Geology News And Research - April 2008 Archives

On Shaky Ground: Geological Faults Threaten Houston (4/30/2008)

After finding more than 300 surface faults in Harris County, a University of Houston geologist now has information that could be vitally useful to the region's builders and city planners. ...> Full Article

Formation of ice sheets 34 million years ago changed ocean acidity (4/29/2008)

Before ice first began to form in Antarctica around 34 million years ago, the Earth was a very different place - but then greenhouse conditions swiftly gave way to an icehouse climate, causing the oceans to become less acidic. ...> Full Article

'New' Ancient Antarctic Sediment Reveals Climate Change History (4/29/2008)

Recent additions to the premier collection of Southern Ocean sediment cores at will give scientists a close-up look at fluctuations that occurred in Antarctica's ice sheet and marine and terrestrial life as the climate cooled considerably between 20 and 14 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Twenty years of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (4/28/2008)

Volcanologists keep track of 30 volcanoes in Alaska ...> Full Article

Refining the date of dinosaur extinction (4/27/2008)

Improved rock-dating method pinpoints dinosaur demise with unprecedented precision ...> Full Article

Earthquake in Illinois could portend an emerging threat (4/27/2008)

To the surprise of many, the earthquake on April 18, 2008, about 120 miles east of St. Louis, originated in the Wabash Valley Fault and not the better-known and more-dreaded New Madrid Fault in Missouri's bootheel. ...> Full Article

Did a Significant Cool Spell Mark the Demise of Megafauna? (4/26/2008)

Researcher cites a need for more investigation into a mysterious disappearance of Earth's largest creatures and the humans that pursued them ...> Full Article

Arctic Ice More Vulnerable to Sunny Weather, New Study Shows (4/25/2008)

The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine ...> Full Article

1600 Eruption Caused Global Disruption (4/25/2008)

The 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru had a global impact on human society ...> Full Article

Mountains reached current elevation earlier than thought (4/24/2008)

Sierra Nevada rose to current height earlier than thought, geologists say ...> Full Article

To a Fault: The Bottom Line on Earthquakes (4/23/2008)

Geologist discusses common misconceptions about earthquakes ...> Full Article

Lakes of Meltwater Can Crack Greenland's Ice and Contribute to Faster Ice Sheet Flow (4/21/2008)

Researchers Make First Observations of Surface Meltwater Cutting through the Ice Sheet to Lubricate the Bottom ...> Full Article

While stability far from assured, Greenland perhaps not headed down too slippery a slope (4/20/2008)

Lubricating meltwater that makes its way from the surface down to where a glacier meets bedrock turns out to be only a minor reason why Greenland's outlet glaciers accelerated their race to the sea 50 to 100 percent in the 1990s and early 2000s ...> Full Article

New hazard estimates could downplay quake dangers (4/19/2008)

The dangers posed by a major earthquake in the New Madrid and Charleston, South Carolina zones in the Midwestern and Southern parts of the United States may be noticeably lower than current estimates if seismologists adjust one of the major assumptions that go into calculating seismic hazard ...> Full Article

Methane sources over the last 30,000 years (4/18/2008)

New insights into natural changes in atmospheric methane concentrations ...> Full Article

Tiny tremors can track extreme storms in a warming planet (4/18/2008)

ata from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves-often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations around the world-suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades ...> Full Article

Unearthing clues of catastrophic earthquakes (4/17/2008)

An inviting tale of destruction ...> Full Article

Absence of clouds caused pre-human supergreenhouse periods (4/14/2008)

In a world without human-produced pollution, biological productivity controls cloud formation and may be the lever that caused supergreenhouse episodes during the Cetaceous and Eocene ...> Full Article

Geologists Discover New Way of Estimating Size and Frequency of Meteorite Impacts (4/13/2008)

Meteorite linked to mass extinction 65 million years ago was four to six kilometers in diameter ...> Full Article

Journey to the Center of the Earth: Discovery Sheds Light on Mantle Formation (4/13/2008)

Geologist unearths ancient rocks from ocean floor dating back two billion years ...> Full Article

Why Is Arctic Sea Ice Melting Faster Than Predicted? NOAA Probing Arctic Pollution (4/12/2008)

Scientists are now flying through springtime Arctic pollution to find out why the region is warming - and summertime sea ice is melting - faster than predicted ...> Full Article

Grand Canyon May Be As Old As Dinosaurs, According To New Geologic Dating Study (4/11/2008)

New geological evidence indicates the Grand Canyon may be so old that dinosaurs once lumbered along its rim ...> Full Article

Better Dams, Levees, Embankments: Soil Type And Compaction Factors Can Make Soil 1,000 Times More Resistant To Erosion (4/10/2008)

Researcher develops tool to evaluate the condition of streams and dam embankments ...> Full Article

Grant Enables Extensive Mapping of Idaho Geology (4/8/2008)

Thanks to a generous grant, researchers at the Idaho Geological Survey at the University of Idaho will be able to map the region, including earthquake-prone areas ...> Full Article

Seismologist's Project Uses Public's Laptops to Monitor and Predict Earthquakes (4/6/2008)

Network of computers senses earthquake and sends warning, potentially saving lives ...> Full Article

Study heats up 'snowball Earth' debate (4/5/2008)

New research reveals that the Earth's surface 700 million years ago may have been warmer than previously thought ...> Full Article

Possible link found between earthquakes along the Cascadia and San Andreas faults (4/4/2008)

Seismic activity on the southern Cascadia Subduction fault may have triggered major earthquakes along the northern San Andreas Fault ...> Full Article

One Year After Solomon Islands Disaster, Scientists Realize Geological Barrier to Earthquakes Weaker than Expected (4/3/2008)

On the one year anniversary of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands that killed 52 people and displaced more than 6,000, scientists are revising their understanding of the potential for similar giant earthquakes in other parts of the globe. ...> Full Article

Continents loss to oceans boosts staying power (4/2/2008)

Study measures effects of chemical weathering on the composition of continents ...> Full Article

American West Heating Nearly Twice As Fast As Rest Of World, New Analysis Shows (4/1/2008)

The American West is heating up more rapidly than the rest of the world, according to a new analysis of the most recent federal government temperature figures. The news is especially bad for some of the nation's fastest growing cities, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The average temperature rise in the Southwest's largest river basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling even more parched conditions. ...> Full Article