Kate Leary

Tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Earth Surface Processes, Idaho State University. Apply by 22 October. See also: csdms.colorado.edu/wiki/Jobs

@aabria.bsky.social is that spider in your dice tray Task?!?!?!

Text from article: It’ll be years before we can fully account for what all of this is doing to students’ brains. Some early research shows that when students off-load cognitive duties onto chatbots, their capacity for memory, problem-solving, and creativity could suffer. Multiple studies published within the past year have linked AI usage with a deterioration in critical-thinking skills; one found the effect to be more pronounced in younger participants. In February, Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University published a study that found a person’s confidence in generative AI correlates with reduced critical-thinking effort. The net effect seems, if not quite Wall-E, at least a dramatic reorganization of a person’s efforts and abilities, away from high-effort inquiry and fact-gathering and toward integration and verification. This is all especially unnerving if you add in the reality that AI is imperfect — it might rely on something that is factually inaccurate or just make something up entirely — with the ruinous effect social media has had on Gen Z’s ability to tell fact from fiction. The problem may be much larger than generative AI. The so-called Flynn effect refers to the consistent rise in IQ scores from generation to generation going back to at least the 1930s. That rise started to slow, and in some cases reverse, around 2006. “The greatest worry in these times of generative AI is not that it may compromise human creativity or intelligence,” Robert Sternberg, a psychology professor at Cornell University, told The Guardian, “but that it already has.” (Katie's added note: the sentences about reorganization of abilities and telling fact from fiction have been highlighted.)

Bleak.

nymag.com/intelligence...

Any geoscience/hydrology-oriented scientific illustrators out there? I have funding to help me build water resources educational content for the citizens of New Mexico! DM me if interested!

This California Neighborhood Was Built to Survive a Wildfire. And It Worked | KQED As the 2007 Witch Fire engulfed the small town of Rancho Santa Fe in flames, some neighborhoods managed to escape burning. How did they do it?

Previously I mentioned a couple of ways I could harden my house against wildfire (fiber cement siding, metal roof). Here's an article describing how that all works.

www.kqed.org/science/1941...

The Future Of Fire Cannot Look Like Its Present | Defector Los Angeles is burning. At least two people are dead and more than 80,000 people have evacuated their homes. The images and videos of the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst Fires, each of which is currently ...

"I don't think it should be acceptable that people's lives will be mangled like this. I know conditions will only get worse, but that doesn't mean the way we deal with them will also have to degrade alongside them." @redford.bsky.social

defector.com/the-future-o...

A M7.1 earthquake just occurred in the Tibetan plateau, NE of Nepal. A normal-mechanism event - accommodating east-west extension of the plateau.

A significant event, but hopefully impacts will be mitigated by the remoteness of the location.

earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

California’s Merced River dried up below Yosemite. Reason was mystery until now The Merced River in the Central Valley stopped flowing two years ago, and California water regulators have finally figured out why. But there’s no easy fix.

Finally the Merced drying two years ago is getting a bit of press. TLDR… users took too much water, but were within legal rights to do so. And there’s a lack of data to help inform changes.
www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

America’s Next Water Crisis? A Lack of Experienced Workers Climate change and aging infrastructure already threaten to disrupt drinking water supplies. A shrinking workforce risks making the problem worse.

Nice drinking water you got there, if you can keep it. My story about how water (drinking and waste water) are losing workers right when because of climate change we need them most. Gift link.

Realigning the NSF Division of Earth Sciences

Interested in learning about the new science programs in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences? including the Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes (WaLCZ) program? Check out the webpage, which includes information on how to register for tomorrow's WaLCZ webinar: new.nsf.gov/geo/updates/...

Announcing the second of five AGU Water Quality Technical Commitee Haiku Your Research Winner for #AGU24! *José Uchôa* at the University of São Paulo.

Announcing the first of five AGU Water Quality Technical Commitee Haiku Your Research Winner for #AGU24! *Lauren Magliozzi* at University of Colorado Boulder.

Is science political? Should scientists advocate? How should we do science communication when pseudoscience and anti-science are official government practices?
Come hear my Stephen Schneider Memorial Lecture at AGU's annual convention in Washington, Wednesday Dec. 11. 2pm.

California water agency votes to spend $141 million on Delta tunnel project Gov. Gavin Newsom is promoting a $20 billion plan for a water tunnel. The Metropolitan Water District’s board voted to spend $141 million for initial costs.

Breaking: The board of California’s largest urban water supplier has voted to spend $141.6 million for a large share of preliminary planning work on the state's proposed water tunnel in the Delta. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Get ready for all our great sessions at #AGU24 this week!
#EPSPatAGU24 #AGWOO

To come up with the name "Operation: Italy" and not make the obvious leap to THE ITALIAN JOB is driving me insane. #Survivor47

Breaking in to SciComm When it comes to getting jobs in research, we need educational credentials; for jobs in science communication, we need to demonstrate experience.

Looking to break in to #scicomm? Here are some tips!

wendybohon.com/2022/03/30/b...

A couple of follow-ups re: today's California #quakes:
1) There was actually only one significant quake as of 1pm PT--the M7.0 SW of Eureka. The far northern Sonoma County quake was actually ~M4.1 but initially registered higher due to conflicting data. [1/3]

I'm not even going to #AGU24, but I'm still saying things like "wow I can't believe AGU is next week already" because that's just how geoscientists measure time.

New #microplastics paper alert. Led by the awesome Dr Freija Mendrik, from her PhD work, we show that 86 % of microplastics are transported below the water surface. For representative samples, sample at 0.5-0.6 of the depth
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Getting to the Heart of Science Communication

The print version of my book Getting to the Heart of Science Communication is half price from @islandpress.bsky.social right now, along with so many fantastic other titles! islandpress.org/books/gettin...

Pie chart showing that everyone is welcome in science

Science is better because you’re part of it. Happy LGBTQIA+ in STEM day! #QueerInSTEM #PolarPride

Any geoscience/hydrology scientific illustrators out there? Might have funding to help me build educational content for the citizens of New Mexico all about water resources! DM me if interested!

Tenure-track Coastal Processes hire at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Apply by 31 December. See also: csdms.colorado.edu/wiki/Jobs

Navigating Academic Waters: Giving Back and Providing Service as a student and early career hydrologist is happening Thursday!
NOV 14 / 1 PM ET
Panelists will discuss types of service opportunities that are a good fit for student and early-career researchers! us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

I started a ‘fluvial geomorphology & related river science’ starter pack for those of you joining us at Bluesky &and those wanting to build the community! Let me know if you want to be added— I’m sure I’ve missed lots of people.

go.bsky.app/S5RPXHk

In Asheville, N.C., many residents may be without drinking water for weeks Tropical storm Helene caused 'catastrophic' damage to Asheville’s water treatment and distribution system, cutting off at least 70% of the city’s drinking water supply.

Tropical storm Helene caused 'catastrophic' damage to Asheville’s water treatment and distribution system, cutting off at least 70% of the city’s drinking water supply.

Scientists: SciLine from AAAS is offering free workshops on how to share your knowledge with journalists for election-related stories www.sciline.org/learn/naviga...