Dr. Jason Loxton
@jasonloxton.bsky.social
Paleontologist. Science educator (cbu.ca). Curator (capebretonfossilcentre.com). Lover of fiddle, grower of veggies. Posts (mostly!) about geoscience, geoheritage, pedagogy, & Nova Scotia.
Pinned
Over decade I was on Twitter, I contributed >20 K posts. That timeline documents my evolution as an educator, & contains innumerable geological photos, links, and other useful resources. I am slowly migrating these over, as both historical record and searchable archive. Please search & explore!
A friend in chat made a joke about Robert Hooke's accomplishments being all the more impressive given how baked he was all the time (based on this painting). Amusingly, it turns out Hooke presented a case (self?) report to the Royal Society on getting stoned. 1/2
January 25, 2026 at 5:36 PM
A friend in chat made a joke about Robert Hooke's accomplishments being all the more impressive given how baked he was all the time (based on this painting). Amusingly, it turns out Hooke presented a case (self?) report to the Royal Society on getting stoned. 1/2
@geosociety.bsky.social It's time for a commitment to move meetings to Canada for foreseeable future (hybrid if not possible in 2026). Aside from changes in visa screening making it harder for international delegates to attend, things are unsafe for non-citizens of colour.
January 25, 2026 at 3:25 PM
@geosociety.bsky.social It's time for a commitment to move meetings to Canada for foreseeable future (hybrid if not possible in 2026). Aside from changes in visa screening making it harder for international delegates to attend, things are unsafe for non-citizens of colour.
To the people of Minnesota: The world sees what's going on and is horrified by it. I've visited your state, and people were wonderful. Strangers opened their home to me and my partner. It's a cherished memory. It breaks my heart to watch the news.
January 24, 2026 at 6:44 PM
To the people of Minnesota: The world sees what's going on and is horrified by it. I've visited your state, and people were wonderful. Strangers opened their home to me and my partner. It's a cherished memory. It breaks my heart to watch the news.
I've posted similar images many times before, but every time I come across a slab like this, it still blows my mind that raindrops are things that can preserve. (Also fun historical fact: Specimens from Sydney Mines, NS, played a crucial role in supporting Charles Lyell's paper on the subject.)
January 21, 2026 at 5:41 AM
I've posted similar images many times before, but every time I come across a slab like this, it still blows my mind that raindrops are things that can preserve. (Also fun historical fact: Specimens from Sydney Mines, NS, played a crucial role in supporting Charles Lyell's paper on the subject.)
A friend sent us this dinosaur mobile they made themselves. My gosh!
January 21, 2026 at 5:35 AM
A friend sent us this dinosaur mobile they made themselves. My gosh!
Wasn't quite this bright to the naked eye, but pretty neat seeing red aurora b. for my first time... in Nova Scotia all places! (Wire digitally removed from photo.)
January 21, 2026 at 5:33 AM
Wasn't quite this bright to the naked eye, but pretty neat seeing red aurora b. for my first time... in Nova Scotia all places! (Wire digitally removed from photo.)
As a call to action, a lamination, & an "open for business" billboard, this speech is great. It's depressing, but its existence & eloquence is also reassuring. Pretty proud of our Prime Minister today. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Read Mark Carney's full speech on middle powers navigating a rapidly changing world | CBC News
Read the full text of Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech about a shakeup of the global order and role of middle powers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
www.cbc.ca
January 21, 2026 at 5:25 AM
As a call to action, a lamination, & an "open for business" billboard, this speech is great. It's depressing, but its existence & eloquence is also reassuring. Pretty proud of our Prime Minister today. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
I'm a fossil guy, so sedimentary architecture is a secondary consideration, if considered at all when I'm out. But gosh, the rocks sometimes make you stare at them in wonder anyway. (Near Wadden's Cove, Cape Breton.)
December 10, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I'm a fossil guy, so sedimentary architecture is a secondary consideration, if considered at all when I'm out. But gosh, the rocks sometimes make you stare at them in wonder anyway. (Near Wadden's Cove, Cape Breton.)
I don't plan on visiting the US anytime soon anyway, but this would have been a deal breaker. The US tourism industry is worth the same as their agricultural exports. Combined w/ new visa & park fees, it's like they're actively trying to shut it down. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
U.S. Plans to Scrutinize Foreign Tourists’ Social Media History
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I don't plan on visiting the US anytime soon anyway, but this would have been a deal breaker. The US tourism industry is worth the same as their agricultural exports. Combined w/ new visa & park fees, it's like they're actively trying to shut it down. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...
According to National Geographic, when the GSA finally gave Harley Bretz the Penrose Medal for his visionary work on catastrophic glacial floods at 96 years old, he joked to his son, "All my enemies are dead, I have no one to gloat over." Ha!
December 8, 2025 at 6:18 PM
According to National Geographic, when the GSA finally gave Harley Bretz the Penrose Medal for his visionary work on catastrophic glacial floods at 96 years old, he joked to his son, "All my enemies are dead, I have no one to gloat over." Ha!
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
Monitoring crustal deformation: sometimes in the lithosphere, sometimes on your pie plate.
🍁🍂 Happy Thanksgiving from EarthScope!
🍁🍂 Happy Thanksgiving from EarthScope!
November 27, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Monitoring crustal deformation: sometimes in the lithosphere, sometimes on your pie plate.
🍁🍂 Happy Thanksgiving from EarthScope!
🍁🍂 Happy Thanksgiving from EarthScope!
Don't inherently oppose charging premium for foreign visitors, but $100 likely crosses threshold to counter productive. I visited Grand Canyon on side trip after conference in 2019. Spent >$1000 on trip. Probably wouldn't have gone w/ that surcharge. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Trump Administration Will Raise Prices for Foreign Visitors at National Parks
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Don't inherently oppose charging premium for foreign visitors, but $100 likely crosses threshold to counter productive. I visited Grand Canyon on side trip after conference in 2019. Spent >$1000 on trip. Probably wouldn't have gone w/ that surcharge. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
I think I'd watched one baseball game in my life before the last week. I watched every minute of this series... and it was fantastic. Sad to lose, but amazing to come so close. And amazing to see how sport brought together ppl accross country in hope and support. #GoJaysGo
November 2, 2025 at 4:55 AM
I think I'd watched one baseball game in my life before the last week. I watched every minute of this series... and it was fantastic. Sad to lose, but amazing to come so close. And amazing to see how sport brought together ppl accross country in hope and support. #GoJaysGo
Fingers crossed!
Found this 80,000 year old seed in #MastodonMud at the museum today. Will it sprout? @novascotiamuseum.bsky.social
September 26, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Fingers crossed!
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
One of our temporary displays at the @johnsongeocentre.bsky.social features a group of Artemia, aka fairy shrimp or sea monkeys. These delicate little crustaceans have a fossil record extending back at least 115 million years! #FossilFriday
See doi.org/10.1080/0311...
See doi.org/10.1080/0311...
August 22, 2025 at 12:00 PM
One of our temporary displays at the @johnsongeocentre.bsky.social features a group of Artemia, aka fairy shrimp or sea monkeys. These delicate little crustaceans have a fossil record extending back at least 115 million years! #FossilFriday
See doi.org/10.1080/0311...
See doi.org/10.1080/0311...
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
This research not only provides exciting new insight into mammoth evolutionary history, it reveals an entirely unknown lineage of ancient mammoth. 🦣
gizmodo.com/million-year...
gizmodo.com/million-year...
August 21, 2025 at 11:55 PM
This research not only provides exciting new insight into mammoth evolutionary history, it reveals an entirely unknown lineage of ancient mammoth. 🦣
gizmodo.com/million-year...
gizmodo.com/million-year...
Great story! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
'Starsailor' rocket to lift off from Cree territory — Canada's first space launch in more than 25 years. | CBC News
A Concordia University student team is preparing to launch the first Canadian rocket to enter space in over two decades — right from Cree territory near Mistissini, Quebec.
www.cbc.ca
August 9, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Great story! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Planning on applying for PromoScience for outreach activities through the Cape Breton Fossil Centre. Am hoping that some successful applicants might be willing to share their applications/budgets. In particular, I am curious how people made up the 2/3rds of $$$ that NSERC doesn't cover.
August 5, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Planning on applying for PromoScience for outreach activities through the Cape Breton Fossil Centre. Am hoping that some successful applicants might be willing to share their applications/budgets. In particular, I am curious how people made up the 2/3rds of $$$ that NSERC doesn't cover.
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
Another way of putting this: in the past 20 years or so, China and India *alone* have increased student places by about 70 million - that's roughly the same number of university places that existed in the entire world circa 1990.
The changing world of higher education in a single graph: post-secondary enrolments, in millions, US India and China, 2006 vs. 2024.
August 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Another way of putting this: in the past 20 years or so, China and India *alone* have increased student places by about 70 million - that's roughly the same number of university places that existed in the entire world circa 1990.
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
Digitizing collections to unlock the full potential of palynology: A case study with the Smithsonian palynology collection
Carlos Jaramillo, Surangi W. Punyasena, Daurys de Alba, Roxana Alveo, Angelica Arcila, Jorge Bermudez, Jonatan Bustos et al
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Carlos Jaramillo, Surangi W. Punyasena, Daurys de Alba, Roxana Alveo, Angelica Arcila, Jorge Bermudez, Jonatan Bustos et al
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Digitizing collections to unlock the full potential of palynology: A case study with the Smithsonian palynology collection
Large palynological collections have been built over decades and contain vital information. However, they are often difficult to access and use effectively. What is the point of having such collectio....
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 5, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Digitizing collections to unlock the full potential of palynology: A case study with the Smithsonian palynology collection
Carlos Jaramillo, Surangi W. Punyasena, Daurys de Alba, Roxana Alveo, Angelica Arcila, Jorge Bermudez, Jonatan Bustos et al
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Carlos Jaramillo, Surangi W. Punyasena, Daurys de Alba, Roxana Alveo, Angelica Arcila, Jorge Bermudez, Jonatan Bustos et al
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
More exciting news! I am now able to share with you more of the concept art I did for the amazing upcoming NBC Universal show “Surviving Earth” premiering next year! This time for a fan favorite, Dimetrodon!
I can’t say much more than this for now 🙊
I can’t say much more than this for now 🙊
July 30, 2025 at 12:59 PM
More exciting news! I am now able to share with you more of the concept art I did for the amazing upcoming NBC Universal show “Surviving Earth” premiering next year! This time for a fan favorite, Dimetrodon!
I can’t say much more than this for now 🙊
I can’t say much more than this for now 🙊
For those still considering US academic positions, this is a great one!
And for those interested in a teaching-focused job, UChicago is looking to replace me with a new assistant instructional professor! Review technically already began, but I was a late applicant when I got the job. DM or email if you have questions about the role: apply.interfolio.com/168942
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:30 PM
For those still considering US academic positions, this is a great one!
Reposted by Dr. Jason Loxton
Wrote a long book that comes out August. It covers from the origins of life at alkaline hydrothermal vents some 4 billion years ago through the Volcker Shock. I'm told pre-orders help, so if that sounds like your thing, buy one, won't you? www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything
How carbon dioxide made planet Earth, shaped human history, and now holds our future in the balance.
Every year, we are dangerously warping the climate by ...
www.harpercollins.com
May 21, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Wrote a long book that comes out August. It covers from the origins of life at alkaline hydrothermal vents some 4 billion years ago through the Volcker Shock. I'm told pre-orders help, so if that sounds like your thing, buy one, won't you? www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
As someone with a PhD in earth science, who is generally pro exploration/extraction, and teaches engineering and petroleum geology, it's hard for me to overstate how offbase I think APGNS is here. (It's also terrible optics.) www.halifaxexaminer.ca/dismantling-...
Geoscientists Nova Scotia threatens people opposed to uranium mining with fines, jail time - Halifax Examiner
The provincial geoscientist associations were created in the wake of the Bre-X scandal to protect investors from defrauding exploration companies, not to protect the exploration industry from criticis...
www.halifaxexaminer.ca
July 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
As someone with a PhD in earth science, who is generally pro exploration/extraction, and teaches engineering and petroleum geology, it's hard for me to overstate how offbase I think APGNS is here. (It's also terrible optics.) www.halifaxexaminer.ca/dismantling-...