If you're staying home from work today because of Hurricane Sandy, you might be able to help out a team of scientists from the University of Utah and Purdue. They're studying isotopes of water — small differences at the subatomic level that can tell you a lot about where water originally came from and how it got to the place it fell in the form of rain or snow. They need people collecting precipitation samples over 12-hour periods. And they're especially looking for help in some inland places, including West Virginia, Virginia, and eastern Kentucky/Tennesee. Find out more at their website. (Via Sarah Horst)

  • Fuzzy

    Perdue is the chicken. Purdue is the school. (Go Boilers!)

  • Gary Schafer

    As a Boilermaker myself, what Fuzzy said +1.

    • http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker

      Fixed. Sorry guys!

  • awjt

    This project sounds a lot like Homeopathy.

    • http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker

      Ah, not really. Isotopes are an actual thing that can be measured, and actually (you know) exist. 

      • awjt

         I do.  It’s just fun to poke fun at the water-collecting diluters.

  • http://borborygmist.influxofdust.com/ Wayne Dyer

    Romney needs to get on this — crowdsourcing could provide a way to save valuable research dollars.  (Nothing against the experiment, I’m just ultra-cynical lately.)