Abstract The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates the Core Research Center (CRC) in Denver, Colorado, USA, a public access repository of rock cores from over 9800 wells and drill cuttings from over 53 000 wells, primarily from states in or adjacent to the Rocky Mountain Region. Annually, approximately 1400 visitors use the collection for traditional and innovative research. The CRC has an online, searchable database which includes downloadable core photos, analytical data, and thin-section images. When visitors sample for analyses, the results must be returned to the CRC for public dissemination providing immediate, free access to users while sparing the finite, irreplaceable collection from redundant testing. A representative quantity of every core depth is preserved in perpetuity. Studies on CRC materials, paired with new extraction methods, have unlocked new productive deposits. Materials drilled and curated decades ago remain in high demand while materials receiving little attention today may be crucial for future research. The collection provides immediate, inexpensive access to subsurface materials at a fraction of the cost of new drilling, sparing money, time and environmental impacts.

ABSTRACT LiveSci in the Valley of the Last Dinosaurs (http://lastdinos.livesci.org/) was a website and social media presence that provided the global online community with unprecedented access to the exciting paleontological research happening in the remote badlands of North Dakota and Montana in the summer of 2016. A collaborative team of researchers, students, and citizen scientists from around the world excavated some of the last dinosaurs that ever walked the Earth, mapped the K/Pg boundary in high resolution, and uncovered fossils that show us how life recovered after the extinction of the dinosaurs. To engage the public in the ongoing process of scientific discovery, dedicated project staff and participating researchers posted videos, photos, blog entries, and social media content nearly every day during the seven-week field season. Researchers and science educators from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Denver Museum of Nature & Science, along with collaborators from Brooklyn College, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Yale Peabody Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Marmarth Research Foundation, were joined by young scientists and citizen scientist volunteers of all ages. The production team consisted of high school and college interns, public science outreach professionals, and research scientists. To expand the reach of the project, a bilingual intern maintained a parallel Spanish website. Hundreds of thousands of online viewers watched, contributed, and shared these authentic experiences with their communities during the live portion of the project, and many more continue to access the archived website and social media content. This project exemplifies how social media and real-time interaction with scientists have the potential to connect the public to science as it unfolds, removing myths and stereotypes about how science happens and who scientists are. Initiatives such as this one help to create citizens who are more connected to the process of science and who can use that understanding in their lives through more informed decision making.

Concentrations of radon-222 in soil gas measured over about 1 yr at a monitoring site in Denver, Colorado, vary by as much as an order of magnitude seasonally and as much as severalfold in response to changes in weather. The primary weather factors that influence soil-gas radon concentrations are precipitation and barometric pressure. Soil characteristics are important in determining the magnitude and extent of the soil’s response to weather changes. The soil at the study site is clay rich and develops desiccation cracks upon drying that increase the soil’s permeability and enhance gas transport and removal of radon from the soil. A capping effect caused by frozen or unfrozen soil moisture is a primary mechanism for preventing radon loss to the atmosphere.