J. Brian Balta
@drjbbalta.bsky.social
Planetary Scientist and Petrologist, dog parent.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
For the second fiscal year in a row, NASA awarded ~20% fewer grants than the recent historical average. That's about 500 fewer grants going out to scientists around the country.
October 2, 2026 at 6:51 PM
For the second fiscal year in a row, NASA awarded ~20% fewer grants than the recent historical average. That's about 500 fewer grants going out to scientists around the country.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
NASA has ignored recommended funding levels for planetary research & analysis for 15 years, according to a new investigative report by Mark Sykes (@coop.planetary-research.org). And for FY2025, it hasn’t even spent 50% of what it budgeted for R&A. 🧪🪐🔭
eos.org/research-and...
eos.org/research-and...
NASA has Underspent on Research and Analysis for 15 Years - Eos
Spending for NASA’s research and analysis programs has remained relatively flat for 15 years, ignoring recommendations from community-led decadal surveys and directives by Congress.
eos.org
September 29, 2026 at 4:30 PM
NASA has ignored recommended funding levels for planetary research & analysis for 15 years, according to a new investigative report by Mark Sykes (@coop.planetary-research.org). And for FY2025, it hasn’t even spent 50% of what it budgeted for R&A. 🧪🪐🔭
eos.org/research-and...
eos.org/research-and...
The "Paid for by the US Government" ad just ran during the Ohio State-Illinois football game.
September 26, 2026 at 6:52 PM
The "Paid for by the US Government" ad just ran during the Ohio State-Illinois football game.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Celebrating oceanographer Marie Tharp’s induction into the 2026 Women's Hall of Fame! 🥳🎉
Born in 1920, at a time when there were few options for women in science, Tharp revolutionized our understanding of the ocean floor.
Learn more about this year’s inductees: go.whoi.edu/womens-hall-of-fame
Born in 1920, at a time when there were few options for women in science, Tharp revolutionized our understanding of the ocean floor.
Learn more about this year’s inductees: go.whoi.edu/womens-hall-of-fame
September 24, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Celebrating oceanographer Marie Tharp’s induction into the 2026 Women's Hall of Fame! 🥳🎉
Born in 1920, at a time when there were few options for women in science, Tharp revolutionized our understanding of the ocean floor.
Learn more about this year’s inductees: go.whoi.edu/womens-hall-of-fame
Born in 1920, at a time when there were few options for women in science, Tharp revolutionized our understanding of the ocean floor.
Learn more about this year’s inductees: go.whoi.edu/womens-hall-of-fame
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
RIP Gerrit Graham
We lost Franklin Sherman and that sucks.
We lost Franklin Sherman and that sucks.
September 18, 2026 at 8:58 PM
RIP Gerrit Graham
We lost Franklin Sherman and that sucks.
We lost Franklin Sherman and that sucks.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Pinning this story about how South Florida real estate agents deal with questions about sea level rise for the next time I’m told markets are effective at pricing in risk. Not if everyone ignores the risk instead!
heated.world/p/the-open-hou…
heated.world/p/the-open-hou…
September 17, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Pinning this story about how South Florida real estate agents deal with questions about sea level rise for the next time I’m told markets are effective at pricing in risk. Not if everyone ignores the risk instead!
heated.world/p/the-open-hou…
heated.world/p/the-open-hou…
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Glaciologist @matthias-huss.bsky.social shows that the centre of the Great Aletsch glacier in Switzerland (the biggest in the Alps) lost 6 meters(!) of thickness just this summer.
"No words...", he adds on LinkedIn.
"No words...", he adds on LinkedIn.
September 15, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Glaciologist @matthias-huss.bsky.social shows that the centre of the Great Aletsch glacier in Switzerland (the biggest in the Alps) lost 6 meters(!) of thickness just this summer.
"No words...", he adds on LinkedIn.
"No words...", he adds on LinkedIn.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Pro-tip: watch those lens caps
#parkchat
What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas share.google/7iUF0JtzdfvW...
#parkchat
What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas share.google/7iUF0JtzdfvW...
What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas
What staff find while cleaning out hydrothermal areas at Yellowstone National Park can be surprising, and they shared all of it, from common to funny to just plain weird.
share.google
September 15, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Pro-tip: watch those lens caps
#parkchat
What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas share.google/7iUF0JtzdfvW...
#parkchat
What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas share.google/7iUF0JtzdfvW...
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Chinook salmon have recolonised 88% of their historic range on the Klamath River, with more than 13,000 fish passing the old Iron Gate Dam site in 2025, up from 7,700 the year before. Two years after the dams’ removal, it’s going better than anyone predicted. buff.ly/pToC9gB
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Rewilding the upper Klamath River Basin: rapid recolonization of Chinook salmon following the world’s largest dam removal - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Rewilding the upper Klamath River Basin: rapid recolonization of Chinook salmon following the world’s largest dam removal
www.nature.com
September 9, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Chinook salmon have recolonised 88% of their historic range on the Klamath River, with more than 13,000 fish passing the old Iron Gate Dam site in 2025, up from 7,700 the year before. Two years after the dams’ removal, it’s going better than anyone predicted. buff.ly/pToC9gB
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
When you synthesize monazite with specific cations in a lab, you can make quite the rainbow. Here are La, Nd, Gd, and Yb monazites (technically xenotime for Yb, almost the same structure but different enough that it has its own name). Nd was always my favorite. #mincup26 #mincup #monazite
September 7, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
🔥 August 2026 not only beat the record for the warmest August on record, but it beat July 2023 for the warmest overall month on record for Planet Earth since 1940 - and likely the warmest during the entire Holocene. 😢
September 2, 2026 at 10:03 AM
🔥 August 2026 not only beat the record for the warmest August on record, but it beat July 2023 for the warmest overall month on record for Planet Earth since 1940 - and likely the warmest during the entire Holocene. 😢
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Had to accelerate this story, which means I got to dwell on far less termination shock science than I would have liked.
NASA’s New Horizons mission may shut down two instruments over lack of funding
Decision risks “incalculable loss” of data from the edge of the Sun’s influence, scientists say
www.science.org
September 1, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Had to accelerate this story, which means I got to dwell on far less termination shock science than I would have liked.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
This is a very excellent explainer of the scientific reconstruction of the Nepal debris flow. Lots of interactive data and visuals in the report. 23 minutes between the glacial collapse/landslide before it reached the border station.⚒️
August 28, 2026 at 2:38 PM
This is a very excellent explainer of the scientific reconstruction of the Nepal debris flow. Lots of interactive data and visuals in the report. 23 minutes between the glacial collapse/landslide before it reached the border station.⚒️
10:23 pm in Houston, eclipse on iPhone. Some clouds rolled in just after this.
I have an earth and space science intro class this year and said I’d give a few points for a photo of the August 27 eclipse. One student submitted a photo last weekend.
I have an earth and space science intro class this year and said I’d give a few points for a photo of the August 27 eclipse. One student submitted a photo last weekend.
August 28, 2026 at 3:36 AM
10:23 pm in Houston, eclipse on iPhone. Some clouds rolled in just after this.
I have an earth and space science intro class this year and said I’d give a few points for a photo of the August 27 eclipse. One student submitted a photo last weekend.
I have an earth and space science intro class this year and said I’d give a few points for a photo of the August 27 eclipse. One student submitted a photo last weekend.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
You don't realize the power of water until you watch it casually roll a boulder the size of a house down a valley in Nepal.
August 27, 2026 at 2:36 PM
You don't realize the power of water until you watch it casually roll a boulder the size of a house down a valley in Nepal.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
An incredibly well-timed Landsat 9 pass captured the effects of yesterday’s catastrophic glacier collapse near the Nepal–Tibet border. The event was so massive that it was detected by seismometers around the world.
August 27, 2026 at 7:24 AM
An incredibly well-timed Landsat 9 pass captured the effects of yesterday’s catastrophic glacier collapse near the Nepal–Tibet border. The event was so massive that it was detected by seismometers around the world.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
I'm very excited to share my latest paper about why Venus has no moon. In almost every scenario, a hypothetical Venus moon spirals inward and is destroyed at the Roche limit. Venus' lack of moon may thus be a natural consequence of its slow spin. arxiv.org/abs/2608.25036
August 27, 2026 at 7:45 AM
I'm very excited to share my latest paper about why Venus has no moon. In almost every scenario, a hypothetical Venus moon spirals inward and is destroyed at the Roche limit. Venus' lack of moon may thus be a natural consequence of its slow spin. arxiv.org/abs/2608.25036
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Mineral Monday: Memorial: Dr. George Rossman
By Dr. George Harlow
His research focused on color in minerals, the effect of high-energy radiation on color, and the role of “water” (H2O, that is) in minerals, esp. when not part of the chemical formula.
#MineralMonday #spectroscopy
By Dr. George Harlow
His research focused on color in minerals, the effect of high-energy radiation on color, and the role of “water” (H2O, that is) in minerals, esp. when not part of the chemical formula.
#MineralMonday #spectroscopy
August 24, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Mineral Monday: Memorial: Dr. George Rossman
By Dr. George Harlow
His research focused on color in minerals, the effect of high-energy radiation on color, and the role of “water” (H2O, that is) in minerals, esp. when not part of the chemical formula.
#MineralMonday #spectroscopy
By Dr. George Harlow
His research focused on color in minerals, the effect of high-energy radiation on color, and the role of “water” (H2O, that is) in minerals, esp. when not part of the chemical formula.
#MineralMonday #spectroscopy
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Came across this photo of Marguerite Thomas Williams, the first African American woman to earn a PhD in geology (1947).
August 24, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Came across this photo of Marguerite Thomas Williams, the first African American woman to earn a PhD in geology (1947).
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Volcanoes are fascinating. Pictures, videos and articles of eruptions fill our social media feeds and newspapers. But can you believe what you read?
Misinformation and rumours spread just as easily as facts. Misconceptions are easily created and hard to correct.
@heatherkhandley.bsky.social
Misinformation and rumours spread just as easily as facts. Misconceptions are easily created and hard to correct.
@heatherkhandley.bsky.social
During eruptions, misinformation can spread further than ash. How can we spot it?
From scary headlines to recycled eruption videos, new research reveals how common misconceptions can fuel misinformation about volcanoes.
theconversation.com
August 19, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Volcanoes are fascinating. Pictures, videos and articles of eruptions fill our social media feeds and newspapers. But can you believe what you read?
Misinformation and rumours spread just as easily as facts. Misconceptions are easily created and hard to correct.
@heatherkhandley.bsky.social
Misinformation and rumours spread just as easily as facts. Misconceptions are easily created and hard to correct.
@heatherkhandley.bsky.social
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Nice graphic from NASA (science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...) showing a smoke-infused pyrocumulus cloud from Utah's Widemouth 2 fire as seen Aug. 3 from an INSPYRE aircraft during a sampling flight (Bernadett Weinzierl/University of Vienna). The fire is big: currently 130,000 acres, 91% contained.
August 18, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Nice graphic from NASA (science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...) showing a smoke-infused pyrocumulus cloud from Utah's Widemouth 2 fire as seen Aug. 3 from an INSPYRE aircraft during a sampling flight (Bernadett Weinzierl/University of Vienna). The fire is big: currently 130,000 acres, 91% contained.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
🧵🧪More than 40 polar science experts and people working at the science-policy interface carefully assessed several of the geoengineering concepts mentioned against a range of criteria. None of these concepts survive scrutiny. Read our assessment here
doi.org/10.3389/fsci...
doi.org/10.3389/fsci...
August 18, 2026 at 8:17 PM
🧵🧪More than 40 polar science experts and people working at the science-policy interface carefully assessed several of the geoengineering concepts mentioned against a range of criteria. None of these concepts survive scrutiny. Read our assessment here
doi.org/10.3389/fsci...
doi.org/10.3389/fsci...
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Pretty good rocks.
Although the sodalite is not from the UP - it comes from the north side of Lake Superior, so samples are nicely tumbled by the time they get halfway around the basin.
Although the sodalite is not from the UP - it comes from the north side of Lake Superior, so samples are nicely tumbled by the time they get halfway around the basin.
Fun rock of the moment: yooperlite. It’s an igneous rock that contains inclusions of sodalite. That sodalite is fluorescent under UV light. Named yooperlite because of its relative frequency in the upper peninsula of Michigan
August 18, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Pretty good rocks.
Although the sodalite is not from the UP - it comes from the north side of Lake Superior, so samples are nicely tumbled by the time they get halfway around the basin.
Although the sodalite is not from the UP - it comes from the north side of Lake Superior, so samples are nicely tumbled by the time they get halfway around the basin.
Reposted by J. Brian Balta
Beach ridges formed during Holocene sea level recession, Radstock Bay, Nunavut
August 18, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Beach ridges formed during Holocene sea level recession, Radstock Bay, Nunavut
Wait, did Charles Darwin actually sketch a full thrust sheet?
August 17, 1834, Charles Darwin climbs to the top of Cerro La Campana (1.880 meters) in central Chile, sketching a geologic cross section from the Precordillera to the Principal Cordillera
...
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August 18, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Wait, did Charles Darwin actually sketch a full thrust sheet?