Science is back! And it's better than ever

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[Steven Sobieszczyk] Hello and welcome, this is the USGS Oregon Science Podcast for Tuesday, September 22, 2009. I’m Steve Sobieszczyk.

Last month we released our first USGS Oregon Science Podcast. Hopefully, that little tasty nugget peaked your interest for things to come. If not, bear with us…we’ll bring you around. In fact, it’s in our mission statement: see, bring in audience and pique their curiosity. Okay, you can’t see it, but believe me, its there.

As some of you may know, the goal at the USGS is to research science for a changing world. It’s our goal here at the Oregon Science Podcast to make that science as interesting and informative as possible. If we don’t leave you wanting to come back for more, we’re not doing it right. That means with every episode we’ll delve deeper into the subject matter; hopefully providing greater insight, relevance, and accessibility than you get elsewhere. Just as important, we want your involvement, as well. But we’ll cover that later.

Now, last month’s episode 01 was sort of a hectic production. We were on a tight deadline to release something to coincide with a press release and a new report that was coming out. We weren’t too concerned with the “how do you dos” and the “what’s what” of a proper-like podcast introduction. Therefore, in an awkward, nonsequential way, that’s what today’s episode 02 is going to be. Things will be relatively short, there will be no in depth interviews or complicated science discussed. There will no pie charts or box plots. Instead, we’re going to give you a brief, well, briefing on who we are and you can expect with future episodes.

As our podcast name suggests, we are the USGS, but rather than covering a national audience, our focus is local. Well, local if you’re living in Oregon. Otherwise, you’re just listening because you’re curious. And that is wonderful. If you’re not from here, welcome, we appreciate that what we’re doing matters to you, as well.

So who are we? There are two primary facilities that the Oregon USGS works from, the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) in Corvallis and Oregon Water Science Center in Portland. However, we have employees throughout the state. For example, we have other work stations or field offices scattered around, including Central Point and Klamath Falls.

As an organization we work with other federal agencies, state agencies, county and city governments, Indian tribes, or other groups such as utility providers, watershed councils, and conservation groups. Each of the five disciplines (Geology, Biology, Water, Geography, and Geospatial) is represented. Since most of the broadcasts will be from the water science center, their may be a slight bias toward water issues.

With each episode we’ll do our best to cover some science topic that is important specifically to Oregon. Each episode will range in length, likely have multiple segments, and if all goes as planned, share a common theme. While we continue to work out the kinks of hosting a new podcast, we’ll probably keep our next few podcasts to a monthly release schedule. If our audience demands it, we’ll eventually bump up the number of episodes each month.

Our next episode will be our first all geologic show. And I’ll let you into a not-so-little secret why. Coming up in mid-October is the annual Geological Society of America meeting. And it will be here in Portland for the very first time ever. From October 18^th to the 21^st there will be over 6,000 geologists roaming our streets; hiking our forests, coasts, and volcanoes; and drinking all our beer and wine. With such a rich resource of science potential, it would be silly not coax something from this meeting into our next episode. As of yet, we’re not sure what that topic will be. Maybe we’ll focus on something cataclysmic like supervolcanoes or megatsunamis. Everyone loves the BIG BAD, after all. Or maybe we’ll cover something more tranquil like what are the best soils to grow wine grapes in. And for those who don’t know, it’s what the French call, “terroir.” Whatever we decide, I’ll guarantee that it will be a great episode. And whatever we don’t share in October, I’m sure we’ll find a way to add it to our knowledge “queue” for a future episode.

Well, I don’t want to prattle on too long. Hopefully, today’s episode wasn’t too much fluff. Granted, a little style over substance, on the rare occasion, is a good thing.

Oh, I almost forgot. As I mentioned in the beginning of the episode, we’re only as good as the listeners who tune in. So if you’re listening and want to hear about something in particular, let us know. There’s a pretty good chance we can make it happen. To reach us, just shoot an email with your message to oregonpodcast@usgs.gov or call and leave a message at (503) 251-3200. That is a Portland phone number; so long distance fees do apply if you’re calling from somewhere else. All questions, comments, or complaints are welcomed. Please, help us to make this show the best it can be.

Some interesting links related to today’s show are listed in the show transcripts, which are located at our website: or.usgs.gov/podcasts. Check there if you’re curious. And, as always, thank you all for listening. If you want to hear more about other research the USGS is doing around the country (or from around the world, for that matter), please check out other USGS podcasts at usgs.gov/podcasts. You’ll be glad you did. Until next time, I’m Steve Sobieszczyk.

This podcast is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.

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