Geology News - January 2008
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.
January 31, 2008
Alberta's growing thirst
The mapping of Alberta’s subterranean water supplies has meant looking up as much as looking down, as geologists with Alberta Geological Survey have been crisscrossing central Alberta in a specially outfitted aircraft looking for electromagnetic signs of fresh water aquifers.
January 29, 2008
Vietnam to explore, process titanium oresVietnam plans to pour 4,282 billion Vietnamese dong (267.6 million US dollars) into exploring, exploiting and processing titanium ores, between 2007 and 2025, the Department of Geology and Minerals of Vietnam said.
January 28, 2008
The kinder, gentler energy superpower
Canada is the kind of oil supplier the U.S. can rely on, and no one knows it better than the Texans.
January 27, 2008
Contaminated water in Canadian town likely caused due to ancient meteor impact
Researchers have for the first time linked a meteor impact with a health threat to the people of an area, namely the small Canadian town of Gypsumville, Manitoba.
Fossil-rich ravine at mercy of plunderers in India
Quarry owners have been blasting the rocks — with the 260 million-year-old fossils embedded in them — and ferrying out the pieces for the past several years.
January 25, 2008
Scientists find new details about dynamic wind-driven geology of Mars
Scientists have observed new detailed views of the dynamic wind-driven geology of Mars, using The University of Arizona's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Experiment) camera.
January 24, 2008
Dr. Stefan Bachu on the Rutherford Show
Listen to the Alberta Geological Survey's Nobel laureate Dr. Stefan Bachu, on Thursday morning's Rutherford show, discussing carbon sequestration.
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin home to significant hydrocarbon resources
The sediments in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, coupled with the structural history of the region, hold immense resources of hydrocarbons.
Geologists have discovered an iron ore deposit of at least one billion tonnes in northeast China's Liaoning province after more than two years of exploration, local authorities said Thursday.
January 23, 2008
ROV films seabed habitat, geology
Maps and images of seabed habitat, geology and biological data in the seas around North-West Europe can now be viewed online.
Volcanic deposits may aid lunar outposts
A U.S. study of radar images of the moon suggests deposits from early lunar volcanoes might be useful to astronauts at lunar stations.
Mining smashes records in B.C.
Investors increased their stake in British Columbia's mineral exploration sector for the eighth consecutive year in 2007.
January 22, 2008
Analysis of plants charred by hot volcanic ash could be used to assess future hazards
An extensive study of the Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat has led to an understanding of pyroclastic density current.
January 21, 2008
Is your home vulnerable to a landslide?
The state Department of Geology spent thousands of dollars making maps of slide-prone neighborhoods in the Portland metro area. But that information was never publicized despite countless slide-prone hillsides across the Northwest - apparently because there was no money to do so.
UV, a diamond's best friend
A new study finds that UV light causes nearly all blue diamonds to exhibit a phosphorescent glow. The pattern for each stone is unique, like a fingerprint.
January 20, 2008
First evidence of under-ice volcanoes in Antarctica
The volcano on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet began erupting some 2,000 years ago and remains active to this day.
January 19, 2008
Evacuation continues in Colombia despite reduced volcanic activityAlthough Galeras stopped emitting volcanic substances after the initial eruption, inhabitants must be transferred to safe refuges as a precaution, Colombian Geology and Mining Institute technical director Cesar Lopez said on Friday.
January 18, 2008
Alaska glacier speed-up tied to internal plumbing issues
A University of Colorado at Boulder study indicates meltwater periodically overwhelms the interior drainpipes of Alaska's Kennicott Glacier and causes it to lurch forward, similar to processes that may help explain the acceleration of glaciers observed recently on the Greenland ice sheet that are contributing to global sea rise.
New photos show Mercury's active geology, bleak horizon
The surface is covered with impact craters, some with peaks of material at their centre.
Thousands flee volcanic eruption in Colombia
A volcano erupted in southwestern Colombia on Thursday night, prompting authorities to order the evacuation of about 8,000 people.
Stone-age fish fossils found in Sichuan quarry
The fossils were uncovered in a quarry, and archaeologists said they could have been formed some 150 million years ago, during the Mesozoic Jurassic period, when the dinosaurs lived.
January 17, 2006
B.C. attractive to mining. but there are challenges
Not since 1990 has there been a level of mining exploration in B.C. that could come close to the level being seen today.
With a 233% increase in the price of gold over the past 6 years, there is no surprise there is an increased interest in finding minerals.
January 16, 2008
Mapping of Greenland may aid understanding of sea-level mystery
A University of Alberta Arctic ice researcher is closing in on some real understanding about the process that might be feeding rising sea levels.
Scientists see natural causes for greater hurricane activity
The recent rise in hurricane activity in the Caribbean and neighbouring regions in recent years is likely to be a natural phenomenon and not caused by human activity.
January 15, 2008
Trying to tar bituminous sand
In fact, the current linguistic competition between tar sands and oil sands is a relatively tame affair as such things go, given the passions involved. "Tar" isn't such an awful word. And for its part, "oil" isn't exactly particularly cuddly and life affirming.
University of Texas researchers to study oil, gas production boosts
The University of Texas is launching the Advanced Energy Consortium, a multimillion-dollar research consortium aimed at increasing oil and gas production.
January 14, 2008
Planes mapping San Andreas quake faults
The latest effort to map Sonoma and Mendocino county earthquake faults will entail low-level flights by a small Canadian airplane.
Utah isn't a major player in oil industry despite abundant reserves
If all of Utah's known petroleum sources were developed jointly with Colorado's, the region would rival Saudi Arabia in crude oil production. Just don't expect it to happen anytime soon, if ever.
Oil sands mining in Canada
This review outlines the Canadian oil sands industry and provides links to information sources on the economic and environmental impact of the industry, production statistics and project updates.
Quarry landslide traps 11 people in northern China
A landslide buried 11 people in Jixian County in north China's Tianjin Municipality Sunday morning.
January 11, 2008
Plate tectonics: Earth's lucky geology
Four decades after the rise of the great, unifying theory of plate tectonics, geologists are still scratching their heads over a lot of the details.
January 10, 2008
6.4 quake strikes off the Oregon coast
The epicenter was about one-hundred fifty miles west of Florence. It was ten miles below the surface of the Pacific.
Did a crashing comet shake up the world?
According to a new hypothesis by a University of Minnesota Duluth geology professor, a comet may have helped split the Earth’s surface into large plates that are still in motion.
Ground opens under village
A village in central Greece is under threat from subsidence after a section of road gave way due to heavy rainfall, taking with it part of a home, according to the Greek Institute of Geology & Mineral Exploration.
January 9, 2008
Yellowstone earthquake recorded
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was recorded in northwestern Yellowstone National Park. The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology says there were no immediate reports of damage.
New light on 150-year-old paleontological mystery
Discovery of an exceptional fossil specimen in southeastern Morocco that preserves evidence of the animal’s soft tissues has solved a paleontological puzzle about the origins of an extinct group of bizarre slug-like animals.
River polluting miners face stringent penalties
Following recent investigations of continuous pollution of the Essequibo River by some operators who discharge tailings waste into the waterway, more stringent actions against miners guilty of such breaches will be taken by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
Canada's Barnes Ice Cap, which covers close to 6,000 square kilometres of Baffin Island, has recently been thinning at almost 10 times the rate it was 25 years ago.
January 7, 2008
Northern reserves look tempting
Companies see enormous potential in vast gas discoveries sitting under Arctic waters.
Organizations come together on ground water
Ground water is at the forefront of an agreement between Alberta Environment and Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB). Both agencies will also continue to support the ongoing work of the Alberta Geological Survey to map Alberta’s groundwater.
January 5, 2008
History-rich gravel pit becomes science preserve
A former gravel pit is not most people's image of a natural feature to be protected.
But this is not just any gravel pit.
January 4, 2008
Alberta Environment and EUB agree to strengthen groundwater protection
Both agencies will also continue to support the ongoing work of the Alberta Geological Survey to map Alberta’s groundwater.
January 3, 2008
The Barnett Shale gas boom
Technology, economics and one man’s persistence transformed the Barnett Shale formation of the Fort Worth Basin into a booming new frontier.
Volcanic activity dissipates two days after eruption at Llaima
At present, the greatest danger entails possible avalanches caused by the melting of the glaciers from the liquid-hot magma that was emitted from the crater.
January 1, 2008
Mountains discovered on Titan
By analyzing images from NASA’s Cassini Radar instrument, mountains on Saturn’s largest moon have been discovered and analyzed, additional evidence that it has some of the most earth-like processes of any celestial body in the solar system.
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