The Big Blue Rock Pod
Welcome to the Big Blue Rock Pod, produced by the Kentucky Geological Survey, at the University of Kentucky. This podcast is a fun, conversational approach to discussing all things geology and earth processes. We primarily focus on Kentucky. We talk emerging ideas in research, along with classic topics in earth science for all levels of interest.
Episodes
Sarah, Matt, and Doug talk with KGS Public Resources Curator Cheyenne Hohman about KGS archiving, data dissemination over time, weird publications, maps, science and political winds, which Survey was most productive, and much more! And check out our oldest publication (to date - from 1794!) in the KGS catalog here: https://kgs.uky.edu/kygeode/services/pubs/pub.htm?id=4385 "Map of the State of Kentucky with the Adjoining Territorie...
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk to UK Art Museum Curator, Rachel Hooper. In this special episode, they go on-site to the museum and discuss with Rachel the materials and subjects that connect art and geology: landscapes, photography, painting (with volcanic materials!) a Mt. Vesuvius eruption, ceramics, clay mineralogy, marble, lithography, and much more. View referenced art pieces below:
Thomas Melville Chapin, Will in Growth, 1993, ...
Matt, Sarah, and Doug breakdown the 2024 television mini-series La Palma! They discuss the plot of the show, geologic character stereotypes, geologic details right and wrong, the geology of the Canary Islands, general geology movie cheesiness, and much more!
Matt gets philosophical about time management and Sarah gets anxious. Doug's just trying to get through the website redo.
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk about data with KGSers Cheyenne Hohman and Liz Adams. They dig into KGS history and mission, saving data and maps from threats, progress of storage and dissemination, data curation, data management, metadata (ugh!), UKnowledge, and the future of data storage for KGS.
"I'm a 4.567 billion-year-old planet with a rich history, constantly evolving, and always open to new experiences. You should leave a message if you like cheese and would like to discuss it further..."
This month Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss it further with UK Earth and Environmental Science professor Dave Moecher. Take a listen to their chat about the age of the Earth, the oldest rocks on earth, meteorites, petro-tectonics, terra...
This Halloween, step into Kentucky's spooky side with Matt, Sarah, and Doug as they explore eerie place names, reveal the surprising history of Transylvania, and uncover the haunting tale of Floyd Collins – the legendary cave explorer whose fateful journey into the depths became one of the state's most gripping stories.
September is National Bourbon Heritage Month and it's a celebration of bourbon as America's "Native Spirit". Check out one of our favorite episodes, Bourbon and Geology, where we discuss the link between Kentucky geology and all things bourbon. Fun fact, the episode's guest, Mike McGlue, is now the new Director of the Kentucky Geological Survey and the Kentucky State Geologist.
In case you lost your old CD or iTouch, Matt, Sarah, and Doug bring back to life an OLD KyGeocast that is a guided tour of Lexington’s McConnell Springs. McConnell Springs is a city park near downtown Lexington famous for its exposure of karst features such as springs and caves, but also as the founding site of the city.
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk to KGS geologist Ben Tobin about all things hydrology. They discuss karst hydrogeology, the water cycle, dye tracing, water usage, integrated hydrologic modeling, the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, water data dissemination, student mentoring, climate change, and much more!
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk about KGS summer activities including the Potter Internship, an Appalachian Karst Hydrogeology Workshop, and participation in the Association of American State Geologists meeting in Utah. They discuss all things state surveys, the first female state geologist, Utah geology, field trips, Snowbird, seismic base isolators, landslides, and much more!
Matt, Sarah, and Doug sit down with KGS carbonate and mineral geologist Gina Lukoczki about carbonate petrology, critical minerals, rare earth elements (REEs), tools to assess REEs, the KY fluorspar district, rotten dikes, renewed interest in KGS core, the KGS Mineral Resources Information Map, and much more!
Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss all things engineering geology with UK Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences professor Sarah Johnson. They talk about engineering geology expertise, site investigations, geology-engineer jokes, terminology for geologists and engineers, engineering geology training, landslides, and the motivation for more applied geology.
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with KGS geologist Marty Parris about hydrocarbon reservoir geochemistry, water and rock interactions, brines, carbon storage, Kentucky’s orphaned oil and gas wells and much more!
Matt, Sarah, and Doug answer questions submitted from listeners, members of the general public, and attendees at the KGS Open House. The trio discusses the Findlay Arch, Kyrock, lack of dinosaur bones in Kentucky, oldest specimen in the KGS lobby, quicksand, world water total, cool places to hike, and more!
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk about their favorite geology books! Don’t fear, these aren’t the hard-core, in-depth science text books you might think. You will be surprised at what is discussed and hopefully enjoy their take on books that connect to careers, sharing ideas, and a general passion for earth science.
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with KGS geologic mapper Steve Martin about all things natural rock arches! They discuss the difference between arches and natural bridges, arches around the world, evolution of arch formation, fractures, freeze-thaw, arch openings, measuring arch spans, monitoring arch behavior, arches in Kentucky, and much more!
Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss all things geochemistry with UK Earth and Environmental Sciences professor Andrea Erhardt. The trio tackles the importance of geochemistry to our understanding earth processes, the atmosphere, and other planets. Dr. Erhardt takes them through a wide-range of topics including geochemical spheres, high and low-temp geochemistry, chemical weathering, paleo climates, mineral precipitation, the dolomite pro...
Matt, Sarah, and Doug are catching up on a busy October at KGS with a conglomerate of topics. There is no guest this month but we summarize the successful KGS Earth Science Open House, KGS’s participation at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, and Matt’s trip to Sri Lanka.
Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss the philosophy of science with UK professor Julia Bursten. They talk about the foundations of science, purpose of science, theories, truth, epistemology, misinformation, classification in science, philosophy of geology and much more!
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