Raised Beaches Podcast

Evan James Gowan
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The Raised Beaches Podcast is a discussion on topics related to paleoclimate, Earth Science and global change. Dr. Evan J. Gowan highlights the concepts and underlying evidence on how climate, sea level and the Earth surface changes through time. He also connects how our knowledge of the past informs our predictions of future climate.

Episodes

  1. Jul 21

    Episode 8: Profile of Paolo Pirazzoli, paleo sea level scientist

    Raised Beaches Podcast: Episode 8 In this episode, I give an overview of the paleo sea level scientist, Paolo Pirazzoli. ----- Notes and References ----- Evelpidou et al 2017. Paolo Antonio Pirazzoli (1939–2017) — An exceptional career dedicated to coastal geomorphology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2017.10.001 Pirazzoli 2002. Did the Italian government approve an obsolete project to save Venice?. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002EO000148 Evelpidou et al 2012. Late Holocene Sea Level Reconstructions Based on Observations of Roman Fish Tanks, Tyrrhenian Coast of Italy. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21387 Pirazzoli and Evelpidou 2013. Tidal notches: A sea-level indicator of uncertain archival trustworthiness. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.11.004 Pirazzoli et al 1992. Historical environmental changes at Phalasarna harbor, West Crete. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.3340070406 Pirazzoli 1991. World atlas of Holocene sea-level changes. Pirazzoli et al 1991. Quaternary raised coral-reef terraces on Sumba Island, Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.252.5014.1834 Pirazzoli et al 1987. Late Holocene sea levels and coral reef development in Vahitahi Atoll, eastern Tuamotu Islands, Pacific Ocean. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(87)90020-X Pirazzoli et al 2004. Quaternary coral-reef terraces from Kish and Qeshm Islands, Persian Gulf: new radiometric ages and tectonic implications. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2004.01.003 Pirazzoli et al 2006. Recent evolution of surge-related events and assessment of coastal flooding risk on the eastern coasts of the English Channel. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-005-0040-3 Pirazzoli 1978. High stands of Holocene sea levels in the northwest Pacific. https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(78)90010-8 Pirazzoli et al 1985. The use of barnacles to measure and date relative sea-level changes in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(85)90008-2 Pirazzoli et al 1984. Late Holocene sea-level changes in Tarama Island, the Ryukyus, Japan. https://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.38.2_113 Pirazzoli 2013. Sea level studies| Geomorphological indicators. Pirazzoli 1986. Marine notches.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4215-8_12 ---- Thank you to: ---- Raised Beaches Podcast logo by Aurooj: https://www.instagram.com/artbytinyleaf/ Sean for the Raised Beaches Podcast theme song That Blasted Salami, who helped me get started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GTc4yWm-yiBFTuV3MsGaQ Follow Dr. Evan J. Gowan on social media: Mastodon: @DrEvanGowan@fediscience.org Bluesky: @evangowan.bsky.social

  2. Jun 16

    Episode 7: The Japan Geoscience Union 2026 Meeting

    Raised Beaches Podcast: Episode 7 The topics I discuss in the episode include: - What I have been doing the past year and why I haven't recorded podcasts. - My new job at Kikaijima - The Japan Geoscience Union 2026 meeting - End of the Ocean Observation Initiative - Papers Listen here: https://raisedbeaches.buzzsprout.com/ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@evangowan ----- Notes and References ----- - Article on The Guardian about the end of the Ocean Observation Initiative: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/02/trump-administration-ocean-observatories-initiative - The website of the Ocean Observation Initiative: https://oceanobservatories.org/about-ooi/ - Rubio-Sandoval et al - Holocene relative sea-level changes from the Atlantic coasts of South America - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105315 - Hao et al - Model seasonal and proxy spatial biases revealed by assimilated mid-Holocene seasonal temperatures - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.03.039 ---- Thank you to: ---- Raised Beaches Podcast logo by Aurooj: https://www.instagram.com/artbytinyleaf/ Sean for the Raised Beaches Podcast theme song That Blasted Salami, who helped me get started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GTc4yWm-yiBFTuV3MsGaQ Follow Dr. Evan J. Gowan on social media: Mastodon: @DrEvanGowan@fediscience.org Bluesky: @evangowan.bsky.social

  3. 07/10/2025

    Episode 6: CO2 Changes Through Time

    Raised Beaches Podcast: Episode 6 The deep dive of episode 6 is on the topic of CO2 changes through time. For a full list of references, see the post on my website: https://raisedbeaches.net/2025/07/10/raised-beaches-podcast-episode-6/ Listen here: https://raisedbeaches.buzzsprout.com/ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@evangowan ----- Episode 6 - Intro ----- In the intro, I discuss about the hot start to the summer and my trip to Mt. Aso volcano. I discuss about my experience at the Japan Geoscience Union conference in May, highlighting some of the interesting talks I saw. I briefly discuss Canada's first mission to Antarctica. Finally I give some commentary on the cuts being made to Earth science in the United States. CBC documentary on Canada's scientific mission to Antarctica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwe6ptJ2gkY ----- Episode 6 Deep Dive - CO2 changes through time ----- I discuss why CO2 changes naturally. I give an overview of CO2 changes in the recent past, as well in the deep time period, covering the past 480 million years. I discuss why the current CO2 levels are unprecedented. ----- Episode 6 - More on the CO2 changes through time ----- I discuss the efforts to find ice older than 800,000 years old in Antarctica to measure past CO2 levels, and discuss about the difference between C3 and C4 plants and their importance in terms of CO2 levels. Hui et al (2021) - Intensified fire activity induced by aridification facilitated Late Miocene C4 plant expansion in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110437 ----- Episode 6 - Papers ----- I discuss a recent paper I published about changes to the rainfall in Eastern Asia due to sea level changes. Gowan et al (2025) - Impact of topographic change on the East Asian monsoon in Japan and Eastern Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-024-00681-4 ---- Thank you to: ---- Raised Beaches Podcast logo by Aurooj: https://www.instagram.com/artbytinyleaf/ Sean for the Raised Beaches Podcast theme song That Blasted Salami, who helped me get started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GTc4yWm-yiBFTuV3MsGaQ Follow Dr. Evan J. Gowan on social media: Mastodon: @DrEvanGowan@fediscience.org Bluesky: @evangowan.bsky.social

  4. 03/09/2025

    Episode 5: The Greenhouse Effect

    Raised Beaches Podcast: Episode 5 For a full list of references, see my website: https://raisedbeaches.net/2025/03/09/raised-beaches-podcast-episode-5/ Listen here: https://raisedbeaches.buzzsprout.com/ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@evangowan ----- Episode 5 - Intro ----- I discuss what I have been doing from late December 2024 to the end of February 2025, including watching Sakurajima volcano erupt, and an earthquake I felt in January. I discuss downloading sediment core data from NOAA and the attacks on the government science institutions in the United States. Finally, I have a discussion on DEI. My recently published papers: - Rovere et al (2025): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109659 - Gowan et al (2025): https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-024-00681-4 ----- Episode 5 Deep Dive - Greenhouse Effect ----- I introduce the Greenhouse Effect, and why even though the concentration of greenhouse gases are small, they play a large role in keeping the planet at a livable temperature. ----- Episode 5 - More on the Greenhouse Effect ----- I discuss the historical background on how the Greenhouse Effect was discovered, as well as how it came to be called the "greenhouse effect". I also discuss the greenhouse effect on Venus and Mars. ----- Episode 5 - Papers ----- The first paper I go over is on determining paleo sea level from a beach ridge in Argentina. This research was part of the WARMCOASTS project, which I was part of. I briefly go through four other papers. References: - Rovere et al (2025): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109659 - Barker et al (2025): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp3491 - Creel et al (2024): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54535-0 - de Wit et al (2025): https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-545-2025 - Vacchi et al (2025): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56721-0 Thanks to Alessio Rovere for some of the pictures used here, and of course for being a great mentor on investigating raised coastal deposits! WARMCOASTS - Sea level and extreme waves in the Last Interglacial: This project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 802414) ---- Thank you to: ---- Raised Beaches Podcast logo by Aurooj: https://www.instagram.com/artbytinyleaf/ Sean for the Raised Beaches Podcast theme song That Blasted Salami, who helped me get started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GTc4yWm-yiBFTuV3MsGaQ Follow Dr. Evan J. Gowan on social media: Mastodon: @DrEvanGowan@fediscience.org Bluesky: @evangowan.bsky.social

  5. 12/30/2024

    Episode 4: Milankovitch Cycles

    The deep dive of episode 4 is on Milankovitch Cycles. For a full list of references, see the post on my website: https://raisedbeaches.net/2024/12/30/raised-beaches-podcast-episode-4/ Listen here: https://raisedbeaches.buzzsprout.com/ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@evangowan ----- Episode 4 - Intro ----- I discuss what I have been doing in November and December 2024, as well as an overview of all of 2024. - Current work on ice sheet reconstructions. - Trip to Okinawa and a discussi...

  6. 11/01/2024

    Episode 3: Proxy Records

    The deep dive of episode 3 is on proxy records. For a full list of references, see the post on my website: https://raisedbeaches.net/2024/11/01/raised-beaches-podcast-episode-3/ ----- Episode 3 - Intro ----- I discuss about how autumn is late coming to Japan, and my geological observations from my recent trip to Nagasaki. I talk about the devastating hurricanes in the southeastern United States, and how Hurricane Helene affected the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). I...

  7. 10/16/2024

    Episode 2: Sea Level and Deviations from Sea Level

    The main topic of episode 2 is on sea level and deviations from sea level. For a full list of references, see the post on my website: https://raisedbeaches.net/2024/10/16/raised-beaches-podcast-episode-2/ ----- Epsiode 2 - Intro ----- I discuss about my activities from June to late July, including my stay at the Kikai Institute for Coral Reef Sciences, and the University at Buffalo. I then discuss about the global temperature record that was achieved in July 2024. I give an overview of a study on the climate impacts of the Hunga Tonga eruption from 2022, and a study that puts the 2023 temperatures in context with the past 2000 years. Finally, I discuss about the wildfires that affected the Canadian town of Jasper in July 2024, and discus my trip to that area back in 2009. ---- Epsiode 2 - Main Topic ---- I discuss about "what is sea level", and some deviations from this constant surface. This includes tides, storm surges, tsunamis, ocean current shifts, and temperature/salinity changes. ---- Epsiode 2 - More Main Topic ---- In this further discussion, I talk about my experience teaching about sea level change at the Kikai Institute for Coral Reef Sciences, a new book on sea level, how we measure sea level, and tsunamis. ---- Epsiode 2 - Papers ---- In this episode, I discuss a paper about Holocene sea level fluctuations due to changes in the ENSO cycle in southern China, and a paper about a major tsunami that happened in eastern Greenland in September 2023. - Yan et al (2024) - Significant Sea‐Level Fluctuations in the Western Tropical Pacific During the Mid‐Holocene: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023PA004783 - Svennevig et al (2024) - A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang Earth for 9 days: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adm9247 ---- Thank you to: ---- Raised Beaches Podcast logo by Aurooj: https://www.instagram.com/artbytinyleaf/ Sean for the Raised Beaches Podcast theme song That Blasted Salami, who helped me get started: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GTc4yWm-yiBFTuV3MsGaQ Follow Dr. Evan J. Gowan on social media: Mastodon: @DrEvanGowan@fediscience.org  Bluesky: @evangowan.bsky.social

  8. 09/06/2024

    Episode 1: What are Raised Beaches?

    This is episode 1 of the Raised Beaches Podcast. This is the culmination of many months of planning to produce a podcast to discuss topics related to paleoclimate, Earth science and global change. In this episode, I introduce myself and discuss the highlights of the 2024 Japan Geoscience Union conference. The deep dive explains what "raised beaches" are. Finally I highlight a recent paper discussing a climate proxy record from the Marine Isotope Stage 11c interglacial. -- Raised Beaches Podc...

  • 8 Episodes

About

The Raised Beaches Podcast is a discussion on topics related to paleoclimate, Earth Science and global change. Dr. Evan J. Gowan highlights the concepts and underlying evidence on how climate, sea level and the Earth surface changes through time. He also connects how our knowledge of the past informs our predictions of future climate.

Information

  • Creator
    Evan James Gowan
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Raised Beaches Podcast
  • Show Website
    Raised Beaches Podcast