Twitter is revolutionizing scientific response to earthquakes and other geoscience events, by providing a platform for scientists to rapidly share results with each other and the impacted communities. Data and results that used to take months or years to integrate now take days, and instead of being published only in a paywalled journal, the results are available to anyone, and people with questions or comments can directly approach the scientists themselves.
I use twitter to engage with these conversations, and to help make the data more accessible to a wider audience by explaining the purpose or context. I also engage with colleagues, learn about new events and research, and encourage junior scientists.In addition to earthquake response, I use twitter to communicate with both colleagues and non-scientists from around the world about a wide range of geology topics. Since twitter posts quickly get lost as new content is posted, I keep a record here of the "science explainer" and "geo-inspiration" threads that I have posted. Geoscience is a wonderfully broad and accessible field, and I am enthusiastic about sharing my love for the Earth.
Twitter is also an important medium for addressing issues related to ethics and equity, in both geosciences and in academia more broadly. I have learned a great deal from the community on these topics and engage where I have experiences or ideas to contribute.