|
Geology News And Research - February 2010 Archives
 | Technology to detect nuclear explosions now will be pioneered to monitor active volcanoes in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth near Guam. The U.S. Geological Survey has named Southern Methodist University in Dallas as prime cooperator on the two-year project. In addition to conventional seismic and GPS monitoring, infrasound will be deployed to "listen" for eruptions. Guam soon will be the primary base for forward deployment of U.S. military forces in the Western Pacific. ...> Full Article |
 | Lying beneath the ocean is spectacular terrain ranging from endless chains of mountains and isolated peaks to fiery volcanoes and black smokers exploding with magma and other minerals from below Earth's surface. This mountainous landscape, some of which surpasses Mt. Everest heights and the marine life it supports, is the spotlight of a special edition of the research journal Oceanography. ...> Full Article |
 | Ice shelves are retreating in the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change. This could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues, threatening coastal communities and low-lying islands worldwide. ...> Full Article |
 | Waters from warmer latitudes -- or subtropical waters -- are reaching Greenland's glaciers, driving melting and likely triggering an acceleration of ice loss, reports a team of researchers led by Fiamma Straneo, a physical oceanographer from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. ...> Full Article |
 | Several Midwestern states could be facing increased winter and spring flooding, as well as difficult growing conditions on farms, if average temperatures rise. Keith Cherkauer, a Purdue assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, ran simulations that show Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan could see as much as 28 percent more precipitation by the year 2070, with much of that coming in the winter and spring. His projections also show drier summer and fall seasons. ...> Full Article |
 | When Earth was young, it exhaled the atmosphere. During a period of intense volcanic activity, lava carried light elements from the planet's molten interior and released them into the sky. However, some light elements got trapped inside the planet. In this week's issue of Nature, a Rice University-based team of scientists is offering a new answer to a longstanding mystery: what caused Earth to hold its last breath? ...> Full Article |
 | The southern limit of permanently frozen ground, or permafrost, is now 130 kilometers further north than it was 50 years ago in the James Bay region, according to two researchers from the Department of Biology at Université Laval. In a recent issue of the scientific journal Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, Serge Payette and Simon Thibault suggest that, if the trend continues, permafrost in the region will completely disappear in the near future. ...> Full Article |
 | The European Space Agency is about to launch the most sophisticated satellite ever to investigate the Earth's ice fields and map ice thickness over water and land: lift-off scheduled for February 25. ...> Full Article |
The value of US mineral production significantly declined in 2009. Also over the past year, US dependence on foreign sources for minerals has increased, continuing a trend that has been evident for more than 30 years. This is according to the US Geological Survey report "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010."
...> Full Article
 | Depicting a cause-and-effect scenario that spans thousands of miles, a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California - San Diego and his collaborators discovered that ocean waves originating along the Pacific coasts of North and South America impact Antarctic ice shelves and could play a role in their catastrophic collapse. ...> Full Article |
 | Theories about the rates of ice accumulation and melting during the Quaternary Period -- the time interval ranging from 2.6 million years ago to the present -- may need to be revised, thanks to research findings published by a University of Iowa researcher and his colleagues in the February 12 issue of the journal Science. ...> Full Article |
 | A team led by biogeochemists at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a dynamic three-dimensional model of Earth's early ocean chemistry that can significantly advance our understanding of how early animal life evolved on the planet. Working on rock samples from the Doushantuo Formation, South China, the research team is the first to show that Earth's early ocean chemistry during a large portion of the Ediacaran Period was far more complex than previously imagined. ...> Full Article |
 | Nearly four years ago, a volcano of mud erupted in the middle of an Indonesian suburb, eventually inundating four villages, displacing 30,000 people and causing a gas line explosion that killed 13. The mud volcano continues to erupt today. A new report by Durham University and UC Berkeley scientists blames a drilling company that was drilling a gas exploration well, not a relatively mild and distant earthquake. ...> Full Article |
A study by University of Michigan researchers offers new insight into what happens to mercury deposited onto Arctic snow from the atmosphere.
...> Full Article
 | Rising temperatures on the Greenland ice sheet cause the creation of large surface lakes called supra-glacial lakes. Now a Penn State geographer will investigate why these lakes form and their implications. ...> Full Article |
 | The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan mountains are thinning is not disputed. However, few researchers have attempted to rigorously examine and quantify the causes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Surabi Menon set out to isolate the impacts of the most commonly blamed culprit -- greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide -- from other particles in the air that may be causing the melting. ...> Full Article |
 | The chemical composition of our oceans is not constant but has varied significantly over geological time. In a study published this week in Science, researchers describe a novel method for reconstructing past ocean chemistry using calcium carbonate veins that precipitate from seawater-derived fluids in rocks beneath the seafloor. The research was led by scientists from the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science hosted at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. ...> Full Article |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Subscribe
Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
'Anaconda' meets 'Jurassic Park': Study shows ancient snakes ate dinosaur babies
Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos
Artificial bee silk a big step closer to reality
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Artificial foot recycles energy for easier walking
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Juggling enhances connections in the brain
Tracking down the human 'odorprint'
Fill 'er up - with algae
Scientists discover quantum fingerprints of chaos
Researchers help identify cows that gain more while eating less
World crude oil production may peak a decade earlier than some predict
Researchers show how far South American cities moved in quake
New evidence hints at global glaciation 716.5 million years ago
Earthquake in Chile - a complicated fracture
Methane releases from Arctic shelf may be much larger and faster than anticipated
Oldest measurement of Earth's magnetic field reveals battle between sun and Earth for our atmosphere
Experts reaffirm asteroid impact caused mass extinction
Rapid response science missions assess potential for another major Haiti earthquake
Research team breaks the ice with new estimate of glacier melt
Scientists locate apparent hydrothermal vents off Antarctica
Were short warm periods typical for transitions between interglacial and glacial epochs?
Chile quake occurred in zone of 'increased stress'