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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: geology

geology stories: 15 news summaries

(Newser) - There’s nothing like a 7.8 magnitude earthquake to bring two countries together—literally. The temblor that hit New Zealand last week has shoved its southern island about 12 inches closer to Australia, TVNZ reports. That might not sound like much, but considering that New Zealand typically moves about... More »

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Australia • geology • New Zealand • geologist • tectonic plates • earthquake

Rocks Could Help US Bury Global Warming

Scientists find 6K square miles that
could absorb carbon

Mar 9, 09 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Could the high-tech solution to global warming be… rock formations? Geologists have identified roughly 6,000 square miles of large formations in the US that could be used to store excess carbon dioxide, LiveScience reports. Ultramafic rocks, which originate deep beneath the earth, convert carbon dioxide into hard minerals. Typically... More »

MORE ABOUT:
carbon dioxide • global warming • geology • carbon emissions • ultramafic rocks

Alaska Volcano Continues to Rumble, Fume

Scientists keep wary eye on Mt. Redoubt, near Anchorage

Jan 29, 09 3:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Researchers are keeping a close eye on Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt, a volcano that could erupt any time, KTUU-TV reports. The peak—located about 110 miles southwest of Anchorage—has seen increased earthquakes and tremors in recent days, CNN adds. Mt. Redoubt last erupted in 1989-90. More »

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Alaska • geology • volcano • eruption • volcanoes • volcanic activity • Anchorage • Mt. Redoubt

 Explorers to 
 Probe Antarctic's 
 Buried Mountains 

Scientists stumped by mysterious range as large as the Alps

Oct 15, 08 6:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A unique expedition will explore a mysterious mountain range buried deep within the Antarctic, reports the BBC. Scientists, engineers, and pilots from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China, and Japan will use ice-penetrating radar and other high tech equipment in a bid to determine how the Gamburtsev mountains—equal in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
carbon dioxide • geology • methane • Antarctica • British Antarctic Survey • Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory • Gamburtsev mountains

 Moon Rocks Still Giving Up Gritty Secrets

Lunar rocks have helped unlock secrets of solar system, demise of dinosaurs

Jul 8, 08 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Almost 40 years after Apollo astronauts brought samples of the moon back to Earth, the extraterrestrial rocks are still yielding new information, the New York Times reports. In addition to attention from the Johnson Space Center, where they reside, samples are mailed out—on loan only, and usually less than... More »

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geology • solar system • moon • Apollo missions • lunar exploration • crater • moon rock

Mars Photos Suggest
Ancient
Hot Springs

Possible sign that life once existed on planet

Apr 28, 08 3:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have found what look like the remains of hot springs on Mars—a sign life could have existed there, reports the Washington Post. Sophisticated equipment returned images of “mounds” that appear remarkably similar to springs found in Australia, according to scientists. They appear to have dried up tens... More »

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NASA • Mars • space • images • geology

 Mild 5.2 Earthquake
 Shakes Up Chicago 

No major damage reported in 20-second tremor

Apr 18, 08 7:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - A moderate earthquake in southern Illinois was enough to wake far-off Chicago-area residents this morning, but no major damage was reported, the Chicago Tribune notes. The shake-up reached 5.2 on the Richter scale, shy of an area record of 5.4, but enough to move furniture. “For people... More »

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Chicago • geology • Illinois • natural disaster • earthquake

 Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers 

Even basic questions still have scientists scratching their heads

Mar 16, 08 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forget deep-space exploration; even basic questions about Earth still have scientists scratching their heads, LiveScience reports. A panel of geologists and planetary scientists lists its top lingering mysteries.
  1. How did Earth form into such a distinct body?
  2. What happened during Earth's first 500 million years?
  3. How did life start
... More »

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aerospace • Earth • geology • universe • scientists • biology • volcanoes • Earth's interior • earthquake

New Worry: Global Soil Change

Scientists propose calling current geological era 'Anthropocene'—human-made

Feb 8, 08 6:20 PM CST
(Newser) - Earth's changing soils appear less able to support farming and plant and animal diversity because of human activity, a study shows. "Global soil change," which is occurring most severely in Africa and Asia, has a heavier hand in climate change than previously thought, National Geographic reports. Degraded soils... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • environment • agriculture • global warming • study • erosion • geology • population

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed

Japanese geophysicist floats theory of lifecycle for Earth's plates

Jan 27, 08 9:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Climate change has sparked heated debate about the Earth’s surface, but a controversial new theory is directing scientists to its core, Der Spiegel reports. To explain why contintental plates drift on the surface of the Earth's molten mantle, Maruyama Shigenori, a leading geophysicist, argues that continents actually have... More »

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Japan • Earth • geology • continents • life cycle • Maruyama Shigenori • tectonic plates • volcanoes • molten rock • Earth's interior

Geologists See Earth in New 'Anthropocene Age'

Humanity's footprint on the planet marks whole new game

Jan 24, 08 4:17 AM CST
(Newser) - Humanity's impact on the planet over the last 200 years has been so vast that geologists are proposing to label it the start of a new geological era, Canada.com reports. Textbooks label these times as the Holocene era, which began 12,000 years ago, but scientists argue that carbon... More »

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science • Earth • geology

Antarctica Gets High-Def Map

Interactive satellite imagery is available free online

Nov 28, 07 1:21 PM CST
(Newser) - A new high-definition, real-color interactive map of Antarctica unveiled yesterday will give a bird's-eye view of the frozen continent, MSNBC reports. But the virtual tour isn't just for pointy-headed scientists—it's also available free online to anyone. Satellite imagery was collected into a 100-billion-pixel database that is zoomable and searchable. More »

MORE ABOUT:
maps • geology • Antarctica • satellite images • exploring

Creation Geologists Rock World

They're well-credentialed and unafraid of data

Nov 25, 07 7:10 AM CST
(Newser) - Today's creationist geologists are not who the secular may think. Numerous and thriving, many hold advanced degrees from top universities, and are making evangelicals more open to scientific evidence. And they are experts for the nearly half of Americans who believe God created the Earth in the last 10,000... More »

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evolution • Christianity • creationism • Noah's Ark • geology • flood • fossil • Bible • Christian right • evangelicals • young earth

Missing: Five-Acre Lake

Glacial lake in the Andes was there in March, gone in May

Jun 22, 07 4:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - A 100-foot-deep lake in the Chilean Andes vanished sometime between March and May, and scientists are stumped. The best guess in the case of the missing body of water is that it drained through cracks in the lakebed, but geologists have no idea where those cracks, usually caused by earthquakes,... More »

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science • Chile • Andes • geology • lake

Miners Dig for Gold in Belgian Museum

A collection of colonial-era maps of the Congo draws mining firms to musty stacks

Mar 20, 07 11:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Belgian museum filled with stacks of faded geological maps of the Congo—a former colony—has become an unlikely mecca for mining companies searching for new deposits. With prices soaring and on-site exploration impeded by armed militias, drillers are eager to shell out hefty research fees to the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Belgium • King Leopold I • mining • museums • maps • geology • colonialism • Democratic Republic of Congo

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