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Geology News
Africa Current Events

The 13 country members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped about 31.87 million barrels per day in April. That’s about 350,000 less than they pumped in March. Much of the drop was attributed to production problems in Nigeria.

Exxon declared force majeure on the contractual obligations for its Nigeria production in late April because of a worker’s strike. Exports from their facilities resumed last week. (Force majeure is a clause in many contracts that frees a company from liability when an extreme event beyond their control prevents them from fulfilling the obligations of that contract.)

Biofuel crops are under fire for worsening the global food crisis. However, it is worth noting that one aspect of the world’s food shortage problem has been largely overlooked: soil quality. This is an issue that can be remedied; the country of Malawi is a good example. After farmers were given fertilizers and better seeds, Malawi changed from a country receiving food aid to one that is now exporting crops.

Chad’s Lake Yoa is giving scientists insight as to how and when the Sahara Desert formed. A new study suggests that the Sahara transformed from a lush tropical area into a desert over a very long period of time. It is also theorized that global warming might cause the desert to become vegetated once again.

Learn about plate tectonics with this slideshow of photos from around the world. Some of the areas featured include: the East African Rift Valley, Thingvellir National Park in Iceland, the San Andreas Fault, the Sheep Mountain anticline, Monument Upwarp in Utah, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, Adi Caieh in Eritrea, and more.

In 2007, worldwide losses from natural disasters was about $82 billion. The pattern of future damage is expected to disproportionately hit developing countries such as India.

This is an article that highlights how Madagascar’s Ministry of Environment, along with the University of Maryland and NASA, have developed a fire alert system to monitor fires in near real-time. The system sends subscribers email alerts on newly-detected burning, in the future will also be used to monitor road building and illegal logging.

NASA satellites collect images and data to monitor worldwide volcanoes. In addition to satellite images, they have sensors to detect heat, sulfur dioxide and small changes in the shape of earth’s surface. Here’s a collection of images that show different types of volcano monitoring.

Drought is forcing a million people in Uganda to move about constantly searching for food. This is an area with no infrastructure and climate change is hitting the people very hard.

Archaeologists uncovered a statue of Queen Tiye while excavating the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III in Luxor, Egypt. The quartzite figure measures 12 feet tall and is remarkably well-preserved. Many of the statues in this temple have been damaged by massive earthquakes, so the discovery of an intact colossus is an unusual surprise.

Earth Observatory has an interesting satellite image of Saharan dust blowing northward over the Mediterranean Sea then turning east and blowing over the Black Sea. It is surprising how the plume stays intact all the way to the Black Sea, even with a direction change.

Kimberley Consolidated Mining and Batloung Mining Services have a joint venture to mine a South African property that contains both alluvial gravels and Kimberlite.pipe

Kimberly Consolidated Mining sold a 46 carat blue-white diamond for $1.28 million US - that was $28,000 per carat. The stone was mined at the Bo-Karoo alluvial mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape.

This is not news but instead an interesting article on the Oak Ridge National Labs website. It tells about extremophiles (organisms that can live under extremely harsh conditions) living two miles below the ground in a South African gold mine. They live with no light, no oxygen and no organic input.

A short article at the GEOTIMES website explores the possibility that Orrorin tugenensis, a fossil in the hominin lineage from about 6 million years ago that was discovered in Kenya in 2000, walked upright. The article discusses its relationship to other human ancestors.

An article at Mining Weekly explores some of the challenges faced by diamond miners. These include: bureaucracy, logistics, corruption, price stability, synthetic diamonds and more. Angola was cited as being a difficult country to work in, and Canada was cited as being underexplored.

Twenty-seven people are under arrest in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia without bail. They are accused in a plot to swap fake gold bars worth $17 million for bars made of gold-plated steel.

Madagascar is home to hundreds of animal species that are found nowhere else on the planet. In an effort to preserve the unique wildlife and attract more tourists, the island has been taking steps to reduce the destruction of its forests.

A fault in the eastern Mediterranean may be the source of multiple tsunamis with a recurrence interval of about 800 years.

Earth Observatory has a satellite image of the burned area caused by a fire in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya. Lake Nakuru is famous because it’s alkaline waters support billions of cyanobacteria that attract massive flocks of flamingoes.

NASA Landsat

There has been a lot of recent debate over building a bridge across the Straight of Gibraltar to connect Europe to Africa. This website explores several of the most ambitious bridge projects.

Paleontologists have unearthed fossils of six previously-unknown species of prehistoric bats. The fossils show that these bats are more primitive members of existing families. The finding is significant because it suggests that bats could have evolved in Africa.

Ivory, rhino horn, exotic birds, reptile skins and other animal products have motivated a new breed of poacher. Those who exploit these goods are often members of organized crime or warlords. They are filling the shopping lists of organized smuggling networks, often from Asian countries.

An article at the Financial Post explores the business model of several mineral exploration/development companies. They are willing to invest their exploration budgets in countries where the political and environmental risks are very high. This gives them first mover advantage should a market in those areas become strong.

“Boltwoodite is a Uranium mineral that is only found in a handful of locations worldwide. The location that produces the very best material in the world is in the desolate moon landscape of Goanikontes Namibia.” Quoted from The-Vug.com

Cyclone Ivan hit Madagascar this week, leaving 29 dead and about 70,000 homeless.

Africa has a lot of oil and the production there is growing steadily - not only in absolute numbers, but also in the percentage of world oil comes from that continent. Africa produced 10% of world production in the 1990’s and 12 % between 2000 and 2005.

At least 72 people have died from Cholera in Mozambique following flooding that happened in January. About 100,000 have been displaced and 250,000 depend upon emergency food.

He might be the largest and meanest frog that ever lived. This big-mouth-frog lived about 70 million years ago, was sixteen inches high and weighed ten pounds.

A project to build a tunnel under the 8 miles of ocean that separates Europe from Africa at the Straight of Gibraltar is expected to being work this year. Various routes are being considered between Spain and Morocco, each with their own special challenges.

Two powerful earthquakes killed at least 39 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Rwanda.

GEOTIMES has a feature article that spotlights oil exploration and production in five settings:

Norway Looks North for Oil and Gas
Oil and Politics in Iraq
Squabbles over the South China Sea
Putting India on the World’s Petroleum Map
Oil Rushes Back to Libya

Heavy rains have triggered flooding in the African nation of Malawi. When it floods there the rising waters can bring crocodiles.

After a long civil war and years of importing food staples, the government of Sierra Leone and some corporate contributors, are trying to reestablish farming as an important occupation and way of life.

Michigan Technological University is now offering field courses in the East Africa Rift Valley, May 7- June 5. You can join them to study the geology of this exotic region; several course options are available.

A study by the Spanish Oceanographic Institute reports on a rising Mediterranean Sea and the impact that it might have on coastal areas and environment.

There is an interesting article in the New York Times that tells author, Neil Modie’s, experience on a recent trek to the top of Kilimanjaro. There is an increased interest in adventure travel to destinations such as Kilimanjaro and other relatively easy peaks. Trekkers want to go there while they are still snow covered. (may require free registration)

National Geographic has a photo essay about how Egypt has been increasing its amount of useful farmland by irrigating the desert. Much of the water is coming from deep aquifers with a limited lifetime.

Southern Africa is in its rainy season now and the Pungue River is flooding because of the intense rain. Earth Observatory has a satellite image pair that illustrates this flood.

Egypt has been working to bring cultivation to areas which were previously desert. In the last ten years they have reclaimed about one million acres. This National Geographic article explains how they are doing it.