Susquehanna River Initiative

Vote for a 2018 PA River of the Year! Pennsylvania’s River of the Year is an honor designed to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.

We are thankful to have the opportunity to teach and mentor great students at Bucknell.

Symposium Channels the Spirit of the Susquehanna Mohawk Elder Tom Porter opened the 12th annual Susquehanna River Symposium at Bucknell with a plea to protect the waters of the world.

Highly recommended reading this week: a new paper by Bucknell faculty and students just published in the journal Public Understanding of Science, argues that research on the public's understanding of science often conflates knowledge and understanding, and that this conflation has costs. Researchers Joanna Huxster and Matthew Slater and their students conclude: "more diligent attention to measuring understanding, as opposed to mere knowledge, will increase efficacy of scientific outreach and communication efforts."

Journal article: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0963662517735429

This research was also just featured in National Public Radio (NPR)'s "13.7: Cosmos and Culture/Science" online blog journal too:

What's Your (Epistemic) Relationship To Science? Tania Lombrozo looks at a new paper arguing that research on the public's understanding of science often conflates knowledge and understanding — and that this conflation has costs.

Great episode of the"1A" radio show today entitled "plastics are forever." Host Joshua Johnson talks to several scientists, including Sherri Mason, Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences at SUNY Fredonia. Their research found that more than 80 percent of the samples they collected on five continents tested positive for the presence of plastic fibers!

Plastics Are Forever - 1A Plastic is in everything, including our tap water.

"Making Waves" luncheon lecture tomorrow! Craig Kochel, Jeff Trop, and Robert Jacob summarize their 3-year field intensive NSF research: "Critical lifelines for Alpine Glaciers Decoupled from Icecaps: Mass Flow Contribution from Icy Debris Fans in Alaska and New Zealand." Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, 11am - 12 pm, Academic West Building, 1st Floor Event Space. Pizza and drinks served.

Professors Kochel, Jacob, and Trop used a number of innovative photogramatic, geophysical, geomorphic, and sedimentologic methods to quantify the rates and processes that form IDFs. Their findings have broad scientific importance, not only in the study of geologic processes, but also our understanding of climate change.

They will also discuss how this research project involved 16 undergraduate students into Bucknell’s research-intensive geology major: Chris Duda, Ben Bliss, Steve Grune, Stew Kabis, Sandra Logan, Kim Lapsznski, Brian Moretti, Seamus McLaughlin, Mattie Reid, Alex Pellicciotti, Darin Rockwell, Erica Rubino, Charles Scales, Tracey Smith, Liz Wills, and Katherine Wagner. Wow!

Nothing beats spending a beautiful fall afternoon with a group of students on White Deer Creek. Here they are presenting their flow velocity, tractive force, and sediment analyses to one another. Bucknell GEOL316, Geomorphology, R. Craig Kochel, professor.

Puerto Rico's Guajataca Dam Still a Danger After Hurricane Maria ...

Puerto Rico holds its breath over hurricane-battered dam Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello has warned that 70,000 people could be in danger if the dam failed.

Dr. Elizabeth Capaldi and her "Advanced Topics in Animal Behavior" (ANBE 320) students spent an afternoon on the river exploring how "deception" is used by some aquatic species in the Susquehanna River.

ANBE 320 kayak trip (Sept. 8, 2017) Bucknell University students explore "deception" in aquatic communities in the Susquehanna River as part of their "Advanced Topics in Animal Behavior" (ANBE ...

The destruction of Hurricane Irma can be seen from space after the storm turns several Caribbean islands brown.

Hurricane Irma Turns Caribbean Islands Brown : Natural Hazards Lush landscapes turned from green to brown after being battered by the powerful storm.

Today, as we were launching our kayaks to collect water quality samples of the West Branch Susquehanna River near Watsontown, I caught this downstream view from the water's edge. Sister River was quiet and tranquil this morning and I felt privileged to share this time with her.