Dr. Shannon Cofield 🪨🗺️🌊
@geoshanz.bsky.social
Geological Oceanographer | Researching sediments from the Deep Sea to Mars
• Ph.D. in tiny Arctic rocks, oceans, + squiggly lines
• Exploring extreme environments w/ robot friends
✍️ https://geoshanz.blogspot.com
Prev 🐥: @ MarsRoverMapper (ODU+NASA-JPL)
• Ph.D. in tiny Arctic rocks, oceans, + squiggly lines
• Exploring extreme environments w/ robot friends
✍️ https://geoshanz.blogspot.com
Prev 🐥: @ MarsRoverMapper (ODU+NASA-JPL)
🚨 Upcoming live debate
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
November 17, 2025 at 2:27 PM
🚨 Upcoming live debate
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪
• Free to attend (🔗 to register below)
• Includes a public Q&A session
If you missed the broadcast, here’s the absolutely exhilarating landing (+ commentary). “IT WAS HOVERING!!!” 🥹 #ESCAPADE
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
November 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
If you missed the broadcast, here’s the absolutely exhilarating landing (+ commentary). “IT WAS HOVERING!!!” 🥹 #ESCAPADE
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
Successful Blue Origin New Glenn booster return! 🧪 #PlanetarySci
And my view… 😑
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
And my view… 😑
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
But I’m loving everyone’s photos!!!
UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)
Wait… clouds are starting to break! Ok, do I drive up to Shenandoah National Park or not…….. tempted.
November 12, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Wait… clouds are starting to break! Ok, do I drive up to Shenandoah National Park or not…….. tempted.
The sun is doing things! Auroras are popping off… sadly, it’s cloudy in northern Virginia.
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
November 12, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The sun is doing things! Auroras are popping off… sadly, it’s cloudy in northern Virginia.
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪
Okay, I was just in Newport, RI and saw this in a window display. Confirmed- it’s ADORABLE!!! 🦞
November 11, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Okay, I was just in Newport, RI and saw this in a window display. Confirmed- it’s ADORABLE!!! 🦞
(4/n) Not included in the paper, but here's a quick overview of how we use the "chemical fingerprint" of individual Fe-grains as a tracker for ice movement from a circum-Arctic "source area" to the core site.
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
![Infograph starts on top Left:
1. Arctic climate has changed dramatically over time, aka- "paleoclimate".
2. During glacial periods, icebergs calve off glaciers and sea ice forms- carrying (or "rafting") sediment from their original location.
3. As ice circulates the Arctic, it's only exit [during glacials] is the Fram Strait. When it encounters *slightly warmer waters and starts melting, the sediment drops to the sea floor.
4. We collected a deep-sea sediment core in the "sweet spot" of sediment deposition, the Fram Strait.
5. Sediments are separated by size, then Fe-grains are magnetically separated. We use an electron microprobe to analyze a suite of elements in each Fe-grain, which provides a unique "chemical fingerprint".
6. These chemical fingerprints are matched to a robust database of circum-Arctic Fe-grain "source areas".
How does the proxy come together:
Now we know WHERE the grains came from. We also developed an age model to we can identify WHEN they were deposited. With this information we can select certain time frames and examine which geographic region (or "source areas") were actively dispersing ice and rafting sediments. Aka- we are reconstructing paleo-ice movement with Fe-grains. However, this is only one proxy and should be combined with several proxies and models for a comprehensive understanding of Arctic paleoclimate.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dodtevapzpvqildhsdkltrz3/bafkreigwgrrubbljbeuzmz3v7jpa37r76k2fs7lqv3a3l7n6l5ncuvcoiu@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
(4/n) Not included in the paper, but here's a quick overview of how we use the "chemical fingerprint" of individual Fe-grains as a tracker for ice movement from a circum-Arctic "source area" to the core site.
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
NOTE: I included a step-by-step explanation in the ALT TXT 🌊🧪
One of my oceanography expedition 🌊 traditions is a proper dance party before deploying equipment.
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
November 8, 2025 at 2:55 PM
One of my oceanography expedition 🌊 traditions is a proper dance party before deploying equipment.
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops.
Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶
🎥: Katlin
Friend sent me this w/ no context.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Friend sent me this w/ no context.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.
🚨 - Final - USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
November 7, 2025 at 1:25 PM
🚨 - Final - USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
• Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025
• Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate
• Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪
[Links below]
🎬 Excited to share our expedition member’s hard work.
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
November 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM
🎬 Excited to share our expedition member’s hard work.
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
- coming soon -
(*AT50-38 expedition deliverables/ final report will be available to the Public shortly after the federal government reopens) 🌊🧪
October 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Shout out to my NOAA + USAF Hurricane Hunter colleagues flying into #HurricaneMelissa. Watching Jamaica closely.
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
October 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Shout out to my NOAA + USAF Hurricane Hunter colleagues flying into #HurricaneMelissa. Watching Jamaica closely.
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb
Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown.
Bravo Zulu! ✈️
Off on my next adventure 🛫 👋
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
October 24, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Off on my next adventure 🛫 👋
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:
~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~
🌊🧪
I had the incredible privilege to visit the White House on Election Day (Nov 5) 2024.
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
October 23, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I had the incredible privilege to visit the White House on Election Day (Nov 5) 2024.
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:
Just discovered the M.C. Escher museum offers guided tours for blind & visually impaired visitors (sells out quickly!). What a lovely opportunity to experience his tessellations and mind-bending buildings.
*Math x Art = One of my fav artists 🧪
📍Escher in Het Paleis, Netherlands
*Math x Art = One of my fav artists 🧪
📍Escher in Het Paleis, Netherlands
October 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Just discovered the M.C. Escher museum offers guided tours for blind & visually impaired visitors (sells out quickly!). What a lovely opportunity to experience his tessellations and mind-bending buildings.
*Math x Art = One of my fav artists 🧪
📍Escher in Het Paleis, Netherlands
*Math x Art = One of my fav artists 🧪
📍Escher in Het Paleis, Netherlands
🍂 Fall Outings.
Finally hiked to the columnar basalt outcrops. Cooper-approved 🐾
Spectacular!
Bonus: Park was packed, so I had an opportunity to discuss this outcrop w/ a group of enthusiastic hikers.
📍Compton Gap- #ShenandoahNationalPark, Virginia 🪨🧪
Finally hiked to the columnar basalt outcrops. Cooper-approved 🐾
Spectacular!
Bonus: Park was packed, so I had an opportunity to discuss this outcrop w/ a group of enthusiastic hikers.
📍Compton Gap- #ShenandoahNationalPark, Virginia 🪨🧪
October 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
🍂 Fall Outings.
Finally hiked to the columnar basalt outcrops. Cooper-approved 🐾
Spectacular!
Bonus: Park was packed, so I had an opportunity to discuss this outcrop w/ a group of enthusiastic hikers.
📍Compton Gap- #ShenandoahNationalPark, Virginia 🪨🧪
Finally hiked to the columnar basalt outcrops. Cooper-approved 🐾
Spectacular!
Bonus: Park was packed, so I had an opportunity to discuss this outcrop w/ a group of enthusiastic hikers.
📍Compton Gap- #ShenandoahNationalPark, Virginia 🪨🧪
Plastic is everywhere.
On today’s dive, the E/V Nautilus/ ROV Hercules encountered a crushed plastic bottle on the abyssal plain- in the remote Pacific (Cook Islands @ 5,198 meters).
♻️ I challenge everyone to swap at least one single-use plastic item. Small steps for more eco habits. 🌊🧪🌎
On today’s dive, the E/V Nautilus/ ROV Hercules encountered a crushed plastic bottle on the abyssal plain- in the remote Pacific (Cook Islands @ 5,198 meters).
♻️ I challenge everyone to swap at least one single-use plastic item. Small steps for more eco habits. 🌊🧪🌎
October 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Plastic is everywhere.
On today’s dive, the E/V Nautilus/ ROV Hercules encountered a crushed plastic bottle on the abyssal plain- in the remote Pacific (Cook Islands @ 5,198 meters).
♻️ I challenge everyone to swap at least one single-use plastic item. Small steps for more eco habits. 🌊🧪🌎
On today’s dive, the E/V Nautilus/ ROV Hercules encountered a crushed plastic bottle on the abyssal plain- in the remote Pacific (Cook Islands @ 5,198 meters).
♻️ I challenge everyone to swap at least one single-use plastic item. Small steps for more eco habits. 🌊🧪🌎
🔔 DIVE HAPPENING NOW
My colleagues (👋 Amanda!) are narrating this gorgeous dive in the Cook Islands abyssal plains.
Forbidden truffles 🪨🪨🪨
Link below to watch livestream 🧪🌊
My colleagues (👋 Amanda!) are narrating this gorgeous dive in the Cook Islands abyssal plains.
Forbidden truffles 🪨🪨🪨
Link below to watch livestream 🧪🌊
October 16, 2025 at 3:10 PM
🔔 DIVE HAPPENING NOW
My colleagues (👋 Amanda!) are narrating this gorgeous dive in the Cook Islands abyssal plains.
Forbidden truffles 🪨🪨🪨
Link below to watch livestream 🧪🌊
My colleagues (👋 Amanda!) are narrating this gorgeous dive in the Cook Islands abyssal plains.
Forbidden truffles 🪨🪨🪨
Link below to watch livestream 🧪🌊
Last time I was home, I grabbed some samples for my "garden collection" (because, why not!):
October 15, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Last time I was home, I grabbed some samples for my "garden collection" (because, why not!):
Trying my best to mimic Vostok δ¹⁸O data. If you squint hard enough, you can see that pesky MIS 4 rearing its face.
October 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Trying my best to mimic Vostok δ¹⁸O data. If you squint hard enough, you can see that pesky MIS 4 rearing its face.
🔔 Meeting Announcement
Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)- virtual/ Nov 12, 2025
ℹ️ www.lpi.usra.edu/mepag/meetin...
#PlanetarySci 🧪
Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)- virtual/ Nov 12, 2025
ℹ️ www.lpi.usra.edu/mepag/meetin...
#PlanetarySci 🧪
October 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
🔔 Meeting Announcement
Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)- virtual/ Nov 12, 2025
ℹ️ www.lpi.usra.edu/mepag/meetin...
#PlanetarySci 🧪
Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)- virtual/ Nov 12, 2025
ℹ️ www.lpi.usra.edu/mepag/meetin...
#PlanetarySci 🧪
Magic around the land. These only show a small subset of the amenities. Truly incredible 💫
September 30, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Magic around the land. These only show a small subset of the amenities. Truly incredible 💫