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observational volcanology will be the last field to go

Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 04/10/2026

I've had people tell me I was born in "a small country" and my answer is "do you know you could go from the equivalent of Aberdeen in Scotland to Amman in Jordan without leaving chilean territory?"

A map showing the true size of Chile relative to Europe and the Middle East.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 03/10/2026

Gotta love the "no one elected you" as well.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 02/10/2026

A good article overall but this description of what amounts to an illegal action by the administration (Vought is not hiding his intent here) is maddening.

The extraordinary move - holding back about one-fifth of the N.S.F.'s primary research budget — is the latest sign of how the Trump administration is finding creative ways to work around Congress. Lawmakers from both parties have consistently opposed White House-led proposals to cut funding to major science
agencies, including the N.S.F. and the National Institutes of Health.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 01/10/2026

Imagine reading a history of 2026 100 years from now. We'll seem delusional, firing people for saying what is now evident to anyone who cares to look.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 26/09/2026

A good visualization from the NYTimes. It would be great (and surely depressing) to see this for NSF and other agencies. I know the Office of Polar Programs, for example, has lost about 2/3 of its staff. The damage runs deep and it'll take many years to fix.

A NYT visualization of the staff losses at the CDC.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 25/09/2026

Should a TV show that completely blew the landing be in a top 10 list? Discuss.

A screenshot of the #6 best show of the 21st century according to the NYTimes.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 24/09/2026

I wanted to make sure Tales from the Loop gets one vote.

Votes for Andor, Tales from the Loop, Station Eleven, The Wire, The Leftovers, Succession, Peaky Blinders, The Thick of It, Somebody Somewhere, Mad Men.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 23/09/2026

You are also entitled to compensation (I was on a BA flight that was delayed by a day and got this): www.britishairways.com/content/info...

Compensation can be claimed where you are either:
1) Delayed at your final destination by more than three hours and that delay arises from causes within the carrier's control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures).
Or:
2) Informed of a cancellation less than fourteen days before the planned departure date that arises from causes within the carrier's control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures), unless you are offered a re-route which allows departure and arrival at your final destination within the following times:
If you are informed of the cancellation between thirteen and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival; or
If you are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.
The levels of compensation are specified as follows:
EUR 250 / GBP 220 for flights of 1500 km or less
EUR 400 / GBP 350 for all flights between 1500km and 3500 km
EUR 600 / GBP 520 for all other flights.
Compensation is reduced by 50% if any re-routing offered to your final destination results in a scheduled arrival time which does not exceed the scheduled arrival time of the original flight by:
Two hours for flights of 1500 km or less
Three hours for all flights between 1500km and 3500 km
Four hours for all other flights.
Please note that passengers are not entitled to compensation if they have been informed of a cancellation fourteen days or more before the planned departure date. Passengers will be informed of …

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 04/09/2025

5. 🌊 ❄️ I spoke to @evanbush.bsky.social from NBC News about the potential loss of the Palmer. Read this excellent article here: www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...

Moffat said decommissioning the Palmer and pausing the push for a new ship at the same time all but ensure the U.S. will create a decadelong data gap for polar marine scientists. Scientists have rallied against the cuts. Last month, more than 170 researchers, including Moffat, Leventer and Wellner, signed a petition aimed at reversing the decision.

“It’s not a faucet of water you can turn on or off,” Moffat said. “Are we really going to depend on other countries to collect the observations we need to know how sea level is changing in the United States?”

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 22/08/2025

🌊 Research ships are a critical research platform but are also classrooms and training grounds. As @polarrobs.bsky.social says here, losing the Palmer would mean losing the ability to train the next generation of polar ocean scientists for a decade or more. An entire generation.

"I just think it's tragic, really, for U.S. science," said Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey. Graduate students and younger scientists will be hit hardest, Dr. Larter said. Unable to do field work and publish research, many of them will simply quit polar science, he said.

"Effectively, you've lost a whole generation, a lot of expertise that will be lost and difficult to restart, Dr. Larter said.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 25/07/2025

More than 100 scientists who work in Antarctica or care about having a strong U.S. research presence there have signed a letter calling for the U.S. to keep the Palmer in operation. (4/n)

We write as deeply concerned members of the Antarctic research community after learning of the plan, by the National Science Foundation, to terminate the lease of the Research Vessel/ IceBreaker Nathaniel B.
Palmer in October of this year.

The United States Antarctic Program has had at least one dedicated research vessel operating in the Southern Ocean since 1968.
For those nearly six decades, the N.B.
Palmer and its predecessors have supported world-class science that helped grow the U.S.'s standing as a leader of international scientific research. At the same time, these vessels have provided critical logistical support for the U.S. Antarctic scientific bases. Even as automation and remote observations have increased our
observational capabilities in this harsh region of the world, there's no replacement for a dedicated research vessel that can access remote sea ice-covered regions of Antarctica and that allows sampling of the

of the world, there's no replacement for a dedicated research vessel that can access remote sea ice-covered regions of Antarctica and that allows sampling of the full depth of the ocean and coastal regions on land.
The early loss of the N.B. Palmer is troubling, especially at a time when other nations, including China, Korea, Japan, Britain, and Australia, among others, are increasing their marine capability for Antarctic waters. This decision forecasts the decline of an exceptional history of U.S. scientific contributions. Maintaining a continued US ship-based presence also has strong, strategic and national security geopolitical implications. Antarctica remains a model for international cooperation and peace, with all activities, marine and terrestrial, south of 60°S governed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. The treaty, signed by 58 nations, committed all parties to a civilian presence guiding scientific investigation of this remote
and fragile part of the world Today many

Treaty. The treaty, signed by 58 nations, committed all parties to a civilian presence guiding scientific investigation of this remote and fragile part of the world. Today, many nations operate research stations and vessels in the Antarctic. While Antarctica remains remote and a difficult place to access, the modern world allows easier access each year and the number of groups there grows each year, for research, for tourism, for exploitation of fishery stocks, and simply for exerting national presence.

We urge reconsideration of the decision to terminate the lease of the RVIB Nathaniel B.
Palmer, and the continued forward-looking development of the next generation of Antarctic research vessels that will continue US leadership, scientifically and
geopolitically, in the high southern latitudes.

Sincerely,

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 22/03/2025

Here's the bibliography, b/c I'm a huge nerd: The recollection of the case from Joe himself: www.whoi.edu/science/PO/d... (see Appendix A) MA Teacher's Oath in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massach... Pedlosky vs. MIT, 1967: law.justia.com/cases/massac... 6/n

A newspaper article with the headline "High Court Voids Oaths of Teachers"

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 22/03/2025

If you're not an oceanographer, you wouldn't necessarily know Joe Pedlosky's name. He's one of the most celebrated oceanographers of our time, author of a famous textbook and too many papers to count. But back in the day, before all of that, he was a young professor who said "No". 5/n

The cover of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, by Joe Pedlosky.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 22/03/2025

Eventually, the case made it all the way to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which found the law unconstitutional in 1967. 3/n

One of my proudest moments of that difficult time was when the case was
heard in the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The notion that the action in the court
that I observed from the back of the courtroom, an unknown, impecunious Assistant
97 Professor, could have such an influence on the law struck me as a vindication of the
American system. Even before the decision came down, I was satisfied I had done
the right thing. This 79 year-old man is happy the 26 year-old took the heat for his
beliefs. Although, I was frightened of the possible consequences it might entail,
again it was one of those things I did largely because I was frightened, i.e. frightened
of what I would think of myself it I hadn't done it.

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Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · 22/03/2025

In 1966 a young assistant professor at MIT refused to sign the oath. This was just 3 years out of finishing his Ph.D. and a month after starting his job. His name is Joseph Pedlosky. He rightly recognized the oath as an attempt at intimidation.

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