“Earth Science Week 2010 (October 10-16) won’t take place for some months – so now is the perfect time to start planning your activities! Don’t wait until the hectic first weeks of the next school year.” You can start your planning by visiting the Earth Science Week website or by checking out their March newsletter. The theme for 2010 is “Exploring Energy.”
How could a 300 million-year-old amphibian get a name like “FedEx”? Because he was found on land owned by the package carrier. The rare amphibian was found near Pittsburgh by an amateur fossil hunter.
The United States currently imports most of its rare earth minerals from China. However, China may stop exporting in the near future to assure its own needs. Unfortunately, the United States has very few rare earth mineral deposits. This article at MSNBC explores the importance of rare earth minerals and who owns the known U.S. deposits.
Ann Daniels, a mother of four and part-time explorer from Devon, England, has been making trips to the Arctic since 1997 – a time when there was enough ice cover to complete the journey on foot. Over the years, the receding ice has necessitated swimming more and more to cover the same distance. She shares her thoughts about swimming in Arctic waters, and dragging a hundred-kilogram sledge through the harsh wilderness. This article includes a photo gallery.
Some eight centuries ago in what is now Arizona and New Mexico, women of different cultures were brought together by the desire for peace amongst their peoples. Their artwork, known today as Salado pottery, tells a story of religious unity in the face of tribal differences.
Astronomers think they have a good idea of what substances lay under the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. It could be a type of rocky slush, which formed gradually over a million years.
“Heavy rains triggered landslides on the steep slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda, on March 1, 2010. The newly exposed earth is slightly pink, raw compared to other patches of bare ground, which are lighter brown. As the older scars hint, landslides are common in the region, but the new landslides are much larger than previous slides. The slides buried three villages, leaving 83 dead and more than 300 missing as of March 8, reported the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.”
Will the new shale plays still be producing natural gas ten to twenty or more years into the future? This topic was discussed at IHS CERA conference last week in Houston.
An article on the San Francisco Chronicle explores the age of Mammoth Mountain, an area with a volcanic history in California, and considers its future activity.
An article on the Discovery News website reports that the roots of modern geology can be traced back to Copernicus over 500 years ago. It also gives a pitch for the broader recognition of earth science in secondary schools of the United States.
Some people seem to have a built-in GPS, while others find themselves getting lost time and again. Research shows that many directional cues are in our genes.
“A study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by researchers from SMU and UT-Austin reveals that the operation of a saltwater injection disposal well in the area was a “plausible cause” for the series of small earthquakes that occurred in the area between October 30, 2008, and May 16, 2009.” Quoted from the Southern Methodist University press release.
Posted on The Volcanism Blog is a photo essay of “The Ecological Impact of the Chaiten Eruption” by Frederick J. Swanson (U.S. Forest Service), Charlie Crisafulli (U.S. Forest Service), Julia A. Jones (Oregon State University) and Nicolas La Penna (Chaitur Excursiones). There are ten interesting images that can be enlarged for detailed study.
An article in the New York times points to the enormous enthusiasm for renewable energy projects. However, many in the energy industry believe that the ability of renewable energy to make a substantial contribution to total energy demand is overrated.
Will the natural gas contained in America’s shale be providing energy for the next 100 years? The CERAWeek conference looks at the future of U.S. shale gas.
This is an interview with Sally Ride, the first U.S. female in space. She would like to encourage young people, particularly girls, to become more interested in science.
Chile has been hit by repeated and numerous aftershocks since the 8.8 magnitude earthquake of February 27th. Today a 7.2 aftershock shook large parts of the country.
“The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the west coast of Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion at least 10 feet to the west, and shifted other parts of South America as far apart as the Falkland Islands and Fortaleza, Brazil. ” Quoted from the Ohio State press release.
Earth Observatory has a new image of Chaiten Volcano showing a new lava dome about 2000 meters across that almost completely fills the caldera produced by the 2008 eruption.
Although international oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP were not pioneers in the development of United States gas shales they are now working to acquire positions in Europe.
“Two massive icebergs drifted along the coast of East Antarctica in early March 2010. In mid-February 2010, the Rhode Island-sized Iceberg B-09B collided with the protruding Mertz Glacier Tongue along the George V Coast. The Mertz Glacier was already in the process of calving an iceberg when the arrival of the B-09B accelerated the process, leaving two icebergs the size of small states off this part of Antarctica’s coast.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
A company building a natural gas pipeline on the floor of the Baltic Sea discovered a dozen sunken ships that are thought to be between 300 and 400 years old.
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Hobart King
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