GEO Podcast

In this episode, I talk about how salt acts as a physical weathering agent to break down rocks.  Physical weathering is the breaking down of rocks without a chemical change, and salt can act as the agent that breaks down rocks especially close to the ocean, but also in salt-rich soils, etc.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I explain in simple terms what is happening in Iceland these last few years on the plate boundary.  I explain the two geological phenomena in Iceland, the recent eruptions and earthquake activity, and how they are related to Plate Tectonics.

In this episode, I talk about fake fossils and why people create them, as well as pseudo fossils such as dendrites.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. 

Come and check out all we have to offer at GEOetc.com

In this episode, I talk about how molten rock is formed inside the Earth - what are the mechanisms that cause our planet to produce molten rock to feed volcanoes?

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

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In this episode, I talk about the different forms of limestone and how they form including chalk, coquina, fossiliferous limestone, travertine, and oolitic limestone.  

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode I talk about Bowen's Reaction Series - and how it tells us the order of crystallization of minerals from molten rock.

The Earth is a huge system made up of a number of 'spheres' - the geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.  What are each of these spheres and how can they interact?  This episode explains each sphere and gives examples of the interaction between them.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the things to consider when buying a geologic hammer - what to look for and the decisions you will need to make.  You can find this information and more in my blog post about buying a forever hammer.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the recent eruption of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The eruption was in 2022 and lasted just two weeks - but produced massive around of lava.

Come and join us in Hawaii, or on any of our field adventures.  See here for the trips for educators and here for the trips for geocachers.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the three common minerals that fool people into thinking they have found gold - pyrite, chalcopyrite, and mica.  I talk about the simple tests you can do to find out if what you found was really gold or one of these three.
 
Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the four reasons I just love to take people on tours around the volcanoes in Hawaii. It is about the accessibility of seeing the planet's largest and most active volcanoes and more.

Come join us on an field adventure: www.geoetc.com/field-adventures

In this episode, I talk about the five great extinction events - events in which more than 70% of species on Earth become extinct.  When did these occur and what might have caused each event.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the extinct colonial animal we call graptolites.  These are fascinating fossils as they not only show an evolutionary trend that goes from complex to simple, but their wold-wide distribution makes them a perfect index fossil.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the major elements needed for an EV battery (lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite).  How much is needed for just one EV battery?  Where are these materials currently coming from?

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) and how that logarithmic scale is used to rate eruptions.  It is based on the amount of material ejected, the size of the eruption plume and the length of the eruption.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the five major eruption styles - Icelandic, Hawaiian, Strombolian, Vulcanian, and Plinian.  What are the characteristics of these different styles of eruptions and what materials do they produce?

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the corundum family of minerals - their chemistry, how they form, and what makes them different from each other.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about how sand moves along a beach due to longshore drift.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about how volcanic eruptions can affect climate - by releasing ash, gas, and aerosols.  We talk about the role of CO2 and SO2 and what effect they may have.   I talked specifically about Pinatubo, Tambora, and the Laki eruptions.

I also mention an activity available for GEOetc Members called Climeworld that members can download and use in their classrooms to show students how the volcano's location can affect climates in different hemispheres.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about the difference between the terms focus and epicenter.  What do the terms mean and how are they used?  How is the information about an earthquake's focus used?  How about the information about the epicenter of an earthquake?

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about what is causing the Pacific Ring of Fire.   Why do 75% of all active volcanoes and 90% of all earthquakes happen around the edge of the Pacific Ocean?

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about diamonds - where they form, how they are brought to the surface and even about different colors and uses.

Visit our Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, I talk about index fossils - what are they and what makes one fossil better than another for dating layers in a sedimentary sequence.   I aven leave you pondering what human product would make a great index fossil.

Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

In this episode, we talk about the main causes of landslides and provide examples - California and Thredbo, NSW, Australia.  What is the role of water?  What about trees and deforestation?   How can earthquakes be involved etc?

This is a great introduction to landslides as a natural disaster.

Rocks can contain radioactive elements that breakdown (decay) over time at a set rate.  We can use this decay to work out the age of the rocks.  In this episode, we do a brief look at the process, and how we know it works.

Visit our Members Section - Over 90 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

Where did the Theory of Plate Tectonics come from? How did it evolve? What started it all off and how did new evidence change the theory?

Visit our Members Section - Over 90 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

What drives the movement of the Earth's huge lithospheric tectonic plates? In this episode, we talk about mantle convection currents and slab pull - the too well-accepted theories for what is driving Plate Tectonics.

Visit our Members Section - Over 90 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out!

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Why do we see such variation in the sand around the world - white, yellow, black and green, and more!  What can the grains of sand tell us about the age of the sand?   And how can sand on an island that contains just black rocks have white sand?   

This one is for the sand collectors!

Earth scientists in the field recognize that a sequence of rocks may be missing layers of rocks that represent a period of time.  We call those unconformities.  In this episode, we discuss what an unconformity is and the four main types of unconformities - angular, paraconformity, disconformity, and nonconformity.

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How do we know about the inside of the Earth?   Using earthquake waves and visitors from out of space (meteorites), we can see the layers and work out the chemistry of the layers that make up our planet.

Visit us at GEOetc.com to learn more about our amazing planet!

Trilobites are amazing fossils!  They can be used for accurate correlation between sedimentary layers because they evolved rapidly, lived in almost all marine environments, and have exoskeletons that were easy to preserve.   

Here is a link to the activities mentioned in the episode:

Trilobite ID

Trilobite (and other fossil) models

The Earth is made up of layers - and we can define those layers in two ways  - as being chemical (crust, mantle, core) or mechanical (lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, inner core).  This episode explains the layers and why they are important for plate tectonics and more.

Teachers can download a worksheet for their students to complete based on the content of this episode right here :  https://geoetc.com/earths-layers-free/

What is a glacier?  How is it formed?  Where can I find them and how are they classified?

A dike is a planar igneous intrusion that cuts through the existing rocks.  They have always fascinated me - and in this episode, I talk a little about them and why I think they are awesome!

Why does the island of Iceland exist?  Learn how two major geological phenomena occur together to make this amazing and unique place on our planet.  Plate Tectonics and Mantle Plumes interact to provide us with a beautiful island.

In this episode I discous how magma chemistry and water work together to create the massive explosive eruptions of Tonga (January 15th, 2022) and  Krakatoa (1883).

Hawaii is a wonderful place to see, learn and teach about aspects of Earth Science.  In this episode I mention six reasons Hawaii is a place to visit if you love Earth science.

Reducing the risk to people of volcanic eruptions is an important job for geoscientists.  In this episode, we talk about four tools geoscientists can use including earthquakes, deformation, gases, and well water temperatures.

This would make a great introduction to students before having them do the Thunder Island volcano simulation activity.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

Rivers are so important as they provide water for drinking and agriculture.   They are also important as they move mountains (over time) to the ocean!   In this episode, we talk about the basic morphology of rivers - bedrock and alluvial rivers as well as the concepts of young, mature, and old rivers.  It is a very basic introduction to ways of looking at rivers.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

The formation of Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) are so important as a resource of the element iron, but also as they tell us about how our atmosphere evolved some 2,500 million years ago.  In this episode, we talk about the major theory of the formation of BIFs as well as some alternative theories, and what BIF's can tell us about how the evolution of simple blue-green algae changed our Earth for ever!

What are the six groups of natural geological resources that humans have learned to utilize to build our society into the form that we now live within?    Humans have been using water, ores, aggregates, energy, stones, and soil to live on Earth - and understanding them is so important to be able to keep using them in a sustainable way.

This is a great introduction to natural resources.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

The Earth's tectonic plates are made up of the lithosphere - that outer hard rock layer of the Earth.  In this episode, we talk about the lithosphere, the underlying asthenosphere, and the moho boundary between the crust and the upper mantle portion of the lithosphere.  And all in under 9 minutes!

This is essential listening for students learning about Plate Tectonics!

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

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We all live on Earth's continental crust - and so it's the part of our planet we are most familiar with.  But do you know what makes this type of crust so special?  In this episode, we talk about the continental crust, what it is made up from, how thick it is, and why it contains the oldest rocks on Earth.

This is essential listening for students learning about Plate Tectonics!

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

Over 70% of the rocky surface of our planet (although most of this is underwater) is made up of oceanic crust.  This crust, along with the upper mantle make up the oceanic tectonic plate material.  Oceanic crust is unique - and this episode explains the features of this type of crust.

This is essential listening for students learning about Plate Tectonics!

For more GEO Podcasts and Earth science education materials, visit us at GEOetc.com

What are metamorphic rocks and how do they form?  What is contact metamorphism?  What is regional metamorphism?  How are they different?  In this episode, I answer these questions and give classic examples of metamorphic rocks and minerals.

If you want more information about rocks and minerals, come visit us at www.geoetc.com

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Chris Spencer from Travelling Geologist and Queens College about how he become involved i geology and why understanding our planet is so important.  Chris is a co-leader on some of the GEOetc Field Experiences..and an amazing human.  Your students will get a lot out of listening to Chris.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In this episode, I talk about four things a college/university student (or anyone who wants to) can do to get some field experience.  With college/universities not requiring as much fieldwork - many not even running field camps or trips - these four things could help you build up your field experience and get ahead of the pack when applying for a geoscience job.

Blog post on what students need to know about writing good field notes.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In this episode, I talk about the types of evidence we use to understand past climates on Earth.  I talk about isotope evidence, fossils, paleomagnetism, speleothems, ice cores, tree rings, and written records.  This is about the evidence we use, rather than what the evidence shows

This is perfect when teaching a climate change unit.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

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In this episode, I talk about how volcanoes get different shapes due to the chemistry of the molten rock materials.  We talk about the shield, composite/stratiform and caldera volcanoes...and a little about cinder cones.   We mention silicate chemistry and the effect of water on shapes and eruption style.

This is a great primer to volcanoes!

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In this episode, I talk about the geological and topographic features of transform fault boundaries between two tectonic plates. This is a great summary for students learning about Plate Tectonics.

If you want a summary of the theory - you can find a podcast episode that covers the theory here.

If you want a booklet covering the theory and evidence, check out this one - its great idea as a class set.

And finally, if you are looking for activities for students on Plate tectonics, then see what we have in our Member Resources page.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In this episode, I talk about the geological and topographic features of three types of convergent plate boundaries - subduction, collision, and island arcs.  We cover earthquakes, volcanoes, deep ocean trenches, mountain building, and more.  This is a great summary for students learning about Plate Tectonics.

If you want a summary of the theory - you can find a podcast episode that covers the theory here.

If you want a booklet covering the theory and evidence, check out this one - its great idea as a class set.

And finally, if you are looking for activities for students on Plate tectonics, then see what we have in our Member Resources page.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In this episode, I talk about the geological and topographic features of divergent plate boundaries, including rift valleys, Mid Ocean Ridges (MORs), normal faults, transform faults, and the ages of rocks moving away from the boundaries.  This is a great summary for students learning about Plate Tectonics.

If you want a summary of the theory - you can find a podcast episode that covers the theory here.

If you want a booklet covering the theory and evidence, check out this one - its great idea as a class set.

And finally, if you are looking for activities for students on Plate tectonics, then see what we have in our Member Resources page.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In less than 12 minutes, I summarize the major pieces of evidence we have for the theory of Plate tectonics.  I cover shape of continents, mountain and ages of rocks, earthquakes, volcanoes, trenches and mid-ocean ridges, ages of the seafloor, patterns of magnetic anomalies, apparent polar wandering curves and hot spot volcanoes.

If you want a summary of the theory - you can find a podcast episode that covers the theory here.

If you want a booklet covering the theory and evidence, check out this one - its great idea as a class set.

And finally, if you are looking for activities for students on Plate tectonics, then see what we have in our Member Resources page.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.


Don't miss a thing!   Join our email list.

In this episode, I talk about the science of Tsunamis - those horrifying waves that spread around the oceans after certain geological events.   What are those events?  How do the waves travel?  How can we warn people?  What if I am on the coast - what should I look for?

If you want a classroom activity, have a go at constructing this 3D paper tsunami model.  Just print out, cut, and glue.

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Check out our field adventures here.

In this episode, I talk about solution  (Limestone/marble) caves and how they form.  What is the chemistry behind their formation and their cave formations like stalactites and stalagmites?

In fact, I mention the chemical equation that drives this reaction...click here to see it.

Caves are fascinating places, and I hope this makes it easier for you to understand how solution caves form.

If you want a fun activity, have a go at constructing this 3D paper cave.  Just print out, cut, and glue.

Interested in joining us on a trip?  Check out our field adventures here. 

In this episode, we chat about the Earth's magnetic field and how that is recorded in igneous rocks.  We discuss how this was worked out, how it was used to plot Apparent Polar Wandering Curves, and how we use magnetic stripes recorded in the rocks of the seafloor as evidence for Plate Tectonics.  And quite a bit more...

Interested in joining us on a trip?   Visit us at www.geoetc.com

In this episode, I talk about the differences between a mineral occurrence, a mineral deposit, and an ore deposit.  And most of that is about the finances (profit and loss) of mining that resources than about the geology.

This is a great primer for teaching students about mineral resources or to understand what these terms mean if you see them on a map.

You can always real more about geology topics on www.geoetc.com

And you can find out more about all our field trips here.

How is oil formed and trapped so we can use it as a resource?  Learn about source rocks, reservoir rocks, trap-rocks and different forms of oil traps.

For more information about geology topics, come find us at www.geoetc.com

How does a geologist work out the sequence of events when looking at outcrop?  How do uniformitarianism, superposition, fossil sequences, and cross-cutting relationships all tie together to work out what came first and what came last?  This episode I talk through the processes for sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks and structures like faults, folds, and unconformities.

All of that in just 12 mins!

You can find the GEO podcast on iTunes right here.

And go and visitwww.geoetc.com!

Erosion is the moving of broken-down rock materials from one place to another and can be caused by the action of gravity, water, wind or ice.  In this session, I talk about each of those factors and examples of how they work.

For more information on geoscience, come visit our site at www.geoetc.com

Often the most misunderstood part of the tri-process weathering-erosion-deposition cycle, weathering is the critical part of how rocks are recycled.   In this episode, I discuss how rocks break down through physical, chemical and biological ways.

You can find out more about topics like this on our website www.geoetc.com

Today we talk about places you can go to start collecting rocks and minerals - and they are all places close to you home.   When starting off you just don't have to go far or to famous places, but you can look in your backyard, front driveway, or local parks.   Gary then explains what he takes into the field when he collects - to bring his treasures home - and how he labels and records information about his specimens.

And if you want to read more including learning how to ID samples, why not get Gary's book called "My awesome field guide to rocks and minerals"

You can always learn more about geology by visiting the GEOetc.com website

Gold is an amazing metal and has been used by humans for thousands of years.   But do you know the properties of gold and how you can use them to find gold in nature?   Do you know how to tell gold from fools gold?  This episode explains all these things (and a little more).

You can find more about gold at www.geoetc.com

What are earthquakes?  How are they formed? What is causing the shaking?  How do we record them?  What should you do in an Earthquake?    Learn all about Earthquakes in less than 15 mins.   Learn about seismic waves (P, S and surface waves), learn terms like fault, focus, and epicenter.  Understand the term magnitude and how much energy is released.

The silicate minerals are the building blocks for all the rocks on Earth.    They follow a system of formation and therefore classification - and in this episode, I explain the fundamental building block (silicon tetrahedron) and how that is used to form all the different types of minerals.

For more information, see this blog post on the Silicate Minerals.

And finally - if you are new to rock and mineral collecting, or have a child who would like to learn more, check out the book I wrote...

There are just so many different roles and specialties in the field of geology.  Many of these jobs have different titles or names, and so in this episode, I go through some of the major ones and outlines (roughly) what those people do in the field of geology.

I know I did not cover all of the types of jobs...but this will give you, students and rockhounds a pretty good idea of the variety of roles a geologist can play in understanding our planet.

In this episode, I talk about the plutonic igneous rock known as granite - why I love it, the minerals it contains and what it tends to look like in the landscape.

This is a perfect primer for rockhounds, teachers, and students on how to ID granite.

You can find the full episode notes, including images of granite here:   https://geoetc.com/episode6/

In this episode, I outline the simple classification of rocks into the groups igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

You can find the episode notes here: https://geoetc.com/episode5/

Learn the basics of the theory of Plate Tectonics in less than 10 minutes!   Why do earthquakes and volcanoes occur where they do?   Why does the earth have mountain ranges and deep ocean trenches?   And you can find the full episode links here:  https://geoetc.com/episode4/

In this episode, I talk about mineral color and streak as ways to identify minerals in your collection.  The big take away from this episode is that color alone is not a good way to ID minerals and that using streak (the color of the powdered mineral) is a better ID tool.

For the full notes and links to streak plates, go to www.geoetc.com/episode3

Mineral hardness is one of the most important properties you can use to identify a mineral you have been given or even collected in the field.  In this episode I walk about Mohs Scale of Hardness and how it works, as well as how you can create your own mineral hardness testing kit using common items around your home or garage.

Let's chat about how I became hooked in geology - maybe my story is similar to yours.   I also provide some thoughts on the four reasons geology is now so important.