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M. Colin Marvin

@mcolinmarvin.bsky.social
112 followers 141 following 23 posts

Postdoc @Brown deciphering the environmental records encoded in sand dunes in the Namib sand sea, on Titan, and beyond

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Reposted by M. Colin Marvin
NPR @npr.org · 12/08/2026
The pristine white sand dunes of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park are bordered by thick jungle on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Thousands of lagoons fill up after the rainy season. n.pr/4qf7K1S
n.pr
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International Society for Aeolian Research (ISAR) @aeolianresearch.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Is everyone ready for the International Conference on Aeolian Research coming up starting this upcoming Sunday in Namibia?
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Congratulations to newly minted Dr. @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social and Dr. Michael Hasson! I feel so lucky to have had you both as my first PhD students. Can’t wait to witness your next discoveries! #geomorphology #sedimentology #graduates #PhD @stanforddoerr.bsky.social
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The Geological Society of America (GSA) @geosociety.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
The January 2026 issue of #Geology is available online. Scanning electron microscope images of zircon sand grains from Algodones Dunes, California, USA. Read the full issue: geosociety.co/Geology_Jan26 #GSAPubs Photo by M. Colin Marvin.
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Lucy Webb @lucywebb.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Were Earth's deep oceans better oxygenated during the Tonian than later in the Neoproterozoic? New thallium isotope data suggest they were. Check out our new paper in Geology: doi.org/10.1130/G536...
doi.org
Thallium isotopic evidence for the Tonian rise and Cryogenian fall of Neoproterozoic oxygen levels | Geology | GeoScienceWorld
Estimating dissolved oxygen (O2) concentrations in seawater during the Neoproterozoic is central to testing hypotheses about the role of O2 in animal
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Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Cool contrasting collapse patterns side by side on the leeward side of the crest of a sand dune in Mesquite Flats. ⚒️
Two areas where sand is collapsing downward on a sand dune crest - one is a concave scoop at the top with convex runout on the bottom, and seems to have two (overlapping) slip events, resulting in a sort of "Figure 8" pattern, and the other is more of a boxy rectangular shape.
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
@mcolinmarvin.bsky.social next explored if—and why—aeolian #dune fields, like rivers, reach a near-transport threshold state. This work has neat implications for reconstructions of wind conditions on the early #Earth and on other #planetary surfaces (12/17 am, EP31D-1678)
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M. Colin Marvin @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
check out EP33A at 2:15 in Rm. 255 to see some fantastic talks on flows (especially winds!) on Earth and other planets!
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Undark Magazine @undark.org · 10/12/2025
Some chemists build molecules incrementally. Others make risky moves to discover new chemistry. Both succeed. We call it methodology. But it's style. And we act like acknowledging different approaches threatens scientific rigor.
f.mtr.cool
Science Needs to Embrace the Idea of Style
How do individual scientists approach their work? These stylistic differences can influence the process of discovery.
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Jonathan Tonkin @jdtonkin.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
What would you share with an earlier version of yourself?
predirections.substack.com
What I wish I knew: 33 thoughts for early career researchers
Thirty three reflections I wish someone had shared with me early in my research career.
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The Geological Society of America (GSA) @geosociety.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Did you know sand grains record their transport history? New research in Geology shows zircon grains reveal their journey through microscopic abrasion “microtextures”—even in billion-year-old rocks! Read more: geosociety.co/4oHG2J6 #Geology #GSAPubs
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M. Colin Marvin @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
take a sec to check out our paper on zircon micro-abrasion features and what they can tell us about Earth’s surface billions of years ago (hot of the proverbial press in @geosociety.bsky.social)!
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Lizzy Trower @lizzyt.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Yooo how about those Mariners??!!!
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Just out: PhD candidate @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social shows that like in quartz, #zircon grains preserve microscopic archives of their transport history. But unlike in quartz, those archives remain decipherable for billions of years, unlocking first 90% of #Earth ’s history @stanforddoerr.bsky.social
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M. Colin Marvin @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Did you know that sand records its transport history as it moves across Earth's surface? We developed a new tool to investigate billion-year-old rocks by looking at microscopic features on zircon sand grains. Check out our new paper in @geosociety.bsky.social to see how! doi.org/10.1130/G537...
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david jon furbish @davidjonfurbish.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
eBook Preview Statistical Physics of Rarefied Sediment Particle Motions and Transport: Applications to Hillslopes and Rivers Posting this preview of material from my next (unfinished) book might be a mistake. But eh… what the hell. 1/n cdn.vanderbilt.edu/t2-my/my-prd...
cdn.vanderbilt.edu
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Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability @stanforddoerr.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Findings from a recent study could upend the conventional view of how rivers have shaped continents over time. It’s “a significant revision to our understanding of the history of the Earth,” said lead author Michael Hasson. @marslogander.bsky.social
stanford.io
The rise of plant life changed how rivers move, study shows
Research reveals that unvegetated meandering rivers can geologically masquerade as braided rivers, suggesting they were much more common in the first 90 percent of Earth’s history than previously thou...
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
So proud of Michael!! 😎 This work was a collaboration with @alvitello.bsky.social at @unipd.bsky.social and A. Ielpi and @ubcokanagan.bsky.social Check also: - Perspective by J. Pizzuto: doi.org/10.1126/scie... - Stanford’s press release: sustainability.stanford.edu/news/rise-pl...
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Plants change how river bends move - paper by PhD student Michael Hasson out as First Release in #Science!! Paper: doi.org/10.1126/scie... Before #plants, #meanders did not grow laterally as much but translated downstream, making them look like braided rivers in rocks. @stanforddoerr.bsky.social
doi.org
Vegetation changes the trajectory of river bends
A primary axiom in geoscience is that the evolution of plants drove global changes in river dynamics. Notably, the apparent sinuosity of rivers, derived from the variance of sediment accretion directi...
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Zoltán Sylvester @zzsylvester.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Sand grains from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah 🧪⚒️
A few semi-transparent grains of sand on a black background, with a frosted texture characteristic of wind abrasion A lot of semi-transparent grains of sand on a black background A few semi-transparent grains of sand on a black background, with a frosted texture characteristic of wind abrasionThe microscope and camera setup I used to take the photos
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Rick @rickylongthread.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
Tonight is the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s midnight ride. May his memory remind us all to resist the tyranny forming in our government.
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Postdoc Carlos Alvarez shows that Mars’s large #aeolian #ripples are not impact ripples through low-pressure #wind tunnel experiments at #NASA Ames. Very excited about this one! @stanforddoerr.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Ripples formed in low-pressure wind tunnels suggest Mars’s large windblown ripples are not impact ripples - Nature Communications
Low-pressure wind tunnel experiments suggest that large sand ripples on Mars are drag ripples, not impact ripples. Windblown drag ripples constitute an untapped record of atmospheric evolution under t...
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Doug Jerolmack @dougjerolmack.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
PhD student Sophie Silver's first paper shows that crack geometry betrays presence of water on other planets! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... There's a nice write up in Penn Today here: penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-ca...
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
New paper by PhD student @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social uses #patterns formed by #dunes to better understand sources, pathways, and sinks of #sand on #Titan. Spoiler: #Xanadu has outsized influence on #eolian sediments, and sand travels far!! @stanforddoerr.bsky.social
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M. Colin Marvin @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Check out our paper in @agu.org where we provide evidence for a continuous transport pathway around Titan’s equatorial dune fields, only interrupted by the Xanadu region (with implications for the nature of Titan’s sand grains!) agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
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International Association of Sedimentologists @sedimentology.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
8th International Planetary Dunes Workshop is held in Sassari/Alghero, Italy, from 19–22 May: www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/dun... 🔔 Important Deadlines: 📌 Abstract submission: 12 March 📌 Registration: 31 March
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HiRISE Beautiful Mars (NASA) @uahirise.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Mars Wore Blue Velvet The dark-blue and purple colors indicate coarse-grained sands that are comprised of basalt, an iron and magnesium-rich volcanic rock that formed from cooled lava millions of years ago. uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_05... NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona #Mars #NASA #science
Enhanced color cutout shows a closeup of a thick sand sheet draped over bedrock in Melas Chasma on Mars. The dark-blue and purple colors indicate coarse-grained sands that are comprised of basalt. The scene is less than 1 km across. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
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M. Colin Marvin @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Had a wonderful time today! It was really great meeting you and thank for the invite to visit your fantastic department (and beautiful campus!)
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M. Colin Marvin @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
dune find of the day: laterally linked and lone barchans in the Bodélé Depression, Chad (near 17.12°N, 17.87°E)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Final stop with postdoc Carlos Alvarez on the "Aerodynamic #roughness of rippled beds under active #saltation at low atmospheric #pressure" (EP54A-03, 146 B). Fr 4:20-4:30 pm. #Wind tunnel work reveals impact of #bedforms and #saltation on #Mars. #AGU24 (10/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Back to #Mars with PhD student Claire Blaske asking "Were #boulder fields along Mars' putative #ocean paleoshoreline deposited by a #tsunami?" (EP51B-06, 146 B). Fr 9:25-9:35 am. Or perhaps #floods? #glaciers? #impacts? #AGU24 (9/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
PhD student Timmy Lui will take us to #Mars for his " #Segmentation of #dune crestlines using #convolutional #neural #networks" (EP51D-1378, hall B-C). Fr 8:30 am-12:20 pm. A challenging task with potential to reveal much about #Mars #climate! #AGU24 (7/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Kicking off Fr, PhD student Vittorio Colicci will present his MS work at MIT, "Examining the influence of early #tree #root geometry on #soil cohesion and anchoring strength using 3D-printed reconstructions" (EP51F-1439, hall B-C) Fr 8:30 am-12:20 pm #AGU24 (6/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Alternatively, undergrad Brian Amaro will talk about his "Automatic characterization of the size distribution of small #rocks on the #Moon and implications for orbiter-based extrapolations" (P44C-06, Liberty M at Marriott). Th 4:52-5:02 pm. #AGU24 (5/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Then former postdoc @agunn.bsky.social (now faculty at Monash) and recipient of #AGU24 's Luna Leopold award will deliver the Sharp lecture (Ballroom B). #Dunes galore on the horizon! Th 4-5:30 pm. (4/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Next: #Precambrian #Earth with PhD student @mcolinmarvin.bsky.social, with "Zircon microtextures: A record of Earth's earliest surface environments" (EP43F-03, 146 C). Th 2:30-2:40 pm. Tiny scratches pack much info on first ~90% of Earth's history! #AGU24 (3/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
First stop: #Earth with PhD student Michael Hasson for " #Vegetation alters the migration trajectory of #meander bends" (EP41E-1245, hall B-C). Th 8:30 am-12:20 pm. Cool implications for river evolution in the #Paleozoic! #AGU24 (2/10)
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Mathieu Lapôtre @marslogander.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
#Rivers, #winds, #waves, and #impacts are all on the program for Stanford EPSP at #AGU24! Come along with us to explore #landscapes through #space (#Earth, #Moon, #Mars) and #time ( #Archean / #Hesperian to #future) All times EST. (1/10)
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Qiusheng Wu @giswqs.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
📢The recording of our workshop at #AGU24 is now live on YouTube! 🎥 Huge thanks to Justin Braaten for the fantastic collaboration! Watch here: youtu.be/JavlJrzcCDw Explore the Notebook: geemap.org/workshops/AG... #geospatial #opensource #EarthEngine #geemap
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Andrew Gunn @agunn.bsky.social · 04/09/2023
hi everyone!! posts here about geomorphology and climate. check out colin marvin's new paper on dune interactions: doi.org/10.1130/G512...
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