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Geology News
Global Warming Current Events

Ann Daniels, a mother of four and part-time explorer from Devon, England, has been making trips to the Arctic since 1997 – a time when there was enough ice cover to complete the journey on foot. Over the years, the receding ice has necessitated swimming more and more to cover the same distance. She shares her thoughts about swimming in Arctic waters, and dragging a hundred-kilogram sledge through the harsh wilderness. This article includes a photo gallery.

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.

What will happen if the human species just can’t stop polluting the air? One backup plan to save the atmosphere is geoengineering the oceans, which this article discusses.

The Short-Term Energy Outlook of EIA reports…. “CO2 emissions from fossil fuels fell by an estimated 6.3 percent in 2009. Emissions from coal led the drop in 2009 CO2 emissions, falling by nearly 11 percent. Declines in energy consumption in the industrial sector (a result of the weak economy) and changes in electricity generation sources are the primary reasons for the decline in CO2 emissions.

Looking forward, more….

“A massive iceberg, measuring 78 kilometres long and 39 kilometres wide, has calved from the Mertz Glacier in the Australian Antarctic Territory.” Quoted from the Australian Antarctic Division website.

Two groups of people from the Catlin Arctic Survey will be collecting water samples to measure Arctic Ocean acidification. They will also be studying how easily carbon dioxide can travel through sea ice, and the effect of CO2 on marine organisms.

Antarctica map and satellite image

Doctoral student Andrew McDonnell went to the Palmer U.S. Research Station in 2009 to analyze marine snow and the polar carbon cycle. In this article, he shares some thoughts about his memorable trip to Antarctica.

Ice shelves are retreating along the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change. This could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues. In this podcast, USGS scientist Jane Ferrigno discusses the USGS project that is for the first time studying the entire Antarctic coastline in detail.

Conoco, BP and Caterpillar have decided to leave the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an organization with a goal of bringing business and environmental groups together to promote climate change legislation.

The planet’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion people in the next forty years, so agricultural crop output must increase accordingly. However, a rise in average temperatures to over 30 degrees Celsius near the Equator would slash production of staple food crops. How can an equatorial food crisis be prevented?

Glaciers in many areas are melting faster and some of them might have an accelerated melt rate caused by increased water temperatures in their associated Fjords.

“The Geological Survey of Alabama has maintained an active research program in carbon sequestration since 2000. This research includes assessing the potential of geologic formations, identification of risks associated with geologic sequestration, and the implementation of sequestration technology. Research activities have spanned the full range of potential geologic sinks in Alabama.” Quoted from the GSA website.

Solar-radiation management, or SRM, is an idea in which large amounts of aerosol or sea salt are pumped into the atmosphere, where they would reflect the sun’s rays and reduce global temperatures. This article discusses the possibility of using SRM as a tool to engineer the atmosphere.

The demand for coal could suffer significantly as climate change efforts look for cleaner energy production. Now some coal companies with significant mineral rights holdings are starting to consider going into the natural gas business.

To what extent are the Himalayan glaciers melting? Satellites are a crucial tool for monitoring and studying glacial changes. The ESA’s GlobGlacier project is recording data on around 20,000 of our planet’s glaciers, including the Baltoro Glacier in the Kashmir region, and the Gangotri Glacier of Garwhal Himalaya.

Earth Observatory has an animation of Arctic sea ice maximums and minimums that shows changes in the ice extent between 1999 and 2009.

The deepest hole drilled on a single expedition in the history of scientific ocean drilling was completed off the coast of New Zealand at a depth of 1927 meters.

NASA has unveiled their new website, called “Climate Kids: NASA’s Eyes on the Earth”. Designed for 4th – 6th graders, the site has a wealth of information and activities for kids to explore.

The Antarctic ozone hole has been shrinking, but this could result in another problem: higher temperatures across the Southern Hemisphere.

This page links to six research papers recently published by AGU, on the following subjects:

*First study to show that seismic imaging detects ocean’s internal tides
*Ice is “rotten” in the Beaufort Sea
*Global warming increases flood risk in mountain areas
*Worldwide nitrogen deficit constrains carbon dioxide uptake by plants
*Upper atmosphere influences weather near Earth’s surface
*New finding on key element of Earth’s lower mantle

The abstracts can be viewed online, and copies of the papers can be ordered or downloaded from the website.

The trees, plants, and turfgrass in city parks naturally absorb carbon dioxide and cleanse the urban air; in this way, they are beneficial to people and the environment. However, the total amount of emissions from park maintenance – irrigation, fertilization, gas-powered lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and the like – can easily outweigh this benefit.

“One proposed strategy to offset rising levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is to capture carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel-burning power plants and pump them into the ocean depths.” Quoted from the WHOI press release.

Scientists have reconstructed what the climate conditions were 3 million years ago, and are using these data as one of the closest analogs to estimate future climate conditions. USGS scientists Harry Dowsett and Marci Robinson discuss some of their findings regarding carbon dioxide’s impact, Arctic conditions, and the deep ocean’s system.

The Chacaltaya glacier in Bolivia used to be home to the highest altitude ski resort in the world, and supplied much-needed water to city reservoirs. The glacier has been gradually disappearing in the past decade, and finally melted completely in 2009. In this video, The New York Times visits Bolivia and interviews local residents.

The Cryosat-2 Earth Explorer satellite was recently transported to its launch area at Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It is being readied for departure, scheduled on February 25, when it will begin its trek to measure fluctuations in polar ice thickness.