Unearthing Antarctica's mysterious mountains
In 1958, geologists discovered a mountain range buried more than a kilometer beneath the East Antarctica Ice Sheet. For more than half a century, the origins of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains have proven to be a geological puzzle, but a new study may have finally solved the enigma, and simultaneously given geologists a new understanding of mountain-building processes.
07 Feb 2012- Read more about Unearthing Antarctica's mysterious mountains
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Voices: Lessons from the final frontier
Somewhere, out there, beyond the stars Arcturus and Pollux, the TV signals from the final season of the original “Star Trek” are radiating outward. The series has been a teaching tool for a generation, and the programs offer multiple lessons for earth scientists.
03 Feb 2012- Read more about Voices: Lessons from the final frontier
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Dangerous dust: Erionite - an asbestos-like mineral causing a cancer epidemic in Turkey - is found in at least 13 states
As North Dakota’s state geologist, Ed Murphy has spent a fair amount of time mapping the geology of the Killdeer Mountains in the western part of the state, hiking up and down buttes of the White River Group and the Arikaree Formation. In the 1980s, he and colleagues mapped large deposits of rocks bearing erionite — a zeolite mineral formed when volcanic ash is altered by water — that may have had some commercial use.
31 Jan 2012- Read more about Dangerous dust: Erionite - an asbestos-like mineral causing a cancer epidemic in Turkey - is found in at least 13 states
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Tracking plastic in the oceans
Despite worldwide efforts to curtail plastic use — to ban plastic grocery bags, to switch to reusable water bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles, and to get rid of the microplastics in cosmetics, for example — we still produce more than 260 million tons of plastic each year. Almost a third of that plastic goes into disposable, one-time-use items. Only about 1 percent of it is recycled globally, so much ends up in landfills. Worse still, some of the plastic winds up in the world’s oceans.
24 Jan 2012- Read more about Tracking plastic in the oceans
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Setting off a supervolcano
Supervolcanoes are one of nature’s most destructive forces, but given that there are no recorded observations of super-eruptions — the last occurred 74,000 years ago in Indonesia — scientists don’t fully understand how they work. Now a team studying the world’s fastest-inflating volcano, Bolivia’s Uturuncu, is shedding some light on how supervolcanoes become so powerful.
17 Jan 2012- Read more about Setting off a supervolcano
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Source code: the methane race
Ten years ago, John Eiler couldn’t convince anyone to build him his dream machine. He wanted a mass spectrometer that could measure the mass of common gases with extreme precision and sensitivity, but such a device would cost more than a million dollars and might not find a market: The companies that could make it didn’t think they would be able to sell more than just the one to Eiler, which didn’t make it worth their while. Even Eiler didn’t know exactly what problems he could solve with the device, though he had a hunch it would be useful.
10 Jan 2012- Read more about Source code: the methane race
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Afghanistan's mineral resources laid bare
A mineral assessment milestone confirms world-class resources
Each donning about 10 kilograms of protective gear, including helmets and Kevlar, scientists trudged up the rugged, rocky volcanic terrain of southern Afghanistan, slowing now and then to catch an extra breath of thin air. Some carried guns. Others carried rock hammers.
29 Dec 2011- Read more about Afghanistan's mineral resources laid bare
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Benchmarks: December 16, 1811-February 7, 1812: The New Madrid earthquakes strike the Heartland
This winter marks the bicentennial of a series of powerful intraplate earthquakes that occurred in the central United States over a two-month period beginning on Dec. 16, 1811. Named for New Madrid, one of the settlements on the Mississippi River, these tremors were among the largest historic earthquakes to occur east of the Rocky Mountains.
16 Dec 2011- Read more about Benchmarks: December 16, 1811-February 7, 1812: The New Madrid earthquakes strike the Heartland
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Blogging on EARTH: AGU: Japan tsunami actually made population more vulnerable?
Usually, when a major natural disaster strikes, a population becomes more alert and aware. People know what warning signs to watch for; they know what to do should such an event occur again. They increase their chances of staying alive. For example, intergenerational knowledge of tsunamis passed down by island tribes around the Indian Ocean is credited with saving lives during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
05 Dec 2011- Read more about Blogging on EARTH: AGU: Japan tsunami actually made population more vulnerable?
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Highlights of 2011: Jobs, jobs everywhere, but not enough people to fill them
This has been a vintage year for the health of the geoscience workforce in the United States. Overall enrollments and degrees in geoscience programs increased 5 to 10 percent — as they’ve been doing for the past four years — this year reaching nearly 25,000 undergraduate majors and 10,000 graduate students across the country.
02 Dec 2011- Read more about Highlights of 2011: Jobs, jobs everywhere, but not enough people to fill them
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Highlights of 2011: New Zealand: After 8,000 aftershocks, when will it stop?
During the past year, many of the 386,000 inhabitants of New Zealand’s second-largest city, Christchurch, have thought and said one phrase over and over again: “When will it stop?” Starting in September 2010, several major earthquakes and more than 8,000 aftershocks have rocked the city and region. Rebuilding has started, been interrupted, started again and been halted again. People have been living without water, sewer, roads, offices and homes for so long that it may be hard to remember what “normal” is.
23 Nov 2011- Read more about Highlights of 2011: New Zealand: After 8,000 aftershocks, when will it stop?
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Cantabrians keep humor in the hardship
Even though the inhabitants of Christchurch (Cantabrians) have had a nonstop year of hardships, they have kept their humor. A local named Bruce Raines started a “You know you are from Christchurch when…” Facebook page and solicited comments, from which he then published a book.
“You know you are from Christchurch when…”
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Half the kids are from broken homes.
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You tell the kids that Santa will land on the lawn where the chimney is now.
23 Nov 2011- Read more about Cantabrians keep humor in the hardship
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Voices: Harassment of scientists reaches a fever pitch
In recent years, climate scientists, particularly those involved in communicating the risks of anthropogenic climate change to the public, have faced increasing levels of vitriol from politicians, pundits and the public alike. The news earlier this year that leading Australian climate scientists were receiving death threats, in the midst of a fierce debate on the implementation of a carbon tax, is just the latest escalation.
23 Nov 2011- Read more about Voices: Harassment of scientists reaches a fever pitch
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Highlights of 2011: Energy and economics 2011-2012
Long-term fiscal plans need to consider energy possibilities
18 Nov 2011- Read more about Highlights of 2011: Energy and economics 2011-2012
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Geotextiles: From sludge to shoreline protection to surfing - what's next?
Since their introduction in the early 1980s, geotextile structures have gained popularity in the engineering community and are now being used for a variety of geotechnical engineering applications. Geotextiles were originally developed as permeable reinforcement for soils in landscape applications. Woven and nonwoven geotextiles, known for their strength and permeability, are typically made from the synthetic polymers polypropylene and polyester, but natural fibers like coir and jute are becoming more popular.
13 Nov 2011
CryoScoop: Two-decade Antarctic drilling effort complete
Valery Lukin, director of the Russian Antarctic program, confirmed today that a team of Russian scientists has completed an Antarctic drilling project two decades in the making, according to the Associated Press. The team finished drilling on Feb. 5 through 3.25 kilometers of ice to reach Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in the world.
07 Feb 2012
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