GeoBiology 2012

The end of summer courses like this has, as John Spear would say, a high suck factor. We miss you!!

Safe travels home, everyone.

Happy 4th of July/Higgs Boson Day!

CERN Says It's Detected A New Particle, Likely The Higgs Boson : NPR The Higgs, credited with giving particles mass, was the missing piece of the Standard Model of physics. Without it, the world would be a massless mess of photons flying at light speed.

Great time tonight at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science!

Who, us? Easily amused? Well....perhaps.

As the shirt says...we are Mainly Microbe!

Finally, A Map Of All The Microbes On Your Body : NPR The human body contains about 100 trillion cells, but only maybe one in 10 of those cells is actually human. The rest are from bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. Now, scientists have unveiled the first survey the "human microbiome," which includes 10,000 species and more than 8 million gene...

Fixing a flat tire at a Walmart in Rock Springs, WY. Livin' the GeoBio dream! :-)

Okay, I can't resist. Just found this from on online tourist review of places for the "best geothermal spa treatments" in Utah:

"Stinky Springs – This destination, noted in Hot Springs of the Southwest, can be nixed from any itinerary. Eight-ish miles west of the I-15 Corrine exit, what was once a reputable soaking opportunity now looks like a post-Apocalyptic Hollywood movie set, complete with blood-thirsty mosquitoes. The noxious level of sulfur rising out of the pathetic and forlorn rectangular concrete tubs compounds the overall repugnant experience."

Works for me! :-)

Managed by the Bureau of Land Management as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and Special Recreation Management Area, the Bonneville Salt Flats are a 30,000 acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake. The salt flats are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide with total area coverage of just over 46 square miles. Near the center of the salt, the crust is almost 5 feet thick in places, with the depth tapering off to less than 1 inch as you get to the edges. Total salt crust volume has been estimated at 147 million tons or 99 million cubic yards of salt! LET'S GO!

GeoBiology 2012 is well under way! Looking forward to exploring The Great Salt Lake region...next stop....http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm

The Bonneville Salt Flats | Utah.com Imagine a place so flat you seem to see the curvature of the planet, so barren not even the simplest life forms can exist. Imagine the passing thunder of strange vehicles hurtling by on a vast dazzling white plain. This is not an alien world far from earth; it is Utah's famous Bonneville Salt Flat...

Hi everyone! We'll be working with folks from the Great Salt Lake Institute during our time at the GSL. Here is their website if you'd like to check them out.

If you poke around the website, you'll note they point out that "The gnats are hatching on the island. Bug spray is largely ineffective. Wear long sleeves, pants, hats, and fine mesh head nets for protection."

Just sayin'.

Promoting GSL research, education and stewardship The Great Salt Lake Institute: GSL research, research partnerships, studying a unique natural resource, working with an extreme ecosystem

GeoBiology 2012 is just under four weeks away!! Are you ready to ...... Rock and Roll!!!!