GEO Podcast
73 episodes - English - Latest episode: 28 days ago -A place to learn about geology for teachers, students, rock hounds, and geology enthusiasts - that comes out on Fridays!
Gary Lewis is an Australian-born geologist who loves to share his passion for all things 'geology'. In the GEO podcast, Gary takes you on a journey to learn about rocks, minerals, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers and so much more.
It does not matter if you have no experience in geology, Gary will help you to understand the fundamentals of our planet so you can have a greater understanding about when you see when visiting your backyard, your local creek, cliff or beyond.
You can also join Gary as he runs Field Adventures (specialist travel experiences) to see parts of the world through the eyes of a passionate Earth scientist. Find out more at www.geoetc.com.
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Episodes
Three reasons why civilizations grew up around volcanoes
March 29, 2024 05:00 - 5 minutes - 4.08 MBIn this episode, I talk about the three reasons why people and civilizations grew up around active volcanoes. Why did people need to live close to the dangers of eruptions? What was it that drove and kept them there? Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Salt Weathering
March 21, 2024 13:00 - 6 minutes - 4.33 MBIn this episode, I talk about how salt acts as a physical weathering agent to break down rocks. Physical weathering is the breaking down of rocks without a chemical change, and salt can act as the agent that breaks down rocks especially close to the ocean, but also in salt-rich soils, etc. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Current Iceland Volcanic Activity 101
January 19, 2024 09:00 - 8 minutes - 5.66 MBIn this episode, I explain in simple terms what is happening in Iceland these last few years on the plate boundary. I explain the two geological phenomena in Iceland, the recent eruptions and earthquake activity, and how they are related to Plate Tectonics. Support the show
Fake & Pseudo Fossils
December 22, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 3.65 MBIn this episode, I talk about fake fossils and why people create them, as well as pseudo fossils such as dendrites. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Come and check out all we have to offer at GEOetc.com Support the show
Where does magma come from?
December 16, 2023 10:00 - 6 minutes - 4.27 MBIn this episode, I talk about how molten rock is formed inside the Earth - what are the mechanisms that cause our planet to produce molten rock to feed volcanoes? Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show Support the show
All about limestone
June 30, 2023 05:00 - 9 minutes - 6.46 MBIn this episode, I talk about the different forms of limestone and how they form including chalk, coquina, fossiliferous limestone, travertine, and oolitic limestone. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Bowens Reaction Series
June 23, 2023 05:00 - 7 minutes - 5.14 MBIn this episode I talk about Bowen's Reaction Series - and how it tells us the order of crystallization of minerals from molten rock. Support the show
Earth's Major Systems
June 16, 2023 05:00 - 6 minutes - 4.88 MBThe Earth is a huge system made up of a number of 'spheres' - the geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. What are each of these spheres and how can they interact? This episode explains each sphere and gives examples of the interaction between them. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Buying a rock (geologic) hammer
June 09, 2023 05:00 - 5 minutes - 4.2 MBIn this episode, I talk about the things to consider when buying a geologic hammer - what to look for and the decisions you will need to make. You can find this information and more in my blog post about buying a forever hammer. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Earth's largest volcano erupts - Mauna Loa 2022
June 02, 2023 05:00 - 7 minutes - 5.1 MBIn this episode, I talk about the recent eruption of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. The eruption was in 2022 and lasted just two weeks - but produced massive around of lava. Come and join us in Hawaii, or on any of our field adventures. See here for the trips for educators and here for the trips for geocachers. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Have I found gold? Simple tests to find out!
May 26, 2023 05:00 - 5 minutes - 3.9 MBIn this episode, I talk about the three common minerals that fool people into thinking they have found gold - pyrite, chalcopyrite, and mica. I talk about the simple tests you can do to find out if what you found was really gold or one of these three. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Hawaii - why I love taking people to visit the volcanoes
May 19, 2023 05:00 - 9 minutes - 6.4 MBIn this episode, I talk about the four reasons I just love to take people on tours around the volcanoes in Hawaii. It is about the accessibility of seeing the planet's largest and most active volcanoes and more. Come join us on an field adventure: www.geoetc.com/field-adventures Support the show
The 5 Great Extinctions
May 12, 2023 05:00 - 8 minutes - 5.74 MBIn this episode, I talk about the five great extinction events - events in which more than 70% of species on Earth become extinct. When did these occur and what might have caused each event. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Graptolites
May 05, 2023 05:00 - 6 minutes - 4.52 MBIn this episode, I talk about the extinct colonial animal we call graptolites. These are fascinating fossils as they not only show an evolutionary trend that goes from complex to simple, but their wold-wide distribution makes them a perfect index fossil. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Elements needed for an EV battery
April 28, 2023 05:00 - 8 minutes - 5.69 MBIn this episode, I talk about the major elements needed for an EV battery (lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite). How much is needed for just one EV battery? Where are these materials currently coming from? Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Volcanic Explosive Index
April 21, 2023 05:00 - 8 minutes - 5.72 MBIn this episode, I talk about the Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) and how that logarithmic scale is used to rate eruptions. It is based on the amount of material ejected, the size of the eruption plume and the length of the eruption. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Volcanic Eruption Styles
April 14, 2023 05:00 - 9 minutes - 6.35 MBIn this episode, I talk about the five major eruption styles - Icelandic, Hawaiian, Strombolian, Vulcanian, and Plinian. What are the characteristics of these different styles of eruptions and what materials do they produce? Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Sapphires, Rubies & Corundum (oh my!)
April 07, 2023 05:00 - 5 minutes - 3.66 MBIn this episode, I talk about the corundum family of minerals - their chemistry, how they form, and what makes them different from each other. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Longshore Drift - the shifting sands
March 24, 2023 00:00 - 7 minutes - 4.91 MBIn this episode, I talk about how sand moves along a beach due to longshore drift. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Volcanoes & Climate
March 16, 2023 09:00 - 8 minutes - 5.87 MBIn this episode, I talk about how volcanic eruptions can affect climate - by releasing ash, gas, and aerosols. We talk about the role of CO2 and SO2 and what effect they may have. I talked specifically about Pinatubo, Tambora, and the Laki eruptions. I also mention an activity available for GEOetc Members called Climeworld that members can download and use in their classrooms to show students how the volcano's location can affect climates in different hemispheres. Visit our GEOetc Membe...
Focus & Epicenter - important earthquake terms
March 10, 2023 05:00 - 7 minutes - 5.05 MBIn this episode, I talk about the difference between the terms focus and epicenter. What do the terms mean and how are they used? How is the information about an earthquake's focus used? How about the information about the epicenter of an earthquake? Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Ring of Fire - what's happening around the Pacific?
March 03, 2023 06:00 - 6 minutes - 4.18 MBIn this episode, I talk about what is causing the Pacific Ring of Fire. Why do 75% of all active volcanoes and 90% of all earthquakes happen around the edge of the Pacific Ocean? Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Diamonds - all about those gems!
February 24, 2023 06:00 - 9 minutes - 6.45 MBIn this episode, I talk about diamonds - where they form, how they are brought to the surface and even about different colors and uses. Visit our Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Index Fossils - the keys to dating layers
February 17, 2023 06:00 - 7 minutes - 5.18 MBIn this episode, I talk about index fossils - what are they and what makes one fossil better than another for dating layers in a sedimentary sequence. I aven leave you pondering what human product would make a great index fossil. Visit our GEOetc Members Section - Over 100 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
Landslides - the 'other' natural disaster!
February 10, 2023 06:00 - 8 minutes - 6.16 MBIn this episode, we talk about the main causes of landslides and provide examples - California and Thredbo, NSW, Australia. What is the role of water? What about trees and deforestation? How can earthquakes be involved etc? This is a great introduction to landslides as a natural disaster. Support the show
Radioactive dating - how does it tell us how old rocks are?
November 12, 2022 15:00 - 7 minutes - 5.24 MBRocks can contain radioactive elements that breakdown (decay) over time at a set rate. We can use this decay to work out the age of the rocks. In this episode, we do a brief look at the process, and how we know it works. Visit our Members Section - Over 90 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
The History of the theory of Plate Tectonics
November 04, 2022 08:00 - 9 minutes - 6.55 MBWhere did the Theory of Plate Tectonics come from? How did it evolve? What started it all off and how did new evidence change the theory? Visit our Members Section - Over 90 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Support the show
What are the mechanisms that drive Plate Tectonics?
October 28, 2022 08:00 - 5 minutes - 3.87 MBWhat drives the movement of the Earth's huge lithospheric tectonic plates? In this episode, we talk about mantle convection currents and slab pull - the too well-accepted theories for what is driving Plate Tectonics. Visit our Members Section - Over 90 teaching resources that are classroom-ready to help you teach Earth science. Check them out! Don't miss a thing! Join our email list. Support the show
Sand - why do we see such variations?
October 21, 2022 04:00 - 7 minutes - 5.08 MBWhy do we see such variation in the sand around the world - white, yellow, black and green, and more! What can the grains of sand tell us about the age of the sand? And how can sand on an island that contains just black rocks have white sand? This one is for the sand collectors! Support the show
Missing time - what are unconformities?
October 14, 2022 08:00 - 7 minutes - 5.04 MBEarth scientists in the field recognize that a sequence of rocks may be missing layers of rocks that represent a period of time. We call those unconformities. In this episode, we discuss what an unconformity is and the four main types of unconformities - angular, paraconformity, disconformity, and nonconformity. Don't miss a thing! Join our email list. Support what I do to help you... Support the show
Seeing inside the Earth
October 07, 2022 08:00 - 6 minutes - 4.77 MBHow do we know about the inside of the Earth? Using earthquake waves and visitors from out of space (meteorites), we can see the layers and work out the chemistry of the layers that make up our planet. Visit us at GEOetc.com to learn more about our amazing planet! Support the show
Trilobites - King of the fossils!
September 30, 2022 08:00 - 5 minutes - 4.06 MBTrilobites are amazing fossils! They can be used for accurate correlation between sedimentary layers because they evolved rapidly, lived in almost all marine environments, and have exoskeletons that were easy to preserve. Here is a link to the activities mentioned in the episode: Trilobite ID Trilobite (and other fossil) models Support the show
The Earth's layers explained
September 23, 2022 08:00 - 8 minutes - 6.03 MBThe Earth is made up of layers - and we can define those layers in two ways - as being chemical (crust, mantle, core) or mechanical (lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, inner core). This episode explains the layers and why they are important for plate tectonics and more. Teachers can download a worksheet for their students to complete based on the content of this episode right here : https://geoetc.com/earths-layers-free/ Support the show
What is a glacier?
September 16, 2022 08:00 - 7 minutes - 5.28 MBWhat is a glacier? How is it formed? Where can I find them and how are they classified? Support the show
Why are dikes awesome?
September 09, 2022 14:00 - 6 minutes - 4.45 MBA dike is a planar igneous intrusion that cuts through the existing rocks. They have always fascinated me - and in this episode, I talk a little about them and why I think they are awesome! Support the show
Why is Iceland an island?
September 02, 2022 16:00 - 5 minutes - 3.84 MBWhy does the island of Iceland exist? Learn how two major geological phenomena occur together to make this amazing and unique place on our planet. Plate Tectonics and Mantle Plumes interact to provide us with a beautiful island. Support the show
Why are some volcanic eruptions, like Tonga and Krakatoa, so explosive?
January 18, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 5.21 MBIn this episode I discous how magma chemistry and water work together to create the massive explosive eruptions of Tonga (January 15th, 2022) and Krakatoa (1883). Support the show
Why is Hawaii such a great learning laboratory
January 14, 2022 13:00 - 9 minutes - 6.54 MBHawaii is a wonderful place to see, learn and teach about aspects of Earth Science. In this episode I mention six reasons Hawaii is a place to visit if you love Earth science. Support the show
Volcanic eruptions - how we monitor what a volcano is doing
February 28, 2021 15:00 - 8 minutes - 6.18 MBReducing the risk to people of volcanic eruptions is an important job for geoscientists. In this episode, we talk about four tools geoscientists can use including earthquakes, deformation, gases, and well water temperatures. This would make a great introduction to students before having them do the Thunder Island volcano simulation activity. Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Support the show
Rivers - simple morphology and classification
February 19, 2021 23:00 - 8 minutes - 6.03 MBRivers are so important as they provide water for drinking and agriculture. They are also important as they move mountains (over time) to the ocean! In this episode, we talk about the basic morphology of rivers - bedrock and alluvial rivers as well as the concepts of young, mature, and old rivers. It is a very basic introduction to ways of looking at rivers. Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Support the show
Banded Iron Formations and what they tell us about the Earth's evolution
February 06, 2021 21:00 - 10 minutes - 7.27 MBThe formation of Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) are so important as a resource of the element iron, but also as they tell us about how our atmosphere evolved some 2,500 million years ago. In this episode, we talk about the major theory of the formation of BIFs as well as some alternative theories, and what BIF's can tell us about how the evolution of simple blue-green algae changed our Earth for ever! Support the show
Earth's natural (geological) resources - what are they?
January 30, 2021 21:00 - 9 minutes - 6.73 MBWhat are the six groups of natural geological resources that humans have learned to utilize to build our society into the form that we now live within? Humans have been using water, ores, aggregates, energy, stones, and soil to live on Earth - and understanding them is so important to be able to keep using them in a sustainable way. This is a great introduction to natural resources. Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Support the show
Lithosphere, Asthenosphere and Moho- what's that all about?
January 22, 2021 14:00 - 8 minutes - 6.23 MBThe Earth's tectonic plates are made up of the lithosphere - that outer hard rock layer of the Earth. In this episode, we talk about the lithosphere, the underlying asthenosphere, and the moho boundary between the crust and the upper mantle portion of the lithosphere. And all in under 9 minutes! This is essential listening for students learning about Plate Tectonics! Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Don't miss a thing! Join our email list. Su...
Continental Crust - whats it all about?
January 15, 2021 17:00 - 8 minutes - 5.69 MBYou can also find GEO Podcast or all the major podcast capture platforms! (Go on...subscribe and not miss the new episodes) We all live on Earth's continental crust - and so it's the part of our planet we are most familiar with. But do you know what makes this type of crust so special? In this episode, we talk about the continental crust, what it is made up from, how thick it is, and why it contains the oldest rocks on Earth. This is essential listening for students learning about Plate...
Oceanic Crust - what is it all about?
January 08, 2021 15:00 - 11 minutes - 8.29 MBOver 70% of the rocky surface of our planet (although most of this is underwater) is made up of oceanic crust. This crust, along with the upper mantle make up the oceanic tectonic plate material. Oceanic crust is unique - and this episode explains the features of this type of crust. This is essential listening for students learning about Plate Tectonics! For more GEO Podcasts and Earth science education materials, visit us at GEOetc.com Support the show
Metamorphic rocks for beginners
September 07, 2020 16:00 - 13 minutes - 9.19 MBWhat are metamorphic rocks and how do they form? What is contact metamorphism? What is regional metamorphism? How are they different? In this episode, I answer these questions and give classic examples of metamorphic rocks and minerals. If you want more information about rocks and minerals, come visit us at www.geoetc.com Support the show
Life as a Geologist - Dr Chris Spencer
July 10, 2020 23:00 - 14 minutes - 9.97 MBIn this episode, I talk with Dr. Chris Spencer from Travelling Geologist and Queens College about how he become involved i geology and why understanding our planet is so important. Chris is a co-leader on some of the GEOetc Field Experiences..and an amazing human. Your students will get a lot out of listening to Chris. Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Support the show
Four ways to get field experience - for college/university students
July 05, 2020 23:00 - 10 minutes - 6.93 MBIn this episode, I talk about four things a college/university student (or anyone who wants to) can do to get some field experience. With college/universities not requiring as much fieldwork - many not even running field camps or trips - these four things could help you build up your field experience and get ahead of the pack when applying for a geoscience job. Blog post on what students need to know about writing good field notes. Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field...
Evidence for past climate change
June 28, 2020 23:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBIn this episode, I talk about the types of evidence we use to understand past climates on Earth. I talk about isotope evidence, fossils, paleomagnetism, speleothems, ice cores, tree rings, and written records. This is about the evidence we use, rather than what the evidence shows This is perfect when teaching a climate change unit. Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Don't miss a thing! Join our email list. Support the show
Volcano shapes - shield, composite/stratiform, caldera - and chemistry
June 21, 2020 22:00 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBIn this episode, I talk about how volcanoes get different shapes due to the chemistry of the molten rock materials. We talk about the shield, composite/stratiform and caldera volcanoes...and a little about cinder cones. We mention silicate chemistry and the effect of water on shapes and eruption style. This is a great primer to volcanoes! Interested in joining us on a trip? Check out our field adventures here. Support the show