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Dr. Bess Koffman

@bkoffman

Ice core scientist studying dust, winds, and climate. Colby Geology professor. Outdoor enthusiast. Gardener. Fiddle player. [she/her]

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10.10.2023
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Latest posts by Dr. Bess Koffman @bkoffman

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Wanna see how an earthquake works? Here's today's lab in my seismology class. An explanation follows.

πŸ§ͺ

09.01.2026 23:52 πŸ‘ 246 πŸ” 58 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 9
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As always, my last post of the year reminder...

Reducing emissions will reduce future climate warming and impacts. The time is now. Visualization made by globalcarbonbudget.org.

Thanks for being here in 2025! I appreciate all the support πŸ™‚

01.01.2026 01:07 πŸ‘ 346 πŸ” 166 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 2
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The administration dismantling NCAR is scientific vandalism, much like the Taliban demolishing cultural artifacts.
www.theguardian.com/world/2001/m...

17.12.2025 14:04 πŸ‘ 257 πŸ” 89 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 8

Be sure to talk to #AGU25 student poster presenters! See someone standing around at their poster, stop and ask them to give you a short overview, and ask a friendly question or two.

It's a good -- and fun & easy -- way to support professional development and skill building in the geosciences. πŸ§‘β€πŸŽ“

13.12.2025 19:09 πŸ‘ 33 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 2
Photo of three scientists raising a Pride flag on the Kahiltna glacier in Denali National Park, with Denali in the background.

Photo of three scientists raising a Pride flag on the Kahiltna glacier in Denali National Park, with Denali in the background.

Celebrating #PolarPride today. Thanks to all my LGBTQ+ colleagues for your many contributions to polar science! Raising a #Pride flag in Denali National Park during fieldwork in 2017.

18.11.2025 16:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I experienced some of this at the polls yesterday, too.

05.11.2025 21:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Deadly rivers in the sky A new Washington Post investigation reveals where climate change has supercharged the movement of moisture through the skies.

Gift Article!

A great article! Well-researched and written, with an excellent animation that makes climate change and the associated increase in atmospheric water vapor much easier to understand!

"The water vapor in Earth's atmosphere has increased by 12 % in the last 85 years.β€œ

04.11.2025 10:24 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
A tweet from John Fugelsang reads in all caps:
"NO FOOD FOR YOU UNTIL THE DEMOCRATS LET US TAKE AWAY YOUR HEALTHCARE"
– US House Speaker Mike Johnson.

A tweet from John Fugelsang reads in all caps: "NO FOOD FOR YOU UNTIL THE DEMOCRATS LET US TAKE AWAY YOUR HEALTHCARE" – US House Speaker Mike Johnson.

This perfectly encapsulates what the GOP position is on the shutdown.

29.10.2025 22:30 πŸ‘ 5037 πŸ” 1717 πŸ’¬ 96 πŸ“Œ 41
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Maine wins early victory in climate lawsuit against oil companies A federal judge rebuffed the fossil fuel industry's bid to move the case to a more favorable court.

#ClimateInTheCourts
www.eenews.net/articles/mai...

04.10.2025 18:50 πŸ‘ 131 πŸ” 31 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3
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After Trump cut the National Science Foundation by 56 percent, a venerable Arctic research center closes its doors The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States funded programs that aided Indigenous communities and tracked melting sea ice, among dozens of initiatives.

"After nearly 40 years, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, or ARCUS, will close September 30."

"The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States funded programs that aided Indigenous communities and tracked melting sea ice, among dozens of initiatives."

28.09.2025 14:10 πŸ‘ 409 πŸ” 261 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 24
"Health losses attributed to anthropogenic climate change," a brief communication in the journal Nature Climate Change. There's a map showing regions of the world, and pie charts of relevant studies as they apply to different health impacts like "heat-related deaths" and "maternal and child health"

"Health losses attributed to anthropogenic climate change," a brief communication in the journal Nature Climate Change. There's a map showing regions of the world, and pie charts of relevant studies as they apply to different health impacts like "heat-related deaths" and "maternal and child health"

🚨 NEW: Climate change is already causing 30,000 deaths per year - a global annual economic loss of $100-350B USD - but the true damage is probably 10x higher. Out TODAY in Nature Climate Change: the first systematic look at the science of "health impact attribution" πŸ”“ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

17.09.2025 11:57 πŸ‘ 878 πŸ” 502 πŸ’¬ 22 πŸ“Œ 34
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History rhymes a bit too well sometimes.

19.09.2025 23:37 πŸ‘ 8417 πŸ” 2894 πŸ’¬ 191 πŸ“Œ 103
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Updating Mental Models of Risk Disasters are no longer isolated events. This demands a fundamental change in how we think about and respond to complex risk.

To understand modern risk, we have to grapple with emergent and novel aspects of hazard, vulnerability, exposure, and response that comprise risk.

Find out more in a new article with @danielaldrich.bsky.social and Daniel Hoyer, just out in @issuesinst.bsky.social.

issues.org/mental-model...

08.09.2025 23:10 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Curious whether this approach could work in other environments

20.08.2025 19:36 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm looking for someone who could give an engaging seminar about natural disasters and the intersection of science and human vulnerability. Maybe a scientist who works in disaster response? Grateful for any recommendations!

20.08.2025 17:19 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Ice breaking capabilities are essential to support critical research on the Antarctic ice sheet and its response to climate change. This reversal of decades of US leadership in polar research is shortsighted and counterproductive.

20.08.2025 01:35 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Hurricane Erin achieved something most storms do not this weekend. "Extreme Rapid Intensification". Did climate change play a part? Science says, yes.
In 12 hours winds increased by ~65 mph. Only 3 other storms have done that and Erin was the earliest & only August storm to do so.
1/

18.08.2025 22:15 πŸ‘ 224 πŸ” 76 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 14
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Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

10.08.2025 18:09 πŸ‘ 621 πŸ” 365 πŸ’¬ 86 πŸ“Œ 54
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U.S. socked with 15 billion-dollar weather disasters during the 1st half of 2025 Β» Yale Climate Connections Four of the top 20 costliest weather disasters have occurred in the last year.

Of the 20 costliest weather disasters in history, four have occurred in just the last year.

16.07.2025 14:17 πŸ‘ 101 πŸ” 66 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 4

Basic science is cool!!!

10.06.2025 23:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It is hard to convey in words how lethal the ideology of necropolitics truly is, but the sarcastic, smirking delivery here reinforces that in 2025 we must contend with a political class that publicly delights in human suffering and death.

01.06.2025 12:02 πŸ‘ 77 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 1
Graphs showing 25 years of budgets for the National Institute of Health, NASA, and the NSF. In all cases, the proposed budget for next year is far, far below any year of the previous quarter century.

Graphs showing 25 years of budgets for the National Institute of Health, NASA, and the NSF. In all cases, the proposed budget for next year is far, far below any year of the previous quarter century.

There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.

31.05.2025 04:43 πŸ‘ 15225 πŸ” 7876 πŸ’¬ 454 πŸ“Œ 531
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Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment

An incredible triumph for medicine, underscoring the critical importance of basic research !!! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/h...

15.05.2025 17:14 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

America, what have you become?

26.04.2025 00:38 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
A post from Vivian (@suchnerve
) on X reads: "drug tests for EVERYONE in the White House and I'm not joking." Below, a reply from Laura Miers (@LauraMiers
), posted 2 days ago, says: "Excuse me?" The post also quotes a White House statement: "But we are capable of so much more. Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity," with "annihilated" highlighted in yellow.

A post from Vivian (@suchnerve ) on X reads: "drug tests for EVERYONE in the White House and I'm not joking." Below, a reply from Laura Miers (@LauraMiers ), posted 2 days ago, says: "Excuse me?" The post also quotes a White House statement: "But we are capable of so much more. Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity," with "annihilated" highlighted in yellow.

If there is ever a breach in the spacetime continuum, we’ll know where it began.

19.04.2025 15:01 πŸ‘ 4187 πŸ” 775 πŸ’¬ 269 πŸ“Œ 78

Calling all US and Canadian students thinking about graduate studies! Come study science at #SFU in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. Graduate admissions have been reopened. Apply by April 25th. βš›οΈ πŸ§ͺπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬πŸŽ’ πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦

18.04.2025 22:22 πŸ‘ 141 πŸ” 68 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3

Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale

18.04.2025 22:40 πŸ‘ 3082 πŸ” 1372 πŸ’¬ 141 πŸ“Œ 64

Writing about this right now, just need to scream.

"Investigators wishing to expand participation in STEM for women & underrepresented groups must ensure that all outreach, recruitment, or participatory activities in NSF projects are open & available to all Americans"

www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

18.04.2025 23:58 πŸ‘ 91 πŸ” 30 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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NSF starts to kill grants that violate Trump’s war on diversity efforts Attracting women and minorities into science and studying misinformation are no longer priorities, agency says

NSF has spent decadesβ€”and billions of dollarsβ€”trying to attract more women and members of underrepresented groups into STEM. Not anymore. scim.ag/3RUtgZg

18.04.2025 22:30 πŸ‘ 161 πŸ” 107 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 19
Funding for the Regional Climate Center program lapsed on April 17, 2025 due to a suspension of federal funding from NOAA through the Department of Commerce. It is unknown if or when funding will resume. All data and services offered under the HPRCC contract, including this website, are unavailable.

If there are particular products and services you rely upon, please fill out this form so we can identify products to prioritize for continuance. Unfortunately, some products will be discontinued indefinitely because of their association with the Regional Climate Center program.

Funding for the Regional Climate Center program lapsed on April 17, 2025 due to a suspension of federal funding from NOAA through the Department of Commerce. It is unknown if or when funding will resume. All data and services offered under the HPRCC contract, including this website, are unavailable. If there are particular products and services you rely upon, please fill out this form so we can identify products to prioritize for continuance. Unfortunately, some products will be discontinued indefinitely because of their association with the Regional Climate Center program.

Support for all MRCC-hosted products and services is currently suspended as of April 17, 2025, due to a lapse in federal funding from the Department of Commerce through NOAA.

Support for all MRCC-hosted products and services is currently suspended as of April 17, 2025, due to a lapse in federal funding from the Department of Commerce through NOAA.

Federal funding for the Regional Climate Center program lapsed on April 17, 2025.  It is unknown when or if funding will resume, pending decisions by NOAA and the Department of Commerce. If there are particular products and services that you rely upon, please contact us at sercc@sercc.com or reach out to your federal representatives and communicate their value and why you need them.

Federal funding for the Regional Climate Center program lapsed on April 17, 2025. It is unknown when or if funding will resume, pending decisions by NOAA and the Department of Commerce. If there are particular products and services that you rely upon, please contact us at sercc@sercc.com or reach out to your federal representatives and communicate their value and why you need them.

Oh no! Several of the Regional Climate Centers have had their funding lapse through DOC/NOAA. These institutes are critical for connecting weather and climate data and services to local communities across the United States.

Spread the word to drive attention and support!

17.04.2025 11:29 πŸ‘ 796 πŸ” 444 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 24