Lots of people enjoy going to fee mining sites where you can prospect inactive surface mines, mine tailings, soil, sediments or outcrops and keep any rocks, gems, minerals or fossils that you find. Examples include: Herkimer Diamond Mines where you can search for doubly-terminated quartz crystals, and Crater of Diamonds where you might be lucky enough to find a real diamond.
National Geographic has an interesting article about how many small communities on the seaward edge of the Mississippi River delta are being lost to subsidence and sea level rise.
The community of Leeville (shown in Google map below) is featured in the article. If you toggle between “Map” and “Sat” you will see how the map greatly overstates the amount of dry land – at least on the day that the satellite image was acquired.
“Last July, something unprecedented in the 34-year satellite record happened: 98 percent of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s surface melted, compared to roughly 50 percent during an average summer.” Quoted from the CIRES press release.
This isn’t the “baking soda volcano experiment” that you remember from grade school. It is all about using buried explosives to simulate the creation of maar volcanoes.
“The first-ever estimate of how fast frogs, toads and salamanders in the United States are disappearing from their habitats reveals they are vanishing at an alarming and rapid rate.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
The Center for Disease Control has a collection of tornado resources. One is the instructions for “how to survive a tornado”. Persons who know what to do when an emergency arises have the greatest chance of survival.
The Arizona Geological Survey published a mineral resource evaluation for the proposed Arizona Sonoran Desert Heritage Area in western Maricopa County.
The United States Geological Survey has published a study on the depletion rates of ground water in the United States between 1900 and 2008. The rate of depletion is accelerating.
An article in the Houston Chronicle explains how Croatian researchers are training honey bees to find land mines by associating the odor of their food source with the odor of explosives.
Earth’s May 31 “close call” with a 1.7 mile-wide asteroid has radio astronomers excited. Fortunately it is going to miss Earth by over 3 million miles.
“Whenever an asteroid approaches this closely, it provides an important scientific opportunity to study it in detail to understand its size, shape, rotation, surface features, and what they can tell us about its origin. We will also use new radar measurements of the asteroid’s distance and velocity to improve our calculation of its orbit and compute its motion farther into the future than we could otherwise.”
“March 2012 set records for warm temperatures that promoted early leafing and flowering across large areas of the United States.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
When natural gas prices rise heating a home with gas becomes more expensive. Many other activities become more expensive. One concern about exporting natural gas is that lots of people (and industries) will see their expenses go up. An article on the Christian Science Monitor website explores who will see higher prices.
AccuWeather.com has an article about a subdivision in Lakeport, California where a landslide moving at a rate of inches per day is tearing homes apart.
“Invasive “crazy ants” are displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern United States. [...] It’s the latest in a history of ant invasions from the southern hemisphere and may prove to have dramatic effects on the ecosystem of the region.” Quoted from The University of Texas at Austin press release.
This video compresses a two month view from the bow of an ice breaker travelling through the Ross Sea of Antarctica into less then five minutes. Watch for the wildlife surprise at the end.
An article on NationalGeographic.com explains how the popularity of “climbing Everest” has resulted in inexperienced climbers creating traffic jams on the mountain and littering the landscape. Ways to reverse this are explored.
Five copper coins about 1000 years old found on a beach by an Australian soldier during WWII may be strong evidence that ships from distant lands reached Australia hundreds of years earlier than what is written in history books.
Smithsonian.com has an article about Japan’s Orphan Tsunami (“orphan” because it was then unlinked to any earthquake) and how it was connected to an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
An article in the Salt Lake City Tribune compares the landslide at the Bingham Canyon copper mine to other large landslides that have occurred during recorded history.
“For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. [...] They’ve just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program.”
“A new study by scientists at Duke University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.” Quoted from the Duke University press release.
“While 99 percent of Earth’s land ice is locked up in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the remaining ice in the world’s glaciers contributed just as much to sea rise as the two ice sheets combined from 2003 to 2009.” Quoted from the University of Colorado Boulder press release.
The Indiana Geological Survey is helping students (and news reporters) learn about the earthquake history of Indiana and experience simulated ground shaking of up to magnitude 7.0.
“Mount St. Helens seized the world’s attention in 1980 when the largest historical landslide on Earth and a powerful explosive eruption reshaped the volcano, created its distinctive crater, and dramatically modified the surrounding landscape.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet titled…. Mount St. Helens, 1980 to Now—What’s Going On?
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Homeowners Insurance usually does not cover damage caused by floods, landslides, earthquakes and other geohazards.
Frac Sand is a high-purity silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing to enhance the flow of oil and gas from tight rock units.
Diamonds from Coal? Diamonds form under a variety of conditions that rarely involve coal as a source of carbon.
Fluorescent Minerals glow with spectacular colors when illuminated in the dark with an ultraviolet lamp.
Helium is a byproduct of the natural gas industry. Its most important use is in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
Canada Diamond Mines: Canada is the third largest producer of gem-quality diamonds in the world.
Utica Shale: New wells in eastern Ohio prove that the Utica Shale will be a major source of natural gas and natural gas liquids.
Spectacular Fossils of the Green River Formation. Some of the world's best-preserved fossil fish from an intermountain lake.
Opals: Gem quality opal is one of the most spectacular gemstones. A single stone can flash with every color of the spectrum.
