Geology News - Earth Science Current Events

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has developed an interactive geologic time line that is an excellent resource for students and others who are interested in earth history. The time line has a slider that you can use to move from one part of earth history to another. Clicking on one of the time units (such as "Eocene" in the screenshot below) will produce an introductory article on that time unit with many links to additional information.
Check out the Interactive Time Line at The Smithsonian website... and, if you have not seen it already, we have a Printable Geologic Time Scale that you can use yourself or share with students.

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Hurricane Otis is strengthening and threatening Baja California. The Mexican Government has issued hurricane alerts for the Baja California Penninsula from Santa Fe southward on the Pacific coast and from La Paz Southward on the Gulf of California Coast.

Image by NOAASee the most up-to-date tropical storm data and updated Otis Track Map at the NOAA Website.

Labels: Hurricanes, Maps

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Several online geology and earth science courses are available for viewing at the MITOpenCourseWare website. A partial list of courses available:

• Geobiology
• Structure of Earth Materials
• Sedimentary Geology
• Atmospheric and Ocean Circulations
• Introduction to Astronomy
• Hands-On Astronomy: Observing Stars and Planets
• Thermodynamics for Geoscientists
• Geodynamics
• Principles of the Global Positioning System
• Paleoceanography
• Wave Motions in the Ocean and Atmosphere
• Introduction to Observational Physical Oceanography
• Global Climate Change
• Prediction and Predictability in the Atmosphere and Oceans
• Trace Element Analysis of Geological Materials
• Electron Microprobe Analysis
• Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution
• Essentials of Geophysics
• Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution

Visit their Online Geology and Earth Science Courses at the MITOpenCourseWare website.

Labels: Teaching-Science

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Mark Monmonier of Syracuse University, author of "Cartographies of Danger" (1997 University of Chicago Press) has published a list of ten risky places on the University of Chicago Press website. This list summarizes what he thinks are the ten most hazardous places in the United States. On his list are: 1) almost any place in California, 2) Seattle, 3) Coastal Alaska and Hawaii, 4) North Carolina's Outer Banks, 5) Miami, 6) Louisiana Coast, 7) floodplains of the Mississippi, 8) any floodplain, 9) growing southern cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, El Paso and Miami, and, 10) neighborhoods of nuclear plants.

We agree that all of these places have a good deal of risk and wonder how they compare with driving on snowy roads of New York, Pennsylvania and other northern states?

Image by University of Chicago PressRead more about his Ten Risky Places at the University of Chicago Press website.

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Researchers at Benfield Hazard Research Center have identified a potential Atlantic Ocean tsunami threat from large-scale landslides at the Canary Islands. Surface and submarine investigations show a long-term history of mega-landslides at multiple locations in the Canary Island chain. Much of the current research focuses on the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma shown in the satellite image below.


Image created from NASA Landsat Geocover 2000 data
Studies of surface faulting produced by a 1949 eruption suggest that a large mass of between 200 and 500 cubic kilometers could slip into the sea, generating an Atlantic Ocean tsunami with basin-wide impact. Models suggest that these waves could be 100 meters high at adjacent islands, 50-100 meters high on the African coast, 7-10 meters high at Spain and the UK and over 20 meters high on the coast of Florida. Although the probability of such a slide is very low, the enormous impact merits serious attention.


Map by Geology.com
Read more about the potential Atlantic Ocean Tsunami at the Benfield Hazard Research Center website. Another comprehensive article about Tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean can be seen that the Maine Geological Survey Website.

Labels: Tsunamis

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Hurricane Rita has been upgraded to a category five hurricane and is on path to make landfall in Texas late Friday night or early Saturday morning. This is from the National Hurricane Center's report on Hurricane Rita...

"MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 175 MPH...280 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE LIKELY DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 185 MILES...295 KM.

THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 897 MB...26.49 INCHES. THIS MEANS RITA IS THE THIRD MOST INTENSE HURRICANE IN TERMS OF PRESSURE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN.

TIDES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING NEAR NORMAL ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA COASTS IN THE AREAS AFFECTED BY KATRINA. TIDES IN THOSE AREAS WILL INCREASE UP TO 3 TO 4 FEET AND BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE WAVES OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS... AND RESIDENTS THERE COULD EXPERIENCE SOME COASTAL FLOODING.

HEAVY RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH RITA ARE FORECAST TO BEGIN TO AFFECT THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL AREAS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. RITA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES OVER THE CENTRAL TO UPPER TEXAS COAST. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHERN LOUISIANA... INCLUDING THE NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN AREA.

More details about Hurricane Rita at the NHC website

Labels: Hurricanes

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Hurricane Rita has been upgraded to a category four storm. The National Hurricane Center reports...

"SATELLITE IMAGERY SUGGESTS THAT RITA HAS CONTINUED TO STRENGHTEN AND MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 135 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS NOW A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. A NOAA PLANE WILL CHECK THE INTENSITY LATER THIS MORNING. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS."

September 22nd Gulf of Mexico IR Image by NOAAView additional Hurricane Rita Images at the "Latest Satellite Images" page of the NOAA website.

Labels: Hurricanes

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Hurricane Rita has a predicted track that will take it deep into the Gulf of Mexico later this week. This storm will likely develop to hurricane strength as it enters the warm waters of the Gulf. The Rita track map below shows the anticipated position of the storm between September 22nd and 27th.

Image by NOAASee updated information and the most up-to-date Hurricane Rita Track Map at the NOAA website.

Labels: Hurricanes

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Hurricane Jova is a Pacific Hurricane and is approaching the Hawaiian Islands. The five day track map below shows that there is a possibility of landfall late next week.

Image by NOAASee up-to-date maps and information for Hurricane Jova at the NOAA website.

Labels: Hurricanes

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NOAA has a website at www.cdc.noaa.gov that provides access to climate data through an interactive map. At this website you can click on the state of your choice and then see a physiographic map of the state with major cities plotted. Then click on a city and receive graphs of: 1) daily mean maximum temperature and extremes, 2) daily mean minimum temperature and extremes, and 3) daily mean precipitation and snowfall. A drilldown through the images for Williamsport, Pennsylvania is shown below. This is a valuable website for those interested in climate and the typical weather for cities across the United States.




Images by NOAAVisit the NOAA Climate Map Website

Labels: Maps, Meteorology

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At present it is unclear how homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina and related flooding will be covered by various types of insurance. Hurricane insurance policies might not cover flooding - and flood insurance policies might not cover flooding associated with a hurricane or with a levee break.
Read more about Hurricane Katrina Insurance Problems at The Independent Online Edition website.

Labels: Floods-Flooding, Hurricanes

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Hurricane Ophelia is in the Atlantic and moving towards the North Carolina and South Carolina shorelines. You can view satellite images of the Atlantic, updated hourly at the NOAA website. Images include visible, infrared, shortwave IR, Dvorak IR, water vapor and more.

Image by NOAAAccess the NOAA website currently showing satellite images of Hurricane Ophelia.

Labels: Hurricanes

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Here is an amazing website that should be of very high value to anyone interested in mineralogy, petrology, hydrology, geochemistry, oceanography and many other earth science areas - "An Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions" by Bruce Railsback of the University of Georgia. It is an online periodic table that is loaded with all of the standard information such as element name, symbol, atomic mass, isotopes, atomic number, ionic radius, etc. information. However, it also includes a wealth of information specific to the earth sciences. This additional information is included in the form of special symbols (we are listing only a few here):

* Ions commonly concentrated in residual soils and sediments
* Ions concentrated in deep-sea ferromanganese nodules
* Ions that enter early-forming phases in igneous rocks
* Ions that enter later phases in igneous rocks because of their large size
* Most abundant solutes dissolved in seawater
* Cations that form simple fluoride, oxide, sulfide and bromide minerals
* Anions that form minerals with a variety of metal cations
* Elements that occur as native minerals
* Elements that make natural mineral alloys with Fe, Cu, Os, Pt, Au
* Most abundant constituents in the atmosphere

This is a fantastic resource that you can use on the web or you can order printed copies from the Geological Society of America Bookstore. Dr. Railsback has also posted simpler versions of the table on his website and these include:

* Abridged periodic table
* Speciation of cations
* Oxidation and reduction on the periodic table
* Chemical weathering on the periodic table
* Ground water solutes on the periodic table
* Solutes in seawater
* Ions used in fertilizers

Read more and use the online Periodic Table for Earth Scientists at Bruce Railsback's website.

Labels: Teaching-Science

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Hurricane Ophelia is on a track for a possible landfall in Georgia or South Carolina early next week. The National Hurricane Center has posted public advisories, strike probability maps, wind speed maps, wind charts, and potential hurricane track maps for Ophelia.

The Hurricane Ophelia track map below shows the coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink) and tropical storm warning (blue). The orange circle indicates the current position of the center of the storm. The black line and dots show the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast track of the center at the times indicated. The letter inside the dot indicates the NHC's forecast intensity for that time.


Image by NOAASee updated Hurricane Ophelia Track Maps at the NOAA website.

Labels: Hurricanes, Maps

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A major earthquake has occurred in the New Ireland Region of Papua New Guinea. Preliminary estimates by USGS give this earthquake Magnitude 7.7. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued the following...

"NO DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

HOWEVER - EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION."

Images by USGSGet more details about this earthquake near Papua New Guinea at the National Earthquake Information Center.

Labels: Earthquakes

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We are now providing access to a gallery of DigitalGlobe satellite images for Biloxi and New Orleans with dates of August 31 and September 3.
View these images from our Hurricane Katrina Satellite Images Page.

Labels: Satellite-Images

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View before and after satellite images of New Orleans on our New Orleans Satellite Image page. When you arrive on that page, the red button will take you to post-Katrina images. To best appreciate the impact, toggle back and forth from "before" to "after" images.

Images provided by Google and DigitalGlobe
Post-Katrina Satellite Images

Labels: Hurricane-Katrina, Satellite-Images

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USGS has posted several photo sets that document Hurricane Katrina impact. So far images have been posted for Chandeleur Islands and Dauphin Islands.

Photos of the Chandeleur Islands show dramatic removal of all the sand, leaving only marshy outcrops barely above sea level. Prior to Katrina, the island chain consisted of narrow sandy beaches and low vegetated dunes.

Sections of Dauphin Island west of the airport and fishing pier look as if an enormous rake has been dragged across the island. Large amounts of beach sand washed over the island, covered roads and filled canals. Storm surge created numerous temporary inlets as the water carved out paths through the sand.


Image by USGS

The top image was taken on Dauphin Island directly south of Mobile, Alabama in July 2001, before Hurricane Lili (2002). The middle photograph was taken on September 17, 2004, immediately after the passage of Hurricane Ivan. The bottom image was acquired on August 31, 2005, two days after Hurricane Katrina. These photographs show a significant increase in overwash penetration across the island after Ivan and beyond the island after Katrina. The structure in the lower left corner is an oil rig that broke loose during Katrina and washed ashore. The beach appears brown in the bottom photograph due to a "deposit" of plant debris.

See more images at the USGS Hurricane Katrina Impact studies site. Also available on the site are impact studies for Hurricanes Dennis (2005), Jeanne (2004), Ivan (2004), Frances (2004), Charley (2004), Isabel (2003), Dennis (1999), Georges (1998), Bonnie (1998) and Fran (1996). Also impact studies for the Northeaster that struck Assateague Island in 1998.

Labels: Hurricane-Katrina

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Earth Observatory has posted satellite images of Gulf Coast flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. These images clearly show enlargement of Lake Pontchatrain and Lake Maurepas plus water filling the streets of New Orleans.

Image by EarthObservatorySee high resolution images and read more at the Hurricane Katrina / New Orleans Flooding pages at Earth Observatory.

Labels: Floods-Flooding, Hurricane-Katrina

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