• Current News
• Africa
• Alabama
• Alaska
• Antarctic
• Archaeology
• Arctic
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Asia
• Astronomy
• Atlantic
• Australia
• Bakken Shale
• Barnett Shale
• California
• Canada
• Caribbean Sea
• Caves and Karst
• Central America
• Chile
• China
• Coal
• Coastal Geology
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Contamination
• Copper
• Delaware
• Diamonds
• Dimension Stone
• Dinosaurs
• Dust Storm
• Earthquakes
• Energy
• Engineering Geology
• Environment
• Europe
• Fayetteville Shale
• Floods
• Florida
• Fossils
• Gemstones
• Geography
• Geologist Career
• Geology for Kids
• Geology.com
• Georgia
• Geothermal
• Glaciers
• Global Warming
• Gold
• Google
• GPS and GIS
• Great Websites
• Ground Water
• Gulf of Mexico
• Haiti
• Hawaii
• Haynesville Shale
• Historical Geology
• Hurricanes and Cyclones
• Idaho
• Illinois
• India
• Indiana
• Indonesia
• Interesting
• Iowa
• Japan
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Lakes
• Landslides
• LNG
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maps
• Marcellus Shale
• Mars
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Metals
• Meteorology
• Meteors and Meteorites
• Mexico
• Michigan
• Minerals
• Mining
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• NASA
• Natural Gas
• Natural Hazards
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oceanography
• Ohio
• Oil and Gas
• Oklahoma
• OPEC
• Oregon
• Pacific
• Pennsylvania
• Philippines
• Plants
• Plate Tectonics
• Politics and Geology
• Redoubt Volcano
• Rhode Island
• Rivers
• Russia
• Satellite Images
• Soil
• Solar Power
• South America
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Space
• Subsidence
• Teaching Science
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Tornadoes
• Tsunami
• United States
• Uranium
• USGS
• Utah
• Utica Shale
• Vehicles
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Volcanoes
• Washington
• Water
• West Virginia
• Wildfire
• Wildlife
• Wind Energy
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Geology News
Alaska Current Events

Methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and sediments in some parts of the Arctic are starting to vent significant amounts of methane as their temperatures increase.

The Ground Truth Trekking Blog has a collection of articles on the theme of “Coal in Alaska”. The state has enormous coal resources from lignite through anthracite – but it can be hard to transport the coal to distant markets at a competitive price.

A blog post on the Ground Truth Trekking Blog documents efforts to observe the Chile tsunami in locations such as Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka (Russia) and Seldovia, Alaska.

The White River tephra is an ashfall produced by an eruption of Mount Churchill Volcano that blanketed much of east-central Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada about 1000 years ago. DNA evidence from frozen caribou remains links a large migration to the eruption.

Some people believe that the TransCanada Pipeline is still needed – even after major shale gas plays have been discovered at many locations in the United States.

A proposed pipeline to carry natural gas from the North Slope, through Canada and on to markets in Alaska and the 48 states could cost up to $41 billion. A competing project would carry the gas to a proposed LNG facility at Valdez.

For the last three years, Dr. Michel Boufadel and his students have been studying the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill at Prince William Sound, Alaska. Temple University has a large collection of photos and information from their trips; you can browse several photo galleries to learn about their work.

After two decades, traces of oil from the Exxon Valdez accident can still be found on the beaches of Prince William Sound, Alaska. Low levels of nutrients and oxygen in the gravelly soil have hampered biodegradation of the oil.

Sea level rise and fall has opened and closed the Bering Strait numerous times in the past, affecting ocean circulation and influencing the climate of the Northern Hemisphere.

Woolly mammoth and horse DNA less than 10,000 years old has been preserved in Alaskan soil. This evidence indicates that these Ice Age mammals may have inhabited the region more recently than fossil radiocarbon dating suggests.

A warming climate is causing villages like Shishmaref, Alaska to slowly disappear. Thawing permafrost facilitates coastal erosion, and homes there are literally falling into the Chukchi Sea. This article from CNN has a collection of photo slideshows and videos illustrating how climate change is affecting the coastal town and its unique culture.

The books in the Roadside Geology series will help you learn about the geology of your favorite state. These books are great to take on a trip but they work even better if you use them in advance to plan your trip wisely.

High gold prices have fueled the gold rush underway in Alaska. The Fort Knox and Delta Junction mines currently supply the majority of gold from the state, and new, larger mines are being researched.

“In this image, the wind is blowing from the snow-covered mountains to the Gulf of Alaska. The wind picked up fine sediment from the riverbank and carried it over the ocean. The pale brown plume of airborne dust contrasts sharply with the dark ocean beneath it.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

In 1998, Bernie and Connie Karl took over Chena Hot Springs Resort in Alaska – and discovered that the springs were warmed by diesel fuel. The couple converted the resort to low-temperature geothermal power using an innovative portable generator.

Royal Dutch Shell has received permission to drill two exploratory wells on two offshore leases in the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska.

A San Francisco Chronicle article explores the current status and future of shipping in the Arctic. As an example of what is happening: “Nome’s ship traffic is eight times what it was in 1990.”

“Peacock-hued splashes of color brightened the Bering Sea off the Alaskan coast on October 8, 2009, as NASA’s Aqua satellite flew overhead. This true-color image shows streaks running roughly northwest-southeast, north and east of Alaska’s St. Paul Island. The color likely results in part from blooms of phytoplankton—tiny, plant-like marine organisms that thrive in cold water rich in nutrients.” Quoted from NASA’s Earth Observatory image release.

The potential for a huge Pacific Ocean tsunami on the West Coast of North America may be greater than previously thought. The new study of geological evidence along the Gulf of Alaska coast suggests that future tsunamis could reach a scale far beyond that suffered in the tsunami generated by the great 1964 Alaskan earthquake.

Environmental groups are urging Washington to impose a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. They are concerned about the impact of drilling on wildlife and the Arctic Ocean environment.

Sean Parnell, Governor of Alaska, wants the federal government to allow offshore oil and gas drilling in the Beaufort Sea, along Alaska’s northern coastline. He says that new production sources are needed to maintain the minimum throughput level required by the trans-Alaska pipeline.

A article on the Reuters website reports that BP is closing a research facility at Nikiski, Alaska where they successfully produced 300 barrels of diesel fuel and aviation fuel from natural gas.

The August 7, 2008 eruption of Alaska’s Kasatochi Volcano completely covered Kasatochi Island with several meters of ash and volcanic material. It killed all of the island’s plants, fish and animals – it virtually sterilized the island. This ecological event also provided a rare research opportunity – a chance to see how species recolonize the island.

“Fifty years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on glacier change shows recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in three climatic regions of the United States. These long periods of record provide clues to the climate shifts that may be driving glacier change.” Quoted from the USGS release

The United States and Canada are jointly conducting a survey of the Arctic Ocean. They are mapping the outer edge of the continental shelf to prepare their claim for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Geology.com article: Who Owns the Arctic?