Links Between Asians and the Earliest Native Americans
February 1, 2012 | University of Pennsylvania
“A tiny mountainous region in southern Siberia may have been the genetic source of the earliest Native Americans, according to new research by a University of Pennsylvania-led team of anthropologists.” Quoted from the NSF press release. |
 |
Eruption at Kizimen Continues
January 16, 2012 | Earth Observatory
NASA’s Earth Observatory has a new satellite image of the eruption of Kizimen Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula. It shows a gas-steam plume and lava flow on the eastern flank of the mountain. |
|
|
|
|
Russian Runoff and Arctic Ocean Salinity
January 4, 2012 | NASA
“A new NASA and University of Washington study allays concerns that melting Arctic sea ice could be increasing the amount of freshwater in the Arctic enough to have an impact on the global ocean conveyor belt’ that redistributes heat around our planet.” Quoted from the NASA press release.
|
|
Snow on Erupting Kizimen Volcano
January 4, 2012 | Earth Observatory
Kizimen Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has been erupting since November 2010. Earth Observatory has a satellite image of the volcano showing ash-covered snow, a lava flow and steam plumes from the summit and a fumarole. |
|
Selenga River – Largest River into Lake Baikal
December 21, 2011 | Geology.com
The Selenga is the primary contributor of water to Lake Baikal and its tributaries drain approximately 80 percent of the lake’s watershed. |
|
Russian Platform Capsizes Near Sakhalin
December 18, 2011 | Washington Post
Russia’s Kolskaya drilling platform capsized while being towed during a storm through icy waters near Sakhalin Island off of Russia’s east coast. |
|
Russian Satellite Falling Out of Orbit
December 18, 2011 | LA Times
A Russian satellite is falling out of orbit after a mission to Phobos, a moon of Mars failed last month. It is one of the heaviest satellites ever launched and is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere in early January. |
|
Which Countries Produce the Most Diamonds?
December 13, 2011 | Geology.com
Botswana, Russia, Canada and Angola continue as the world’s leading producers of gem-quality diamonds.
Data from USGS Mineral Commodity Summary
|
|
Should the US Ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty?
November 8, 2011 | Wall Street Journal
The Law of the Sea Treaty is an agreement that allocates the seafloor resources under the Arctic Ocean. A debate in the Wall Street Journal has arguments in favor and against.
Related article: Who Owns the Arctic? |
|
Russia’s Diamond Resources and Markets
October 25, 2011 | Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan has published a review of Russian diamond resources and markets. Russia is the world’s leading producer of rough diamonds. |
|
Oil Exploration in the Arctic
October 19, 2011 | FuelFix.com
An article on the FuelFix.com website describes some of the current activity, ideas and plans related to oil exploration on the Arctic continental shelves. |
|
Fog Fills the Lake Baikal Basin
September 27, 2011 | Earth Observatory
“When cold air flows over warm water, some surface water evaporates into the cold air and saturates it, raising its relative humidity to 100 percent. The phenomenon is alternately known as evaporation fog, steam fog, even sea smoke, explains Michael Pidwirny of the University of British Columbia.
On September 22, 2011, fog formed over Lake Baikal in southeastern Siberia. [...] The fog almost perfectly mimics the lake’s area, only thinning at the southwestern end, and leaving a few parts of the water surface fog-free.” Quoted from the NASA image release. |
|
Kizimen Volcano Before and After a Year of Activity
September 14, 2011 | Earth Observatory
“A prominent lava flow descends the eastern flank of Kamchatka’s Kizimen Volcano in this false-color satellite image acquired on September 4, 2011. An image of the peak from September 6, 2009, shows the extent of the changes that have occurred since Kizimen began erupting in late 2010.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
|
|
The Largest Recorded Meteorite Fall
September 13, 2011 | MeteoriteBlog
“The February, 1947 fall of the Sikhote-Alin iron in a remote part of eastern Siberia was, by far, the largest recorded meteorite event in history.” Quoted from MeteoriteBlog.org. (great photos!)
Related: What are Meteorites? |
|
Mining in Antarctica?
September 12, 2011 | Mining Australia
Russia and China are very interested in the mineral resources of Antarctica and hope that the current ban on mining will be lifted in 2048. They currently have seafloor exploration projects on ocean ridges that approach the continent. |
|
Russia Opens Gas Pipeline to Germany
September 9, 2011 | BBC
Russia has opened the Nord Stream Baltic gas pipeline that will transport natural gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany. |
|
Mapping Space Junk
September 3, 2011 | NASA
NASA has a small collection of computer-generated images that represent “maps” of objects in Earth orbit that are currently being tracked. Nearly all of the objects are orbital debris and not functional satellites. The image here is an oblique view of Earth showing a large number of mostly Russian objects in high-inclination orbit. |
|
Exxon Mobil to Drill the Russian Arctic
August 31, 2011 | New York Times
Exxon Mobil has reached an agreement with Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, to explore for oil in the Russian Arctic. As part of the deal, Rosneft will receive assets from Exxon which include deepwater drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore rights in Texas.
Related: Who owns the Arctic? |
|
Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route: Viable for Shipping?
August 29, 2011 | Alaska Dispatch
Climate change is opening the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route but one question remails: will Russia and Canada have enough interest and resources to develop the infrastructure needed to make them viable shipping routes? |
|
Thawing Permafrost Could Accelerate Climate Change by 2100
August 26, 2011 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
“The study also found that soil in high-latitude regions could shift from being a sink to a source of carbon dioxide by the end of the 21st century as the soil warms in response to climate change.” Quoted from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory news release. |
|
|
|
|
