The Earth Without Water

What would our planet look like without water? Well, there would be lots of abyssal plains with volcanic preaks rising above them. My colleague Dr. Jack Share forwarded this short 90 second video, that displays the ocean basins withour oceans. Watch it here. There is even a look at the ocean floor where the Titanic lies. Amazing! (Note that the elevations portrayed in this are exaggerated in the vertical).

Map Comparison of New York City From 1836 to Present

Visual Capitalist has shared this interactive map from Esri, that overlays an 1836 map of New York City with a satellite image from the present. Fascinating! Enjoy it here.

To learn more about Esri, see here. They do cools stuff with ARC-GIS

Crushed Basalt to Fight Climate Change

For decades, farmers have put crushed limestone on the soil to improve its quality. Now, crushed basalt is being used. Listen to the 3-minute NPR story here. 

Demolition of the Navajo Generating Stations Boilers

 

On March 3, the boilers of the old (now gone) Navajo Generating Station were demolished. It is an exciting this to watch. See it here.

An Air BNB Place Like No Other

Helen and I do not use Air BNB all that often. But we have had a few opportunities to do so (pre-pandemic). There was the one in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii that we used for my sisters' wedding in 2017. It looked so wonderful online with a photo of a lotus flower placed on the header. 

The property was advertised along the lines of "Asian couple sharing their abode in paradise....we take our shoes off when entering and ask guests to do the same..." Visions of a cute couple sitting by the TV with the smell of ginger floated through my head. And then we got there, made the phone call, and the guy said "Meet me outside the convenience store on the corner." Huh? 

Turns out his hi-rise building did not allow short term rentals so he had to do this on the sly. He said, "When you go in and out of the building don't talk to the security guard, just walk in like you know what you're doing." Then we went up 22 floors into the rental and saw that it was nothing more than what four college kids would live in. Hollow core doors, locks on each bedroom (yes, it was more than one unit), window blinds all cock-eyed with broken or missing slats, a shared bathroom. Ha! The vision and the reality were polar opposites.

Then there was the "closet" I rented in Manhattan for a wedding I officiated at. Rentals are expensive in Manhattan so I decided to go cheap for three nights. Found a place for $65 a night. It literally was wide enough for one twin bed and room to exit the bed before going out the door. It would have been small serving as a walk-in closet. No windows of course. This one was with the "owner" as the other occupant but he was there only for a moment and perhaps checking in on his other "properties."

My point is, Air BNB can be all over the map with respect to what you get. So when a friend shared this rental with me close to Flagstaff, I thought I have to blog about this!

This looks like a truly unique opportunity to experience a different culture out in an expansive landscape. You can view the rental on Air BNB here. Know that I am not connected in any way to the proprietor or owner of the property. I was merely forwarded this link by a friend and as I have been in many hogans on the Navajo Nation, I know this to be an authentic reproduction of one. I have no knowledge of how the actual experience may go with this particular property. But it does look interesting. 

I think the price could be lower but heck with all of those winter refugees from Colorado headed our way this spring and wealthy Californians visiting the Grand Canyon, this would make a prefect surprise for that perfect spouse. Perfect meaning amenable to surprises not always 5-Star.

I might just check it out myself one day soon! This is the real deal and it looks like it is located well outside of the Cameron metropolitan area. "Please, due to the on-going pandemic, no large parties or gatherings on the grounds, although we have room for millions." 

Animation of the Motion of Earth's Continents Through One Billion Years

Two screen captures from the animation at 499 Ma and 993 Ma

The New York Times has published an article that highlights the work of geologists relating to plate motions since the breakup of the Rodinian Supercontinent. You can access the article and the fantastic animation here. Also, for the geology geek, here is a link (seemingly without a paywall) to a scientific paper by many of the same authors for plate motions in the Phanerozoic, or last 542 million years.

Learn About Lithium from Roseanne Chambers

 I follow the blog of Dr. Roseanne Chambers, a specialist in the geology of the Andes Mountain in South America. Yesterday, she blogged about the metal lithium, often found in the deposits of playa lakes. Have a look at her posting and learn a bit about lithium. You can read it here.