Claire G. Griffin
@polargriffin.bsky.social
Asst Prof, Ex-pat Texan, biogeocheminist and arctic scientist, excited about organic matter and rivers. Water science, fluffy pet photos, #QueerinSTEM, and crafty things.
Pinned
Fresh Water Songs
Playlist · cofertest · 70 items · 8 saves
open.spotify.com
I have been making a playlist of Fresh Water Songs for my Hydrology class, with some help from friends. It's pretty great! Please enjoy.
open.spotify.com/playlist/7jl...
open.spotify.com/playlist/7jl...
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Jim Ryan wrote a letter to UVA detailing his "resignation" and I'm gonna get some fresh tea before I read it because I feel pretty certain I'm gonna be filled with righteous anger by the end
I'll do a thread but here's the full letter provided by the chronicle
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
I'll do a thread but here's the full letter provided by the chronicle
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Jim Ryan letter
www.documentcloud.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Jim Ryan wrote a letter to UVA detailing his "resignation" and I'm gonna get some fresh tea before I read it because I feel pretty certain I'm gonna be filled with righteous anger by the end
I'll do a thread but here's the full letter provided by the chronicle
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
I'll do a thread but here's the full letter provided by the chronicle
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Are you located in the DC-Baltimore-Philadelphia-New York corridor?
Have you always wanted to have your very own 11 foot long papier-mâché hammerhead shark?
Now available for free!
Perfect for museums, community centers, or your living room!
Save this lovely creature from imminent destruction!
Have you always wanted to have your very own 11 foot long papier-mâché hammerhead shark?
Now available for free!
Perfect for museums, community centers, or your living room!
Save this lovely creature from imminent destruction!
November 14, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Are you located in the DC-Baltimore-Philadelphia-New York corridor?
Have you always wanted to have your very own 11 foot long papier-mâché hammerhead shark?
Now available for free!
Perfect for museums, community centers, or your living room!
Save this lovely creature from imminent destruction!
Have you always wanted to have your very own 11 foot long papier-mâché hammerhead shark?
Now available for free!
Perfect for museums, community centers, or your living room!
Save this lovely creature from imminent destruction!
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
BREAKING: NSF will be relocating to the "Randolph Building," about half a mile from its current location in Alexandria, where they will co-locate with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The lease will begin January 1, 2026.
Below is a transcription of an email shared with me by NSF staff.
Below is a transcription of an email shared with me by NSF staff.
November 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
BREAKING: NSF will be relocating to the "Randolph Building," about half a mile from its current location in Alexandria, where they will co-locate with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The lease will begin January 1, 2026.
Below is a transcription of an email shared with me by NSF staff.
Below is a transcription of an email shared with me by NSF staff.
I recently re-read Forgotten Beasts of Eld, a beautiful little book.
The cover of the paperback copy i had in high school is the first image. The cover of the current Amazon listing is the second.
What happened??? This half-assed photoshop slop can't have been worth it.
The cover of the paperback copy i had in high school is the first image. The cover of the current Amazon listing is the second.
What happened??? This half-assed photoshop slop can't have been worth it.
November 14, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I recently re-read Forgotten Beasts of Eld, a beautiful little book.
The cover of the paperback copy i had in high school is the first image. The cover of the current Amazon listing is the second.
What happened??? This half-assed photoshop slop can't have been worth it.
The cover of the paperback copy i had in high school is the first image. The cover of the current Amazon listing is the second.
What happened??? This half-assed photoshop slop can't have been worth it.
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Jim Ryan's letter is not just surreal and troubling; it provides a series of deeply sobering lessons—about the perils facing public universities today; about what it means to "work with" this Department of Justice; & about what leadership does (and doesn't) entail at this especially fraught moment.
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Jim Ryan's letter is not just surreal and troubling; it provides a series of deeply sobering lessons—about the perils facing public universities today; about what it means to "work with" this Department of Justice; & about what leadership does (and doesn't) entail at this especially fraught moment.
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
The thing is, 1.5 degrees was was an unrealistic target from the start. The only way earth system models could make it work was by overshooting the target, getting to 0 emissions, and then devoting 2-3x the land area of India to carbon removal later in the century. We’d already warmed 1.2 degrees C.
Humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5C and must change course immediately, the secretary general of the UN has warned. 🔗👉 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 PM
The thing is, 1.5 degrees was was an unrealistic target from the start. The only way earth system models could make it work was by overshooting the target, getting to 0 emissions, and then devoting 2-3x the land area of India to carbon removal later in the century. We’d already warmed 1.2 degrees C.
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
A reminder, to myself and others, as our federal colleagues return to work, the backlog will be huge, and they didn't just come back from vacation, they are coming back from something that has impacted each of them in their own way
I know I am eager to talk to many of them, but lets all be patient
I know I am eager to talk to many of them, but lets all be patient
November 13, 2025 at 1:57 PM
A reminder, to myself and others, as our federal colleagues return to work, the backlog will be huge, and they didn't just come back from vacation, they are coming back from something that has impacted each of them in their own way
I know I am eager to talk to many of them, but lets all be patient
I know I am eager to talk to many of them, but lets all be patient
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
I try my hardest to stop buying books but sometimes it is just too difficult.
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
I try my hardest to stop buying books but sometimes it is just too difficult.
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Another community resource loss: "Sunset of the IRI Data Library" 😔
IRI – International Research Institute for Climate and Society | Data Library Sunset
iri.columbia.edu
November 12, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Another community resource loss: "Sunset of the IRI Data Library" 😔
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
There was an NYT piece last week about the Sierra Club, and (by extension) the current state of the climate movement.
I think they got three big things wrong.
davekarpf.substack.com/p/every-gene...
I think they got three big things wrong.
davekarpf.substack.com/p/every-gene...
Every generation gets to recreate the environmental movement to suit its own purposes
Some big-picture reactions to a recent NYT piece
davekarpf.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:17 PM
There was an NYT piece last week about the Sierra Club, and (by extension) the current state of the climate movement.
I think they got three big things wrong.
davekarpf.substack.com/p/every-gene...
I think they got three big things wrong.
davekarpf.substack.com/p/every-gene...
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Map showing which 3-month period has warmed the most over the last 75 years. For most places in North America - except for the U.S. Rocky Mountains and West Coast - one of the cold season periods is the one that has warmed the most.
@alaskawx.bsky.social
@alaskawx.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Map showing which 3-month period has warmed the most over the last 75 years. For most places in North America - except for the U.S. Rocky Mountains and West Coast - one of the cold season periods is the one that has warmed the most.
@alaskawx.bsky.social
@alaskawx.bsky.social
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:
a 🧵 1/n
Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
a 🧵 1/n
Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:
a 🧵 1/n
Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
a 🧵 1/n
Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
I really need to get to bed, but I just poked my head out the back door again. This is the view from my deck. All of this is looking south. When the geomagnetic storms are like this, the oval overshoots me and stretches into the US, which is why so many are seeing it tonight. #aurora
November 12, 2025 at 5:16 AM
I really need to get to bed, but I just poked my head out the back door again. This is the view from my deck. All of this is looking south. When the geomagnetic storms are like this, the oval overshoots me and stretches into the US, which is why so many are seeing it tonight. #aurora
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
It’s been a crazy busy semester, but I’m cranking up production of my LiDAR-derived, 3D-printed volcano tissue box covers for the holidays. I hope to have a massive offering (50+) sometime near Thanksgiving. Here’s a sneak peak Will also have Etna and Stromboli! Etsy link in my profile.
November 12, 2025 at 3:08 AM
It’s been a crazy busy semester, but I’m cranking up production of my LiDAR-derived, 3D-printed volcano tissue box covers for the holidays. I hope to have a massive offering (50+) sometime near Thanksgiving. Here’s a sneak peak Will also have Etna and Stromboli! Etsy link in my profile.
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
I am on my way home to Toronto and the aurorae are absolutely phenomenal.
If you are anywhere in the northern half of the continent, get outside and look up! Or better still, put your camera on a 10 second exposure and point it up.
If you are anywhere in the northern half of the continent, get outside and look up! Or better still, put your camera on a 10 second exposure and point it up.
November 12, 2025 at 2:44 AM
I am on my way home to Toronto and the aurorae are absolutely phenomenal.
If you are anywhere in the northern half of the continent, get outside and look up! Or better still, put your camera on a 10 second exposure and point it up.
If you are anywhere in the northern half of the continent, get outside and look up! Or better still, put your camera on a 10 second exposure and point it up.
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
ai could never
November 12, 2025 at 2:14 AM
ai could never
Why do I live in one of the cloudless parts of the country??
November 12, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Why do I live in one of the cloudless parts of the country??
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Faint aurora visible with a long exposure in Knoxville, TN!
November 12, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Faint aurora visible with a long exposure in Knoxville, TN!
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
You can see it in Seattle!!
November 12, 2025 at 1:44 AM
You can see it in Seattle!!
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
Aurora’s out!
Taken in Colorado, 40 degrees north
Taken in Colorado, 40 degrees north
November 12, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Aurora’s out!
Taken in Colorado, 40 degrees north
Taken in Colorado, 40 degrees north
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
November 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
I am not a good enough knitter to make this, but I need this sweater!!
I designed a horseshoe crab sweater and published it on Ravelry on National horseshoe crab day! If you ever thought to yourself “man, I really want a hand knit sweater with horseshoe crabs on it” boy do I have great news for ya
www.ravelry.com/patterns/lib...
www.ravelry.com/patterns/lib...
November 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I am not a good enough knitter to make this, but I need this sweater!!
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
There is a race to the bottom brewing in Texas regarding academic freedom.
Leonard Bright, president of the Texas A&M Chapter of the AAUP said faculty were not consulted on the proposed changes, which he called “a direct violation” of their expertise + freedom to teach. “If that’s the case, there’s just going to be a further black eye on higher education here in Texas.”
Texas A&M to vote on banning “race and gender ideology”
The proposal appears to mark the first time a Texas university system offers definitions of what kind of instruction related to race and gender should not be permitted.
www.texastribune.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
There is a race to the bottom brewing in Texas regarding academic freedom.
Guess its officially winter! First lake effect snow of the season
November 10, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Guess its officially winter! First lake effect snow of the season
Reposted by Claire G. Griffin
NEW data | Less than 50% of Australia's electricity generation came from fossil fuels in October 🇦🇺⚡️
This was the first month ever where renewables have overtaken fossil fuels in Australia's electricity mix.
10 years ago, in October 2015, fossil fuels made up 86%.
This was the first month ever where renewables have overtaken fossil fuels in Australia's electricity mix.
10 years ago, in October 2015, fossil fuels made up 86%.
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 AM
NEW data | Less than 50% of Australia's electricity generation came from fossil fuels in October 🇦🇺⚡️
This was the first month ever where renewables have overtaken fossil fuels in Australia's electricity mix.
10 years ago, in October 2015, fossil fuels made up 86%.
This was the first month ever where renewables have overtaken fossil fuels in Australia's electricity mix.
10 years ago, in October 2015, fossil fuels made up 86%.