Geology

Number Of Large Earthquakes Dropped 60 Percent In 2014

The number of large earthquakes fell considerably in 2014, down to 12 from 19 in 2013. The trend was similar worldwide. Only 11 earthquakes reached magnitude 7.0-7.9 and one registered magnitude 8.2, in Iquique, Chile on April 1st. That was the lowest annu ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 10 2015 - 9:00am

Atmospheric Persistence: The Isotopic Memory Of Ancient Rocks

Chemical analysis of some of the world’s oldest rocks has provided the earliest record yet of Earth's atmosphere and shows that the air 4 billion years ago was very similar a billion years later, when the atmosphere, though it likely would have been l ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 15 2015 - 9:30am

How To Assess A Supervolcano Without Making It Erupt

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Article - The Conversation - Jan 15 2015 - 7:01pm

Volcanic Eruption On Cape Verde Island- Largest In 60 Years

 On November 23rd, 2014, a new volcano eruption commenced on Fogo, one of the Cape Verde Islands, and it continues even now, making it the largest and most damaging eruption- and the biggest natural disaster no one in the western world was reading about it ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 18 2015 - 9:30am

There And Back Again: A Uranium Isotope's Journey To The Center Of The Earth

From the beginning of time, uranium has been part of the Earth and, thanks to its long-lived radioactivity, it has proven ideal to date geological processes and figuring out Earth’s evolution.  Natural uranium consists of two long-lived isotopes uranium-23 ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 19 2015 - 7:05pm

Mars Dichotomy- Did A Giant Impact Shape The Southern And Northern Hemispheres?

The two hemispheres of Mars are dramatically different- more distinct from each other than any other planet in our solar system. The northern hemisphere is non-volcanic, flat lowlands while highlands punctuated by countless volcanoes extend across the sout ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 28 2015 - 12:17pm

NWA 7034- Black Beauty Meteorite May Be 'Bulk Background' Of Mars Crust

NWA 7034- Black Beauty- is a meteorite found a few years ago in the Moroccan desert. Now it has been shown to be a 4.4 billion-year-old chunk of the Martian crust, and according to a new analysis, rocks just like it may cover vast swaths of Mars. In a new ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 30 2015 - 2:19pm

200 Years Of Maps, From William Smith's Survey To Satellites

Published in 1815, Smith’s Geological Map of England and Wales and Part of Scotland was the first geologic map to cover such a large area in such fine detail. William Smith, British Geological Survey By John Howell, Professor, Chair in Geology and Petrole ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 31 2015 - 6:30pm

Earth Orbit Plus Seafloor Volcanoes Yield Climate Swings

Vast ranges of volcanoes hidden under the oceans ooze lava at slow, steady rates along mid-ocean ridges. A new study shows that they flare up on strikingly regular cycles, ranging from two weeks to 100,000 years, and, that they erupt almost exclusively dur ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 6 2015 - 8:55am

The Copper Heart Of Volcanoes

The link between volcanism and the formation of copper ore could lead to discovery of new copper deposits. Copper has been in use for 6,000 years and it shows no signs of slowing down. The average home has about a hundred pounds of it and we are going to h ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 10 2015 - 2:11pm