Nov 3, 2014
This episode features the
talk Cataclysms on the Columbia: The Great
Missoula Floods, by Dr.
Scott Burns from Portland State University. The Missoula
Floods were a series of 80+ floods that happened in the Pacific
Northwest during the last ice age around 15,000 years ago, and they
dramatically shaped the geology and topography of Washington and
Oregon. Scott describes with enthusiastic detail what caused
the floods, who discovered them, what evidence was used to
prove that they happened, and some of the people continuing to
study them today. He also touches on Lewis & Clark, the
Willamette Meteorite, scientific grudge matches, what to ask
geologists on a road trip, and how to grow good wine grapes, among
many other things.
Scott's slides have been synched
with this recording and uploaded as an m4a format as an
enhanced podcast, so depending on your media player, you may be
able to see the pictures of what he's describing as the audio
plays along.
Want to come to an event? Visit www.ScienceOnTapORWA.org for more info.
As always, a final thanks to Jonathan Coulton for the use of his song Mandelbrot Set as our theme music.