Geology News - June 2007

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.

June 30, 2007

Scotland's Lochaber celebrates gaining geopark status
Lochaber Geopark has achieved this prestigious accolade, which is recognised by UNESCO, and it also admits Lochaber to the exclusive Global Geoparks Network.

June 28, 2007

Blog: Bedrock geology of Alberta from Alberta Geological Survey
Alberta is largely covered with glacial deposits of recent age, but beneath its blanket of sediment is a variety of rocks ranging in age from Archean, some 3 billion years old, to late Tertiary.

Russia poised to claim Arctic expanse on Canada’s doorstep
Russia is poised to claim a 1.2-million-square-kilometre expanse of polar seabed on Canada’s northern doorstep, a move that would be the biggest challenge yet to Canadian Arctic sovereignty.

June 26, 2007

Investigating the fate of depleted uranium particulate in the environment
Recent research by the Department of Geology at University of Leicester and at the British Geological Survey aims to improve understanding of how depleted uranium particulate behaves in the environment.

June 25, 2007

Alberta Research Council purchases CT scanner for sustainable energy research
The purchase of a $1.2 million research x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner by the Alberta Research Council (ARC) is opening up research opportunities in the area of sustainable energy resource recovery.

MIT tool determines landslide risk in tropics
Engineers at MIT have devised a simple yet effective system for determining an area's landslide risk, a tool that could help planners improve building codes, determine zoning and strengthen mitigation measures in mountainous tropical regions frequently hit by typhoons.

Section of Taiwan's Alishan railway wiped out by large landslide
The Chiayi office of the Council of Agriculture's Forestry Bureau, which manages the rail line, said it will take at least 50 days to repair the damaged section of the railway.

June 23, 2007

Rising sea levels could divide and conquer Antarctic ice
Earth's largest ice sheet has till now seemed well able to withstand the effects of climate change, but it may have a hidden weakness. A new study suggests that rising sea levels - caused by melting elsewhere - could be its undoing.

June 20, 2007

High-pressure geology
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov announced yesterday that export tariffs on oil may be raised if oil companies do not increase their investment in geological surveys in eastern Siberia.

Quake measuring 5.7 degrees Richter shakes north-eastern Colombia
A quake shook north-eastern Colombia, not far from the country's border with Venezuela, but according to the authorities did not cause casualties or material damage.

June 18, 2007

Oversized lignite field found in Inner Mongolia
The Inner Mongolian Nonferrous Geology Prospecting Bureau announced that a geological missionary has found a lignite field in the Nuomenhan Basin, on Hulunbuir prairie. It was preliminarily estimated that the reserves would hit 20.5 billion tons.

June 17, 2007

Age of second largest desert disputed
Scientists in China say they have found evidence proving their nation's Taklimakan Desert, the world's second-largest desert, is older than thought.

June 13, 2007

Mineral map planned for dying forests in B.C.
An unprecedented high-tech hunt was launched for mineral resources beneath one of the least-understood and potentially most rewarding areas of the British Columbia landscape.

Strong earthquake off Guatemala: US geology officials
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck offshore Guatemala at a depth of 64 kilometres and 115 kilometres from the capital.

Texas geohazards study is too critical to ignore
The committee charged with reviewing Galveston’s comprehensive plan — a document that sets out basic policies and rules for development — will be asked to look at a controversial geohazards study.

June 11, 2007

Rains, landslides kill 36 in Bangladesh
At least 36 people have been killed and 61 injured after heavy rains set off landslides around the southern Bangladesh port city of Chittagong.

June 8, 2007

Research findings change understanding of central Idaho geology
An Idaho State University geological sciences undergraduate student helped solve the mystery of the source for "ghost" zircon grains in Idaho’s Big Lost River system. Her findings fundamentally change understanding of the geological history of central Idaho.

BBC2 floats under-sea series
An eight-part documentary will feature underwater archaeology, geology and marine biology, including footage of subjects ranging from rarely seen wildlife to lost cities.

June 5, 2007

State groundwater authority to be set up in India
As a drinking water crisis looms large in 128 drought-hit taluks in the state, the government has decided to constitute a Karnataka Groundwater Authority to control and regulate the exploitation of groundwater.

New creation museum sparks debate in Alberta
The Big Valley Creation Science Museum, located in the small Albertan town of Big Valley, is a tiny building that explains evolution, geology and paleontology through a biblical lens.

June 4, 2007

Tremors: expert team arrives in Konanduru, India
A team of experts from the Department of Mines and Geology has taken up a study in and around Konanduru in Tirthahalli taluk in Shimoga district to know the causes for the tremors experienced by the people in the area.

Swiss unearth their geological secrets
Switzerland is famous for its mountains, but few Swiss know much about the beauties and the dangers that lie in the rocks beneath their feet.

June 3, 2007

Earthquake in southwest China kills three, injures nearly 300
The US Geological Survey measured the quake's magnitude at six-point-two, while Chinese seismologists put it at six-point-four.

Finding Alaska’s resource potential
The critical importance of natural resources to Alaska gives the state’s Division of Geologic and Geophysical Surveys a particularly crucial role in researching and making available geological and geophysical information.