta Grossa Formation in the Paraná Basin of Brazil as one of the oldest and most widespread lichens from the fossil record.

www.sci.news/paleontology...

#fossils #paleontology

Google Scholar Is Doomed Academia built entire careers on a free Google service with zero guarantees. What could go wrong?

Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared

An image of a mountain and evergreen trees with the words GEMS Mentorship Program: We provide mentorship support for undergraduates and early-stage graduate students in the geosciences. Go to our website: gems-program.org or email geo.mentorship@gmail.com

Recruiting now: #geoscience mentors and mentees! Applications are now OPEN through September 12 for both mentors (senior graduate students through senior faculty/staff) and mentees (students interested in geoscience graduate school and fellowships). Check it out! gems-program.org/matching

What a pull

NSF Division of Earth Sciences Informational Webinar

US Earth Science people: Our June webinar felt so good, we’re making it a series. Join us next Tuesday 7/15 (and again in Aug & Sept) to hear from NSF staff and to get (most of?) your questions answered. www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-d...

Reading and thinking and writing (words and code) are all fun and rewarding and good human activities to do

Opinion | Trump Wants to Be a Strongman, but He’s Actually a Weak Man (Gift Article) He is still dangerous, though.

wrote about what the protests say about the strength, or lack thereof, of the trump administration www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

"The employee, who did not want to be named out of fear of retaliation for speaking to the media, said that the NSF's rigorous review process had been disassembled, and that political mandates had taken precedence over scientific merits when assessing proposals." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Sign The Open Letter to Stand Up For Science Now! Science is under siege. Trump’s latest Executive Order calls for politically appointed science commissars to evaluate research. Join us in adding your name to our open letter condemning Trump’s escala...

🚨 URGENT RESPONSE CALL 🚨

Trump’s Fool’s Gold Science EO is a dangerous sham.
It gives his appointees the power to dismiss entire bodies of research and punish researchers who fail to fall in line with his agenda.

We’ve launched an open letter.

SIGN & SHARE NOW: actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...

You made it to the Precambrian nice job

I’ve not heard a peep. The “it’ll be out soon” rumors have been around since late Feb to no avail

If you benefited from past NAGT/NSF Early Career Geoscience workshops you may want to support this years participants and activities which have apparently been defunded by NSF.
Contribute here: nagt.org/nagt/get_inv...

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."

Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.

I wrote about my decision in TIME.

time.com/7285045/resi...

Comparison of raw sea-surface temperatures at global level compared to corrected version, and the difference between the curves.

Interesting article on the spatial biases in paleotemperature reconstructions using d18O. Important observations:
• End-Ordovician-Silurian was colder than appears
• End-Carboniferous was even colder than appear in face-value-record
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧪 ⚒️ #Geology #Paleobio

Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund

Exclusive: National Science Foundation staff were told today that the agency’s 37 divisions—across all eight directorates—are being abolished and the number of programs within those divisions will be drastically reduced.

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

🔔BREAKING🔔

The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.

This is censorship disguised as oversight.

Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...