A company building a natural gas pipeline on the floor of the Baltic Sea discovered a dozen sunken ships that are thought to be between 300 and 400 years old.
Polyethylene is used to make items such as plastic bags and other packaging materials. Researchers at MIT have figured out how to transmit heat – in one direction only – through the plastic.
Newly-discovered “thermopower” could change the face of tomorrow’s tiny gadgets. Heat waves can be used to push electrons down a microscopic carbon nanowire, generating a high-speed current of electricity.
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.
This is a slideshow of images that won a prize in the 2009 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. Can you visualize what the subjects of these entries might be, based on their titles? Kuen’s Surface; Branching Morphogenesis; Jellyfish Burger; Brain Development; and Microbe vs. Mineral – A Life-or-Death Struggle in the Desert…?
In an opinion essay, Mark Jacobson of Stanford University argues that investments in nuclear power would be better spent on renewable energy technology.
This isn’t geology-related, but we thought it was pretty neat. It’s a collection of 12 optical illusions that will have you wondering if the images are animated, or if your eyes really are playing tricks on you!
Have you been to the Recreation.gov website? It is a portal that provides access to recreational opportunities on public land. There you can get a permit to hike to the top of Half Dome, reserve a camp site and much more. They have links to: Autotouring, Biking, Boating, Camping, Climbing, Educational Programs, Fish Hatcheries, Fishing, Hiking, Historic/Cultural Sites, Horseback Riding, Hunting, Lodging, Museum/Visitor Center, Off-Highway Vehicle Access, Recreational Vehicles, Water Sports, Wildlife Viewing, Winter Sports and more.
Five crates of whiskey and two crates of brandy left behind by polar explorer Ernest Shackleton during his 1909 expedition to Antarctica have been found.
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.
A meteorite crashes through the roof of a doctors office in Lorton, Virginia and the doctors give the rock to the Smithsonian. Now the landlords say the rock belongs to them. Who really owns it?
The-Vug.com has the largest listing of mineral shows on the web. Their list includes shows happening all over the United States and in other countries – with about sixty shows in their March listing already. There is probably a show within driving distance of you.
A woman in southern Germany was watching the sun set over the North Sea with the aid of her computer and a webcam on the St Peter-Ording Nordsee website. She noticed a man far from shore and reported it to police. The guy was lost on the ice and the police rescued him.
A list of geoscience highlights from the newly released federal budget proposal for FY2011 is posted on the American Geological Institute’s Government Affair Program webpage (see item #3).
UC Berkeley professors believe that minute stress changes caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon trigger deep tremors along the San Andreas fault.
Generations of monarch butterflies travel some 2,000 miles across North America over the course of their remarkable migration. How do they know exactly where to go? Research indicates that the butterflies are able to “feel” the Earth’s magnetic field, and may be using it as a guide.
The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research sky survey has discovered a trail in the sky that appears to be a comet but instead might be a collision between two asteroids.
Here is a research paper that explores the science behind why stones thrown at the proper angle can be skipped across the surface of a pond. An amazing observation is that the impact creates a jet of air beneath the stone that attains supersonic speeds while the stone skips along at a much lower velocity.
The Royal Society has an interactive feature called “Turning the Pages” that allows visitors to explore historic documents from their collection. Available for viewing at this time are items dating from 1681 to 1843: Constitutions of Carolina by John Locke, wildflower and grass watercolors by Richard Waller, memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s life by William Stukeley, anatomical studies by Andrew van Rysmdyk, a letter on iron bridge design by Thomas Paine, a fossil notebook with trilobite drawings by Henry James, and specimens of calligraphy and natural history illustration.
Here is a nice video that explains some of the early observations used to determine that the Earth is round, and also how the first calculation of Earth’s circumference was accomplished.
Here is a collection of photos taken at one of the first Antarctic shelters, constructed in the early 1900s by British explorers. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the team lived in the wooden hut before the fateful conclusion of their Terra Nova voyage. Preservationists are working to prevent snow from burying the structure and its contents, which range from antique scientific equipment to food items.
A home builder was having problems with thieves breaking into his unfinished homes and stealing the appliances. He hid a GPS transmitter in an oven… and it led police right to the suspected thief’s home!
Douglas Mawson had hoped to stage the first manned flight over Antarctica’s polar ice cap back in 1911-1912. The flight never came to fruition, and now, nearly a century later, the remains of the plane have been found.
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Hobart King
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The East Africa Rift System: Learn some basics about the East Africa Rift System from this article by James Wood and Alex Guth of Michigan Technological University.
What are Meteorites? Join meteorite hunter, Geoffrey Notkin, as he begins a series of monthly articles on the topic of meteorites.
Marcellus Shale: The most overlooked resource in the eastern United States!
Mineral Rights / Oil & Gas: Who owns the minerals under your land? Have they been sold? Can someone mine without your permission?
