Brian Romans
@clasticdetritus.bsky.social
Virginia Tech Geosciences professor (vtsedsystems.org) ⏐ sedimentology, (paleo)climate, tectonics, sedimentary basins, subsurface geology, geoeducation ⏐ listening and learning
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Brian Romans
@clasticdetritus.bsky.social
· Oct 23
“I kept asking all these questions like, How do we know that? The other scientists [would respond] - Yeah, how do we know that?”
Virginia Tech sedimentologist Brian Romans knows how scientific ocean drilling can be a particularly good mechanism or vehicle for pivoting in a career – that’s because he has many examples to share a...
archive.storycorps.org
I was recently interviewed by @drlauraguertin.bsky.social as part of her 'Tales from the Deep' series focused on the people involved in scientific ocean drilling ⚒️🧪⛴️ –– lots of great stories from many others there to check out
archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i...
archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i...
last day of classes here –– had the final-project team presentations in the final session of my Sedimentary Basins course, which went very well and it was fun to see commonalities (and some differences) in the interpretations
December 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
last day of classes here –– had the final-project team presentations in the final session of my Sedimentary Basins course, which went very well and it was fun to see commonalities (and some differences) in the interpretations
at some point I need to stop playing w/ data and make my AGU talk –– but this pre-AGU push is *exactly* the reason I submitted an abstract, to force myself to spend the hours crunching numbers, making plots, and thinking –– I'm having a wonderful time, don't get to dive into one thing like this much
December 9, 2025 at 7:03 PM
at some point I need to stop playing w/ data and make my AGU talk –– but this pre-AGU push is *exactly* the reason I submitted an abstract, to force myself to spend the hours crunching numbers, making plots, and thinking –– I'm having a wonderful time, don't get to dive into one thing like this much
When I teach my intro climate course in the spring I'll be using resources and links from other countries, published science that is not under U.S. govt control, etc. There's plenty out there, this regime would have to put up a robust firewall to shield students from available information.
"EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites"
"The agency modified sections of its website by deleting information about human-created greenhouse gases and the role they play in warming the planet. It also removed links to scientific data and information."
"The agency modified sections of its website by deleting information about human-created greenhouse gases and the role they play in warming the planet. It also removed links to scientific data and information."
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
The agency revamped its webpages to feature natural causes of rising temperatures such as the Earth’s orbit.
www.eenews.net
December 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
When I teach my intro climate course in the spring I'll be using resources and links from other countries, published science that is not under U.S. govt control, etc. There's plenty out there, this regime would have to put up a robust firewall to shield students from available information.
recently discovered that with the 'plotly' package in R I can generate an interactive visualization where I can hover over a data point to see some basic info –– very useful for initial stages of data exploration (e.g., quickly/easily learning which data points are outliers) #rstats
December 8, 2025 at 1:09 PM
recently discovered that with the 'plotly' package in R I can generate an interactive visualization where I can hover over a data point to see some basic info –– very useful for initial stages of data exploration (e.g., quickly/easily learning which data points are outliers) #rstats
campus closed today (due to winter weather 🌨️) –– I spent a good chunk of my weekend preparing for a guest lecture + activity in a colleague's class that is now canceled –– oh well, on the upside, I can now make some progress on paper revisions and, oh yea, I have a talk at #AGU25 next week
December 8, 2025 at 1:01 PM
campus closed today (due to winter weather 🌨️) –– I spent a good chunk of my weekend preparing for a guest lecture + activity in a colleague's class that is now canceled –– oh well, on the upside, I can now make some progress on paper revisions and, oh yea, I have a talk at #AGU25 next week
I haven't been following every twist and turn of this (and I don't know all the context/history), but I can't help but wonder if this outcome is a harbinger of things to come.
It's over.
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
BREAKING: ‘This hurts’: UNL eliminates 4 programs despite faculty, student pleas
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln eliminates the Earth and atmospheric sciences 8-0, educational administration 7-1, statistics 7-1, textiles, merchandising and fashion design 7-1 programs.
www.dailynebraskan.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I haven't been following every twist and turn of this (and I don't know all the context/history), but I can't help but wonder if this outcome is a harbinger of things to come.
every now and again, everything seems to converge –– the usual end-of-semester chaos colliding with AGU prep (anticipated) is compounded by a handful of other things (not anticipated)
you know convergence is upon you when it takes a significant amount of time just to make the to-do list 🫠
you know convergence is upon you when it takes a significant amount of time just to make the to-do list 🫠
December 6, 2025 at 7:11 PM
every now and again, everything seems to converge –– the usual end-of-semester chaos colliding with AGU prep (anticipated) is compounded by a handful of other things (not anticipated)
you know convergence is upon you when it takes a significant amount of time just to make the to-do list 🫠
you know convergence is upon you when it takes a significant amount of time just to make the to-do list 🫠
fun mash-up of sedimentology and baseball –– these 'muds' have more sand in them than I would've predicted thesedimentaryrecord.scholasticahq.com/article/1448...
Geology's Grip on Baseball: Investigating the Sedimentology, Mineralogy, and Physical Properties of Baseball Rubbing Mud | Published in The Sedimentary Record
By Dallin P Laycock, Emily Vanderstaal & 6 more. This study analyzes the geology of baseball rubbing mud, combining mineralogy, sedimentology and SEM imaging to evaluate its uniqueness and effects on ...
thesedimentaryrecord.scholasticahq.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:28 PM
fun mash-up of sedimentology and baseball –– these 'muds' have more sand in them than I would've predicted thesedimentaryrecord.scholasticahq.com/article/1448...
university football programs should be financed 100% by alumni, not a dime should come from student fees or cleverly siphoned off from a pot of $$
some very wealthy alumni care deeply about academics and student programs (and donate accordingly), but many others are mainly football fans, pony up
some very wealthy alumni care deeply about academics and student programs (and donate accordingly), but many others are mainly football fans, pony up
December 3, 2025 at 6:27 PM
university football programs should be financed 100% by alumni, not a dime should come from student fees or cleverly siphoned off from a pot of $$
some very wealthy alumni care deeply about academics and student programs (and donate accordingly), but many others are mainly football fans, pony up
some very wealthy alumni care deeply about academics and student programs (and donate accordingly), but many others are mainly football fans, pony up
imagine being impressed by this and thinking to yourself 'Yes, these are great ideas, this is the world I want' –– my gosh, grow up already and ditch these guys and this whole vibe, what a waste
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
imagine being impressed by this and thinking to yourself 'Yes, these are great ideas, this is the world I want' –– my gosh, grow up already and ditch these guys and this whole vibe, what a waste
I posted this a year ago and here he is discussing the topic a couple weeks ago –– he's not quite to the stage of formalizing the idea into a 'business' (an entity that rips off governments and their citizens), but seems inevitable –– perhaps his falling-out with the regime has delayed things
November 19, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I posted this a year ago and here he is discussing the topic a couple weeks ago –– he's not quite to the stage of formalizing the idea into a 'business' (an entity that rips off governments and their citizens), but seems inevitable –– perhaps his falling-out with the regime has delayed things
field trip this weekend for my Sedimentary Basins course –– we went from earliest Cambrian rift basin to Cambro-Ordovician passive margin to the three main foreland-basin phases of the rest of the Paleozoic (>240 Myr of history in two days 😅) ⚒️
November 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
field trip this weekend for my Sedimentary Basins course –– we went from earliest Cambrian rift basin to Cambro-Ordovician passive margin to the three main foreland-basin phases of the rest of the Paleozoic (>240 Myr of history in two days 😅) ⚒️
an undergraduate in our dept asked me yesterday if the cuts in science funding was affecting me and our dept –– I took this opportunity to explain how things have worked and that, yes, this new paradigm negatively impacts us, including ability to hire ugrads for summer research, for example 1/2
November 14, 2025 at 5:09 PM
an undergraduate in our dept asked me yesterday if the cuts in science funding was affecting me and our dept –– I took this opportunity to explain how things have worked and that, yes, this new paradigm negatively impacts us, including ability to hire ugrads for summer research, for example 1/2
my Sedimentary Basins course is transitioning into the Final Project, which has an initial individual phase where each student receives a unique and partial dataset followed by a team phase where each team collectively has the entire dataset 1/2
November 13, 2025 at 5:24 PM
my Sedimentary Basins course is transitioning into the Final Project, which has an initial individual phase where each student receives a unique and partial dataset followed by a team phase where each team collectively has the entire dataset 1/2
let's go Virginia
November 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM
let's go Virginia
My straightforward advice to those who don't want to go to college, think it's a waste of time/money, think it's not worth it, aren't interested in doing the work, could do other things in their life, etc.:
Don't go to college.
Don't go to college.
October 31, 2025 at 1:26 PM
My straightforward advice to those who don't want to go to college, think it's a waste of time/money, think it's not worth it, aren't interested in doing the work, could do other things in their life, etc.:
Don't go to college.
Don't go to college.
spent yesterday scouting locations for an upcoming field trip and I'd like to share this very Appalachian outcrop: small and covered in lichen and moss ⚒️
October 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
spent yesterday scouting locations for an upcoming field trip and I'd like to share this very Appalachian outcrop: small and covered in lichen and moss ⚒️
most of the labs for my Sedimentary Basins course (9 grad students + 4 ugrads) require R for making calculations, building simple models, data analysis, etc. and I'm trying this 'AI disclosure' statement this time –– we also talk about when these tools are most helpful for improving your code (1/2)
October 24, 2025 at 12:46 PM
most of the labs for my Sedimentary Basins course (9 grad students + 4 ugrads) require R for making calculations, building simple models, data analysis, etc. and I'm trying this 'AI disclosure' statement this time –– we also talk about when these tools are most helpful for improving your code (1/2)
finished my fourth, and final, external letter for P&T (promotion and tenure) evaluation for the year
this was the most I've done in one 'season' for these, I ended up doing 4 out of the 5 I was asked to (I try to say yes to all, but there is a limit)
this was the most I've done in one 'season' for these, I ended up doing 4 out of the 5 I was asked to (I try to say yes to all, but there is a limit)
October 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
finished my fourth, and final, external letter for P&T (promotion and tenure) evaluation for the year
this was the most I've done in one 'season' for these, I ended up doing 4 out of the 5 I was asked to (I try to say yes to all, but there is a limit)
this was the most I've done in one 'season' for these, I ended up doing 4 out of the 5 I was asked to (I try to say yes to all, but there is a limit)
I was recently interviewed by @drlauraguertin.bsky.social as part of her 'Tales from the Deep' series focused on the people involved in scientific ocean drilling ⚒️🧪⛴️ –– lots of great stories from many others there to check out
archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i...
archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i...
“I kept asking all these questions like, How do we know that? The other scientists [would respond] - Yeah, how do we know that?”
Virginia Tech sedimentologist Brian Romans knows how scientific ocean drilling can be a particularly good mechanism or vehicle for pivoting in a career – that’s because he has many examples to share a...
archive.storycorps.org
October 23, 2025 at 12:43 PM
I was recently interviewed by @drlauraguertin.bsky.social as part of her 'Tales from the Deep' series focused on the people involved in scientific ocean drilling ⚒️🧪⛴️ –– lots of great stories from many others there to check out
archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i...
archive.storycorps.org/interviews/i...
I probably spend too much time on my lecture slides/content, it's a habit I have a difficult time breaking ... sure, maybe my lectures are good (I hope so) but I should be spending more time writing papers and proposals
October 14, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I probably spend too much time on my lecture slides/content, it's a habit I have a difficult time breaking ... sure, maybe my lectures are good (I hope so) but I should be spending more time writing papers and proposals
currently on page 24 of a response-to-reviewers document for a paper with 'minor revisions' ... they are valuable comments/suggestions that will ultimately improve the manuscript (which I'm glad about), but 'minor' they are not IMO
October 9, 2025 at 4:59 PM
currently on page 24 of a response-to-reviewers document for a paper with 'minor revisions' ... they are valuable comments/suggestions that will ultimately improve the manuscript (which I'm glad about), but 'minor' they are not IMO
This better be giant, all-caps type in headlines on every news outlet in the country for days. This is our government literally declaring war on it's own citizens. This isn't nuanced or ambiguous, he is saying it very clearly.
But I have zero confidence in our national media to meet this moment.
But I have zero confidence in our national media to meet this moment.
Trump: "The ones that are run by radical left Democrats -- what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles. They're very unsafe places & we're gonna straighten them out one by one. This is gonna be a major part for some people in this room. That's a war too. It's war from within"
September 30, 2025 at 2:28 PM
This better be giant, all-caps type in headlines on every news outlet in the country for days. This is our government literally declaring war on it's own citizens. This isn't nuanced or ambiguous, he is saying it very clearly.
But I have zero confidence in our national media to meet this moment.
But I have zero confidence in our national media to meet this moment.
This summary figure from a 1990 paper by Boulton depicts the local/relative SL change (what I show in blue) as opposite to the global/eustatic change –– that is, a relative rise in SL during maximum ice sheet extent/size at that location when the global condition is lower SL, due to ... 1/3
September 27, 2025 at 3:34 PM
This summary figure from a 1990 paper by Boulton depicts the local/relative SL change (what I show in blue) as opposite to the global/eustatic change –– that is, a relative rise in SL during maximum ice sheet extent/size at that location when the global condition is lower SL, due to ... 1/3
one of the great advantages of ditching most social media platforms and checking the few I'm still on only occasionally (a few times a week) is that I'm blissfully unaware of the discourse about discourse on social media
September 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
one of the great advantages of ditching most social media platforms and checking the few I'm still on only occasionally (a few times a week) is that I'm blissfully unaware of the discourse about discourse on social media