Best Earthscienceeducation Podcasts (2024)

1
Three reasons why civilizations grew up around volcanoes 5:50

3M ago5:50

5:50

In 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 o…

1
Salt Weathering 6:11

3M ago6:11

6:11

In 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 resour…

1
Current Iceland Volcanic Activity 101 8:09

5M ago8:09

8:09

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Fake & Pseudo Fossils 5:10

6M ago5:10

5:10

In 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.…

1
Where does magma come from? 6:08

6M ago6:08

6:08

In 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.…

1
All about limestone 9:18

12M ago9:18

9:18

In 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.…

1
Bowens Reaction Series 7:18

12M ago7:18

7:18

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Earth's Major Systems 6:59

12M ago6:59

6:59

The 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 class…

1
Buying a rock (geologic) hammer 5:59

1y ago5:59

5:59

In 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. …

1
Earth's largest volcano erupts - Mauna Loa 2022 7:21

1y ago7:21

7:21

In 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 Sect…

1
Have I found gold? Simple tests to find out! 5:35

1y ago5:35

5:35

In 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 yo…

1
Hawaii - why I love taking people to visit the volcanoes 9:11

1y ago9:11

9:11

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
The 5 Great Extinctions 8:17

1y ago8:17

8:17

In 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.…

1
Graptolites 6:26

1y ago6:26

6:26

In 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…

1
Elements needed for an EV battery 8:11

1y ago8:11

8:11

In 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 …

1
Volcanic Explosive Index 8:15

1y ago8:15

8:15

In 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 scien…

1
Volcanic Eruption Styles 9:11

1y ago9:11

9:11

In 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. Chec…

1
Sapphires, Rubies & Corundum (oh my!) 5:15

1y ago5:15

5:15

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Longshore Drift - the shifting sands 7:03

1y ago7:03

7:03

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Volcanoes & Climate 8:28

1y ago8:28

8:28

In 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…

1
Focus & Epicenter - important earthquake terms 7:15

1+ y ago7:15

7:15

In 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…

1
Ring of Fire - what's happening around the Pacific? 6:01

1+ y ago6:01

6:01

In 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.…

1
Diamonds - all about those gems! 9:18

1+ y ago9:18

9:18

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Index Fossils - the keys to dating layers 7:25

1+ y ago7:25

7:25

In 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.…

1
Landslides - the 'other' natural disaster! 8:49

1+ y ago8:49

8:49

In 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.…

1
Radioactive dating - how does it tell us how old rocks are? 7:30

1+ y ago7:30

7:30

Rocks 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! …

1
The History of the theory of Plate Tectonics 9:24

1+ y ago9:24

9:24

Where 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
What are the mechanisms that drive Plate Tectonics? 5:32

1+ y ago5:32

5:32

What 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'…

1
Sand - why do we see such variations? 7:19

1+ y ago7:19

7:19

Why 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Missing time - what are unconformities? 7:15

1+ y ago7:15

7:15

Earth 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 l…

1
Seeing inside the Earth 6:50

1+ y ago6:50

6:50

How 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Trilobites - King of the fossils! 5:47

1+ y ago5:47

5:47

Trilobites 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.…

1
The Earth's layers explained 8:41

1+ y ago8:41

8:41

The 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 comple…

1
What is a glacier? 7:36

1+ y ago7:36

7:36

What is a glacier? How is it formed? Where can I find them and how are they classified? Support the Show.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Why are dikes awesome? 6:23

2y ago6:23

6:23

A 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Why is Iceland an island? 5:30

2y ago5:30

5:30

Why 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Why are some volcanic eruptions, like Tonga and Krakatoa, so explosive? 7:30

2+ y ago7:30

7:30

In 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Why is Hawaii such a great learning laboratory 9:26

2+ y ago9:26

9:26

Hawaii 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.By Gary Lewis, GEOetc.com

1
Volcanic eruptions - how we monitor what a volcano is doing 8:55

3+ y ago8:55

8:55

Reducing 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. Intere…

1
Rivers - simple morphology and classification 8:41

3+ y ago8:41

8:41

Rivers 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 …

1
Banded Iron Formations and what they tell us about the Earth's evolution 10:30

3+ y ago10:30

10:30

The 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 o…

1
Earth's natural (geological) resources - what are they? 9:42

3+ y ago9:42

9:42

What 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…

1
Lithosphere, Asthenosphere and Moho- what's that all about? 8:59

3+ y ago8:59

8:59

The 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 abo…

1
Continental Crust - whats it all about? 8:12

3+ y ago8:12

8:12

You 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 i…

1
Oceanic Crust - what is it all about? 11:59

3+ y ago11:59

11:59

Over 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 Tect…

1
Metamorphic rocks for beginners 13:18

4y ago13:18

13:18

What 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.…

1
Life as a Geologist - Dr Chris Spencer 14:26

4y ago14:26

14:26

In 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…

1
Four ways to get field experience - for college/university students 10:00

4y ago10:00

10:00

In 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 ge…

1
Evidence for past climate change 20:54

4y ago20:54

20:54

In 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 jo…

1
Volcano shapes - shield, composite/stratiform, caldera - and chemistry 16:14

4y ago16:14

16:14

In 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! Intereste…

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