Welcome!

This blog provides commentary on interesting geological events occurring around the world in the context of my own work. This work is, broadly, geological fluid dynamics. The events that I highlight here are those that resonate with my professional life and ideas, and my goal is to interpret them in the context of ideas I've developed in my research. The blog does not represent any particular research agenda. It is written on a personal basis and does not seek to represent the University of Illinois, where I am a professor of geology and physics. Enjoy Geology in Motion! I would be glad to be alerted to geologic events of interest to post here! I hope that this blog can provide current event materials that will make geology come alive.

Banner image is by Ludie Cochrane..

Susan Kieffer can be contacted at s1kieffer at gmail.com


Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Polar Vortex Explained

Much is being written about the outbreak of cold air today and tomorrow in the U.S. Midwest.  I'm not going to contribute to this other than to post a link here to the best article that I've seen explaining the dynamics (and why the cold blast does not mean that global warming is a hoax...) The author, Jennifer Francis, is a Senior Scientist at Woods Hole Research Center and a Visiting Professor at Rutgers University.