Author Archives: gymnosperm

Trouble with Model

Posted on May 6, 2020 by gymnosperm

We had been trying to do this ourselves but found this fun model: https://gabgoh.github.io/COVID/index.html   We can attest that the model parameters agree with our own incomplete efforts. It has lots of fun stuff to play with, and you can … Continue reading →

Posted in SARS 2 | Leave a comment

The Possible Origins of 2019-nCoV Coronavirus

Posted on May 4, 2020 by gymnosperm

The possible origins of 2019-nCoV coronavirus Botao Xiao1,2* and Lei Xiao3 1 Joint International Research Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Medicine, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China 2 School of Physics, Huazhong … Continue reading →

Posted in SARS 2 | Leave a comment

Pandemic Persistence

Posted on April 15, 2020 by gymnosperm

We labor under a serious misconception that Corona can be eliminated, like polio. The history of pandemics tells us otherwise. The H2N2 virus likely caused the pandemic of 1890. It became the seasonal flu until it was supplanted by H3N2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Pandemic | Leave a comment

Pandemic Seasonality

Posted on April 15, 2020 by gymnosperm

We do not yet understand seasonality in viruses. There are ideas about UV from sunlight zapping them. There are ideas about elevated vitamin D in humans during the warm season. There are ideas that warm weather just dries them out, … Continue reading →

Posted in Pandemic | Leave a comment

The Shapes of Pandemic Curves

Posted on April 9, 2020 by gymnosperm

Getting monthly data for even 1957 and 1968 is tough sledding. We finally found in the CDC Vital Statistics Archives monthly data for these pandemics. Monthly data for surrounding years is available for 1968, but only 1957 and 58 for … Continue reading →

Posted in Pandemic | Leave a comment

Unified Geological Map of the Grand Canyon

Posted on April 6, 2020 by gymnosperm

We were puzzled about the Supergroup so we bought a pdf map from the Geological Society of America that covered the eastern part. We found that a forest of inconsequential faults, strikes and dips, and other notations was distracting us … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate | Leave a comment

A River Runner’s Guide to Grand Canyon Geology VI: The Schists

Posted on January 15, 2020 by gymnosperm

Geologists have great fun with puns on the term “schist”. Technically, it refers to metamorphic rock; rock that has been altered by high temperature and pressure. There are several grades of schist, our former favorite was “blue schist” as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate | Leave a comment

A River Runner’s Guide to Grand Canyon Geology V: Transects

Posted on October 3, 2019 by gymnosperm

River runners follow the water. The water is in our blood, and following it is what we do. We began this series by using the Colorado River as a transect, and following the drainages up to the South Rim as … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate | Leave a comment

A River Runner’s Guide to Grand Canyon Geology IV: Whither the Supergroup?

Posted on September 24, 2019 by gymnosperm

We left off the last post having seen the complete Supergroup sequence of over two miles of Neoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic sediments. The river never encounters the Neoproterozoic part, roughly half. These lie above the river on the North Rim side … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, Grand Canyon | Leave a comment

A River Runner’s Guide to Grand Canyon Geology III: The Supergroup

Posted on September 17, 2019 by gymnosperm

A typical visitor to the Grand Canyon looks down from the rim through about a mile of sediments to the river. Most of these are Paleozoic sediments extending back about 515 million years. They appear to be level, although in … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, Grand Canyon | 1 Comment