Geology articles, earth science news and blogs from around the world. Stories are archived monthly. All links are to external sites and linking does not mean the site or opinions are endorsed by AGS. If links are broken, it is because the news source has removed it from its website.
December 18, 2007
Arctic expeditions find giant mud waves, glacier tracks underwater
Scientists gathering evidence of ancient ice sheets uncovered a new mystery about what's happening on the Arctic sea floor today.
The coming oil crash
Crude at $100 a barrel makes good headlines but ignores basic economics. Why oil prices are in for a 50 percent drop.
December 16, 2007
Plenty of oil left in the global tankDecember 15, 2007
Asteroids could hold clues to Earth’s formation
A geology professor is working with NASA and other scientists worldwide on an eight-year project that could link two asteroids in space with conditions on Earth in its early years of formation.
December 14, 2007
Global warming is destroying coral reefs, major study warns
The largest living structures on Earth and the millions of livelihoods that depend upon them are at risk, concludes the most definitive review yet of the impact of rising carbon emissions on coral reefs.
Oil-eating microbes produce green energy
An international team of researchers has found a way for using microbes to extract methane from oil sands.
B.C. shale gas set to be next generation's oil sands
The B.C. government unveiled its single most successful auction of oil and gas exploration rights in nearly three decades, a $401-million haul that pushed the year's tally past $1-billion.
Saskatchewan oil sands - unlike Santa Claus they do exist
Over the past couple of years, slowly but surely, talk of oil sands has started to encompass Saskatchewan. Still, many outside of the oil industry are not aware of the link between Saskatchewan and oil sands.
December 13, 2007
Hands up! Step away from that rock pile!
The State of Florida has a law against the "unlicensed practice of geology." And Florida can use it against you - especially if you say the wrong things about the mining industry in this state.
Worm-eating fungus trapped in amber
Fossils showing these interactions are such rare things. This is a once in a lifetime find," says Michael Krings at the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich.
December 12, 2007
Making gas out of crude oil: discovery could lead to dramatic improvement in fossil fuel processingDecember 10, 2007
A cautionary tale of carbon capture
After earning a share in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize by dedicating 15 years to underground storage of greenhouse gases, Stefan Bachu of the Alberta Geological Survey still refuses to promise disposal systems will work forever.
Meteor pelting may have triggered plate tectonics
The continuous overturning, melting and re-casting of Earth's crust over the eons may have started with a massive asteroid impact in Earth's infancy, suggests one geologist.
Technology meets publishing
A University of Regina geology professor has created a computerized textbook that may help change the fundamentals of education publishing.
December 8, 2007
Myanmar, India to cooperate on tsunami monitoring
Myanmar's state Meteorology and Hydrology Department (MHD) and India's Ministry of Geology and Science will cooperate on tsunami monitoring.
December 7, 2007
Oil patch booming
The Bakken play -- considered the biggest oil discovery in Saskatchewan since the 1950s -- is driving the Saskatchewan oil patch to record-breaking levels of activity.
Unconventional gas explorers lay technical foundations for shale gas development across Canada
Canadian explorers have developed successful strategies for making gas flow economically from some of the country’s coal seams and unconventional tight reservoirs. Next on the agenda is tapping Canada’s shale gas resource, pegged at around 900 Tcf.
December 6, 2007
Geologist uncovers earth’s secrets, says Southern California is overdue for a major earthquake
Scharer says Southern California is overdue for a major earthquake. “We are finding in the geological records that the average length between major earthquakes along the southern San Andreas Fault is about 100 and 120 years.
December 5, 2007
Low-flying planes pinpoint water, not speeders
Part of a groundwater survey commissioned by Alberta Environment and the Alberta Geological Survey, the low-flying aircraft use electromagnetic waves to examine the underground geology of the area, which will help locate undetected underground water supplies.
December 3, 2007
Oil patch pitches plan to cut Canada's greenhouse gases by 13%
An alliance of 15 Canadian oil sands and power companies is proposing a multibillion dollar plan to capture and store greenhouse gases in what would be the country's single-largest carbon dioxide reduction initiative.
December 1, 2007
Dangerous gas levels found in Sussex, England homes
Between five and 10 per cent of homes in Seaford and some areas in the Arun area have levels of radon which exceed Government safety guidelines.
