Author Archives: gymnosperm

Further Musing on the Affinity of Magnetic North for Gravity Holes During the Laschamp Reversal.

Posted on October 28, 2012 by gymnosperm

We know so little about what this means that it may be helpful to focus on what the gravity geoid is not. The earth is NOT shaped like a potato. Vertical exaggeration is used on nearly all maps to keep them … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Geoid, Geology, Gravity Anomalies, Gravity Potato, Magnetic Reversals, True Polar Wander | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Simplified Path of Magnetic North During 41kya Reversal on Current Geoid

Posted on October 25, 2012 by gymnosperm

There was this really cool Hemholtz plot of the path of magnetic north during the last geomagnetic reversal from wander paths of sediments in the Black Sea. Had a sense that it was avoiding the geoid gravity high knob in Indonesia and decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Geoid, Geology, Gravity Anomalies, Gravity Potato, Magnetic Reversals, True Polar Wander | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carbon Theology

Posted on October 16, 2012 by gymnosperm

A while back I wrote a post “On Carbon and Sodium” where I pointed out that in spite of the fact that researchers have known for forty years that it is the Chlorine (Chloride) in table salt that causes hypertension … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Carbon Theology, Climate, Climate Change, Global Warming, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Done with “Anthropogenic”

Posted on October 3, 2012 by gymnosperm

Wine folks rightfully speak of mouthfeel as a quality of wine. Words have mouthfeel too. When I say “Anthropogenic” I get a bad puckery finish that makes me want to smack my lips. This word is bandied about as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Climate, Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Terrane Terroir and What’s Up with this Purple Dirt Anyway?

Posted on September 18, 2012 by gymnosperm

As far as we can tell dinosaurs did not drink wine. Yet while the dinosaurs were leaving their bones in the mud farther east in Utah, the dirt that would become Hidden Ridge was being washed into the sea on … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Geography, Geology, Paleogeography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where’s the pull?

Posted on July 28, 2012 by gymnosperm

I have this slab pull problem. It started when my brother (a geoscientist) alerted me to the latest tectonic trend. It seems those inclined to mathematically model the lithosphere are unable to find an equation to express the spreading at … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Geology, Having one's head up one's maths, Oceanography, Paleogeography | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A couple interesting papers

Posted on July 24, 2012 by gymnosperm

Sulfate Burial Constraints on the Phanerozoic Sulfur Cycle Halevy, et al. Science 20 July 2012: 331-334.DOI:10.1126/science.1220224 Rapid Variability of Seawater Chemistry Over the Past 130 Million Years Wortmann, et al. Science 20 July 2012: 334-336.DOI:10.1126/science.1220656 Sulfur has hit the radar. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate Change, Geography, Geology, Global Warming, History of Life, Oceanography, Paleoclimate, Paleogeography | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carbon Isotope Excursions and Carbon Limitation of Primary Productivity in the Biosphere

Posted on July 15, 2012 by gymnosperm

Carbon Isotope Excursions and Carbon Limitation of Primary Productivity in the Biosphere Gordon Lehman, Trunkmonkey, Gymnosperm; sheepherders, ignoramuses all Abstract The conception of natural history as an economic struggle was developed by Geerat Vermeij (1). “Supply side” interpretations of δ13C … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Climate, Climate Change, Economics, Geography, Geology, History of Life, Oceanography, Paleoclimate | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

What is it with squares in nature anyway?

Posted on June 30, 2012 by gymnosperm

Actually, perfect squares are extremely rare in nature. Squares are human constructs. We imagine Pythagoras and the Greek philosophers drawing their squares in the sand, dividing the sides equally, connecting the divisions, and counting the resulting smaller squares to develop … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, History, What's going on here? | 2 Comments

Spreadsheet of Human History

Posted on May 24, 2012 by gymnosperm

Spreadsheet of human history Spreadsheets are really graphs. This one has time on one axis and space on the other. The space geography is arbitrary but intended to sequence human dispersion from Africa. I have lots of Teaching Company timelines … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Climate, Geography, History, History of Life, Religion | Leave a comment