Aaron Putnam
@aaronputnam.bsky.social
Dad. Husband. Associate Professor of Earth Science at the University of Maine. I am interested in glaciers and climate in the past, present, and future.
We got out for our first ski of the season this morning.
December 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
We got out for our first ski of the season this morning.
Santa’s identity has been shaped by the state our Union. Another incredible piece by @hcrichardson.bsky.social.
December 26, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Santa’s identity has been shaped by the state our Union. Another incredible piece by @hcrichardson.bsky.social.
Santa was just spotted in Augusta, Maine! Already in Quebec. I should get to bed and hope that he is kind enough to swing back our way…
December 25, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Santa was just spotted in Augusta, Maine! Already in Quebec. I should get to bed and hope that he is kind enough to swing back our way…
For this #fieldphotofriday, I share a photograph of Pia fjord, Cordillera Darwin, southern Patagonia, 2012. I was very fortunate to work here with Brenda Hall, Tom Lowell, George Denton, and the late Charlie Porter. Our paper on the chronology of rapid deglaciation is now published. Link follows…1/
December 23, 2025 at 2:14 AM
For this #fieldphotofriday, I share a photograph of Pia fjord, Cordillera Darwin, southern Patagonia, 2012. I was very fortunate to work here with Brenda Hall, Tom Lowell, George Denton, and the late Charlie Porter. Our paper on the chronology of rapid deglaciation is now published. Link follows…1/
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
Dear Santa . . .
December 23, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Dear Santa . . .
Happy winter soltice to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, and Happy summer solstice to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere.
Looking forward to celebrating Perihelion on January 3rd!
Looking forward to celebrating Perihelion on January 3rd!
December 22, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Happy winter soltice to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, and Happy summer solstice to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere.
Looking forward to celebrating Perihelion on January 3rd!
Looking forward to celebrating Perihelion on January 3rd!
Happy Solstice to all.
Next stop: Perihelion.
Next stop: Perihelion.
December 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Happy Solstice to all.
Next stop: Perihelion.
Next stop: Perihelion.
Some scenes from NOLA this week… 1/
December 21, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Some scenes from NOLA this week… 1/
A Lord of the Rings cover band called The Grateful Dead Marshes.
December 20, 2025 at 8:15 PM
A Lord of the Rings cover band called The Grateful Dead Marshes.
Maine is getting blasted by warm, moisture-laden southerly winds transporting heat from near the tropical Atlantic. …not too different from the sou’easters from this time last year. Snowpack has been obliterated. 🧪🌊❄️🥼⚒️
December 20, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Maine is getting blasted by warm, moisture-laden southerly winds transporting heat from near the tropical Atlantic. …not too different from the sou’easters from this time last year. Snowpack has been obliterated. 🧪🌊❄️🥼⚒️
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
Emmy Noether!
🧪🧮⚛️
🧪🧮⚛️
American Scientist: “Some of the most elegant science communication in the book unfolds as Phillips walks us through what symmetry means in Noether’s theorem.”
americanscientist.org/article/hidd...
Learn about the hidden #history of #physics: amzn.to/3YZZB4W
americanscientist.org/article/hidd...
Learn about the hidden #history of #physics: amzn.to/3YZZB4W
Hidden Genius
EINSTEIN’S TUTOR: The Story of Emmy Noether and the Invention of Modern Physics. Lee Phillips. 368 pp. PublicAffairs, 2024. $30.00.
americanscientist.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Emmy Noether!
🧪🧮⚛️
🧪🧮⚛️
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
While NCAR employees are not federal employees, almost all of its budget comes from the federal government. If you pay taxes in the US, NCAR's research belongs to you. Russ Vought doesn't have the unilateral right to cancel congressionally appropriated funds.
December 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
While NCAR employees are not federal employees, almost all of its budget comes from the federal government. If you pay taxes in the US, NCAR's research belongs to you. Russ Vought doesn't have the unilateral right to cancel congressionally appropriated funds.
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
I know many of you who follow me don't work in climate science, but this is the biggest story in climate right now. Breaking up NCAR makes us all less safe and is another act of self-harm that will take decades to recover from.
Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center
Russell Vought, who directs the White House Office of Management and Budget, announced plans to split up the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, citing concerns about “clima...
wapo.st
December 17, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I know many of you who follow me don't work in climate science, but this is the biggest story in climate right now. Breaking up NCAR makes us all less safe and is another act of self-harm that will take decades to recover from.
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
This story in Science gives a lot of space to the alleged justifications for these changes, with lengthy quotes criticizing panels for "group think" and implying that rotators from academia limit NSF's ability to align with the administration's prioities www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists
Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities
www.science.org
December 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
This story in Science gives a lot of space to the alleged justifications for these changes, with lengthy quotes criticizing panels for "group think" and implying that rotators from academia limit NSF's ability to align with the administration's prioities www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
The temperature at the Juneau Intl Airport dropped to -2F yesterday. This is only the 4th sub-0F day there in 15 years. Prior to the 1980s, it used to happen about 10 days per year. @alaska.bsky.social @alaskawx.bsky.social
December 14, 2025 at 3:52 AM
The temperature at the Juneau Intl Airport dropped to -2F yesterday. This is only the 4th sub-0F day there in 15 years. Prior to the 1980s, it used to happen about 10 days per year. @alaska.bsky.social @alaskawx.bsky.social
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
New paper alert! 🚨 🐌
We studied historic Antarctic fossils from the Zinsmeister Collection to assess whether the K-Pg extinction, as recorded on Seymour Island, was sudden or gradual. We found that benthic life thrived in the 4 million years before the K-Pg.
doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...
We studied historic Antarctic fossils from the Zinsmeister Collection to assess whether the K-Pg extinction, as recorded on Seymour Island, was sudden or gradual. We found that benthic life thrived in the 4 million years before the K-Pg.
doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...
December 13, 2025 at 10:51 AM
New paper alert! 🚨 🐌
We studied historic Antarctic fossils from the Zinsmeister Collection to assess whether the K-Pg extinction, as recorded on Seymour Island, was sudden or gradual. We found that benthic life thrived in the 4 million years before the K-Pg.
doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...
We studied historic Antarctic fossils from the Zinsmeister Collection to assess whether the K-Pg extinction, as recorded on Seymour Island, was sudden or gradual. We found that benthic life thrived in the 4 million years before the K-Pg.
doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...
Check out this great interview with ice-coring legend Lonnie Thompson on @thedailyshow.com. youtu.be/oQoXNtcfwvA
🧪🌊❄️🥼
🧪🌊❄️🥼
Lonnie Thompson - “Canary” & Letting Glaciers Tell Their Story | The Daily Show
YouTube video by The Daily Show
youtu.be
December 13, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Check out this great interview with ice-coring legend Lonnie Thompson on @thedailyshow.com. youtu.be/oQoXNtcfwvA
🧪🌊❄️🥼
🧪🌊❄️🥼
A bit frosty out there.
December 9, 2025 at 1:18 PM
A bit frosty out there.
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
Milky Way and Aurora over Ruataniwha
A smaller aurora over Lake Ruataniwha.
Just giving it a little Glow-Up to make it pretty.
--
#Twizel #NewZealand
--
"Look with your eyes. See with Soul."
#Aurora #Galaxy #Astrophotograph #Nightscape #Landscape #EastCoastKin #Stunday #Bucketlist #PureNZ #Epic
A smaller aurora over Lake Ruataniwha.
Just giving it a little Glow-Up to make it pretty.
--
#Twizel #NewZealand
--
"Look with your eyes. See with Soul."
#Aurora #Galaxy #Astrophotograph #Nightscape #Landscape #EastCoastKin #Stunday #Bucketlist #PureNZ #Epic
December 7, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Milky Way and Aurora over Ruataniwha
A smaller aurora over Lake Ruataniwha.
Just giving it a little Glow-Up to make it pretty.
--
#Twizel #NewZealand
--
"Look with your eyes. See with Soul."
#Aurora #Galaxy #Astrophotograph #Nightscape #Landscape #EastCoastKin #Stunday #Bucketlist #PureNZ #Epic
A smaller aurora over Lake Ruataniwha.
Just giving it a little Glow-Up to make it pretty.
--
#Twizel #NewZealand
--
"Look with your eyes. See with Soul."
#Aurora #Galaxy #Astrophotograph #Nightscape #Landscape #EastCoastKin #Stunday #Bucketlist #PureNZ #Epic
Reposted by Aaron Putnam
Whatever the weather on deck, it's always a good day inside the Burren. Christopher in a tight spot this week, sampling ancient rhythmites (metres thick!) in Pol an Ionain for OSL dating, part of our @geolsurvie.bsky.social-funded study of Ireland's caves #UniversityofGalway @bokuvienna.bsky.social
November 29, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Whatever the weather on deck, it's always a good day inside the Burren. Christopher in a tight spot this week, sampling ancient rhythmites (metres thick!) in Pol an Ionain for OSL dating, part of our @geolsurvie.bsky.social-funded study of Ireland's caves #UniversityofGalway @bokuvienna.bsky.social
Moonlight last night. 🌕
December 5, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Moonlight last night. 🌕
Field photo Friday. Polar Bear on sea ice in northern Chuckchi Sea/southern Arctic Ocean (I can’t remember exactly where). Photo taken from USCGC Polar Sea on AWS ‘98 cruise.
🧪⚒️🥼❄️🌊
🧪⚒️🥼❄️🌊
November 29, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Field photo Friday. Polar Bear on sea ice in northern Chuckchi Sea/southern Arctic Ocean (I can’t remember exactly where). Photo taken from USCGC Polar Sea on AWS ‘98 cruise.
🧪⚒️🥼❄️🌊
🧪⚒️🥼❄️🌊
If you see this, quote post with a beach from your gallery.
November 29, 2025 at 12:27 AM
If you see this, quote post with a beach from your gallery.
Mendenhall Glacier has now officially receded from Mendenhall Lake. www.ktoo.org/2025/11/25/m...
Mendenhall Glacier has officially receded from Mendenhall Lake
Scientists say that means the glacier has entered a new phase of its retreat.
www.ktoo.org
November 28, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Mendenhall Glacier has now officially receded from Mendenhall Lake. www.ktoo.org/2025/11/25/m...