Geology news
August 27, 2015
Gem Corundum from Snezhnoe, Tajikistan
Gemological Institute of America
Properties and Uses of Corundum
Geology.com
Isn’t Pennsylvania Already Mapped?
Pennsylvania Geology (editorial, page 2)
Inspecting Oil Rigs With Drones Captures Huge Savings
Bloomberg
Oil Sands Producer to Begin Test Operation in Utah
Mining.com
What Are Oil Sands ?
Geology.com
Saudi Arabia Discovers That World Producers Are Not Very Responsive to Low Prices
Mining.com
Alaska Governor Plans to Call for TransCanada Buyout in Gas Project
Alaska Dispatch News
Arizona Mining Review (Gold King Mine Spill / Global Mining Law Center)
Arizona Geological Survey
0:00 Arizona Mining Update with Nyal Niemuth
7:44 Gold King Mine Spill – An elegant solution for remediating acid mine drainage, Gail Heath (Research Professor, Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, University of Arizona)
19:30 University of Arizona Global Mining Law Center with Professor John Lacy
The Acid Test
The Acid Test: Geologists use dilute hydrochloric acid to identify carbonate minerals and detect their presence in rocks.
August 26, 2015
Cassini’s Final Breathtaking Close Views of Dione
NASA
Australia Shifts Investment From Wind to Other Renewables
Energy Information Administration
Drilling Deeper Water Wells Contributes To California’s Subsidence Problem
National Public Radio
Oil’s Latest Casualty: Mexico
CNBC
Myths and Facts About Mining Reform
Arizona Daily Independent
Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier Calves a 12.4 Square Kilometer Slab of Ice
BBC
Google Maps Can Now Tell If It’s Worth Installing Solar Panels On Your Roof
TheVerge
Rock and Mineral Identification
The ability to identify rocks and minerals in the field is a very important skill. The Geology.com store has a selection of rock, mineral, fossil and gem mineral kits that can be used for learning and practice. Testing tools are also available.
August 25, 2015
NASA: California Drought Causing Valley Land to Sink
NASA
The Complexities of a Severance Tax on Natural Gas in Pennsylvania
Forbes
Portland’s 1800 Unreinforced Masonry Buildings and Earthquake Risk
KGW.com
Consequences of the Global Oil Bust
The Washington Post
Ecuador’s Cotopaxi Volcano Roars Back to Life
ABC News (Australia)
Teachers: Get the Earth Science Week Toolkit
EarthScienceWeek.org
First Offshore Wind Farm in the United States
Energy Information Administration
Mohs Hardness Scale
Mohs Hardness Scale is a set of reference minerals used to estimate the relative hardness of mineral specimens. It is widely used by students and geologists in field and laboratory studies.
August 24, 2015
New Topographic and Orthoimage Maps for Wyoming – Free Downloads from USGS
United States Geological Survey
How Life and Luck Changed Earth’s Minerals
Wired Science
Washington, D.C., Sinking Fast, Adding to Threat of Sea-Level Rise
The University of Vermont
Antarctic Detector Confirms Observation of Cosmic Neutrinos
National Science Foundation
Susquehanna River Basin Commission Finds No Impacts on Streams from Marcellus Shale Drilling
The Towanda Daily Review
Who Is Responsible for Paying the Severance Tax? Producers? Landowners? In Kentucky, Producers Will Pay 100%
The Kansas City Star
Severance Taxes
Energy Information Administration
Washington D.C. and the Surging Sea
ClimateCentral.org
Interactive Submergence Risk Map for Washington D.C.
ClimateCentral.org
Peridotite
Peridotite is a host rock of chromite, a source rock of diamonds, a potential sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and the rock that makes up much of Earth’s mantle. Did you realize it was so important?
Related: Misconception: Diamonds Don’t Form From Coal
August 21, 2015
Russia is the Largest Exporter of Crude and Lease Condensate
Energy Information Administration
Linking the Cost of Flood Insurance to the Level of Risk
Arizona Geology
The Geology Of Star Trek
Forbes
Anatomy of the Gold King Mine Spill – Was It Caused by An Ice Plug ?
Arizona Daily Independent
How Are Hurricanes Named?
Geology.com
Maps of U.S. Power Plants by Fuel Source
The Washington Post
The Differences Between “Active”, “Dormant”, and “Extinct” Volcanoes – and Why those Labels are Difficult to Define
Wired Science
Removing Carbon From the Atmosphere for Use as a Manufacturing Feedstock
MIT Technology Review
Southern California Tsunami Simulation
Los Angeles Times
Google is Uncertain About “What Happened to the Dinosaurs?”
SearchEngineRoundTable
August 20, 2015
Q&A on Sea Surface Topography
NASA
What’s Up With the Quakes Before a Volcano Erupts?
Wired Science
Humans Responsible for Demise of Gigantic Ancient Mammals
University of Exeter
Restless Volcano Near a Japanese Nuclear Plant
Public Radio International
NASA: There is No Asteroid Threatening Earth
NASA
The Price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Fell to $40.80/Barrel Yesterday
Forbes
Gulf of Mexico Oil Lease Auction Attracted Lowest Interest Since 1986
The New York Times
Inaugural Newsletter on Military Geosciences
Arizona Geology
Geologic Map of Baranof Island, Southeastern Alaska
United States Geological Survey
What is a Maar?
Maars are the second most common volcanic feature on Earth.
The largest maars are found on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. Do you know what they are and how they form?
August 19, 2015
Ternary Diagraph Paper: Free Printable Graph Paper
WaterproofPaper.com
The Way We Measure Earthquakes is Stupid !
Wired Science
Sakurajima in Japan Might Be Headed Towards a Large Eruption
Wired Science
Arizona Cleaning Up After the House Rock Flood
Arizona Daily Independent
State of Emergency in Ecuador as Cotopaxi Volcano Spews Ash
Aljazeera Latin America
Ancient Flood Basalt Eruptions Could Have Altered Climate
NASA
Former Marine, 66, Survives Hand-to-Claw Combat With Bear
Washington Post
One Decade after Launch, Mars Orbiter Still Going Strong
NASA
July Was Likely Earth’s Hottest Month in Earth’s Hottest Year
The Washington Post
Wall Maps of US States
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a US state in vibrant colors.
These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. They can be perfect for marking your corporate locations.
August 18, 2015
Devonian Shales in the Broadtop Synclinorium, Appalachian Basin
United States Geological Survey
Scientists Share Their Funniest Blunders
The Washington Post
EPA’s Report on the Gold King Mine Spill
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
Shell Gets Final Approval to Drill for Arctic Oil
Time
Arctic Ocean Seafloor Features
Geology.com
Enormous Boulders Moved by Arizona Flooding
Arizona Geology
Washington DC is Sinking
Discovery News
Obama Administration Allows Oil Trading with Mexico
The U.S. can sell locally abundant light crude to Mexico and Mexico can sell heavy crude to the U.S.
The New York Times
Seaweed Smothers Caribbean Beaches
The Washington Post
Using Parents’ Highest Education Level as a Proxy for the Socioeconomic Status of Science and Engineering Students
American Geosciences Institute
Gulf of Aden Earthquake
This earthquake occurred yesterday on the transform fault that separates the West Sheba Ridge from the East Sheba Ridge – a spreading center between Africa and Asia
United States Geological Survey
Olivine
Olivine is the name of a group of rock-forming minerals. These minerals are usually found in mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks. They are also found in Earth’s mantle and in some meteorites. Although olivine is not often used in industry, high clarity specimens with good color are cut into a gemstone known as peridot.
August 17, 2015
Most Chinese Rare Earth Miners Running at a Loss
Mining.com
Rare Earth Elements and their Uses
Geology.com
Watch the Arctic get smaller via National Geographic maps
The Boston Globe
Video: Ash and Steam Eruption at Colima Volcano (Mexico)
The Guardian
37 Photos of the Perseid Meteor Shower
The Independent
Cassini to Make Last Close Flyby of Saturn’s Moon Dione
NASA
Geologist Comments on EPA’s Gold King Mine Spill
Breitbart.com
Smoke over the Bohai Sea
NASA Earth Observatory
Geological Fieldbooks
Rite in the Rain bound books are manufactured with true outdoor-durable components. This bound book with factory-numbered pages and project identification form (project/client location, date) on every page is suitable for taking important notes that might be required for regulatory review or legal testimony. Included are 20 reference pages and removable photographic scale. Book has 63 leaves (136 pages) and measures 7 1/2″ x 4 3/4″.
August 14, 2015
Photograph: The World’s Best Opal
ArtDaily.com
Many Types of Opal
Geology.com
The New El Niño Might Be a Record Strong Event
The Washington Post
El Niño Could Be Among Strongest on Record, Raising Risk of Floods
NBC News
Farming On the Edge of a Volcano
The Guardian
Shale-Gas Webinar to Analyze the Volumes of Natural Gas in Shale Formations
Penn State Extension
NASA’s Spitzer Confirms Closest Rocky Exoplanet
NASA
The Strangest Volcanic Landscape
One of the world’s strangest volcanic landscapes is located 269 feet below sea level in the Danakil Depression of Ethiopia. It is the Dallol crater, where phreatic eruptions through salt created a maar with colorful and caustic salt deposits.
Related: What is a Maar?
August 13, 2015
Mars Trek: NASA Tool Allows You to Explore Mars
NASA
Rocks on Mars that Look Like Rocks on Earth
Geology.com
Solar Farms from Space
Atlas Obscura
Satellite Image: Flooding on the Irrawaddy River
NASA Earth Observatory
Keystone XL Review Drags on Five Times Longer Than Average
Associated Press
Better Estimates of Worldwide Mercury Pollution
MIT News
Expedition to the Aleutian Islands: Geoscientists Head to Remote Alaska Volcanoes
National Science Foundation