iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Fun writeup on some cool (literally) work from my research assistant Michelle Berkmans! She started with us as a summer intern, but stayed through in the fall while finishing her associate's degree and presented her work on grain growth at her first AGU meeting. www.kbcc.cuny.edu/news/student...

kbcc.cuny.edu

Student Spotlight | Michelle Berkmans

Student Spotlights

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cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Our preprint is up now for discussion on The Cryosphere! We find that increased salinity of brine slows ice grain growth, reduces grain-boundary energy, and could explain differences in tensile strength between lab and nature. Plus: pretty pictures of ice! egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...

microstructures of ice crystals in temperate water-salt aggregates with low salt (0.5% NaCl) and high salt (1.5% NaCl), both annealed for 310 hours at 260 Kelvin. The lower salt grain is larger, and saltwater is confined to corners, while the higher salt ice grains are smaller and completely surrounded by saltwater.

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cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

The last paper from my PhD is out today in JGR Planets! we looked at how Titan's topography can interact with tidal and possible tectonic stresses to generate fractures, which could erode over time to produce icy sediment and provide fresh surface area for hydrocarbon interxn doi.org/10.1029/2024...

doi.org

Topographic Stress as a Mechanical Weathering Mechanism on Titan

Stress perturbations induced by topographic features on Titan can lead to fracture in its icy crust, enhancing mechanical weathering This mechanism could help generate sediment on Titan Titan's ...

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cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

fun pics from the -26C freezer this week, despite the 35+C heat outside: 50x magnification of saltwater trapped between pure ice crystals, with higher (~2%, left) and lower (~0.5%, right) salinity.

green blobs with shiny material between them. at triple junctions, where three 'grains' meet, the shiny material is brighter and wider, forming a triangular shape

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cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

something fun: have accepted a humboldt postdoc fellowship with DLR Berlin starting early 2026!

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Reposted by cassandra seltzer

Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 18/04/2025

Here's how to ask your Senators for *specific* funding levels for NASA, NSF, and Department of Energy Office of Science. It's simpler than you think! @aas.org @policy.aas.org 🧪🔭

docs.google.com

AAS Guided Appropriations Request Meeting April 18, 2025

AAS Action: Guided Appropriations Request Meeting April 18, 2025 Brett Morris These slides: https://bit.ly/approps-request-guide

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cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 04/12/2023

squished a meteorite for the people (planetary deformation modelers). found some energetically dissipative mechanisms that are present in response to tiny stress changes, which could be a cool source of heat for smaller moons in particular. preprint here. doi.org/10.22541/ess...

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