Joe Mason
@moreorloess.bsky.social
UW Madison Geography, opinions are mine. Geomorphology, soils, dunes, loess, in the Midwest, Great Plains, northern China. He/him. Living on Ho-Chunk lands.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Mural memorializing the No Exit Cafe, Rogers Park, Chicago
February 13, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Mural memorializing the No Exit Cafe, Rogers Park, Chicago
0 points. I have eaten everything on here and would again. I like this stuff. The licorice is pushing it, though.
February 13, 2026 at 1:57 AM
0 points. I have eaten everything on here and would again. I like this stuff. The licorice is pushing it, though.
For example, there is a vast amount of information about paleoenvironments and environmental change out there, buried in loess and sand dunes, or in lake beds, inside trees, etc., that can only be accessed by funding researchers to go take cores.
A lot of people really don’t realize that there is a vast amount of information out there that is not online and plausibly never will be, or can’t be.
I think that's a point that will surprise a lot of people. There's a lot of calling the internet capable of accessing "the sum of all human knowledge" and such that I think gives people the impression that any and all records exist online somewhere.
February 13, 2026 at 1:06 AM
For example, there is a vast amount of information about paleoenvironments and environmental change out there, buried in loess and sand dunes, or in lake beds, inside trees, etc., that can only be accessed by funding researchers to go take cores.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Here's Michelle Wu doing the introduction to a Know Your Rights video in Haitian Creole. This is the kind of stuff I think of when I say she truly represents the entire state. Great work by the Mayor and her team.
🇭🇹 Boston se lakay nou tout. Aprann konnen dwa ou, e ede proteje kominote w. Ou ka jwenn plis enfòmasyon nan miracoalition.org/KYR.
February 12, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Here's Michelle Wu doing the introduction to a Know Your Rights video in Haitian Creole. This is the kind of stuff I think of when I say she truly represents the entire state. Great work by the Mayor and her team.
The current regime is both unprecedented in how far it's gone, and completely precedented* in its ideology, its constant effort to push the limits of what's considered legal, and its willingness to tell obvious lies in serious, pained voices.
*awkward, I know, but I don't care
*awkward, I know, but I don't care
Maybe it's my age, but my first reaction to things like this is to say "I am not a crook!" in an exaggerated version of Nixon's voice.
Homan: "ICE is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process."
February 13, 2026 at 12:57 AM
The current regime is both unprecedented in how far it's gone, and completely precedented* in its ideology, its constant effort to push the limits of what's considered legal, and its willingness to tell obvious lies in serious, pained voices.
*awkward, I know, but I don't care
*awkward, I know, but I don't care
Reposted by Joe Mason
“The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.”
BREAKING: Judge Nancy Brasel, a Trump appointee, has issued a TRO in the Minnesota access-to-counsel case about treatment at Whipple.
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
February 13, 2026 at 12:24 AM
“The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.”
Snow water equivalent, 1980-2026 water years, at two pairs of SNOTEL stations. 1. Park Range, northern Colorado. Tower is on Continental Divide (Colorado-Mississippi), Dry Lake not far down valley to the west.
February 13, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Snow water equivalent, 1980-2026 water years, at two pairs of SNOTEL stations. 1. Park Range, northern Colorado. Tower is on Continental Divide (Colorado-Mississippi), Dry Lake not far down valley to the west.
Reposted by Joe Mason
On our commentary page today: Editor @rconniff.bsky.social talks to a Minneapolis mom for lessons in how parents prepared for ICE wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/02/12/w...
Wisconsin take note: Here’s how Minneapolis parents prepared for ICE • Wisconsin Examiner
Before Operation Metro Surge sent thousands of armed federal agents into Minneapolis, terrorizing families and spreading chaos and violence in formerly peaceful residential neighborhoods, local parent...
wisconsinexaminer.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:14 PM
On our commentary page today: Editor @rconniff.bsky.social talks to a Minneapolis mom for lessons in how parents prepared for ICE wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/02/12/w...
"They got you now, Big John!" This is something I remember clearly, and to be honest, think about more often these days.
A United States Attorney General who obstructs justice can be jailed.
Case in point: Inmate 24171-157.
Case in point: Inmate 24171-157.
February 12, 2026 at 7:55 PM
"They got you now, Big John!" This is something I remember clearly, and to be honest, think about more often these days.
The colors are backwards here, Tower site is in blue, Dry Lake in red. Apparently no one noticed that or maybe it's more that no one noticed the post at all! So in any case I have at least not caused much confusion.
Similar comparison for the Park Range, with much higher snow water equivalent at both elevations. The difference here (over a larger elevation range) is less, but still striking. Medano Pass and South Colony SNOTEL sites are in the Sangre de Cristo range, warmer and drier at a given elevation.
February 12, 2026 at 6:37 PM
The colors are backwards here, Tower site is in blue, Dry Lake in red. Apparently no one noticed that or maybe it's more that no one noticed the post at all! So in any case I have at least not caused much confusion.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Maybe it's my age, but my first reaction to things like this is to say "I am not a crook!" in an exaggerated version of Nixon's voice.
Homan: "ICE is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process."
February 12, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Maybe it's my age, but my first reaction to things like this is to say "I am not a crook!" in an exaggerated version of Nixon's voice.
Reposted by Joe Mason
I am really not in the camp of "this person supports MAHA so they deserve to struggle" and if that's a value you live your life by, congrats! but we are not the same. My politics isn't organized around sorting through who deserves to be taken care of. I believe in universal healthcare.
February 12, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I am really not in the camp of "this person supports MAHA so they deserve to struggle" and if that's a value you live your life by, congrats! but we are not the same. My politics isn't organized around sorting through who deserves to be taken care of. I believe in universal healthcare.
Reposted by Joe Mason
Chris Jones Campaigns to Clean Up Iowa's Water
->Circle of Blue | More on "Iowa agriculture secretary water pollution" at BigEarthData.ai | #water
->Circle of Blue | More on "Iowa agriculture secretary water pollution" at BigEarthData.ai | #water
Chris Jones Campaigns to Clean Up Iowa's Water
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... KEY POINTS The race for Iowa agriculture secretary focuses on clean water and farm-related pollution. Iowa author and clean water activist Chris Jones is running as a Democrat. Industrial agriculture interests mount an early...
www.circleofblue.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by Joe Mason
In 2023, powerful legislative allies of Iowa’s farm sector strong-armed the University of Iowa to kill Prof. Chris Jones’s blog.
Now, Jones is launching a long-shot political campaign to serve as Iowa’s 18th agriculture secretary.
www.thenewlede.org/2026/01/time...
Now, Jones is launching a long-shot political campaign to serve as Iowa’s 18th agriculture secretary.
www.thenewlede.org/2026/01/time...
“Time to change”- Iowa water quality scientist launches long-shot bid for state office
Three years ago Chris Jones was a highly regarded research engineer at the University of Iowa, where he directed stream pollution monitoring work and published details about the state’s dismal water q...
www.thenewlede.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:28 PM
In 2023, powerful legislative allies of Iowa’s farm sector strong-armed the University of Iowa to kill Prof. Chris Jones’s blog.
Now, Jones is launching a long-shot political campaign to serve as Iowa’s 18th agriculture secretary.
www.thenewlede.org/2026/01/time...
Now, Jones is launching a long-shot political campaign to serve as Iowa’s 18th agriculture secretary.
www.thenewlede.org/2026/01/time...
Reposted by Joe Mason
New paper out now! PhD Robert Kostynick uses a new automated tool for measuring river width to reveal new styles of river channel adjustment to local changes in channel slope in concave and knickpoint-bearing river channels. Give it a read!
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
High‐Resolution Channel Geometry Reveals Contrasting Styles of Gravel River Adjustment
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:37 PM
New paper out now! PhD Robert Kostynick uses a new automated tool for measuring river width to reveal new styles of river channel adjustment to local changes in channel slope in concave and knickpoint-bearing river channels. Give it a read!
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Similar comparison for the Park Range, with much higher snow water equivalent at both elevations. The difference here (over a larger elevation range) is less, but still striking. Medano Pass and South Colony SNOTEL sites are in the Sangre de Cristo range, warmer and drier at a given elevation.
February 12, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Similar comparison for the Park Range, with much higher snow water equivalent at both elevations. The difference here (over a larger elevation range) is less, but still striking. Medano Pass and South Colony SNOTEL sites are in the Sangre de Cristo range, warmer and drier at a given elevation.
There is an expanded version of this for teaching.
My advice on presentations is to be appropriately skeptical of advice on presentations.
February 12, 2026 at 2:27 PM
There is an expanded version of this for teaching.
My advice on presentations is to be appropriately skeptical of advice on presentations.
February 12, 2026 at 2:24 PM
My advice on presentations is to be appropriately skeptical of advice on presentations.
Reposted by Joe Mason
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Joe Mason
The lack of both any sense of magnitude and uncertainty of temperature effect of “tipping” transitions and the lack of traceable accounts for the same in this figure from the well-publicized “hothouse” commentary really annoys me.
February 12, 2026 at 1:39 PM
The lack of both any sense of magnitude and uncertainty of temperature effect of “tipping” transitions and the lack of traceable accounts for the same in this figure from the well-publicized “hothouse” commentary really annoys me.
I'm already thinking about that first coffee tomorrow morning.
February 12, 2026 at 3:24 AM
I'm already thinking about that first coffee tomorrow morning.
Snow water equivalent at two nearby SNOTEL stations at different elevations. Nice to get a textbook example on the first try.
February 12, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Snow water equivalent at two nearby SNOTEL stations at different elevations. Nice to get a textbook example on the first try.
Snow water equivalent at Medano Pass SNOTEL, 2016-2026 water years. 2018 had less snow that this year, 2022 had a lot of snow but not as much as 2021 or 2019.
February 12, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Snow water equivalent at Medano Pass SNOTEL, 2016-2026 water years. 2018 had less snow that this year, 2022 had a lot of snow but not as much as 2021 or 2019.
Great Sand Dunes and surrounding landscape, February 5, 2022 (left) and February 6, 2026 (right). The Medano Pass SNOTEL station, within this image, is at 50% of 1991-2020 median snow water equivalent; other stations in the area are similar or lower.
February 12, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Great Sand Dunes and surrounding landscape, February 5, 2022 (left) and February 6, 2026 (right). The Medano Pass SNOTEL station, within this image, is at 50% of 1991-2020 median snow water equivalent; other stations in the area are similar or lower.