Press coverage
Adventures in communicating science to a broad audience: A rising blob in New England
Original publication
In November of 2017 we published a short paper in Geology documenting an interesting set of measurements that suggested upward motion of upper mantle material within a relatively slow (hence warm) volume located ~100-300 km beneath central New England. A screenshot of the title and the authors is below:
A press release produced with the help of Rutgers Today staff was remarkably successful in attracting attention to the study. As a result I found myself in a highly unfamiliar role of a “public face of science”. I ended up giving numerous interviews to print, radio and video (TV and streaming) outlets. Additionally, a number of news outlets published versions of the Rutgers press release with various degrees of embellishment. Finally, after ~6 months of being episodically present in the press, an evolution took place where the subject of the embellishments became the key topic of a publications.
A running tally of news stories reporting on the study.
Caveat emptor: I list all that I am aware of, regardless of whether I had input into the published product or not.
· Boston Globe: Volcano could erupt in Mass. — but don’t worry, it’s millions of years away:
· USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/12/06/we-may-someday-need-worry-volcanoes-new-england/927986001/
National Geographic: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/magma-bubble-rising-under-new-england-volcanoes-science/
· Live Science: Unusual ‘Blob’ of Hot Rock Found Beneath New England: https://www.livescience.com/61201-weird-hot-blob-under-new-england.html?utm_source=notification
· Newsweek: A HUGE BLOB OF HOT ROCK HAS BEEN RISING UNDER VERMONT FOR TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS:http://www.newsweek.com/huge-blob-hot-rock-has-been-rising-under-vermont-tens-millions-years-726936
· The Earth Chronicles of Life: A huge mass of magma grows under the northeastern United States: https://earth-chronicles.com/natural-catastrophe/a-huge-mass-of-magma-grows-under-the-northeastern-united-states.html
· WBIR-TV 10 (Nashville): http://www.wbir.com/article/news/nation-now/we-may-someday-need-to-worry-about-volcanoes-in-new-england/465-b3dd185e-e637-4043-8d85-b4b311caa99f
· International Business Times: Magma Rising To Earth’s Surface In Hot Glob Below US Northeast: http://www.ibtimes.com/magma-rising-earths-surface-hot-glob-below-us-northeast-2629863
· Daily Mail: Mysterious ‘hot air balloon’ of molten rock is discovered rising under the surface of New Hampshire – and experts believe it could lead to a volcanic eruption:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5191047/Mysterious-molten-rock-discovered-New-Hampshire.html?ITO=1490
· Science Alert: A Mysterious Blob of Hot Rock Is Building Up Under America’s Northeast: https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-blob-of-hot-rock-building-up-underneath-vermont-new-valleyengland
· Лента.ру: > https://lenta.ru/news/2017/12/18/blob/
· LA GRAN EPOCA: https://m.lagranepoca.com/news/ciencia-y-tecnologia/noticias/230454-misteriosa-mancha-de-lava-del-manto-esta-creciendo-al-norte-de-ee-uu.html
· The Quebec Telegram: A HUGE MASS OF MAGMA IS GROWING UNDER THE NORTH-EASTERN STATES OF THE USA:https://qtelegram.com/a-huge-mass-of-magma-is-growing-under-the-north-eastern-states-of-the-usa/6829
· GeologyIN: https://www.geologyin.com/2017/12/huge-mass-of-molten-rock-rising-under.html
· The Weather Channel Canada: Massive Area of Warm Rock Is Rising Beneath New England, New Study Says: https://weather.com/en-CA/canada/science/news/2017-12-01-new-england-warm-rock-rising-study
· United Press International: Warm rock rising deep beneath New England, seismic study reveals:https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/12/01/Warm-rock-rising-deep-beneath-New-England-seismic-study-reveals/8801512132845/
· Inhabitat: Huge mass of molten rock discovered beneath Vermont: https://inhabitat.com/huge-mass-of-molten-rock-discovered-beneath-vermont/
· The Science Page: Mass of warm rock rising beneath New England, study suggests: https://thesciencepage.com/mass-of-warm-rock-rising-beneath-new-england-study-suggests/
· Epoch Times: Volcano in New England? Maybe, But Not for Millions of Years:http://epochtimes.today/news/site/article/20190/volcano-in-new-england-maybe-but-not-for-millions-of-years/
· Jersey Tribune: Newsweek: A Huge Blob of Hot Rock Has Been Rising Under Vermont For Tens of Millions of Years:http://jerseytribune.com/2017/12/01/newsweek-a-huge-blob-of-hot-rock-has-been-rising-under-vermont-for-tens-of-millions-of-years
· Futurity: Volcano in New England? Maybe, but not for millions of years: http://www.futurity.org/new-england-volcano-geology-1617822-2/
· Granite Geek Blog (Concord Monitor): A huge blob of warm rock is rising up beneath us: http://granitegeek.concordmonitor.com/2017/11/29/huge-blob-warm-rock-rising-beneath-us/
· Science Daily: Mass of warm rock rising beneath New England:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130094142.htm
· Newswise: http://www.newswise.com/articles/mass-of-warm-rock-rising-beneath-new-england-rutgers-study-suggests
· New Brunswick Patch: https://patch.com/new-jersey/newbrunswick/mass-warm-rock-rising-beneath-new-england-study-suggests
· Valley News: http://www.vnews.com/New-study-helps-to-explain-local-earthquakes-14295051
· (note – the real title of the published story has nothing to do with earthquakes…)
· AOL: Hot magma is rising underneath New England: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/12/09/hot-magma-is-rising-underneath-new-england/23302372/
· SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-england-is-sitting-on-a-bed-of-hot-rocks/#
· ——– after some hiatus——-
· FOX NEWS: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/06/25/new-supervolcano-is-brewing-under-massachusetts-vermont-and-new-hampshire.html
· CNN Space + Science https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/27/us/volcano-under-new-england-wxc/index.html
· Mashable https://mashable.com/2018/06/27/no-supervolcano-under-new-england/?utm_cid=hp-n-1#g1MtCIhUbaqj