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

Geology News
Animals Current Events

A team of researchers has successfully decoded about 80% of the woolly mammoth genome. Some people would like to see the mammoth cloned, but the possibility is unlikely at this time.

The white sturgeon, which is the largest freshwater fish in North America, has been around for 200 million years. Since the Fraser River population began declining in the 1990s, many people have come together to save this enormous fish from extinction.

Scientists are using Doppler weather radar to study bats and other airborne creatures in order to better understand the Earth’s aerosphere. This new discipline is called “aeroecology”.

Climate change is causing small mammals like shrews, mice and ground squirrels in Yosemite National Park to move to higher elevations. This is changing the geographic range of species and placing them in new competitions with one another.

A few species of fish make up 90% of the fish biomass of the Southern Ocean. What enables them to survive in an environment that would freeze any other fish? Their secret is an ability to manufacture “antifreeze proteins.”

Video with Antifreeze Fish photos.

“The gecko’s amazing ability to stick to surfaces and walk up walls has inspired many researchers to manufacture materials that mimic the special surface of a gecko’s foot. The secret behind the gecko’s ability to stick so well is a forest of pillars at the micro-/nano-scale on the underside of the gecko’s foot.” Quoted from the NSF release.

Researchers have found an abundance of new species in deep waters off the southern coast of Tasmania. National Geographic has a few photos of some interesting specimens posted from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

A study presented at the International Union for Conservation of Nature suggests that many different bird populations are declining rapidly in many parts of the world.

“The stickleback fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is one of the most thoroughly studied organisms in the wild, and has been a particularly useful model for understanding variation in physiology, behavior, life history and morphology caused by different ecological situations in the wild.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation release.

“Over the last 10 years, Mary Carman has documented how slimy sea squirts have invaded coastal New England, multiplying on rocks, docks, boat bottoms, moorings, and other hard surfaces. Their rubbery bodies create a nuisance and, perhaps more importantly, render some areas uninhabitable for native species of oysters, mussels, scallops, and other marine life.” Quoted from the WHOI release.

The National Science Foundation has a website that details the biology, ecology and geographic distribution of jellyfish. It also has a lot of interesting facts about them. Did you know that 500,000 people are stung by jellyfish each year in the Chesapeake Bay area?

An article on the ScienceMag website tells how the Brazilian ant, Forelius pusillus, has colonies that are sealed each night by workers who must remain outside and face almost certain death.

Jeff King won the famous Iditerod dog sled race in 2006 and today he is on trial for killing a moose 600 feet inside of Denali National Park. His defense attacks how the boundaries of the park are shown on maps of various scales and how the boundaries of the park are marked in remote areas.

The Toledo Zoo has contractors drilling 32, 300-foot deep wells that will be used to run a geothermal system that will heat the water in their massive aquariums. They hope to save money and have a smaller impact on the environment.

“Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University studying climate change in the Southwestern United States are getting a helping hand—or would that be paw?—from prehistoric packrats.” Quoted from the USGS release.

“Two studies funded by a new USGS initiative on Global Climate Change and Wildlife Science are underway to examine how climate change may be impacting the habitats of native fish and ungulate species. The goal of both projects is to provide tools that will help wildlife managers predict potential climate change induced impacts on wildlife throughout the Rocky Mountains and the interior western United States.” Quoted from the USGS release.

No kidding…. A German shepherd named “Buddy” in Scottsdale, Arizona was trained to call 911 if his owner had a seizure. He recently did his duty. His 911 call fetched police officers to the owners home in about three minutes.

“An unprecedented survey of seabirds, marine mammals, and sharks on the U.S. East Coast has revealed that marine wildlife contains a wide variety of disease-causing microbes—including many that have developed resistance to antibiotics and several that can be transmitted to humans.” Quoted from the article.

“The whales, mother and calf, were “up a creek,” so to speak, for two weeks—they swam 90 miles inland in the Sacramento River Delta, through three bays and past five bridges—and had wounds, likely from an encounter with a vessel.” Quoted from the article.

For years, fishermen have witnessed orcas swimming round and round schools of zigzagging herring to gather them into a tight, wriggling mass. Then the whales slap their powerful tails on the corralled fish to stun them before devouring them one by one. This behavior is known as “carousel feeding”. Researchers are starting to understand how the whales manage an attack that clearly requires coordination, and possibly communication.

An article and slideshow: “Graduate student Kristen Whalen discovers that a tropical marine snail detoxifies compounds soft corals produce to discourage predation, letting it feed on the corals undeterred.” Quoted from the article.

A man in Oregon could not believe his eyes when he saw a six-foot long lizard crawling in the bushes by his house. Over an hour later a brave reptile expert went into the crawl space under the house to drag the lizard out. See the video.

The United States polar bear population spends much of its time on the Arctic ice platform. However, in recent years much of that platform has melted away and this important environment for seal hunting is lost to the bears. USGS biologists recently spotted ten polar bears swimming in open water - an unusual number attributed to problems with their habitat.

Some interesting facts about sharks of the North Atlantic (Greenland Shark) and the North Pacific (Pacific Sleeper Shark). They eat everything and have been spotted at depths of up to 2200 meters!

A group of geologists on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia were seriously threatened by about 30 bears. Two geologists in the party were killed last week by one of the bears and as of Tuesday (July 22nd) morning the geologists were still not in the clear.

Every year a number of penguins wash ashore in Brazil, but this year the numbers are exceptional. Over 400 have washed ashore, most of them very young or dead. There are a few ideas of why this happens; some believe ocean currents are responsible.

This isn’t geology but it is an interesting use of GPS and the internet. You outfit Fido with a GPS collar with a predefined “fence”. If your pet wanders out of the virtual fence area, a notice is sent to your cell phone, PDA or computer. You could probably also use it to track your kids or field partner.

Mongolia Map

A plague of locusts has hit over 1 million hectares of grassland in the Xilingol, Ulanqab and Chifeng areas of Inner Mongolia. Thousands of people and several aircraft are using pest control chemicals to curb the locusts.

A 14-year-old girl in a 24 hour mountain bike race was attacked during the night portion of the ride by a grizzly bear. She was able to make a brief 911 call after the attack and that resulted in her rescue.

A National Geographic Video about a dog in Australia that swallowed a poison toad whole and survived after being given drugs to induce vomiting. The toad survived too after 40 minutes in the dog’s stomach.

New research has discovered the incredible speed and abilities of pilot whales. They can make 15-minute-long dives down to 1000 meters below the surface to chase and catch large squid.

Dramatic increases in jellyfish populations, known as “jellyfish blooms”, have been linked to warmer water temperatures. A new study shows that other factors have an influence on the expanding populations.

US Department of Interior Image

A video crew on a ferry in the coastal waters of Japan captured footage of a flying fish that could stay above the water for up to 45 seconds!