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Geology News
Geology.com Current Events

COROT-7b is an exoplanet that orbits the star COROT-7. It it so close to the star that temperatures are thought to be high enough to vaporize silicate rocks. Above the surface the vapors can cool to produce a rain of igneous rocks.

Researchers have determined that magma can rise very rapidly during some types of explosive volcanic eruptions. If magma can rise rapidly then deep magma might be able to produce an eruption in less than the time needed to detect, confirm, communicate and evacuate.

A new model for the deposition of banded iron formations offers a more complete picture of Earth’s environment between 3.8 and 1.7 billion years ago, including interactions between rocks, water, and air.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered an enormous ring around Saturn — by far the largest of the giant planet’s many rings. The ring was not discovered before because it is a very difuse scatter of ice and dust particles.

Image by U.S. Geothermal, Inc.

University of Utah researchers will use a method similar “hydraulic fracturing” done by the natural gas industry to stimulate the yield of a geothermal well at a US Geothermal, Inc site near Malta, Idaho. Increasing the number of fractures in the rock should enhance its ability to deliver steam.

A Google map with a pushpin marking the location of the highest point on each continent. Do you know the name of the mountain that has the highest elevation in Europe? Zoom in for a satellite view.

A video describes how NASA scientists can use the thermal wavelengths from Landsat data to estimate how much water is being used on a field-by-field basis.

Here is a website where you can download and print an unlimited number of state maps for students. For all fifty US states there are county maps, cities maps and outline maps.

Here is an easy-to-print geologic time scale in Microsoft Word format that we offer as a reference for students and teachers.

Please feel free to print this time scale, place it on your website, bookmark it or link to it as it suits your purpose. It lists the eras and periods with a scale of years for easy reference.

Scientists visited NW Rota-1 Volcano on the ocean floor near the island of Guam three years ago. They recently returned to find enormous numbers of shrimp, crab, limpets and barnacles growing on the flanks of the volcano. They also measured the impact of the eruption on local water chemistry.

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.

Here’s where you can get a variety of free printable graph papers in easy to use .pdf files. Grid paper, axis paper, isometric paper, ternary paper, polar paper and more.

Jessica Ball has authored an article on the types of volcanic eruptions. It has descriptions and photos of Hawaiian, Strombolian, Vulcanian, Plinian, Surtseyan and lava dome eruptions. Check it out!

NASA Image

“Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence of what might be a planet collision which occurred a few thousand years ago. This planet impact was located about 100 light years from earth, near a star, HD 172555, which is still in the early stages of planet formation.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

NASA Image

Much of northern India is dependent upon a reliable supply of groundwater for public use and irrigation. Rapid population growth, economic development and groundwater-based irrigation produce a level of groundwater use that can not be sustained.

Photos of meteorites found by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and Spirit. These robots have found about 1/2 ton of meteorites in their travels in the short time that they have been driving around Mars.

“Scientists at Imperial College London have created detailed 3D computer models of two fossil spiders that lived about 300 million years ago. The study reveals some of the physical traits that helped them to hunt for prey and evade predators.” Quoted from the Imperial College London release.

“New research by a team of scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the U.S. Geological Survey offers new insight into the The San Andreas Fault as it extends beneath Southern California’s Salton Sea.” Quoted from the news release.

Jessica Ball has written an interesting article on volcanic hazards. It contains photos and descriptions for lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, pyroclastic falls, lahars and volcanic gases.

Warmer, drier climate is causing water supplies in the Colorado River basin to deplete at a very rapid rate. The warming climate is a greater threat than population growth and could cause depletion of reservoir storage by mid-century.

Large bombardments of meteorites approximately four billion years ago could have helped to make the early Earth and Mars more habitable for life by modifying their atmospheres.

We have a new article on Arenal Volcano (Costa Rica) by Jessica Ball. Her article reviews the eruption history, geology, hazards and plate tectonic setting. Arenal is the youngest stratovolcano in Costa Rica, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and has been producing pyroclastic flows almost continuously since 1968.

Can hydrocarbons form in the mantle without organic matter? Is it possible that some natural gas was generated in the mantle and migrated up into shallow reservoirs? Researchers at the Carnegie Institution have information that suggests that some natural gas might have this origin.

USGS has a fact sheet that illustrates and explains the different types of landslides. It includes very simple drawings of slides that are easy to understand.

Lonsdaleite diamonds found on California’s Channel Islands are suggestive of a cosmic impact some 12,900 years ago. This impact is one of several theories on how some species became extinct at the end of the ice age.

The threat of a large tsunami occurring on the coast of Alaska has been previously underestimated. If two parts of the Yakataga segment ruptured at the same time, a tsunami could be created that affects the entire coastline between Alaska and California.

Related articles: Tsunami: Lituya Bay, Alaska and What Causes a Tsunami?

Could evidence of life on Mars be preserved in structures similar to the stromatolites found on Earth? If microbial communities once flourished there the traces left behind might be similar to stromatolites or microbial reefs.

Using a Google Map you can zoom in on the San Andreas Fault to follow the approximate location of the fault trace across California. View the fault on a map or satellite images.

Map by David Lynch of Thule Scientific and Bradley Cole of Geology.com.

Drilling in sediments off of the front of the Amazon River Delta has revealed the minimum age of the river and gives insight into the development of the Amazon River and the Amazon deep sea fan.

Paleoclimatologists at the University at Buffalo report on research that indicates…. “Modern glaciers, such as those making up the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are capable of undergoing periods of rapid shrinkage or retreat.”