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Geology News
Asia Current Events

A landslide in Pakistan stopped the flow of the Hunza River and created a lake. This satellite image shows flooding in the Hunza Valley.

New research shows that modern dogs’ genomes are most similar to wolves from the Middle East (as opposed to wolves from East Asia). This article discusses the evolution of the dog.

The North Anatolian Fault in Turkey has been accumulating pressure near Istanbul for over two centuries. This article from EARTH Magazine explains what could be in store for the Marmara Sea fault region.

In Bangladesh, hundreds of people have initiated a hunger strike in front of the gates of a coal mining company. They are demanding compensation for subsidence damage that occurred to their homes above the company’s mine.

Uranium is enriched using a centrifuge, where the heavier uranium is removed. The more enriched the metal is, the easier it becomes to remove any remaining heavy atoms. This article briefly explains the process and why it is pertinent to Iran’s current enrichment activities.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake caused over 50 deaths in Turkey in the early hours of March 8. The epicenter was located in the Elazig province, close to the town of Basyurt; heavy damage was suffered by the town of Okcular.

Taiwan map and satellite image

Yahoo! has a slideshow with many photos and images related to the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that occurred in Taiwan on March 4, 2010.

Three new GPS satellites are being launched to provide better locational support for troops in Afghanistan. The current constellation of satellites does not provide suitable coverage for troops in the rugged landscape of that area.

Japan placed its eastern coastline on a tsunami alert after the recent magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Their Meteorological Agency warned that waves up to 10 feet high could hit the shoreline. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated low areas near the coast. Fortunately the waves were much smaller than anticipated.

Related article: What Causes a Tsunami?

NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has a SEVERE widespread warning, watch and advisory in effect in response to the 8.8M Chile earthquake. Visit their website for specific information for various areas.

Scientists have been able to successfully modify Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to produce flightless female offspring. This research could be useful for stopping the spread of dengue fever, the West Nile virus, and malaria, without the use of pesticides.

A world map on the New York Times website shows the location of high-population cities in earthquake-prone areas where a large number of people live in poorly constructed buildings. Although the analysis predates the 2010 Haiti earthquake it still contains important information.

This is a photo slideshow featuring some of the planet’s endangered primates. See pictures of a Siau Island tarsier; the silky sifaka, greater bamboo lemur, gray-headed lemur, northern sportive lemur, and Sclater’s lemurs from Madagascar; a cottontop tamarin from Colombia; a Peruvian yellow-tailed woolly monkey; a western hoolock gibbon; the pig-tailed langur of Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands; and a pair of variegated spider monkeys.

Sakurajima volcano in southern Japan erupted more than 400 times during 2009, and activity is increasing in early 2010. Gray ash is visible in the plume that extends northeast (towards the lower-right) of the volcano. Ashfall is a regular occurence at the daikon and mandarin farms surrounding the volcano, as well as the nearby cities of Kagoshima and Kirishima. NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon. Caption by Robert Simmon. Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

Environmentalists are upset over a deal between China Power International Development and Resourcehouse, an Australian coal producer, that will provide a 20 year supply of electric utility coal.

Russia has an estimated 87 trillion cubic meters of coal-bed methane distributed through coal seams in many parts of the country. Gasprom has a plan to produce 1.5 billion cubic meters of methane in 2012 from coal seams in Siberia. Gasprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the Russian government holds a controlling interest in the company.

Air pollution from Asia is being carried by winds and reaching the western United States. Ozone levels in China have been increasing for the past decade.

Related: Tracking Pollution by Satellite from Asia to North America

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell now have agreements with Iraq to develop the West Qurna oilfield. The field is thought to contain over 8 billion barrels of oil.

An annular solar eclipse was visible over Asia and Africa on January 15, 2010. National Geographic has compiled some nice photos of the eclipse, taken from Jiangsu Province, China; Bangkok, Thailand; Fujian Province, China; Rameswaram, India; Poseidon’s temple in Cape Sounion, Greece; and a map of the eclipse’s path from the Central African Republic to China.

The Air Force operates the constellation of GPS satellites that supply data for military and civilian purposes. Over the next few months they will adjust the position of these satellites to improve the coverage over Afghanistan.

Billions of people rely on the South Asian monsoon season to provide water for agriculture and human consumption. It appears that the Himalayan Mountains affect the monsoon by acting as a barrier between the warm, humid air near the coast and the more frigid air at higher latitudes.

Related: Haze over India and Bangladesh.

Burj Dubai is the world’s tallest building and holds other records. It has more stories than any other building and the world’s highest occupied floor. It opens today in Dubai.

An magnitude 5.1 earthquake left about 20,000 people homeless in Tajikistan. Many of the buildings destroyed were built from mud.

Mayon Volcano, the most active volcano in the Philippines, is erupting lava and plumes of ash. Over 20,000 people have been evacuated from areas around the volcano.

Average water temperatures in the Kuwait Bay are rising at a much faster rate than the rest of the world. Several factors influence this trend: human actions, climate change, and forces of nature.