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Images of Sand Through a Microscope
May 17 | Scientific American

Beach sand is much more than just little brown granules. It is comprised of microscopic shells, pieces of coral, tiny gems, mineral fragments, and more. This colorful and interesting slideshow displays the microphotography of Dr. Gary Greenberg.

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Youngest Supernova
Youngest Supernova in Milky Way Discovered
May 16 | NASA

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has helped scientists to find the most recent supernova yet discovered in our galaxy. Study of the 140-year-old remnants will aid in the understanding of stellar explosions.

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Corn
Soil Quality a Major Player in Food Crisis
May 12 | MSNBC

Biofuel crops are under fire for worsening the global food crisis. However, it is worth noting that one aspect of the world’s food shortage problem has been largely overlooked: soil quality. This is an issue that can be remedied; the country of Malawi is a good example. After farmers were given fertilizers and better seeds, Malawi changed from a country receiving food aid to one that is now exporting crops.

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Presidential Science Debate?
May 10 | Arizona Geology

Should the presidential candidates meet to debate science issues? Here are a couple of perspectives and references to more information.

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Six Figure Starting Salaries in the Oil Industry
May 9 | Arizona Geology Blog

Lee Allison comments on starting salaries in the oil industry based upon discussions with professors and students at the recent AAPG meeting in San Antonio.

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clock-angie.gif
Does Daylight Saving Time Really Save Energy?
May 8 | GEOTIMES

Conventional wisdom says that Daylight Saving Time cuts energy costs and conserves resources. However, a new study suggests that it might cost more money than it saves. This article looks at the history of DST and how it works today.

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GEOTIMES
Venturing to Venus
May 7 | GEOTIMES

This article by Erin Wayman looks at what is being done to learn more about Venus. NASA has not had a dedicated Venus mission for nearly two decades but the European Space Agency launched a Venus mission in 2005 and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch another in 2010.

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Images of Powerful Electrical Storms on Saturn
May 5 | NASA Cassini Mission

NASA has acquired images of powerful electrical storms on Saturn with lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those on Earth. These resemble terrestrial thunderstorms, but have diameters of several thousand kilometers (thousands of miles) across.

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Montana Moss Agate
Montana Moss Agate Display
May 4 | The-Vug.com

The-Vug.com has a photo display of the Montana Moss Agate case by Brooks Britt from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. This is one of several mineral exhibit competition cases that they feature as articles on their website.

If you collect minerals they note mineral dealer website updates on their homepage.

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NASA Image
NASA Article Archive
May 2 | NASA / JPL

An archive of NASA news releases, image galleries and articles on a variety of topics related to planetary geology, earth observation, global climate change, monitoring volcanoes, looking beyond our solar system, monitoring the oceans and more. A few of the most popular ones are:

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NASA Satellites Aid in Chesapeake Bay Recovery
May 1 | NASA

By studying the landscape around the Chesapeake, NASA spacecraft such as Landsat, Terra and Aqua are helping land managers figure out how to battle the harmful pollutants that have added to the destruction of the bay’s once legendary productivity. Many of these harmful pollutants come from the Chesapeake Bay’s watershed, an area of about 64,000 square miles that covers parts of six states.

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nsf.jpg
Online Workshop on Earth Science Literacy
April 30 | Earth Science Literacy Initiative

Applications are now being accepted to participate in a 2-week online workshop (about an hour a day) that will create a framework of “Big ideas” and supporting concepts defining what all Americans need to know about the geosciences. All members of the Earth science community–especially research scientists and post-secondary educators–are invited to apply to participate in the online geoscience workshop, which will occur during 12-24 May 2008.

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Galaxy Collision
Spectacular Images of Galaxies in Collision
April 30 | NASA Hubble Space Telescope

NASA has released an impressive collection of galaxy images, each showing galaxies in collision, interacting or about to collide. They have been released to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope launch.

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The Violent Lives of Galaxies
April 28 | NASA Hubble Space Telescope

“Astronomers are using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to dissect one of the largest structures in the universe as part of a quest to understand the violent lives of galaxies. Hubble is providing indirect evidence of unseen dark matter tugging on galaxies in the crowded, rough-and-tumble environment of a massive supercluster of hundreds of galaxies.” Quoted from the NASA release.

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Mars subsurface
Radar Sounder Reveals Shallow Subsurface Structures of Mars
April 27 | NASA News Release

A radar instrument co-sponsored by NASA on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter has looked beneath the surface of Mars and opened up a new dimension for planetary exploration.

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bobcat
Geologist Kills Rabid Bobcat with Rock Hammer
April 25 | Tucson Citizen

Rich Thompson and his wife were hiking in the field when attacked by a rabid bobcat. Both received bites and scratches in a ten minute battle. Thompson finally managed to pull a rock hammer out of his pack and end the encounter.

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topographic maps
Free Printable Topo Maps
April 24 | digital-topo-maps.com

Here’s a Google map that serves USGS topo map tiles. You can browse topo maps in any of the 48 states and Canada and print a copy of these maps from a PDF document.

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NPR - geology salaries
Podcast: Geology Students Striking it Rich
April 23 | National Public Radio

NPR’s “All Things Considered” program goes to the Colorado School of Mines where lots of students are getting hired well in advance of graduation at $80K+ salaries with signing bonuses.

More….
Geologist Salaries at Record Highs
Geologist Career Resources

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Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes: Calculating the Earth’s Circumference (video)
April 23 | Discovery Video

A video that explains how Eratosthenes was able to calculate Earth’s circumference using observations made at two wells at different locations on the first day of summer.

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Sand Fountain
Sand Fountain in Saudi Arabia
April 22 | Muxlim.tv

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.

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Free Graph Paper
Polar Graph Paper for Orientation Plots
April 21 | Waterproof-Paper.com

Here’s a source of printable polar coordinate graph paper that can be used to plot things like joint and fracture orientations, current directions, fossil orientations or any type of data that is collected in degrees. These are .pdf files that you can easily download and print. Bookmark it for easy access when you need it.

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Bakken Formation Oil
Bakken Formation Oil: What’s in the Numbers
April 21 | Clastic Detritus

Brian Romans has a summary of the USGS fact sheet on the Bakken Formation petroleum reserves. He also has some commentary on the different categories of reserves and what what those numbers really mean.

USGS Fact Sheet on Bakken Formation Oil

Related stories.
Phobos
NASA Image
Phobos: New NASA Images of Mars’ Largest Moon
April 20 | NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA has released images of Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons. These were captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 23, 2008. They show interesting geological features such as landslides and crater chains.

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USGS Bakken Oil
Bakken Formation Oil and Gas: USGS Fact Sheet
April 18 | USGS

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota.

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GEOTIMES
Changing the World One Kilowatt at a Time
April 18 | GEOTIMES

GEOTIMES has an article that explores how Google (the search engine company) is getting involved in energy. Their goal is to develop renewable energy sources that are cost-competitive with coal.

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southern-pinwheel-galaxy.jpg
New NASA Image: Southern Pinwheel Galaxy - M83
April 17 | NASA

“M83 is located 15 million light-years away in the southern constellation Hydra. Astronomers speculate that young stars seen far out in M83 could have formed under conditions resembling those of the early universe.”

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Lonar Impact Crater
India’s Lonar Impact Crater
April 17 | NASA Earth Observatory

India’s Lonar Crater began causing confusion soon after it was identified in 1823 by a British officer named C.J.E. Alexander. However, scientists established Lonar’s status as an impact crater based on several lines of evidence, perhaps the most compelling being the presence of maskelynite.

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Geology Jobs Page - Links to Over 200 Resources
April 16 | Geology.com

We recently updated our geology jobs page adding links to over 200 employers, headhunters and articles relevant to the job market for geologists. If you know anyone looking for earth science employement or anyone who advises geology students we invite you to share the URL with them.
http://geology.com/jobs.htm

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Spectacular Images of the Universe
April 15 | NASA

A collection of images representing some of the most impressive views in our universe. Included are the Orion Nebula, a dying star, spiral galaxy, birth of a star, the Eagle Nebula, extrasolar planet, a galaxy pair and the Cartwheel Galaxy.

Related stories.
Tracking Pollution from China To North America
April 14 | NASA

Tracking China's Pollution
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)

Related stories.
Arctic Sea Ice Age
Arctic Sea Ice is Still at Risk Despite a Cold Winter
April 14 | NASA

Using the latest satellite observations, NASA researchers and others report that the Arctic is still on “thin ice” when it comes to the condition of sea ice cover in the region. A colder-than-average winter in some regions of the Arctic this year has yielded an increase in the area of new sea ice, while the older sea ice that lasts for several years has continued to decline.

Related stories.
amazonite smoky quartz
Amazonite & Smoky Quartz
April 14 | The-Vug.com

The-Vug.com has photos of the Amazonite and Smoky Quartz exhibit from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Included are photos from the Pike’s Peak County, Colorado mine where some were collected and also from the Collector’s Edge Cleaning Lab where some of the specimens were prepared.

Related stories.
Saturn’s Moon Titan May Have an Ocean Below Its Crust
April 13 | NASA News Release

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence that points to the existence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Saturn’s moon Titan. The findings were made using radar measurements of Titan’s rotation.

Related stories.
NOAA
Take a Virtual Tour of the National Hurricane Center
April 13 | NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration invites you to take a virtual tour of the National Hurricane Center. If you are interested in hurricanes and tropical cyclones you might learn some interesting things about forecasting them.

Related stories.
Omega Centauri
Omega Centauri in the Infrared
April 13 | NASA

Omega Centauri is the biggest and brightest of the 150 or so globular clusters that orbit around the outside of our Milky Way galaxy. Stargazers at southern latitudes can spot the stellar gem with the naked eye in the constellation Centaurus. You can see an infrared image of Omega Centauri at the NASA website.

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gps
GPS Tracking for Kids, Pets, Vehicles
April 12 | New York Times

There are now a few vendors selling relatively inexpensive GPS tracking devices, some providing the data to you in near real time via a website. People use them to track kids and pets. FedEx and UPS are using them to study the effectiveness of shipping routes, and plumbing services use them to know the progress of plumbers on daily calls.

Related stories.
Earth
Photos from Around the World
April 11 | Reuters

Reuters has created an excellent slideshow of 37 photos from around the world. See a rainbow in Afghanistan, storks in Spain, cherry blossoms in Japan, an avalanche in Switzerland, and much more. Don’t miss it!

Related stories.
topo maps
Free Topo Maps
April 10 | Geology.com

Google has added contour lines to their terrain maps. They are not quite as detailed as USGS topos but for free-to-use maps they are very nice. Contour intervals vary depending upon local relief.

Related stories.
GEOTIMES
The Wind Over the Waves
April 10 | GEOTIMES

This article at GEOTIMES explores offshore wind as a renewable energy source. Already being developed off the coast of England and other locations, this power source seems to have promise.

Related stories.
Marcellus Shale
Marcellus Shale: The Most Overlooked Resource in the Eastern US
April 9 | Geology.com

Early this year researchers surprised everyone with a resource estimate for the Marcellus Shale beneath Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and surrounding states. They estimated that the Marcellus might contain more than 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That volume of natural gas would be enough to supply the entire United States for about two years and have a wellhead value of about one trillion dollars!

Related stories.

Google Earth
Free High Resolution Satellite Images - Google Earth
Promotion | Geology.com
Google Earth is a free download that will allow you to view recent satellite images of Earth in 3D. Worldwide coverage. Fly over landscapes and cities, or zoom in on your house! This is the same program used by national news networks to give you great satellite images. Free download.


Welcome! I would like to offer you a free and easy way to learn about earth science topics in the news. Every day you can find links to several news topics right here or receive them as a daily email message.

If you see an interesting item in the news please consider sharing it with others by using this form.

I look forward to hearing from you!
Hobart King



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