Geology News - April 2006

Interesting geology articles and earth science news from around the world. Stories are archived monthly. All links are to external sites.

April 20, 2006

Data shows Kenya has crude oil, gas prospects
Kenya environment minister Prof Kivutha Kibwana said information showed positive prospects of crude oil and gas, resulting in the intensification of exploration work.

April 19, 2006

Mapusaurus crowned largest meat eater
Meet Mapusaurus roseae, the largest carnivore on Earth recorded to date. Paleontologists working in the Patagonian wilderness in Argentina who found the remains of the 41-foot long and 15,000-pound dinosaur species said it roamed Earth 100 million years ago and was far bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex.

April 18, 2006

Oil, gas rights a real gusher
Sales of oil and natural gas rights are pumping millions into Saskatchewan's coffers.

For Big Oil, it's a scary search
With the world in a state of unrest, Newfoundland's stability strengthens its hand as crude surges toward a record close.

April 15, 2006

Oil and gas fever fuels $32M in land sales in Saskatchewan
Continued interest in high-priced southeastern oil and southwestern gas drove April land sale revenues to $31.8 million, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources said.

Tectonic plates slowly moving
Using hand-me-down technology from the Cold War, scientists have discovered that the sea floor off the Pacific Northwest is a jumping kind of place, with thousands of small, swarming earthquakes and tectonic plates that are slowly rearranging themselves.

April 9, 2006

Ski resort reckoning with lethal geology
Three members of a ski patrol perished on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain in California while attempting to rope off a geothermal vent whose opening had been obscured by snow. The volcanic vent's carbon dioxide gas likely caused the deaths.

Immaturity a plus
The Western Canada Sedimentary basin, which is rapidly aging in Alberta, has a youthful, vigorous component. Although "relatively immature", northeastern British Columbia, where drilling has been conducted at breakneck pace over recent years, has more natural gas reserves than earlier thought, according to a new joint market assessment by the National Energy Board and the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission.

April 6, 2006

Fossil museum on the Web
Ancient shells, dinosaur bones and other fossils are on display at www.3Dmuseum.org, a virtual gallery created at UC Davis. The web interface allows users to turn, zoom and examine the fossils from all sides.

April 5, 2006

China looks to geology for energy
Chinese leaders have called for oil and natural gas prospecting to be made a priority of geological surveys.

April 3, 2006

Going deep, staying deep
A world-renowned expert is 16 months into the development of an oil sands research facility at the University of Calgary - the only one of its kind in North America.

Giant raptor dinosaur discovered in Utah monument
Scientists from the University of Utah and the Utah Museum of Natural History have discovered the remains of a new bird-like, meat-eating dinosaur in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, southern Utah.