“Four months after it began, the underwater volcanic eruption off El Hierro Island persists [...] measurements of the sea floor by the Instituto Oceanográfico Español showed that the volcano’s summit is now only 120 meters beneath the ocean surface—10 meters higher than it was in mid January.
An article on the Bloomberg.com website explores how political pressures and uncertainty about the long-term availability of inexpensive shale gas may hinder the development of a liquefied natural gas export industry in the United States.
Oil and natural gas production in North Dakota is at all-time highs, fueled by intense drilling activity in the Bakken Formation, Three Forks Formations and other rock units.
“In 2011, Yemen’s total oil production averaged about 170,000 barrels per day, down from 259,000 bbl/d estimated for 2010. Production has been declining steadily since reaching a peak of 440,000 bbl/d in 2001 due to a lack of sufficient new investment in exploration and inadequate maintenance of facilities.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration country analysis report.
An article on the Bloomberg.com website explores how the United States is starting to approach energy self-sufficiency with rising oil output, developing shale gas fields and growth in renewable sources.
“The goal of this project is to define, plan, and conduct a field trial of a methane hydrate production methodology whereby carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules are exchanged in situ for the methane (CH4) molecules within a hydrate structure, releasing the methane for production.” Quote from the DOE press release.
Sometimes the amount of snow on the ground in a drainage basin is a measure of flood threat. At other times it is a measure of water supply opportunity. Researchers are working to find rapid and accurate ways to estimate the amount of water tied up in drainage basin snow cover.
The National Ground Water Association has published a position paper titled: “Hydraulic Fracturing: Meeting the Nation’s Energy Needs While Protecting Groundwater Resources.”
“The President’s 2013 budget request for the U.S. Geological Survey is $1.1 billion, $34.5 million above the 2012 enacted level. The 2013 proposal reflects administrative efficiencies and research priorities to respond to nationally relevant issues, including water quantity and quality, ecosystem restoration, hydraulic fracturing, natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, and support for the National Ocean Policy.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
An article in The Advocate explores who Encana Corporation and other natural gas drillers are responding to natural gas falling nearly $10 per thousand cubic feet since 2008.
The area above the Arctic Circle is underlain by sedimentary basins and continental shelves that hold enormous oil and natural gas resources. The United States Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic contains approximately 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered conventional oil resources and about 30 percent of its undiscovered conventional natural gas resources.
A computer data center needs enormous amounts of electricity and heavy-duty air conditioning. Iceland has a great climate for obtaining free cool air and lots of geothermal electricity.
The EIA Natural Gas Weekly Update has an interesting graph that tracks the month-by-month dry gas production growth from various shale gas fields in the United States. For example, it shows that production from the Haynesville Shale started to increase significantly in early 2009 and continued until today the Haynesville is the most prolific dry gas producer.
The Energy Information Administration has a beta program that produces on-demand graphs of natural gas production, price, storage, import and export data. Make a few graphs – its free.
“Geologists have a new tool to study how earthquakes change the landscape–down to a few inches. It’s giving scientists insights into how earthquake faults behave.”
An international team of scientists has documented a regular, significant and unexpected increase in the amount of particulate matter exported to the deep sea in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre that may be related to day length.
In this video, CNN Money takes you on a short visit to Barrick Gold’s Cortez Mine near Elko, Nevada.
Black Smokers on Land
February 10, 2012 | Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin
Scientists have discovered a new type of hot spring along the banks of a volcanic lake in the Philippines. These “terrestrial smokers” are cousins to submarine black smokers, hydrothermal vents on the seafloor that spew plumes of hot, nutrient-rich water and often support rich communities of life.
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