Several varieties of bottled water are actually geological products. Do you know what is required for a product to be labled as “mineral water”, “spring water” or “artesian water”? Do they have any special properties?
Modern Rock Tumbling by Steve Hart is the most up-to-date book on the rock tumbling hobby. It explains the tumbling process completely and provides enough detail that you should produce excellent results if you follow his instructions.
A massive sunspot cluster over 60,000 miles across has been identified on the sun’s surface. Sunspots sometimes erupt into solar flares that emit high-energy radiation.
In the late 16th century over 100 English colonists vanished without a trace from what was hoped to become a permanent English settlement in present-day North Carolina. The use of technology to examine a 16th century map may have revealed clues of their fate.
Every person uses products made from minerals every day. Salt, antacid tablets, pencils, cell phones, jewelry, glass, paint, shingles fertilizer, vehicles, highways, buildings and much more are made from minerals.
ScienceNow has an interesting about the largest know eruption of sand. It occurred on the floor of the North Sea where geysers erupted 10 cubic kilometers of sand.
Shallow wells drilled outside of the geology building as part of an upper-level hydrology course have launched Tufts University into a geothermal heating and cooling program.
“On April 10, 1815, Tambora Volcano produced the largest eruption in recorded history. [...] Enough ash was put into the atmosphere from the April 10 eruption to reduce incident sunlight on the Earth’s surface, causing global cooling, which resulted in the 1816 “year without a summer.” Quote from a NASA Earth Observatory press release.
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has a new documentary and traveling exhibition titled “Titanoboa: Monster Snake”. The largest known snake lived about 60 million years ago in what is now Colombia, weighed over one ton and grew to a length of up to 48 feet.
Silver, the white metal, has an illustrious reputation for its use in jewelry and coins, but today, silver’s primary use is industrial. Whether in cell phones or solar panels, new innovations are constantly emerging to take advantage of silver’s unique properties.
“Spectra Energy has received conditional environmental approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff on its proposed New Jersey-New York Expansion project. [...] The system, which would be the first major natural gaspipeline to reach New York City in 40 years.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration.
Five partial skeletons of what might be a new human species which contains both modern and primitive anatomical features have been found in China and date to about 14,500 and 11,500 years ago.
This story isn’t about geology but it is very interesting. The plane looks like it was made from black pipe, wire and canvas. Albert Berry earned his spot in history by jumping from just 1500 feet!
You might have heard about soapstone being used in cooking pots, wood stoves, fireplace surrounds, bed warmers and smoking pipes because of its ability to absorb heat and release it slowly. Now, here’s one for the cold.
The Los Angeles Times has photos of a 340-ton piece of granite being delivered to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The transport vehicle is enormous and has 176 wheels. Sorry, it’s not part of a geology exhibit.
GSA and ExxonMobil are excited to announce the second annual award for undergraduate students to attend summer field camp. 17 students will be awarded $2,000 each to attend the field camp of their choice based on diversity, economic/financial need, and merit. Application deadline is March 12.
Field studies have shown that invasive plant species are being brought to Antarctica on the clothing and baggage of researchers and other visitors. They are then carried to diverse locations – often deep into the interior – where some of them take root.
“Volcanic activity in the Zubair Island Group appears to have ceased. On December 19, 2011, satellites detected sulfur dioxide and a small volcanic plume in the area, and by December 23 a new island had formed in the Red Sea. The island continued to grow in early January, but stopped by January 15th.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
One of the most famous diamonds in the world will be auctioned on May 15, 2012. The 35-carat Beau Sancy Diamond was owned by Royal Families in Europe for nearly 400 years.
Low natural gas prices have triggered a switch from coal to natural gas for many electric power generation plants. Could a collapse in the coal price kill this demand for natural gas?
Einstein determined that nothing can be faster than light and his theory was challenged by neutrinos. Again, those neutrino speeds have been called into question – this time favoring Einstein.
This time of year in Yosemite National Park sometimes produces a unique phenomenon of illumination. The rays of the sun catch the water of Horsetail Fall at the perfect angle to make it glow like flowing lava.
Russian scientists have grown a flowering plant from a 30,000-year-old seed found deep in the permafrost of Siberia. This is the oldest seed known to produce a viable plant.
Black Smokers on Land
February 10, 2012 | Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin
Scientists have discovered a new type of hot spring along the banks of a volcanic lake in the Philippines. These “terrestrial smokers” are cousins to submarine black smokers, hydrothermal vents on the seafloor that spew plumes of hot, nutrient-rich water and often support rich communities of life.
“A thick lava flow has been creeping down the eastern slopes of Kizimen Volcano in eastern Russia since its eruption began in December 2010. The flow has advanced about 600 meters (2,000 feet) since September 2011.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
“Earthquakes have been documented in the northeastern Caribbean since the arrival of Columbus to the Americas.” USGS has released: “Accounts of Damage from Historical Earthquakes in the Northeastern Caribbean, to Aid in the Determination of their Location and Intensity Magnitudes”.
“In 2011, NOAA satellites were critical in the rescues of 207 people from life-threatening situations [...]. The satellites picked up distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers, and relayed the information about their location to first responders on the ground.” Quoted from the NOAA press release.
“This project aims to map the location of a graveyards around the globe and then use marble gravestones in those graveyards to measure the weathering rate of marble at that location.” Quoted from the project website.
IBM researchers have announced that they have a new technology that enables them to store one bit of magnetic information in just twelve atoms of material.
The-Vug.com has a state-by-state listing of rock and mineral museums, tours and other places of interest. Most states have several locations where you can view a nice exhibit and most of them are open year-round.
A 35-storey mixed-use building is being constructed in Montreal, Canada that will be heated and cooled by 19 wells that have been drilled to depths of 400 feet beneath the foundation.
Rock tumblers have been manufactured and sold to hobbyists since the 1950′s. The first machines tumbled rocks in metal cans. Since then rubber barrels have significantly reduce the noise, however rotary machines still require at least one month to convert rough rock into brightly polished stones. However, newer vibratory tumblers can process rock in a little over a week. Christmas is great time to try rock tumbling, revive your interest or introduce another person to to the hobby.
Two elements, synthesized over ten years ago have finally been confirmed for addition to the periodic table. Flerovium (Fl) will be element 114 and Livermorium (Lv) will be element 116. Both are very unstable Transuranium elements
An article in the Topeka Capital-Journal explores earthquake insurance in Kansas. Coverage will cost some homeowners less than $100 – a low price because the probability of a damaging earthquake is very low.
In September, researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research sent physicists into disbelief when they clocked a neutrino at faster than the speed of light. Last week they eliminated a possible source of error from their experiment and their faster-than-light measurement still stands.
The Geology.com store is a great place to go if you need geology tools. We have rock hammers, prospecting equipment, wall maps, waterproof gear, Roadside Geology guidebooks, topographic maps, geology books, rock kits and more.
SCINEWS has a new collection of resources useful for teaching about the world population reaching seven billion people. It includes educator background materials, videos, lesson plan suggestions and more.
Earthquake experts at the British Geological Survey are questioning if two small earthquakes are related to the first use of hydraulic fracturing in that country to produce natural gas from shale.
This isn’t geology but it is a very interesting science development. Researchers at MIT Lincoln Labs have developed a technology that enables them to image real-time human activity on the opposite site of a concrete wall. They believe that it has immediate effective use in urban warefare.
“In Why Earth Science?, stunning video sequences and images illuminate the importance of knowing how Earth works and illustrate opportunities for careers in the Earth sciences.” Quoted from the American Geosciences Institute video release.
Diamond is the world’s most popular gemstones and it’s qualities as the hardest natural substance make it an excellent abrasive. However, diamond is used for many other things which include: heat sink, speaker dome, laser windows and microbearings.
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