Scott Robeson
@indianaclimate.bsky.social
Climatologist, statistician, and geographer | #FirstGen | UDel and UBC grad | Grower of food and lover of plants and birds | Partner of https://bsky.app/profile/teresarobeson.com
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Wolverines were once a staple among Colorado’s high peaks. For more than a century, their absence has left ecosystems devoid of a native carnivore and Coloradans bereft of a long-sought wildlife recovery story. That void could soon be filled with paw prints if state leaders have their way. 🌎
Wolverines Are One Step Closer to Returning to Colorado
The bear-like weasels could be reintroduced into the state after a 100-year absence
www.sierraclub.org
January 28, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Wolverines were once a staple among Colorado’s high peaks. For more than a century, their absence has left ecosystems devoid of a native carnivore and Coloradans bereft of a long-sought wildlife recovery story. That void could soon be filled with paw prints if state leaders have their way. 🌎
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Two big updates in the ocean temperature world:
1) The determination of the phase of ENSO ( #ElNiño, #LaNiña) will operationally transition to the RELATIVE Oceanic Niño Index ( #RONI) on February 1:
www.weather.gov/media/notifi...
[1/3]
1) The determination of the phase of ENSO ( #ElNiño, #LaNiña) will operationally transition to the RELATIVE Oceanic Niño Index ( #RONI) on February 1:
www.weather.gov/media/notifi...
[1/3]
www.weather.gov
January 29, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Two big updates in the ocean temperature world:
1) The determination of the phase of ENSO ( #ElNiño, #LaNiña) will operationally transition to the RELATIVE Oceanic Niño Index ( #RONI) on February 1:
www.weather.gov/media/notifi...
[1/3]
1) The determination of the phase of ENSO ( #ElNiño, #LaNiña) will operationally transition to the RELATIVE Oceanic Niño Index ( #RONI) on February 1:
www.weather.gov/media/notifi...
[1/3]
Reposted by Scott Robeson
A great script, if anyone needs one.
I called Schiff and Padilla and told them tomorrow's DHS bill is weak sauce, that Schumer isn't fit to lead the party, that they have NO idea how angry the voters are right now, and that ICE should have been ordered out of Mpls, a sanctuary city, as soon as they murdered people.
January 29, 2026 at 12:04 AM
A great script, if anyone needs one.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Led by Roel Brienen, our paper in @natcomms.nature.com "Contrasting pathways to tree longevity in gymnosperms and angiosperms" is finally out and formatted.
Other bluesky folks contributing to the paper were @yellowbuckeye.bsky.social and @rmtrr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Other bluesky folks contributing to the paper were @yellowbuckeye.bsky.social and @rmtrr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Contrasting pathways to tree longevity in gymnosperms and angiosperms - Nature Communications
Tree longevity is thought to increase in harsh environments, but global evidence of drivers is lacking. Here, the authors find two different pathways for tree longevity: slow growth in resource limite...
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Led by Roel Brienen, our paper in @natcomms.nature.com "Contrasting pathways to tree longevity in gymnosperms and angiosperms" is finally out and formatted.
Other bluesky folks contributing to the paper were @yellowbuckeye.bsky.social and @rmtrr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Other bluesky folks contributing to the paper were @yellowbuckeye.bsky.social and @rmtrr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
How cool is this: Using remote sensing to monitor physico-chemical characteristics of below-ground microbial communities. 🧪 @gholizadehrs.bsky.social
Airborne and spaceborne imaging spectroscopy capture belowground microbial communities and physicochemical characteristics in invaded grasslands
Belowground properties, including belowground microbial communities and physicochemical characteristics, play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning.…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:41 PM
How cool is this: Using remote sensing to monitor physico-chemical characteristics of below-ground microbial communities. 🧪 @gholizadehrs.bsky.social
Reposted by Scott Robeson
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
January 26, 2026 at 11:35 PM
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
Indiana University, Bloomington "never" closes, but there have been a handful of weather-related closures in its history
Indiana University, close?
IU Libraries Blogs
blogs.libraries.indiana.edu
January 25, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Indiana University, Bloomington "never" closes, but there have been a handful of weather-related closures in its history
Reposted by Scott Robeson
The inevitable point where AI is eating up the barf from other AI
So glad this is being used in schools and universities.
Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal
Guardian found OpenAI’s platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniers
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:36 PM
The inevitable point where AI is eating up the barf from other AI
Reposted by Scott Robeson
A past criticism of Variable Renewables Energy (VRE) from wind & solar was that their power was intermittent & thus unreliable. But the drop in battery storage cost has ushered in the age of firmed renewable energy (FRE). Renewables with storage are displacing import and fossil fuels. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧🔋
January 24, 2026 at 12:24 PM
A past criticism of Variable Renewables Energy (VRE) from wind & solar was that their power was intermittent & thus unreliable. But the drop in battery storage cost has ushered in the age of firmed renewable energy (FRE). Renewables with storage are displacing import and fossil fuels. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧🔋
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Here are the latest Key Messages from WPC which now sport total snow and ice accumulations forecasts.
January 23, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Here are the latest Key Messages from WPC which now sport total snow and ice accumulations forecasts.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Greenland isn't something Trump can buy. It belongs to the Greenlandic people. Must read at
@grist.org
❄️🧪💙📚
#scicomm
#climate
#science
grist.org/global-indig...
@grist.org
❄️🧪💙📚
#scicomm
#climate
#science
grist.org/global-indig...
Greenland is a global model for Indigenous self-governance. Trump’s demands for the island threaten that.
Historians say underpinning Trump's talk of national security lies a longstanding pattern of American entitlement to Native land.
grist.org
January 24, 2026 at 12:51 AM
Greenland isn't something Trump can buy. It belongs to the Greenlandic people. Must read at
@grist.org
❄️🧪💙📚
#scicomm
#climate
#science
grist.org/global-indig...
@grist.org
❄️🧪💙📚
#scicomm
#climate
#science
grist.org/global-indig...
Reposted by Scott Robeson
The extreme cold across eastern N America is due to the Alaskan Ridge regime, which on average brings the coldest winter weather to this region.
Is this happening more often?
No. During the modern warming era, there has been no observed trend in the occurrence of this regime at this time of year.
Is this happening more often?
No. During the modern warming era, there has been no observed trend in the occurrence of this regime at this time of year.
January 23, 2026 at 4:59 PM
The extreme cold across eastern N America is due to the Alaskan Ridge regime, which on average brings the coldest winter weather to this region.
Is this happening more often?
No. During the modern warming era, there has been no observed trend in the occurrence of this regime at this time of year.
Is this happening more often?
No. During the modern warming era, there has been no observed trend in the occurrence of this regime at this time of year.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
While we’re being bombarded with weather maps, I thought I’d revisit one of my favorite color palette tricks. Sometimes it’s important to emphasize a boundary, perhaps between moderate (< 6") and severe (>8") snowfall. You could reset the palette, like the NYT, but there’s a better way.
📊🗺️🎨
📊🗺️🎨
January 23, 2026 at 4:20 AM
While we’re being bombarded with weather maps, I thought I’d revisit one of my favorite color palette tricks. Sometimes it’s important to emphasize a boundary, perhaps between moderate (< 6") and severe (>8") snowfall. You could reset the palette, like the NYT, but there’s a better way.
📊🗺️🎨
📊🗺️🎨
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Electrification skeptics often argue that switching from gas to heat pumps doesn’t make sense when most of our power comes from fossil fuels anyway.
@urbangreencouncil.bsky.social ran the numbers and found that heat pumps almost always do cut pollution, even in heavily gas-reliant NYC.
@urbangreencouncil.bsky.social ran the numbers and found that heat pumps almost always do cut pollution, even in heavily gas-reliant NYC.
January 22, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Electrification skeptics often argue that switching from gas to heat pumps doesn’t make sense when most of our power comes from fossil fuels anyway.
@urbangreencouncil.bsky.social ran the numbers and found that heat pumps almost always do cut pollution, even in heavily gas-reliant NYC.
@urbangreencouncil.bsky.social ran the numbers and found that heat pumps almost always do cut pollution, even in heavily gas-reliant NYC.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
For those attending #AMS2026, you'll note there aren't nearly as many NOAA/NWS folks as normal - largely driven by the impacts this administration has had on our field.
While perusing the many private company booths, recall none of the big players did so much as issue a press release in opposition.
While perusing the many private company booths, recall none of the big players did so much as issue a press release in opposition.
January 22, 2026 at 9:41 PM
For those attending #AMS2026, you'll note there aren't nearly as many NOAA/NWS folks as normal - largely driven by the impacts this administration has had on our field.
While perusing the many private company booths, recall none of the big players did so much as issue a press release in opposition.
While perusing the many private company booths, recall none of the big players did so much as issue a press release in opposition.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Universities, companies, and government agencies that continue to operate on X, now that this is clearly documented (majority of content included sexualized images of women and children) are actively supporting "industrial-scale abuse." Paid subscribers can still do this.
We set out to determine how many images of women and girls Grok created during its nudifying spree. What we found was “industrial-scale abuse,” experts said. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
Musk’s Chatbot Flooded X With Millions of Sexualized Images in Days, New Estimates Show
www.nytimes.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Universities, companies, and government agencies that continue to operate on X, now that this is clearly documented (majority of content included sexualized images of women and children) are actively supporting "industrial-scale abuse." Paid subscribers can still do this.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
While Australian heatwaves were some of the very first extreme events attributed to climate change, people still underestimate how much worse they got - killing more people than all other natural hazards combined. New @wwattribution.bsky.social study. www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...
January 22, 2026 at 1:56 PM
While Australian heatwaves were some of the very first extreme events attributed to climate change, people still underestimate how much worse they got - killing more people than all other natural hazards combined. New @wwattribution.bsky.social study. www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...
Reposted by Scott Robeson
I'm glad our hooting and hollering is making a dent.
AI is a tool, not magic fairy dust. As such, we have to be real straightforward about what it can and can't do... And what it shouldn't do. We are the ones wielding it, and we are responsible for what happens next.
AI is a tool, not magic fairy dust. As such, we have to be real straightforward about what it can and can't do... And what it shouldn't do. We are the ones wielding it, and we are responsible for what happens next.
Calling all the PhDs I know to make monumental annoyances of themselves (and honestly, who better)
January 22, 2026 at 1:23 AM
I'm glad our hooting and hollering is making a dent.
AI is a tool, not magic fairy dust. As such, we have to be real straightforward about what it can and can't do... And what it shouldn't do. We are the ones wielding it, and we are responsible for what happens next.
AI is a tool, not magic fairy dust. As such, we have to be real straightforward about what it can and can't do... And what it shouldn't do. We are the ones wielding it, and we are responsible for what happens next.
Very good points in this thread, reframing this speech, that at first appeared inspiring, into a version of the SSP3 Rocky Road scenario
January 22, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Very good points in this thread, reframing this speech, that at first appeared inspiring, into a version of the SSP3 Rocky Road scenario
Reposted by Scott Robeson
Imagine you're a scientist trying to publish a new study, and being told you can't, unless you do background checks on co-authors who aren't U.S. citizens and send their names to national security staff.
Also, studies about climate change or DEI written w/foreign scientists = rejected. ⬇️
Also, studies about climate change or DEI written w/foreign scientists = rejected. ⬇️
The new directive asks USDA workers in the agency’s research arm to use Google to check the backgrounds of all foreign nationals collaborating with its scientists.
The names of flagged scientists are being sent to national security experts at the agency, according to records reviewed by ProPublica.
The names of flagged scientists are being sent to national security experts at the agency, according to records reviewed by ProPublica.
Trump Administration Orders USDA Employees to Investigate Foreign Researchers They Work With
The new directive asks workers to check the backgrounds of foreign nationals collaborating with the department’s scientists for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.” Their names are being sen...
www.propublica.org
January 20, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Imagine you're a scientist trying to publish a new study, and being told you can't, unless you do background checks on co-authors who aren't U.S. citizens and send their names to national security staff.
Also, studies about climate change or DEI written w/foreign scientists = rejected. ⬇️
Also, studies about climate change or DEI written w/foreign scientists = rejected. ⬇️
Best photo from last night in Bloomington from this montage by @idsnews.bsky.social
www.idsnews.com/article/2026...
www.idsnews.com/article/2026...
January 20, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Best photo from last night in Bloomington from this montage by @idsnews.bsky.social
www.idsnews.com/article/2026...
www.idsnews.com/article/2026...
Reposted by Scott Robeson
It's a small thing, but it fills me with civic pride to walk through the giant park near my house and see Hmong families having cookouts, Somali parents pushing their laughing kids on the swings.
Like, here are people who've endured horrors, and my city has welcomed them in to build peaceful lives.
Like, here are people who've endured horrors, and my city has welcomed them in to build peaceful lives.
Yes. My theory of the moment is Miller/Vance thought their view that immigrants threaten social solidarity would be widely shared. But ICE raids are driving native-born Americans to show solidarity with immigrants quite courageously. Now Miller is trying to disrupt that alliance with state violence.
Insightful point here: Even if you take Trump seriously - he does not like the optics - they rested on an assumption that communities would welcome ICE as heroes, rather than showing the type of solidarity that Trump inherently cannot understand.
January 19, 2026 at 11:35 PM
It's a small thing, but it fills me with civic pride to walk through the giant park near my house and see Hmong families having cookouts, Somali parents pushing their laughing kids on the swings.
Like, here are people who've endured horrors, and my city has welcomed them in to build peaceful lives.
Like, here are people who've endured horrors, and my city has welcomed them in to build peaceful lives.
Reposted by Scott Robeson
The incredibly lukewarm Democratic response on Greenland is being noticed in Europe, incidentally.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
But Americans who want to save the alliance with Europe must have no illusions about how bad a condition this transatlantic partnership is in.
January 18, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The incredibly lukewarm Democratic response on Greenland is being noticed in Europe, incidentally.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.