Geology News And Research - November 2008 Archives

Speed matters for ice-shelf breaking (11/30/2008)

It won't help the Titanic, but a newly derived, simple law may help scientists improve their climate models and glaciologists predict where icebergs will calve off from their parent ice sheets, according to a team of Penn State researchers. ...> Full Article

Plate tectonics started over 4 billion years ago, geochemists report (11/29/2008)

Analysis of minerals in ancient magmas paints new picture of early Earth ...> Full Article

Getting warmer? Prehistoric climate can help forecast future changes (11/28/2008)

New data on a prehistoric warm period allow for more accurate predictions of future climate and improved understanding of today's warming. Past warm periods provide real data on climate change and are natural laboratories for understanding the global climate system. Scientists examined fossils from 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago, known as the mid-Pliocene warm period. Research was conducted by the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping group, led by the US Geological Survey. ...> Full Article

Sea level rise alters bay's salinity (11/23/2008)

While global-warming-induced coastal flooding moves populations inland, the changes in sea level will affect the salinity of estuaries, which influences aquatic life, fishing and recreation. ...> Full Article

Missing radioactivity in ice cores bodes ill for part of Asia (11/21/2008)

When Ohio State glaciologists failed to find the expected radioactive signals in the latest core they drilled from a Himalayan ice field, they knew it meant trouble for their research. But those missing markers of radiation, remnants from atomic bomb tests a half-century ago, foretell much greater threat to the half-billion or more people living downstream of that vast mountain range. ...> Full Article

Can China's future earthquakes be predicted? (11/21/2008)

Ecole Polytechnique geology engineer recruited by China to study last May's devastating earthquake ...> Full Article

Forests may play overlooked role in regulating climate (11/20/2008)

In a study to be published next week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists led by a team at the University of New Hampshire show that forests may influence the Earth's climate in important ways that have not previously been recognized. ...> Full Article

Glacial erosion changes internal mountain structure, responses to plate tectonics (11/19/2008)

Intense glacial erosion has not only carved the surface of the highest coastal mountain range on earth, the spectacular St. Elias range in Alaska, but has elicited a structural response from deep within the mountain. This interpretation of structural response is based on real-world data now being reported, which supports decades of model simulations of mountain formation and evolution regarding the impact of climate on the distribution of deformation associated with plate tectonics. ...> Full Article

Acid soils in Slovakia tell somber tale (11/19/2008)

Increasing levels of nitrogen deposition associated with industry and agriculture can drive soils toward a toxic level of acidification ...> Full Article

Electronic heat trap grips deep Earth (11/16/2008)

The key to understanding Earth's evolution, including our atmosphere and how volcanoes and earthquakes form, is to look into the lower mantle, a region some 400 to 1,800 miles below the surface. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory simulated conditions at these depths and discovered that the concentration of highly oxidized iron in the two major mantle minerals is key to moving heat in that region and affects material movement throughout the planet. ...> Full Article

Measuring water from space (11/16/2008)

Observations from satellites now allow scientists to monitor changes to water levels in the sea, in rivers and lakes, in ice sheets and even under the ground. As the climate changes, this information will be crucial for monitoring its effects and predicting future impacts in different regions. ...> Full Article

Deep heat solution to 500-million year mystery (11/14/2008)

Geologists discover famous fossils were 'stone baked' ...> Full Article

Dry spells spelled trouble in ancient China (11/13/2008)

Weakening of summer monsoons to blame ...> Full Article

A new approach in tsunami-early warning (11/12/2008)

The newly implemented Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean, German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, goes into operation today and with this, the system enters its final phase of optimization ...> Full Article

Sunlight has more powerful influence on ocean circulation and climate than North American ice sheets (11/11/2008)

Study disputes a longstanding picture of how ice sheets influence ocean circulation during glacial periods. ...> Full Article

When it comes to sea level changing glaciers, new NASA technique measures up (11/11/2008)

A NASA-led research team has used satellite data to make the most precise measurements to date of changes in the mass of mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska, a region expected to be a significant contributor to global sea level rise over the next 50-100 years. ...> Full Article

Ecologists use oceanographic data to predict future climate change (11/10/2008)

Past ocean circulation leads to new conclusions ...> Full Article

Rocks could be harnessed to sponge vast amounts of CO2 from air, says study (11/10/2008)

Proposed method would speed natural reactions a million times ...> Full Article

U of Minnesota researchers uncover surprising effects of climate patterns in ancient China (11/9/2008)

Did weakening of Asian monsoons cause fall of Chinese dynasties? ...> Full Article

World needs climate emergency backup plan, says expert (11/8/2008)

In submitted testimony to the British Parliament, climate scientist Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution said that while steep cuts in carbon emissions are essential to stabilizing global climate, there also needs to be a backup plan. Geoengineering solutions such as injecting dust into the atmosphere are risky, but may become necessary if emissions cuts are insufficient to stave off catastrophic warming. He urged that research into the pros and cons of geoengineering be made a high priority. ...> Full Article

Seismic response to natural gas anomalies in crystalline rocks (11/7/2008)

Continental drilling reveals gas anomalies of CH4, CO2, and He in the deep crystalline rocks, which are correlated to the seismic horizontal component reflectors. Geochemical experiments show that porosity of crystalline rocks in the middle crust rose sharply due to water-rock interaction and made natural gas concentration in top of the mid-crust possible, thus resulting in some large gas reservoirs. In such cases, the seismic method can be used to explore these gas reservoirs in the middle crust. ...> Full Article

Arctic sea ice hits second-lowest extent, likely lowest volume, say CU-Boulder researchers (11/6/2008)

Arctic sea ice extent during the 2008 melt season dropped to the second-lowest level Sep. 14 since satellite measurements began in 1979 and may represent the lowest volume of sea ice on record ...> Full Article

It's relative: Contrasting hurricane theories heat up (11/5/2008)

Recent hurricane history provides diverging interpretations on future of hurricane activity ...> Full Article

Scientists find evidence of tsunamis on Indian Ocean shores long before 2004 (11/4/2008)

Scientists have found evidence that the event was not a first-time occurrence. ...> Full Article

What is really happening to the Greenland icecap? (11/4/2008)

The Greenland ice cap has been a focal point of recent climate change research because it is much more exposed to immediate global warming than the larger Antarctic ice sheet. Yet while the southern Greenland ice cap has been melting, it is still not clear how much this is contributing to rising sea levels, and much further research is needed. A framework for such research was defined at a recent workshop organized by the ESF. ...> Full Article

Scientists probe Antarctic glaciers for clues to past and future sea level (11/3/2008)

International team exploring two of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora and Wilkes Subglacial Basins, to learn about past climate change and future impacts on global sea level ...> Full Article

Virginia Tech engineers identify conditions that initiate erosion (11/2/2008)

Researchers have demonstrated that sustained spikes in turbulence are responsible for dislodging particles, whether on land or in the water. ...> Full Article

Conclusive vote on cause of Indonesian mud volcano (11/1/2008)

World scientists conclude drilling, not earthquake, was the cause of east Java mud volcano at international debate ...> Full Article