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An Underwater Plume From Kavachi
NASA Earth Observatory

A Landsat satellite acquired this image of discolored water drifting from Kavachi the active underwater volcano in the Solomon Islands.


Where Are the Solomon Islands?


Geology.com

Map by Geology.com.


Another Giant Volcano Discovered on Mars
Seti Institute

Quotes from the article: "The newly discovered giant volcano on Mars is located just south of the planet's equator, in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus, west of Valles Marineris, the planet's vast canyon system." "Background image: NASA/USGS Mars globe. Geologic interpretation and annotations by Pascal Lee and Sourabh Shubham 2024."

Active Volcanoes of Our Solar System
Geology.com

Io, a moon of Jupiter, is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. It has over 100 active volcanic centers, many of which have multiple active vents. Eruptions recurrently resurface large parts of the moon. NASA image.

Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Moon's Moment in the Sun
NASA

Where will you be on Monday, April 8? People in parts of Mexico, Canada, and the United States will have the opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse. The path of totality is shown in the map above. Map by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.

Viewing the Solar Eclipse Safely
American Astronomical Society
If you're going to view the North American solar eclipse on April 8, don't wait until the last minute to get your eclipse glasses! You will want to plan ahead to be sure that your viewers come from a reputable source. The American Astronomical Society has compiled a list of manufacturers and dealers whose products comply with transmittance requirements of the ISO 12312-2 standard.
Mud Pot, Mud Seep, or Mud Volcano?
USGS

Jessica Ball of USGS says: "We recently received a question about how mud volcanoes form and why they're distinct from "real" volcanoes (the kind involving magma), so we're here to give you the dirt on the difference."

The photo is a view of LUSI Mud Volcano, East Java, Indonesia, which has erupted billions of cubic meters of mud and gas since 2006. The mud flows from the volcano have displaced thousands of people and caused billions of dollars in damages. USGS photo by Tom Casadevall in 2007.

Hubble Tracks Jupiter's Stormy Weather
ESA Hubble

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images, taken on January 5th and 6th of 2024, that capture both sides of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer Solar System planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy programme. Image and caption by NASA, ESA, J. DePasquale (STScI), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC).

A Long-Lost Tropical Island Lies Off Brazil's Coast
EOS
While scientists were researching ferromanganese crusts and mapping the underwater terrain of the Rio Grande Rise, they were surprised to see layers of red clay on the seabed. This kaolinite clay would have formed on the surface of a tropical island, possibly the size of Iceland, millions of years ago before becoming submerged.
What is Manganese?
Geology.com

Manganese nodules are often rich in manganese, iron, nickel, copper, and cobalt. If deep seabed mining were to become economically viable, the sources of manganese ore could significantly shift from land to ocean. The nodule shown above was collected from the Pacific Ocean and is about four inches across. Creative Commons image by Walter Kolle.

Midwest Tornadoes Kill at Least 3 People
CBS News
Powerful storms brought heavy snow, baseball-sized hailstones, and twisters to the midwestern United States. At least three people were killed in Ohio, while a separate storm caused many injuries in Indiana. Numerous structures in Kentucky were damaged as well.
Deep-Seated Landslide in Sherman Oaks Suburb of Los Angeles
The Landslide Blog
Dave Petley shares his thoughts on the March 13 landslide.
Mining Lithium in Argentina
NASA Earth Observatory

Quote from the article: "According to the U.S. Geological Survey, about half of the world's measured lithium resources are in these underground deposits in Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile, an area known as the 'lithium triangle.'" Image by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Emily Cassidy.

Spodumene: A Source of High-Purity Lithium and a Gemstone with Collector Appeal
Geology.com

Translucent to transparent spodumene with an attractive pink, yellow, or green color is sometimes faceted, cut en cabochon or used to make tumbled stones.

Archaeologists Find Missing Top Half of Giant Ramses Statue
Reuters
An archaeological team working near Minya, Egypt has unearthed the long-lost upper portion of a statue of King Ramses II. When assembled, the limestone sculpture would measure about 7 meters tall.
Where is Egypt?
Geology.com

Egypt is located in northeastern Africa. Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the east.

Fossil Unearthed in New Zealand Contains the Largest Fossil Crab Claw Ever Found
Phys.org
The huge crab claw is thought to belong to a newly discovered extinct species, named Pseudocarcinus karlraubenheimeri after Karl Raubenheimer, the amateur fossil hunter who found it.
Where is New Zealand?
Geology.com

New Zealand is an archipelago of hundreds of islands, located southeast of Australia. New Zealand is bordered by the South Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea.

Stone Tools Found in Ukraine May Be the Oldest Evidence of Early Humans in Europe
Smithsonian
The tools were made from volcanic rock and are thought to be approximately 1.4 million years old. They were found at a site in Korolevo, which is located near the border of Ukraine and Romania.
United States Produces More Crude Oil Than Any Country, Ever
U.S. Energy Information Administration

The graph above shows annual crude oil and condensate production from the top 3 global producers for the last decade. The United States has been the leading producer for the past 6 years. Graph by EIA.

Gold Price Keeps Climbing Through New Record Highs and Approaches $2,200 an Ounce
JCKonline

This pie chart shows the primary uses of gold during 2022. They were: jewelry manufacturing (47%); bullion (gold bars and ingots) (37%); production of gold coins and medals (9%); and other (1%). Data from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2023.

Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea
Gift Article from the Washington Post
First sentence of the article and why it is of interest to geologists: "China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea -- and the sea's estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- have antagonized competing claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam."

In addition, the South China Sea is one of the most important "chokepoints" in the transport of between the Middle East and markets in Asia. (Map by the Energy Information Administration.)

The sample map above shows that the "Exclusive Economic Zone" of a country extends out 200 nautical miles from its shoreline. Much of the disputed area is clearly within the "Exclusive Economic Zones" of the claimants under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with China being the one overstepping their legal entitlement. (China and most of the claimants are parties to the convention - which is disputed by the United States.) The sample map shown above was created by histoicair and is displayed here under a GNU Free Document License.

Video: Daylight Saving Time Explained
CGP Grey

Our Breathing Earth: A Review of Soil Respiration Science
EOS
Quote from the article: "A new synopsis details how the past 20 years have changed our understanding of soil respiration and revealed its critical effects on the climate system."
Defining the Anthropocene
Smithsonian
Some scientists believe that there should be a new epoch added to the geologic time scale. The "Anthropocene" would demarcate the time when human existence began to have a measurable impact on the Earth. But when, exactly, did that begin?
Archaeologists Find a Remarkable Fresco in Pompeii
Smithsonian
Found in an ancient mansion called the House of Leda, the well-preserved fresco painting depicts a scene from Greek mythology.
Mount Vesuvius: The Volcano that Buried Pompeii
Geology.com

Plaster casts of people who died in the city of Pompeii during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. They were buried by the ashfall. Image: Garden of the Fugitives. This photo was taken by Lancevortex and is distributed under a GNU Free Documentation License.

Fires Char Cattle Country
NASA Earth Observatory

Wildfires in Texas have charred over 1.24 million acres so far. Image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Seafloor Mapping at the USGS
American Geosciences Institute
Erin Lyons of the United States Geological Survey​, will discuss techniques for mapping the seafloor. This is from the AGI Early Career Professionals in Mapping Webinar Series.
We've Already Seen Category 6 Hurricanes -- Now Scientists Want to Make It Official
EOS Science News
Iceland's Recent Volcanic Eruptions Are Unleashing Deep Secrets
Smithsonian
Hubble Uncovers a Celestial Fossil
NASA

Quote from the article: "Just as fossils provide insight into the early development of life on Earth, globular clusters such as NGC 1841 can provide insights into very early star formation in galaxies." Caption by the European Space Agency; image by ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Sarajedini.

The G7 Russian Diamond Sanctions Are a Surprising Hodgepodge
JCKonline
USGS Invests in Geologic Mapping and Landslide Hazard Research in Puerto Rico
United States Geological Survey
Landslide Hazard Information
Geology.com

This image demonstrates names commonly used to refer to the parts of a landslide.

Gold Rises Above $2100 to Highest Level Ever
CNBC
Quote from the article: "Traders bet the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the second half of the year."
The Many Uses of Gold
Geology.com

The United States government currently mints coins from gold and other precious metals, however they are intended for investment and collecting. They are not intended for use as legal tender. Image of American gold coins, copyright iStockphoto / Donald Swartz.

New Lows for Great Lakes Ice Cover
NASA Earth Observatory

The effects of a warm winter in the upper Midwest are evident in the lack of lake ice. Image composed by Michala Garrison and Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, and lake ice data from NOAA - Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Map of the Great Lakes
Geology.com

Political Map of the Great Lakes Region showing the U.S. states and Canadian provinces that border the lakes. The international boundary between the United States and Canada is shown as a white dashed line through the lakes.

NASA's DART Impact Reshaped the Asteroid Dimorphos
Sky & Telescope

Asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. Image and caption by NASA/Johns Hopkins APL.

Let's Start Teaching Scientists How to Withstand Attacks on Fact
EOS
La Cumbre Volcano, on Fernandina Island (Galapagos Islands) Erupts, Lava Flows to the Sea
ABC News

La Cumbre is one of several volcanoes in the Galapagos Islands producing eruptions in geologically recent times. Map by Eric Gaba (Wikimedia Commons user: Sting); bathymetry compiled by William Chadwick, University of Oregon; published here under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Where Are the Galapagos Islands?
Geology.com

The Galapagos Islands are a group of volcanic islands located approximately 563 miles (906 km) off the west coast of Ecuador. Of the 22 larger islands, only five are inhabited: Baltra, Floreana, Isabela, San Cristobal, and Santa Cruz.

Why Are There Stones Along Railway Tracks?
Science ABC

Track ballast is one of the many uses of crushed stone.

Crushed Stone - The Unsung Mineral Hero
Geology.com

Crushed stone is the world's most basic mineral commodity. It is abundant, widely available, and inexpensive. It is a material that people are familiar with in almost all parts of the world. The types used to make crushed stone in the United States include: limestone, granite, trap rock, sandstone, quartzite, dolomite, marble, volcanic cinder and scoria, slate, shell, and calcareous marl.


The Many Uses of Crushed Stone
Geology.com
many uses of crushed stone
Crushed Stone is often looked upon as one of the lowliest of commodities, however it is used for such a wide variety of purposes in so many industries that it should be elevated to a position of distinction. It is the geologic commodity upon which almost everything is built. The word cloud above shows just a few of its diversity of uses.

Astronomers Find New Moons of Uranus and Neptune
Sky & Telescope
California Sea Otters Help Prevent Coastal Erosion?
NPR

In Monterey Bay, California, marsh banks were falling into the water due to a large population of burrowing crabs. Hungry sea otters have gotten the crab population under control and are now effectively preserving the estuary's shoreline. Video by The Associated Press.

Finding Common Ground in the Field to Inform Science Policy
EOS
Quote from the article: "The Kansas Geological Survey's annual Field Conference takes scientists, producers, legislators, and public officials around the state to spark conversation about natural resources."
A Magma Intrusion into Kilauea's Flank as a Textbook Example of Dike Propagation
United States Geological Survey
U.S. Opts for "Self-Certification" to Enforce Russian Diamond Ban
JCKonline
Metal Detectorist Finds Rare 1,500-Year-Old Gold Ring in Denmark
Smithsonian
The ring is made of 22-karat gold and has an unidentified red stone in its center.
Where is Denmark?
Geology.com

The Many Uses of Gold
Geology.com

The most important consumptive use of gold in the world is in jewelry manufacturing. However, gold has a surprising number of other uses. Image copyright iStockphoto.com / Krzysztof Gorski.

The Red Planet, Often Recognized as a Dead Planet, Is Not Quite Dead After All
Blogs of the European Geosciences Union
A Lack of Arctic Shipping Regulation Has Detrimental Environmental Effects?
Blogs of the European Geosciences Union
Nusantara: A New Capital City in the Forest
NASA Earth Observatory

These two images show the progression of construction on Indonesia's future capital, Nusantara. The current capital, Jakarta, has numerous problems due to a rapidly growing population of over 30 million people. Residents experience gridlocked traffic, hazardous air pollution, and drinking water shortages. Additionally, excessive groundwater extraction has contributed to subsidence of the land, which has made the area more prone to flooding. The new capital will be located on the less-populated island of Borneo. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Where is Indonesia?
Geology.com

Indonesia is an archipelago located in southeastern Asia, between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

The Career of a Marine Biologist
Smithsonian
This article highlights the career of Dr. Dave Pawson, who has spent decades studying echinoderms (such as sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and many others). In his work, he has participated in over 100 dives and traveled to many countries around the world.
USGS, Colorado School of Mines to Explore the Potential of Geologic Hydrogen
USGS
New Sanctions on Russian Diamonds Will Change the Global Trade in Gems
CNN
Which Countries Mine the Most Gem Diamonds?
Geology.com

Once centered in Africa, diamond mining now occurs in many countries throughout the world. In recent years, Russia, Canada and Botswana have been leading producers of mined diamonds.

Asteroid 2024 BX1: From a Dot of Light in the Sky to Rocks on the Ground
Sky and Telescope
M4.9 Earthquake, Near Smiths Ferry and Idaho - Oregon Border
United States Geological Survey

The earthquake occurred near the Idaho-Oregon border. Hundreds of people reported the earthquake to the USGS "Did You Feel It" program - which is the source of the map above.

Earthquake Shakes Idaho's Treasure Valley: The State's Largest Earthquake Since 2020
Idaho Press
Underwater Photographer Of The Year 2024 Winners
Underwater Photographer Of The Year
UPY has announced the winners of their annual underwater photography contest. This page shows more than 100 of the competition's amazing photos. Each clickable photo will take you to a page with a brief description by the photographer, the judge's comments, and a larger view of the photo.
The United States Has an Updated Map of Earthquake Hazards
EOS

Electricity Generation from Natural Gas
U.S. Energy Information Administration

The map above shows the percentage of natural gas generating capacity for different regions of the United States. We were surprised to see that Florida has the ability to produce 73% of their electricity with natural gas.

One of the World's Biggest Cities Might Be Just Months Away from Running Out of Water
WBAL TV11
Mexico City has 22 million residents. Low rainfall, high temperatures, too many people, and other issues are compounding their water shortage problems.
Scientists Have Discovered Three New Moons In Our Solar System
Forbes
Quote from the article: "Scientists have discovered three new moons in the solar system, including two around Neptune and the smallest moon of Uranus found in over 20 years."
Mount Nemrut's Compelling Caldera
NASA Earth Observatory

Lakes and lava flows fill the depression atop this geologically young stratovolcano in eastern Turkey. The image is an astronaut photo from April 17, 2022, provided by the crew of the International Space Station and prepared for the internet by NASA Earth Observatory.

What is a Caldera? How Do Calderas Form?
Geology.com

Calderas are some of the most spectacular features on Earth. They are large volcanic craters that form by two different methods: 1) an explosive volcanic eruption; or, 2) collapse of surface rock into an empty magma chamber. The image above is a satellite view of Crater Lake, one of the world's most famous calderas. It was produced by Angela King of Geology.com using Landsat GeoCover data from NASA.

The Decimal Point Is 150 Years Older than Historians Thought
Nature
The earliest known use of decimal points is now from the 1440s, in astronomical tables compiled by Giovanni Bianchini, an Italian merchant and mathematician.
3,000-Year-Old Treasures Forged from Meteoritic Iron
Smithsonian
Iron Meteorites: The Hearts of Long-Vanished Asteroids
Geoffrey Notkin's Meteorwritings

The specimen pictured above is a fantastic example of the Sikhote-Alin iron meteorite, which fell in eastern Russia in 1947. Photograph by Leigh Anne DelRay, copyright Aerolite Meteorites.

Cave Paintings in Patagonia Discovered to be Oldest Rock Art in South America
The Art Newspaper
"Rock art on the walls of a cave in southern Argentina is thought to be over 8,000 years old."
Cave of the Hands
Geology.com

Cave of the Hands is a series of caves in Argentina where ancient people painted on the walls thousands of years ago. Image copyright iStockphoto / edurivero.

Types of Rock Art: Petroglyphs and Pictographs
Geology.com

A petroglyph is an image that is carved into a rock. This "carving" can produce a visible indentation in the rock, or it can simply be the scratching away of a weathered surface to reveal unweathered material of a different color below. Image copyright iStockphoto / amygdala_imagery.


A pictograph is a drawing or painting that is created on a rock. It is not "carved" into the rock. Image copyright iStockphoto / Andrea Gingerich.

Meteor Streaks Over Skies from Virginia to New York
Lehigh Valley News

Video by Stephen Mathes, at Grand Island, New York, uploaded to the American Meteor Society website.

Why Curious (and Conscientious) Designers Are Going Straight to the Source for Their Gems
JCKonline
To make sure that the gems that they use in their designs are ethically mined, some designers are going to Africa and South America to source their gems.
U.S. Still Has No Rules for March 1 Diamond Sanctions
JCKonline
Customs and Border Protection is in charge of blocking: (1) rough diamonds mined in Russia, and, (2) polished diamonds of over one carat that were made from Russian rough, from entering the United States. This is to go into effect on March 1.
Badwater Basin Refills
NASA Earth Observatory

California's Death Valley is famous for being extremely hot and dry. People are surprised to see that an ephemeral lake has persisted in Badwater Basin for the past six months. NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.