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Geology News
Asia Current Events

Mapping the extent of flooding during a cyclone or other tropical storm is very difficult because cloud cover obscures the view of the earth from space. Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a method of assembling data for improved mapping of inundated areas.

This image is a USGS plot of epicenters of the main shock and the after shocks for the Sichuan, China earthquake. The spread of epicenters along the fault is an indication of the tremendous strain accumulated prior to rupture.

View a photo slideshow of some of the world’s most destructive storms since 1970. Included are: Cyclone Nargis, Cyclone Sidr, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Mitch, Tropical Storm Thelma, Super Typhoon Nina, and the Bhola Cyclone, among others.

Dangerous cracks have been discovered in he Zipingku Dam, located about five kilometers upstream from the earthquake damaged community of Dujiangyan.

Map of China

Information on the Eastern Sichuan, China magnitude 7.9 earthquake from USGS, newspapers and online news sources.

The impact of this cyclone is being compared to Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami. The flow of aid is still very slow into the country and journalists live in fear.

Typhoon Rammasun, was a Category 4 super typhoon moving northeast over the Philippine Sea when this image was captured on May 11. It is predicted to lose strength and dissipate without striking land; however, the heavy rains can still cause flooding and landslides.

Aftershocks continued to occur in western China through Tuesday, May 13, when a magnitude 5.9 tremor shook Sichuan’s capital of Chengdu at 3:10 PM local time. Almost 2,000 aftershocks have occurred in the earthquake-prone area since Monday, and are hindering rescue efforts.

The 7.9 magnitude earthquake early today in China is thought to have killed an estimated 10,000 people. It destroyed small towns north of Sichuan’s provincial capital of Chengdu. It was felt as far away as Vietnam.

Map of China

A major earthquake struck western China today, at 2:28 PM local time. There are early reports of damage and casualties…

School Collapse
Three Gorges Dam Not Damaged

A collection of images, maps and summary information related to Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar (Burma) on May 2, 2008.

Map of Vietnam

Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation, PetroVietnam, a state-run oil company, is partnering with Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Company and Kuwait Petroleum International to build a $6 Billion refinery in Thanh Hoa Province, about 125 miles south of Hanoi.

Russia has a greater ability to determine the course of oil prices than Exxon or Saudi Arabia. Their struggling banking system and run-away inflation will determine their ability and desire to produce oil.

Earth Observatory has a track map for Cyclone Nargis that shows its location and intensity between April 28 and May 4. A color overlay shows rainfall totals from the storm. As of May 7, 2008, the number of people killed was estimated at more than 22,000, according to news reports citing the Myanmar government, with twice that many people still missing and feared dead.

Satellite Images of Cyclone Nargis Flooding

Millions of people in Myanmar are waiting for aid to arrive. The cyclone that hit last weekend washed a 15-foot high storm surge onto the coastline that drowned thousands and swept away the homes of a million.

A large earthquake occurred off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. USGS reports a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and their shakemap estimates intensity VII effects in areas of the coastline near the epicenter. It occurred at 1:45 local time and was preceded by smaller earthquakes.

Beijing, China has a long-standing reputation for air that is thick with pollution and haze. In the past few years they claim to have spent about $17 billion trying to clean it up. A GEOTIMES article takes a look at the problem and the progress.

China is investing a lot more in South America. Aluminum Corporation of China is spending $2.15 billion on the Toromocho Copper Project. This site has an estimated 1.526 millon tons in copper reserves and will host a new smelter to yield 250,000 tons per year.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis has killed 10,000 people in Myanmar and the count is expect to rise much higher. Many people are blaming the government for failing to issue warnings and to quickly accept offers of aid from other countries.

Hundreds of people are feared dead after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar (Burma) this weekend. A state of emergency has been declared for three cities (Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu) and two states (Karen and Mon).

Pictures of Cyclone Nargis aftermath at CNN

Montana State University researchers have identified numerous types of pollution in the Ganges River of India. Their work has been reported to the Indian Supreme Court in support of renewed efforts to clean up the river.

Tropical Storm Nargis formed into a cyclone on April 27th in the Bay of Bengal. It is now moving towards Myanmar (Burma) where it is expected to make landfall between May 2nd and May 3rd. Cyclone season in the North Indian Ocean runs from April through December. There are an average of five named storms per year with only two becoming full tropical cyclones.

“At the end of March, India’s spring crops were ripening in advance of harvest in April. With the harvest in the spring of 2008, the country’s rice and corn production were set to reach record levels according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory release.

An 87-million-year-old praying mantis was found in Japan, preserved in amber. The specimen dates back to the Cretaceous period. Worldwide, only six other mantis specimens from this time period are known to exist - but this particular mantis has some unique characteristics.

Scientists in Japan have begun work on an extensive project that aims to predict earthquakes and tsunamis. They have drilled into the fault zone of the Nankai Trough and retrieved cores of sea floor, which are being used to map stress lines along the subduction zone. Their findings could be applied to similar areas, such as the Sunda Trench, which was the origin of the massive Indonesian tsunami in 2004.

A short (91 seconds) video of what appears to be a sand fountain near Al-Ahsae City in eastern Saudi Arabia. The sand was being lifted about 9 meters into the air. Submitted by Dr. Ajaz Karim.

This image shows the plume of haze curving over the water’s surface. Underneath the plume, much of the water appears blue-green, thanks to the Sea’s shallow northern depths. To the south the sea is a dark blue.

Earth Observatory has a few images of Typhoon Neoguri which is currently moving over Vietnam. This image shows rainfall patterns of this first typhoon of the 2008 season in the western Pacific Ocean.

In a new NASA study, researchers taking advantage of improvements in satellite sensor capabilities, offer the first measurement-based estimate of the amount of pollution from East Asian forest fires, urban exhaust, and industrial production that makes its way to western North America. (NASA Image)

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.

Earth Observatory has a satellite image of a dust storm in the Taklimakan Desert. It shows beige plumes near the desert’s edge, especially in the southwest. Most of the white areas in this image are snowcaps on the nearby mountains.

On the island of Borneo, Indonesia, biologists have discovered that a rare frog species breathes entirely through its skin. This adaptation is likely in response to the frog’s habitat of rapidly flowing cold water, which holds more dissolved oxygen than warm water. It is the first frog ever discovered with this evolutionary trait.

Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake is home to a number of rare water birds. In the late 1990s, rampant poaching had threatened their colonies with extinction. Since then, a conservation project has been implemented to convert poachers into park rangers…and has met with surprising results.

If a large earthquake hit Tokyo and everyone left their buildings it would result in six humans per square meter on the street. That’s just the start of the problem.

The Philippines office of Mines and Geosciences recommends relocation of many residents on the flank of Mt. Diwalwal after finding large fissures in the ground. Mining activity is being blamed.

Over 50,000 squatter families have taken refuge on a waste dump in the Philippines that has been placed as fill along the shoreline of Laguna de Bay. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology says that this area has a very high risk of liquefaction. Earthquakes shake this area frequently.

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.

The United States Geological Survey and the United States Naval Research Laboratory offered to help Pakistan with research and mapping. The offer was declined because it might be a security risk.

A 130-million-year-old fossil found in Japan is thought to be the world’s oldest fully herbivorous lizard. The fossil raises questions of whether flowering plants existed at this time in history, which is millions of years sooner than when these plants are thought to have appeared.

Cold weather in China caused one of the heaviest ice accumulations in decades to form on the Yellow River. An ice dam broke last week and an enormous flood of water and ice swept down the channel. About 13,000 people were evacuated.