Jeremy Bassis
@bassisjeremy.bsky.social
University of Michigan Glaciologist interested in climate change, ice sheets, sea level rise and equitable adaptation and mitigation | he/him/his |
Celebrate IceCube and, as a polar scientist, I believe IceCube is a phenomenal scientific achievement. But (trigger warning) I also want everyone to read and sit with the USAP report on sexual assault and harassment in the US Antarctic Program because I can't entirely separate those two things.
October 6, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Celebrate IceCube and, as a polar scientist, I believe IceCube is a phenomenal scientific achievement. But (trigger warning) I also want everyone to read and sit with the USAP report on sexual assault and harassment in the US Antarctic Program because I can't entirely separate those two things.
I ran a segment from a paper I am writing through one of those AI detection algorithms and it told me that it was highly unlikely it was generated by AI because of the egregious spelling mistakes, misplaced punctuation and, I am paraphrasing here, unhinged word choice. Guys, I am so proud.
What do y'all do when you are sent a paper to review that sure looks like it was written by AI?
October 5, 2026 at 4:05 PM
I ran a segment from a paper I am writing through one of those AI detection algorithms and it told me that it was highly unlikely it was generated by AI because of the egregious spelling mistakes, misplaced punctuation and, I am paraphrasing here, unhinged word choice. Guys, I am so proud.
What do y'all do when you are sent a paper to review that sure looks like it was written by AI?
October 5, 2026 at 1:06 PM
What do y'all do when you are sent a paper to review that sure looks like it was written by AI?
I think climate discourse would be vastly improved if we spent more time talking about the merits of switching from combined stormwater-sewer systems to separate stormwater and sewage systems.
September 19, 2026 at 12:57 PM
I think climate discourse would be vastly improved if we spent more time talking about the merits of switching from combined stormwater-sewer systems to separate stormwater and sewage systems.
The University of Michigan and Los Alamos seem absolutely shocked that folks don't want a big high performance computing center that does nuclear weapons research and doesn't pay taxes in their town.
Los Alamos, University of Michigan facility draws anger, shouting at Ypsilanti Township event
Concerns about nuclear weapons research, environmental protections boiled over at a town hall on the planned $1.2 billion computing facility.
www.mlive.com
September 10, 2026 at 4:02 PM
The University of Michigan and Los Alamos seem absolutely shocked that folks don't want a big high performance computing center that does nuclear weapons research and doesn't pay taxes in their town.
idk about this whole AI and Navier-Stokes thing. A big part of science is the sense of wonder and discovery. Do you get this if you ask AI to brute force something and it comes up with a solution that nobody understands?
Is it really an accomplishment or just another task?
Is it really an accomplishment or just another task?
September 10, 2026 at 3:56 PM
idk about this whole AI and Navier-Stokes thing. A big part of science is the sense of wonder and discovery. Do you get this if you ask AI to brute force something and it comes up with a solution that nobody understands?
Is it really an accomplishment or just another task?
Is it really an accomplishment or just another task?
My kid and I did the NYT dialect quiz thing and I'm Yonkers and Newark (with a Canadian accent) and my kid is Omaha (despite never having been there) and somehow it seems about right.
September 4, 2026 at 7:24 PM
My kid and I did the NYT dialect quiz thing and I'm Yonkers and Newark (with a Canadian accent) and my kid is Omaha (despite never having been there) and somehow it seems about right.
Reposted by Jeremy Bassis
If you are in the Bay Area this Thursday evening, please come along to my public talk @exploratorium.bsky.social
September 1, 2026 at 8:07 PM
If you are in the Bay Area this Thursday evening, please come along to my public talk @exploratorium.bsky.social
Update: The students are terrified of using AI and not using AI. The students want to learn. They know AI is a threat to learning. A couple of really good discussion points emerged. For example, an outright ban on all AI use is not practical because AI snakes itself into so many uses.
I'm going to have the students craft the AI policy for my class this Fall. Wish me luck.
September 1, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Update: The students are terrified of using AI and not using AI. The students want to learn. They know AI is a threat to learning. A couple of really good discussion points emerged. For example, an outright ban on all AI use is not practical because AI snakes itself into so many uses.
I am coming to the shocking and unpopular realization that we should start teaching our students Fortran again. Why? First some history.
August 26, 2026 at 11:09 PM
I am coming to the shocking and unpopular realization that we should start teaching our students Fortran again. Why? First some history.
I am teaching an upper level class that involves a lot of programming. The last time I taught the class was in the before AI times. As someone who is an AI skeptic, I decided to kick the tires and see how well AI would do on my assignments because that is what (some) students are going to do . . .
August 24, 2026 at 12:45 PM
I am teaching an upper level class that involves a lot of programming. The last time I taught the class was in the before AI times. As someone who is an AI skeptic, I decided to kick the tires and see how well AI would do on my assignments because that is what (some) students are going to do . . .
I'm going to have the students craft the AI policy for my class this Fall. Wish me luck.
August 11, 2026 at 12:16 PM
I'm going to have the students craft the AI policy for my class this Fall. Wish me luck.
I keep getting emails advertising services that will use AI to do your literature review for you. This completely misunderstands the purpose of a literature review. And literature. 1/
August 5, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I keep getting emails advertising services that will use AI to do your literature review for you. This completely misunderstands the purpose of a literature review. And literature. 1/
The argument I have been making is that data center developers should pay for enough renewables for their own energy AND the entire community they infiltrate. 100% free electricity for everyone. Throw in heat pumps for everyone for good measure.
for the cost of the fossil gas, and not push up costs on the grid, but on-site burning has its own pollution problems. The only answer is to require data centre developers to pay for enough new renewables to supply their energy needs. They are not doing that.
July 8, 2026 at 11:38 AM
The argument I have been making is that data center developers should pay for enough renewables for their own energy AND the entire community they infiltrate. 100% free electricity for everyone. Throw in heat pumps for everyone for good measure.
I am inexplicably jealous that my religious tradition does not include this level of drama and I was already feeling resentful because the hats the bishops get to wear are fire.
THE VATICAN IS CALLING IT A SCHISM
I REPEAT
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A SCHISM
I REPEAT
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A SCHISM
July 2, 2026 at 6:37 PM
I am inexplicably jealous that my religious tradition does not include this level of drama and I was already feeling resentful because the hats the bishops get to wear are fire.
I am begging journalists to ask why Europe has more heat deaths per capita than other continents . . . maybe it has something to do with AC?
UK cannot ‘air con its way’ out of this heatwave says Professor
www.channel4.com/news/uk-cann...
www.channel4.com/news/uk-cann...
UK cannot ‘air con its way’ out of this heatwave says Professor
Is the UK built for these high temperatures? We asked Lucelia Rodrigues, Professor of Sustainable and Resilient Cities at the University of Nottingham.
www.channel4.com
June 26, 2026 at 11:45 AM
I am begging journalists to ask why Europe has more heat deaths per capita than other continents . . . maybe it has something to do with AC?
Extreme temperatures kill more people than any other weather or climate related disaster and there is absolutely no reason why old buildings can't be retrofitted for AC.
This notion that Europe, and only Europe, has old buildings is ridiculous obviously. But even if we grant that you for some reason cannot install a window unit, and for some reason cannot install central AC, why aren’t you installing a floor unit?
it's always cute when Americans are like
"LOL. Europe. we put aircon in ancient buildings ALL THE TIME it's easy."
then you look and they mean sticking window units in some wooden buildings younger than my wardrobe.
"LOL. Europe. we put aircon in ancient buildings ALL THE TIME it's easy."
then you look and they mean sticking window units in some wooden buildings younger than my wardrobe.
June 25, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Extreme temperatures kill more people than any other weather or climate related disaster and there is absolutely no reason why old buildings can't be retrofitted for AC.
Ok, awards from NSF and most agencies have slowed to a trickle. Over the next three years there is going to a huge drop in workforce development.
Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. https://scim.ag/4xY2KCm
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
www.science.org
June 22, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Ok, awards from NSF and most agencies have slowed to a trickle. Over the next three years there is going to a huge drop in workforce development.
It takes me a few months to write a solid proposal and, as frustrating as it is when the proposal isn’t funded, there is an intellectual benefit that comes from the social activity of putting ideas together with my collaborators. You short circuit learning when AI writes the proposal for you.
June 18, 2026 at 11:28 AM
It takes me a few months to write a solid proposal and, as frustrating as it is when the proposal isn’t funded, there is an intellectual benefit that comes from the social activity of putting ideas together with my collaborators. You short circuit learning when AI writes the proposal for you.
This is a common issue in sea defenses. If you armor your coast, you lose your beaches and this tradeoff is not always well articulated to communities making decisions.
NC towns want to protect their beaches. They may do it the wrong way | Opinion
As coastal communities face growing pressure from storms, erosion, and rising seas, Ocean Isle Beach offers a cautionary example.
www.newsobserver.com
June 13, 2026 at 12:33 AM
This is a common issue in sea defenses. If you armor your coast, you lose your beaches and this tradeoff is not always well articulated to communities making decisions.
Ok, so I'm at a sea level rise workshop and the practitioners are like if you are scientist, for the love of god stop stop telling the press that people that live in a low lying area have to move. You aren't helping.
June 10, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Ok, so I'm at a sea level rise workshop and the practitioners are like if you are scientist, for the love of god stop stop telling the press that people that live in a low lying area have to move. You aren't helping.
Let’s talk about heat pumps and why adoption in many parts of the US has been slow compared to Europe and elsewhere. 1/
June 1, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Let’s talk about heat pumps and why adoption in many parts of the US has been slow compared to Europe and elsewhere. 1/
The academic progression:
Assistant prof: Everybody judges you and treats you like a junior colleague that doesn’t know anything.
Associate prof:Everybody still judges you but you don't get the benefit of the doubt from being early career.
Full prof: Everyone is surprised you aren’t dead yet.
Assistant prof: Everybody judges you and treats you like a junior colleague that doesn’t know anything.
Associate prof:Everybody still judges you but you don't get the benefit of the doubt from being early career.
Full prof: Everyone is surprised you aren’t dead yet.
May 20, 2026 at 10:17 PM
The academic progression:
Assistant prof: Everybody judges you and treats you like a junior colleague that doesn’t know anything.
Associate prof:Everybody still judges you but you don't get the benefit of the doubt from being early career.
Full prof: Everyone is surprised you aren’t dead yet.
Assistant prof: Everybody judges you and treats you like a junior colleague that doesn’t know anything.
Associate prof:Everybody still judges you but you don't get the benefit of the doubt from being early career.
Full prof: Everyone is surprised you aren’t dead yet.
There is a tradition of journalists and climate scientists flying into places—and New Orleans—seems to be a favorite— and proclaiming that disaster is looming and everyone must leave. 1/
The op-ed's strongest point is that New Orleans is far from the only place in the world threatened by climate change. Yet somehow we are the only place that the popular punditry seems eager to abandon. But, again, the study was specifically about Louisiana. 2/3
May 7, 2026 at 3:06 PM
There is a tradition of journalists and climate scientists flying into places—and New Orleans—seems to be a favorite— and proclaiming that disaster is looming and everyone must leave. 1/
Told the 13 yr old that the only social media he is allowed is LinkedIn. That ought to put him off social media . . . or he will become a "thought leader" and "motivational speaker" with top 3 three lists of How to Improve your Productivity.
May 5, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Told the 13 yr old that the only social media he is allowed is LinkedIn. That ought to put him off social media . . . or he will become a "thought leader" and "motivational speaker" with top 3 three lists of How to Improve your Productivity.