The Nick Zentner Geology Podcast · Nick Zentner

That Was Intense

·38 min·3 clips

Bob Miller admits that after 45 years, geologists now doubt subduction caused the Eocene magmas across the Pacific Northwest.

This episode is a reflective monologue by geology professor Nick Zentner, recorded in early March 2022. Zentner uses the episode to process the conclusion of an intensive winter project and outline his upcoming plans for field work and content creation. He recently completed a four-month YouTube live stream series called "A to Z," which featured 26 sessions with guest geologists every Wednesday and Saturday. The series focused heavily on Eocene-age igneous rocks, approximately 53 to 43 million years old, found across the Pacific Northwest. Guests included Jeff Tepper on Washington geochemistry, Dave Rogers on the Idaho batholith, Robinson Cecil on British Columbia's Coast Mountains, and Caleb Scarberry on Montana geology. A central geological debate explored was whether these widespread Eocene magmas were generated by subduction of an oceanic plate. A growing consensus from the series suggests they may instead originate from a "slab window" formed by the subduction of a spreading ridge. The latter part of the series examined metamorphic core complexes with guests like Stacia Gordon and Chris Mattinson, drawing connections between features in British Columbia and Washington's North Cascades crystalline core. Zentner reveals the intense series was professionally rewarding, fostering new collaborations between researchers like Chris Mattinson and Caleb Scarberry. He announces an eight-month break from the structured live streams, with a new 26-episode series on the "Baja B.C." geological hypothesis planned for November 2022. His immediate focus shifts to more accessible, varied content for the spring and summer. He plans to create pre-recorded videos, including more work on Ice Age Floods research and interviews with Native American historian Randy Lewis. Zentner also intends to resume informal "pop-up geology" live events at outdoor locations, announced 48 hours in advance on his YouTube channel. He shares an anecdote about investing in potential Starlink satellite technology to enable live streaming from remote field locations with better connectivity. The episode's tone is personal, conversational, and contemplative, as Zentner thinks aloud about his past work and future direction. Listeners deeply interested in Pacific Northwest geological research or the behind-the-scenes life of a science communicator will find this episode engaging. Those seeking a structured lesson on a specific geological topic may prefer his other, more focused episodes.

As heard by us

A spring-thaw geology conversation linking the North Cascades to slab windows and plutons.

Nick Zentner uses this episode to widen the view from the North Cascades to the slab window idea and the plutons it may help explain. The talk has a spring-thaw feel, with a clear sense of getting back outside and back to geology after winter.

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Why you'd press play

If you like geology that links one North Cascades puzzle to the next, start here.

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