Geology News
Oceanography Current Events

“While 99 percent of Earth’s land ice is locked up in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the remaining ice in the world’s glaciers contributed just as much to sea rise as the two ice sheets combined from 2003 to 2009.” Quoted from the University of Colorado Boulder press release.

Research at the University of Southampton determined that the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull supplied dissolved iron to a large area of the North Atlantic. This stimulated photoplankton growth but the abundance of iron caused the rapid removal of biological nitrate which applied a throttle on the phytoplankton.

NOAA has published a Google Map that displays near-real-time coastal water temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit for hundreds of locations around the United States.

Researchers have discovered evidence of life 500 meters below the seafloor of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. “They found genetic evidence of Methanosarcinales, anaerobic archaea known to metabolize methane. Further experiments showed that microbes have affected the chemical signature of sulfur in the host basalt, suggesting they could harness energy from the breakdown of sulfates.” Quoted from the Deep Carbon Observatory press release.

Thousands of octopus eggs are hatching at the Alaska SeaLife Center. The staff hopes that at least one of them will produce an adult octopus.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography has an article about bone worms – tiny organisms that live on whale carcasses that have fallen to the seafloor. They are mouthless and gutless and drill into the bones of their host.

“Dynamic modeling of sea-level rise, which takes storm wind and wave action into account, paints a much graver picture for some low-lying Pacific islands under climate-change scenarios than the passive computer modeling used in earlier research.” Quote from the USGS press release.

“Scientists found that reductions in four pollutants that cycle comparatively quickly through the atmosphere could temporarily forestall the rate of sea level rise by roughly 25 to 50 percent: [...] methane, tropospheric ozone, hydrofluorocarbons and black carbon.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.

“Clouds over the central Greenland Ice Sheet last July were “just right” for driving surface temperatures there above the melting point, according to a new study by scientists funded by the National Science Foundation and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” Quoted from the NSF press release.

Methane hydrate is the world’s largest natural gas resource. Japanese engineers recently became the first to produce methane hydrate from a well in the floor of the Pacific Ocean. NPR asks if this could become another natural gas boom?

Related: What is Methane Hydrate?

Japanese researchers say they have found rich accumulations of rare earth elements in sea floor sediments in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

Bacteria are thriving at a depth of 36,000 feet at the bottom of the Mariana Trench where the pressure is more than 1000 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.

A 35-foot-long whale skeleton on the Antarctic sea floor – nearly one mile below the surface – was supporting a diversity of life including nine previously unknown deep-sea species.

“Multinational research team finds that sea floor earthquake zones can act like a “magnifying lens,” focusing and strengthening tsunamis beyond what was through possible.” Quoted from the University of Southern California press release.

As coral colonies in many parts of the world are suffering from warm water, pollution and human activity a few conservationists are working to reestablish by “planting” fast-growing species.

“Pulses of freshwater gush from the Amazon River’s mouth; an invisible seam divides the salty Arabian Sea from the fresher waters of the Bay of Bengal; a large patch of freshwater appears in the eastern tropical Pacific in the winter. These and other changes in ocean salinity patterns are revealed by the first full year of surface salinity data captured by NASA’s Aquarius instrument. Quoted from the NASA press release.

Elkhorn coral and 65 other species of reef-building corals were recently proposed for “endangered species” designation. Researchers are working to understand why these corals are disappearing from the Florida Keys and other locations.

The National Science Foundation [...] has successfully launched the R/V Sikuliaq, a “next-generation” global class research vessel. The University of Alaska, Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences will operate the ship as part of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet.

A Magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred in the Santa Cruz Islands area at about 8:12 PM EST. Tsunami warnings were issued for numerous islands in the South Pacific and waves up to 3 feet in amplitude have been reported.

USAToday reports that dozens of homes were damaged in the Solomon Islands.

NASA is running laboratory experiments designed to mimic the conditions at hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of ancient oceans. They are trying to determine if the vents might have been the source of simple organic molecules such as ethane, methane and amino acids.

CNN has an interview with Richard Ellis, author of “Search for the Giant Squid”, who explains the significance of a new video of a giant squid, filmed alive, 3,000 feet below the surface of the North Pacific ocean.

“This picture of a deep-sea chimaera was captured as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Explorer program.” Quoted from the USA.gov Blog.

Both China and Japan claim they own the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. But China has just submitted geological evidence to the United Nations that they believe will prove their ownership.

The National Science Foundation has published: “Solving the Puzzle: Researching the Impacts of Climate Change Around the World“. It documents research in the categories of: Sky, Sea, Ice, Land, Life and People.

1500-Year Arctic Atmospheric Cycle

Voyager 1 Enters a New Region of Deep Space

Flaring Gas in North Dakota

Superstorm Sandy and Sea Level Rise

Most Accurate Gravity Map of the Moon

Compensation for Island Nations Suffering from Sea Level Rise

History of the Hope Diamond

As Earth’s climates change and sea level rises island nations face flooding, loss of real estate, damage and even total inundation. Some of these island nations of are looking to industrial nations for compensation.

An article on the USA Today website explains how Superstorm Sandy should be a “wake-up call” that brings attention to the steady rise in sea level.

Sandy Island was plotted on many maps of the Pacific Ocean, however, a research vessel recently tried to visit the island and didn’t find it.

Island shown here on Google Maps, west of New Caledonia and east of the “Coral Sea” label.

View Larger Map

As waters of the Southern Ocean become more acidic, the shells of some sea snails living there are showing signs of dissolving, making them more vulnerable to predators and disease.

Inaccurate News Reports about Newberry Caldera and Salton Buttes

Life Beneath the Seafloor

Not Caused by Fracking

Rare Earth Elements in Arizona?

Stolen Petroglyphs

Dispute: Natural Gas Under Natural Gas Storage Fields

Volcano Movies