Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
@pickeringrobyn.bsky.social
Assoc. Professor University of Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦 Co-director Human Evolution Research Institute | geology, isotopes, U-Pb dating carbonates, human evolution, southern African palaeoclimates | equitable fieldwork | decolonisation |she/her
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Today is the #Health Day at #COP13, time to put health at the centre of climate change as health affect us all now, not in the future and multiple epidemics and pathogens as well as mental health and heat exhaustion affect billions of people worldwide. Act now! climade.health/climade-cop3...
November 13, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Today is the #Health Day at #COP13, time to put health at the centre of climate change as health affect us all now, not in the future and multiple epidemics and pathogens as well as mental health and heat exhaustion affect billions of people worldwide. Act now! climade.health/climade-cop3...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Are you a 2025 #EGU member? If so, you can now take part in the autumn 2025 EGU #election!
You can #vote for Union President, General Secretary, Union representative of the Early Career Scientists and Division Presidents.
🗳️ Vote by 25 November 2025: egu.eu/6I2KT5
You can #vote for Union President, General Secretary, Union representative of the Early Career Scientists and Division Presidents.
🗳️ Vote by 25 November 2025: egu.eu/6I2KT5
November 13, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Are you a 2025 #EGU member? If so, you can now take part in the autumn 2025 EGU #election!
You can #vote for Union President, General Secretary, Union representative of the Early Career Scientists and Division Presidents.
🗳️ Vote by 25 November 2025: egu.eu/6I2KT5
You can #vote for Union President, General Secretary, Union representative of the Early Career Scientists and Division Presidents.
🗳️ Vote by 25 November 2025: egu.eu/6I2KT5
My brilliant #PhD candidate Georgina Luti 🤩
Her new paper gives detailed, regional evidence for conformable fs-sed sequences, providing robust ages for the #Cradle fossils.
Not an intrusive fs in sight!
And she identifies a whole lot of textural complexity in the fs fabrics
@heriuct.bsky.social
Her new paper gives detailed, regional evidence for conformable fs-sed sequences, providing robust ages for the #Cradle fossils.
Not an intrusive fs in sight!
And she identifies a whole lot of textural complexity in the fs fabrics
@heriuct.bsky.social
Flowstones from the Cradle of Humankind in #SouthAfrica reveal no evidence of intrusion.
New work, led by HERI’s Georgina Luti, counters arguments that the flowstones are uniform & intrusive, adding support for their role in dating fossils.
🔗 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...
New work, led by HERI’s Georgina Luti, counters arguments that the flowstones are uniform & intrusive, adding support for their role in dating fossils.
🔗 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...
November 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
My brilliant #PhD candidate Georgina Luti 🤩
Her new paper gives detailed, regional evidence for conformable fs-sed sequences, providing robust ages for the #Cradle fossils.
Not an intrusive fs in sight!
And she identifies a whole lot of textural complexity in the fs fabrics
@heriuct.bsky.social
Her new paper gives detailed, regional evidence for conformable fs-sed sequences, providing robust ages for the #Cradle fossils.
Not an intrusive fs in sight!
And she identifies a whole lot of textural complexity in the fs fabrics
@heriuct.bsky.social
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
As COP30 begins, here's a gentle reminder that well-intentioned half measures aren't going to solve the climate crisis. The era of fossil fuels must come to an end. My latest in The Guardian... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Net zero is an insidious loophole that distracts from the scientific imperative to eliminate fossil fuels | Joëlle Gergis
History tells us that polite incrementalism and political kowtowing will prevail at Cop30 – even as catastrophe unfolds around us
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:18 AM
As COP30 begins, here's a gentle reminder that well-intentioned half measures aren't going to solve the climate crisis. The era of fossil fuels must come to an end. My latest in The Guardian... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
I think about this post every day 🧪
November 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I think about this post every day 🧪
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
In 2020, a young socialist organizer & AIAC contributor sat down with us, sharing his vision for a world that empowers working people over the rich and powerful.
Today, that vision has carried him to City Hall.
Congrats, Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social! 🌹 africasacountry.com/2020/01/roti...
Today, that vision has carried him to City Hall.
Congrats, Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social! 🌹 africasacountry.com/2020/01/roti...
Roti and roses
Will Shoki sits down with Ugandan-born rapper and housing advocate Zohran Mamdani about his bid to represent Queens in the New York State Assembly.
africasacountry.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM
In 2020, a young socialist organizer & AIAC contributor sat down with us, sharing his vision for a world that empowers working people over the rich and powerful.
Today, that vision has carried him to City Hall.
Congrats, Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social! 🌹 africasacountry.com/2020/01/roti...
Today, that vision has carried him to City Hall.
Congrats, Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social! 🌹 africasacountry.com/2020/01/roti...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Its SHIGIDI paperback release day, US & Canada! Its been a long, lovely journey but my award-winning novel about African gods on a supernatural heist at the British museum finally hits stores in a new format, with a new cover + a bonus short story! Get it y'all🙏🏾
Art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social
Art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Its SHIGIDI paperback release day, US & Canada! Its been a long, lovely journey but my award-winning novel about African gods on a supernatural heist at the British museum finally hits stores in a new format, with a new cover + a bonus short story! Get it y'all🙏🏾
Art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social
Art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Ok but what if we invested in human intelligence
November 4, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Ok but what if we invested in human intelligence
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
So glad to see/find one of my favourite knitwear designers/mending extraordinaire here on Bluesky! She has an incredible book on mending knitwear and also sells the most adorable mini skeins of wool and cashmere specifically for mending!
Learn to mend your knitwear with me in the new year, either in person or online:
www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mend...
I’m really excited to share my skills, and empower you to repair your clothes in style!
#visiblemending #repair #darning #makedoandmend #reducewaste
www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mend...
I’m really excited to share my skills, and empower you to repair your clothes in style!
#visiblemending #repair #darning #makedoandmend #reducewaste
November 4, 2025 at 7:33 PM
So glad to see/find one of my favourite knitwear designers/mending extraordinaire here on Bluesky! She has an incredible book on mending knitwear and also sells the most adorable mini skeins of wool and cashmere specifically for mending!
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Only a few hours left for #OreCup R1M2 #Molybdenite vs #Tetrahedrite. Did you pick a favourite and vote?
Vote: www.mineralcup.org/vote-results...
Results:
Vote: www.mineralcup.org/vote-results...
Results:
www.mineralcup.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Only a few hours left for #OreCup R1M2 #Molybdenite vs #Tetrahedrite. Did you pick a favourite and vote?
Vote: www.mineralcup.org/vote-results...
Results:
Vote: www.mineralcup.org/vote-results...
Results:
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Learn to mend your knitwear with me in the new year, either in person or online:
www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mend...
I’m really excited to share my skills, and empower you to repair your clothes in style!
#visiblemending #repair #darning #makedoandmend #reducewaste
www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mend...
I’m really excited to share my skills, and empower you to repair your clothes in style!
#visiblemending #repair #darning #makedoandmend #reducewaste
November 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Learn to mend your knitwear with me in the new year, either in person or online:
www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mend...
I’m really excited to share my skills, and empower you to repair your clothes in style!
#visiblemending #repair #darning #makedoandmend #reducewaste
www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/visible-mend...
I’m really excited to share my skills, and empower you to repair your clothes in style!
#visiblemending #repair #darning #makedoandmend #reducewaste
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
🌎 Join thousands of scientists, educators, and policymakers at the premier Earth and space science conference 15-19 December in New Orleans, LA.
⚠️ Hurry to register by 6 November for the early bird rate: buff.ly/LlJz385
⚠️ Hurry to register by 6 November for the early bird rate: buff.ly/LlJz385
November 3, 2025 at 3:45 PM
🌎 Join thousands of scientists, educators, and policymakers at the premier Earth and space science conference 15-19 December in New Orleans, LA.
⚠️ Hurry to register by 6 November for the early bird rate: buff.ly/LlJz385
⚠️ Hurry to register by 6 November for the early bird rate: buff.ly/LlJz385
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
New article in Biogeosciences #EGU by Yangjie Sheng et al ⬇️
Temperature fluctuation alleviates the negative effects of warming on marine diatoms: comparison between Thalassiosira sp. and Nitzschia closterium f. minutissima
Abstract. Marine phytoplankton are subjected to a wide range of environmental heterogeneity, from mean climate change to natural fluctuations under the climate change scenario. These changes include…
bg.copernicus.org
November 3, 2025 at 10:52 AM
New article in Biogeosciences #EGU by Yangjie Sheng et al ⬇️
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
New article in Biogeosciences #EGU by Gesa Schulz et al ⬇️
Nitrogen dynamics and nitrate stable isotopes indicate nitrogen loss in the Bay of Bengal
Abstract. Oxygen-minimum zones (OMZs) play an important role in the global oceanic nitrogen cycle because they account for 20 % to 40 % of the global loss of bioavailable nitrogen despite covering…
bg.copernicus.org
November 3, 2025 at 8:03 AM
New article in Biogeosciences #EGU by Gesa Schulz et al ⬇️
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
On today’s new #PeoplingPodcast, we are joined by the wonderful Dr. Heba Abd el Gawad to discuss the legacies of colonialism in the field of Egyptology, and the importance of community-based research in anti-colonial action. Listen in here: peoplingthepast.com/2025/05/13/p...
May 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM
On today’s new #PeoplingPodcast, we are joined by the wonderful Dr. Heba Abd el Gawad to discuss the legacies of colonialism in the field of Egyptology, and the importance of community-based research in anti-colonial action. Listen in here: peoplingthepast.com/2025/05/13/p...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Extinction of Pizol Glacier
1969 | 2025
Declared extinct in 2022, Pizol Glacier had lost 98% of its volume during the last 18 years 🧊✝️
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
1969 | 2025
Declared extinct in 2022, Pizol Glacier had lost 98% of its volume during the last 18 years 🧊✝️
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
November 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Extinction of Pizol Glacier
1969 | 2025
Declared extinct in 2022, Pizol Glacier had lost 98% of its volume during the last 18 years 🧊✝️
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
1969 | 2025
Declared extinct in 2022, Pizol Glacier had lost 98% of its volume during the last 18 years 🧊✝️
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Excellent paper. I'm increasingly convinced that students are not dedicated to GenAI junk, but if they're being drowned in it, some may feel like they have no choice but to use it. It was the players who ultimately got steroids out of baseball; students will need to help get GenAI out of education.
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
www.ru.nl
November 2, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Excellent paper. I'm increasingly convinced that students are not dedicated to GenAI junk, but if they're being drowned in it, some may feel like they have no choice but to use it. It was the players who ultimately got steroids out of baseball; students will need to help get GenAI out of education.
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Does #science communication still feel challenging?
This #webinar will offer insights on how to make your science communication resonate with your audience by connecting with their values and identity. It will focus on building bridges between #scientists and #policymakers.
👉Register: egu.eu/5FJA3V
This #webinar will offer insights on how to make your science communication resonate with your audience by connecting with their values and identity. It will focus on building bridges between #scientists and #policymakers.
👉Register: egu.eu/5FJA3V
October 31, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Does #science communication still feel challenging?
This #webinar will offer insights on how to make your science communication resonate with your audience by connecting with their values and identity. It will focus on building bridges between #scientists and #policymakers.
👉Register: egu.eu/5FJA3V
This #webinar will offer insights on how to make your science communication resonate with your audience by connecting with their values and identity. It will focus on building bridges between #scientists and #policymakers.
👉Register: egu.eu/5FJA3V
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
#GeoCinema is back for #EGU26!
Whether you have filmed fantastic spectacles in the field or produced an educational feature on the Earth, planetary, or space sciences - it's time to submit your short film 🎞️!
📅Submission deadline: 5 December 2025
👀 Application details: egu.eu/13NFE9
Whether you have filmed fantastic spectacles in the field or produced an educational feature on the Earth, planetary, or space sciences - it's time to submit your short film 🎞️!
📅Submission deadline: 5 December 2025
👀 Application details: egu.eu/13NFE9
October 30, 2025 at 1:33 PM
#GeoCinema is back for #EGU26!
Whether you have filmed fantastic spectacles in the field or produced an educational feature on the Earth, planetary, or space sciences - it's time to submit your short film 🎞️!
📅Submission deadline: 5 December 2025
👀 Application details: egu.eu/13NFE9
Whether you have filmed fantastic spectacles in the field or produced an educational feature on the Earth, planetary, or space sciences - it's time to submit your short film 🎞️!
📅Submission deadline: 5 December 2025
👀 Application details: egu.eu/13NFE9
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Why was Hurricane Melissa so powerful? And did climate change play a role? Renowned climate scientist @katharinehayhoe.com separates fact from fiction. #ThisIsClimateChange
October 30, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Why was Hurricane Melissa so powerful? And did climate change play a role? Renowned climate scientist @katharinehayhoe.com separates fact from fiction. #ThisIsClimateChange
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
European summer heatwaves are worsening unevenly
Central & Northern Europe: more moisture stress = stronger, more variable heatwaves
Southern Europe: drier but more stable = weaker extremes
Prepare for variability in the north, warming in the south
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Central & Northern Europe: more moisture stress = stronger, more variable heatwaves
Southern Europe: drier but more stable = weaker extremes
Prepare for variability in the north, warming in the south
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Increasing central and northern European summer heatwave intensity due to forced changes in internal variability - Nature Communications
Projected changes in internal climate variability are expected to amplify heatwave intensity in central and northern Europe—making these events more severe and less predictable—while dampening the tre...
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:58 PM
European summer heatwaves are worsening unevenly
Central & Northern Europe: more moisture stress = stronger, more variable heatwaves
Southern Europe: drier but more stable = weaker extremes
Prepare for variability in the north, warming in the south
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Central & Northern Europe: more moisture stress = stronger, more variable heatwaves
Southern Europe: drier but more stable = weaker extremes
Prepare for variability in the north, warming in the south
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Science is stronger when every voice is heard. At HERI, diversity drives discovery, challenges assumptions, and creates richer stories of our shared human story.
October 29, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Science is stronger when every voice is heard. At HERI, diversity drives discovery, challenges assumptions, and creates richer stories of our shared human story.
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
🗞️ New article in Biogeosciences #EGU by Sophie L. Baartman et al ⬇️
Isotope discrimination of carbonyl sulfide (34S) and carbon dioxide (13C, 18O) during plant uptake in flow-through chamber experiments
Abstract. Carbonyl sulfide (COS) has been proposed as a proxy for gross primary production (GPP), as it is taken up by plants through a pathway comparable to that of CO2. COS diffuses into the leaf,…
bg.copernicus.org
October 28, 2025 at 10:30 AM
🗞️ New article in Biogeosciences #EGU by Sophie L. Baartman et al ⬇️
Reposted by Assoc Prof Robyn Pickering
Want to better communicate the scientific significance & quality in your publications? In this #webinar, Ken Carslaw, co-Chief Executive Editor of the #EGU journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, will explain how journals interpret these and how to improve your #articles.
🔗Register: egu.eu/3K63V3
🔗Register: egu.eu/3K63V3
October 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Want to better communicate the scientific significance & quality in your publications? In this #webinar, Ken Carslaw, co-Chief Executive Editor of the #EGU journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, will explain how journals interpret these and how to improve your #articles.
🔗Register: egu.eu/3K63V3
🔗Register: egu.eu/3K63V3