In this episode of Earth News Interviews, we speak with grad student Erkan Gun and professor Russ Pysklywec about the mechanisms that drive continental movements!Note: This interview was recorded back June 2021.Primary source discussed:P

DEI in the Earth Sciences

Mar 8th, 2022 1h 7m

Happy International Women's Day!In this special episode of ENI, we have a roundtable style discussion on the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Earth Sciences. Joining Kathryn in this episode, we have Assistant Professor T

Geophysical Techniques and Mineral Exploration with Andrei Swidinsky

Mar 1st, 2022 38m 48s

In this episode of ENI, we talk to the University of Toronto's new assistant professor, Andrei Swidinski about how mineral exploration is done using geophysics - magnetotellurics and passive seismic!Primary readings discussed:Application of

New Years Episode 2022

Feb 7th, 2022 31m 16s

Welcome back to a new year of Earth News Interviews!In this episode, Dean, Winnie, Kathryn, and Tina each discuss their favorite earth sciences paper from 2021.Primary reading discussed:- Using phylogenies to detect a major extinction ev

Protoplanetary Disks and Backward Spinning Stars with J. J. Zanazzi

Sep 28th, 2021 41m 14s

We typically expect physical phenomena to follow certain rules: an apple falls from a tree under the influence of gravity, a skater will eventually slow down from the friction between their skates and the ice, a star spins in a similar directio

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Plan with Andrew Parmenter

Aug 29th, 2021 41m 44s

In this episode, we interview Andrew Parmenter, a geologist working for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), a not-for-profit organization tasked with the safe, long-term storage of Canada’s used nuclear fuel in a manner that prote

The History of Earth Sciences Education with Erik Klemetti

Mar 14th, 2021 43m 40s

Many Earth Sciences Departments have been recording low enrollment numbers for the last decade. This field has been known to ride the industry wave; high enrollment when the oil, petroleum, and mineral resource industry is booming, low when it'

Compositions of Exoplanets and their Stars with Diana Valencia

Feb 28th, 2021 48m 10s

The first exoplanet was discovered in 1992 by Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. Less than 30 years after this initial discovery that won the Nobel Prize in Physics, more than 4000 exoplanets have been confirmed (NASA). These planets, while u

Flood Risks and Hazards with Joseph Desloges

Feb 14th, 2021 45m 16s

With natural disasters become more frequent and damaging, how can we accurately access who's at risk without updated information and predictions? The answer is we can't. That's why accurate risk and hazard mapping is essential for both private

The Life and Legend of the Ediacaran Biota with Marc Laflamme

Jan 31st, 2021 57m 35s

Imagine if you lived in a world where some humans evolved the ability to fly, use one hundred percent of their brainpower, or the ability to reproduce at twice the normal rate. These evolved humans would certainly have an evolutionary advantage

Special New Years Episode

Jan 3rd, 2021 58m 17s

For this special New Year's episode, Dean and Sofia trade news stories about new discoveries in the Earth Sciences. The discoveries include the finding of the world's oldest crater, a prehistoric tsunami, and the best way to regrow forests. We

Continental Drip with Oguz Gogus

Dec 20th, 2020 47m 35s

Compared to other foundational scientific breakthroughs like Mendeleev's periodic table, Einstein's relativity, and Watson Crick and Franklin's double helix DNA model, the discovery of plate tectonics is the youngest and one of the most influen

The Plastic Problem with Miriam Diamond

Dec 6th, 2020 40m 7s

What happens when the Canadian government tries to simultaneously decrease fossil fuel demand at the same time as giving subsidies to big oil producers? In this episode, we talk to Professor Miriam Diamond, a contaminant scientist and prolific

Ultrafast Metamorphic Reactions with Xu Chu

Nov 16th, 2020 44m 37s

We're used to thinking of geologic phenomena as events that take millions of years. Think mountain building, subduction, or even the rock and carbon cycles. In this episode, we talk with Assistant Professor Xu Chu about a new discovery in metam

Geoscience Education: Field Course Roundtable

Oct 25th, 2020 1h 37m

In this special episode of Earth News Interviews, we host six guests in a round table discussion about field courses and their place in geoscience programs. Should they be required for a degree? What are some new methods in teaching the materia

Microfibre Pollution with Samantha Athey

Oct 14th, 2020 45m 37s

In this episode, we discuss original University of Toronto research on Earth's microfibre pollution problem. What are microfibres? Where do they come from? What can we do to help turn the tide? All of this and more with U of T's own PhD. Candid

Fracking Induced Seismicity with Dr. Semechah Lui

Sep 27th, 2020 44m

It's often inconceivable that we can have such a big impact on the environment around us, but nonetheless, humanity has molded the planet to meet its needs. This molding came with its own unintended consequences: Fracking induced seismicity is

The Ocean and Carbon Sequestration with Elizabeth Phillips

Sep 7th, 2020 47m 17s

Removing excess carbon in the atmosphere generated from human industrial activity is one of the most relevant geoengineering feats of this century. But what if we told you the oceans and coastal areas have been doing this naturally for billions

Monitoring Volcanic Eruptions with Paul Ashwell

Aug 23rd, 2020 1h 2m

Volcanoes have captured the imagination and intrigue of the human civilization because of their unpredictable and destructive nature. Today, hundreds of volcanoes are being monitored for potential warning signs that precede an eruption includin

The Nuclear Waste Storage Problem with Don Davis

Aug 16th, 2020 50m 21s

In this episode, we discuss both the engineering and socio-political problem that nuclear waste storage has posed since the 1940's. Dealing with tonnes of radioactive waste that needs to be safely stored for hundreds of thousands of years is no

The Great Oxidation Events with Uli Wortmann

Aug 2nd, 2020 51m 23s

In this episode of Earth News Interviews, we discuss the events which added oxygen to our oceans and atmosphere. We get into the importance of oxygen for life, the stability of Earth's systems, and even the search for other planetary life.Pr

Science Journals with Grant Henderson

Jul 19th, 2020 43m 28s

In this episode of Earth News Interviews, we discuss scientific journals. What kinds of scientific papers get produced and what kinds of journals accept them? How might review journals be of use to aspiring undergrad and grad students? What is

The Role of Earth Scientists in Pandemics with Sarah Finkelstein

Jul 12th, 2020 38m 39s

In the episode of Earth News Interviews, we discuss the current COVID-19 pandemic and the surprising links between pathogens and the earth sciences. How can earth scientists contribute to the study of new outbreaks? Is there a link to climate c

Finding Gold in Fool's Gold with Dan Gregory

Jul 5th, 2020 42m 59s

In this episode of Earth News Interviews, we learn about some of the ways gold can get collected in nature via chloride or bi-sulfide complexes. We also talk about the challenges of understanding these processes through modelling, and the extra

Gold Mining Contaminants with Bridget Berquist

Jun 28th, 2020 53m 53s

In this episode of Earth News Interviews, we discuss the surprising range of health and environmental consequences of small-scale mining operations in Peru. How does mercury affect human health? How does it get from a small mining operation to