It's Sedimentary, My Dear: A Geology Podcast

After an unexpected hiatus, hosts Jane and Ellen return with a down and dirty episode about soil. Jane reveals her childhood experiences with a DIY mud spa before digging into the agricultural and geological definitions for soil. They discuss the four main components of soil: inorganics, organics, water, and air or gas. They talk about how to identify soil texture and soil structure. They also discuss soil profile and soil horizons (which are similar to cake layers, but less delicious). They review the processes and factors that form soil. And finally, they explain the 12 basic soil orders used for soil taxonomy by USDA scientists. Note: this dirty, filthy episode is approved for audiences.Our main source for this episode is: The Nature and Properties of Soils (14th ed.), Nyle C. Brady, and Ray R. WeilMusic for It’s Sedimentary, My Dear is provided by Solar Sleighs.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also contact us through our website sedimentarymydear.com.

We’re devoting this episode to the season’s most dreaded stocking stuffer, coal. Travel back in time to the Paleozoic era, where coal starts as rotten plants. Add heat, pressure, and time, and quick as a wink from old Saint Nick - you’ve got coal! And like Santa’s naughty or nice list, learn how coal is graded into four types: lignite, sub bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. Return to the present, where coal provides 38.5% of the world’s electrical power, and glimpse at the future of alternative fuels. BYO hot chocolate. Sources:How is Steel Produced? by the World Coal Association: https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/uses-coal/how-steel-producedAnnual Energy Review by the US Energy Information Administration: https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/ How Much Do You Consume? by the US Department of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-much-do-you-consume  Music for It’s Sedimentary, My Dear is provided by Solar Sleighs.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also contact us through our website sedimentarymydear.com.

Jane interrupts our scheduled discussion of tsunamis to take us on a Magic Schoolbus-like field trip to Missouri’s Elephant Rocks State Park. Along the way we learn a bit about Missouri’s history, and culture (mort importantly the three Bs of St. Louis: Beer, Blues, and Barbeque). We also learn cool stuff about the geology of this Gateway to the West state. Granite domes & tors abound! And in the immortal words of Miss Frizzle, “Seatbelts, everyone!”Our sources for this episode are:Process geomorphology (5th ed.), Ritter, Kochel, & Miller.Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (9th ed.), by Tarbuck & LutgensThe Missouri State Parks page for elephant rocks state park: https://mostateparks.com/park/elephant-rocks-state-parkField Trip No. 6: Rapakivi Granites and Related Rocks in the St. Francois Mountains Southeast Missouri by Kisvarsanyi and HebrankGeologic Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri, 2nd ed, revised by VineyardMusic for It’s Sedimentary, My Dear is provided by Solar Sleighs.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also contact us through our website sedimentarymydear.com.

In this episode, we learn that some rocks have more than a killer attitude — they’re actually deadly. Lock all the doors and turn down the lights as hosts Jane and Ellen tell spooktacular tales about the many horrible ways rocks can kill you. Whatever you do, don’t listen to this episode…alone! Bwahaha! ☠️Our sources for this episode are:Killer Clothing Was All the Rage in the 19th Century, by Becky Little for National GeographicArsenic Pills and Lead Foundation: The history of toxic Makeup, by Becky Little for National GeographicSmithsonian Handbooks: Rocks & Minerals, by Chris PellantMusic for It’s Sedimentary, My Dear is provided by Solar Sleighs.Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also contact us through our website sedimentarymydear.com.WARNING: In this episode, we talk about minerals that are dangerous to human health. If you choose to handle or experiment with them, you do so at your own risk. If you do, we recommend handling them in a lab setting under the supervision of a trained professional.

This episode talks about geomorphology, the study of the Earth’s landforms. This includes the physical makeup of the earth’s crust, the movement of the pieces that make up the Earth (plate tectonics), and the origin and evolution of topographic (and bathymetric) features created by physical and chemical processes, and operating at or near the earth’s surface.Our main source for this episode is Process geomorphology (5th ed.), by Ritter, Kochel, & Miller.Music for It’s Sedimentary, My Dear is provided by Solar Sleighs.Send us your pics/question about geomorphology, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also contact us through our website sedimentarymydear.com.

Welcome to the world of geology! In our first episode of It’s Sedimentary, My Dear, we introduce ourselves, talk about the different types of rocks and minerals, and tell you our favorites. We think you’ll dig it!Our main sources for this episode are:Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy (1st ed.), by Dyar, Gunter, & TasaEarth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (9th ed.), by Tarbuck & LutgensMusic for It’s Sedimentary, My Dear is provided by Solar Sleighs.Tell us about your favorite rocks and minerals or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also contact us through our website sedimentarymydear.com.