Sunset Crater, the most recent cinder cone in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, is estimated to have erupted between A.D. 1085 and 1090. In areas where the resulting lava flows were greater than 30cm thick, people may have been forced to migrate, leaving behind long-established homesteads and agricultural fields.  On the positive side, lower elevation areas with cinder fall in the range of 3-10 cm would have become more suitable for farming, due to the beneficial effects of the cinder mulch. We talk with Volcanologist Michael Ort, who, together with a team of scientists, has unraveled the timing of these events and the implications of volcanic activity for humans at the time.

Living with Volcanoes

Your Nerdy Valentines

Meet Flora Lichtman

Dr. Karletta Chief, Director of the Indigenous Resilience Center at the University of Arizona, leads initiatives for Tribal water security and community-driven climate solutions. Dr. Chief, a Diné hydrologist and professor, shares how growing up in Black Mesa on the Navajo Nation has influenced her current work. She emphasizes the importance of utilizing traditional knowledge alongside western science, and ensuring Indigenous communities’ central role in decision-making. We learn about the powerful mission of the Indigenous Resilience Center, and Dr. Chief shares her hopes for empowering the next generation of Indigenous youth to lead and innovate in their communities.


Water, Land, and Identity

Your Butterfly Memories

Charlie Carpenter, a Braided Science Conservationist with IndigenousLed, discusses their work focused on reintroducing buffalo to Indigenous lands. The process of buffalo reintroduction includes land suitability assessments, political hurdles, and funding challenges. The initiative aims to restore buffalo, a keystone species, to their native habitats, benefiting both Indigenous cultures and ecosystems. Charlie highlights the importance of braided science, which integrates traditional ecological knowledge with Western science. We also talk about other upcoming projects including medicinal gardens and intertribal beaver councils.


Return of the Buffalo

It is the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor water resources across the country.   We talk with Chris Wilkowske, a hydrologist with the USGS at the Utah Water Science Center, about the science and methodology of measuring stream flow. We talk about how stream gauges operate and the process of validating and adjusting data, particularly after events like floods. Local examples from the Moab area and the Colorado River highlight the dual purposes of stream gauges for flood monitoring and groundwater assessments. 


Monitoring Stream Flow

Caller Question: Seasonal Allergies

This podcast concludes a 3-part series on Moab’s creek corridors.  The series includes restoration processes on the creeks, stream water gauge science, and this episode, fire fuels mitigation along Mill and Pack creeks flowing from the west side of the La Sal Mountains.  Fire risk is high in creek corridors and other overgrown areas. The dense corridors could spread fire quickly through Moab and Spanish Valley.  We talked with Duncan Fuchise, the forest stewardship program manager with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, as he hopped between work sites along the Mill Creek Corridor one morning in March 2025.


Clearing Out the Fuels

Ryan Barton emphasizes the importance of collaboration and negotiation in solving water issues and bringing resilient water systems to the Navajo Nation.  As a hydrologist working for the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources,  Ryan has been involved in projects for over a decade including hydrographic surveys, lake capacity studies, and the San Juan River Basin Crop Inventory.  Science Moab talks with Ryan about his most recent and ongoing efforts to successfully provide drinking water to the Westwater community west of Blanding, UT through extensive collaboration among various entities.  Ryan’s path into hydrology has been influenced by family and childhood experiences of nature conservation.


Creating Water Resiliency on the Navajo Nation

How PFAS From A Military Base Has Sickened Nearby Residents

A podcast exploring the science and learning about the scientists from southeast Utah and the Colorado Plateau. Produced by Science Moab, KZMU, and USU Extension

Living with Volcanoes

Science Moab

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