Current Geology News and
Earth Science Articles

Geology news and current earth science articles and blogs from around the world. Our geology news 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.

July 31, 2008

New evidence supports Ice Age comet theory
Recent geological evidence claims a comet explosion over what is now Canada extended the Ice Age by 13,000 years.

Digital map of Earth's geology
Scientists have unveiled the world's first digital map of the rocks that lie beneath the Earth's surface.

July 30, 2008

Earthquake hits Los Angeles
An earthquake measuring 5.4 hit south-east Los Angeles last night. The U.S. Geological Survey reports strong shaking and minor damage felt from Arizona to Nevada.

Drilling likely cause of volcano in Indonesia
The Indonesian mud volcano disaster that displaced about 40,000 people was most likely caused by oil and gas drilling, not an earthquake, says Australian researcher.

U.S. Geological Survey arctic oil and gas report
Using a geology-based probabilistic methodology, the USGS estimated the occurrence of undiscovered oil and gas in 33 geologic provinces thought to be prospective for petroleum.

Diamonds may have been life's best friend on primordial Earth
Billions of years ago, the surface of these gems may have provided just the right conditions to foster the chemical reactions believed to have given rise to life on Earth, researchers in Germany report.

Rare fossil discovered in Antarctic
A new fossil discovery provides evidence that the Antarctic continent was once much warmer than today and may have been able to sustain life.

Evacuation order issued for 20,000 households as heavy rain pounds Hokuriku region in Japan
Officials at the Kanazawa Local Meteorological Observatory said that in one area along the upper reaches of the Asano River, 60 millimetres of rain was recorded over a period of just one hour.

Vietnam compiles first atlas of paleontology
To compile this great atlas, Vietnamese scientists have had to collect and research century-old documents of French and Russian geologists, who laid the first bricks of Vietnam’s geology.

July 29, 2008

Alaska opts for underground energy
Alaskan state officials have recently announced their intentions to begin funding the exploration and surveying of Alaska’s largest volcanoes in hopes of utilizing these as a source of geothermal energy which they say could provide enough energy to power thousands of households.

Snapshot of past climate reveals no ice in Antarctica millions of years ago
A snapshot of New Zealand's climate 40 million years ago reveals a greenhouse Earth, with warmer seas and little or no ice in Antarctica, according to research published this week in the journal Geology.

Oil sands threaten groundwater
Conservation specialist warns steam blowout could contaminate massive Athabasca aquifer near Fort McMurray.

Big Oil profits steered to investors
As giant oil companies like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips get set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profits, just where is all that money going?

'Rule book' needed for carbon capture and storage
There is currently only one strategy that has the potential to make real, significant reductions in GHG emissions while relying primarily on fossil fuels. That strategy is carbon capture and storage technology.

July 22, 2008

Alberta Geological Survey's Stefan Bachu is one of Alberta's 50 most influential people
When the Nobel Foundation bestowed the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize jointly on green evangelist Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a little Nobel stardust sprinkled on Alberta.

Is there even oil out there?
In an interesting twist in the offshore drilling debate, some experts say there isn't even anything worth drilling for off the South Carolina coast.

Russian bears trap geology survey crew
At least 30 hungry bears have trapped a group of geologists at their remote survey site in Russia's far east after killing two of their co-workers last week.

Airline suspends flights to southern Chile due to volcanic eruption
The airline LAN Chile on Sunday suspended its flights to and from the southern city of Puerto Montt because of the cloud of ash being expelled by the Chaiten volcano, which has been erupting since May 2.

100 months to save the planet
According to the Green New Deal Group, humanity only has 100 months to prevent dangerous global warming. Its proposals include major investment in renewable energy and the creation of thousands of new "green collar" jobs.

July 21, 2008

Changes in winds could have been cause of abrupt glacial climatic change
Spanish and German researchers have carried out a collaborative study that shows how during the last glacial period, small variations in the surface winds could have induced significant changes in the oceanic currents of the North Atlantic, and could even have played a role in the abrupt climate change that occurred at the time.

Chile plans to spend US$31M to build volcano monitoring centres
The National Geology Service said the country has 122 active volcanoes, but only eight are closely watched.

Quest for efficiency driving oil sands change
Interview with Eddy Issacs, acknowledged to be one of the foremost authorities on oil technology in Alberta. For 20 years he worked with the Alberta Research Council, responsible for programs in heavy oil and oil sands.

Offshore drilling needs more science, less politics
The argument for new offshore drilling, however, is based more on election-year posturing and political brush-offs than science and logic. Americans who believe that drilling off the Eastern and Western seaboards will get us back to $2 or even $3 a gallon gasoline are in for quite a rude awakening. Offshore drilling won't even make a dent.

Drilling talk in the U.S. dredges up memories of 1972
The lifting of the executive ban on offshore drilling earlier this month conjured images of tall, steely platforms pocking the horizons of beaches along Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coasts for many Floridians.

New website all about geology
A new website is under construction to be a Wisconsin geological Wikipedia of sorts, with user-generated content about rock exposures, fossils, sinkholes and more across the state.

July 18, 2008

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveils carbon dioxide storage rule
In its first regulations on the burial of carbon dioxide underground, the EPA unveiled measures to protect drinking water from the gas behind the bubbles in carbonated beverages.

Geologists say little oil to drill off South Carolina coast
While national momentum grows to lift a ban on offshore oil drilling, geologists say it's unlikely there will be rigs off South Carolina anytime soon because there's simply little oil to be had.

July 17, 2008

We've seen this heedless rush to oil shale before, just ahead of the inevitable bust
Bush and his fellow oil shale boosters claim that if only Western communities would stand aside, energy companies could begin extracting more than 500 billion barrels of recoverable oil from domestic shale deposits.

July 16, 2008

Russian ice camp in rapid shrink
But after enduring the permanent night of the Arctic winter and surviving the threat of polar bears, the scientists now find that their temporary home has shrunk to just 600m by 300m and faces complete break-up as it drifts towards a current known to contain relatively warm waters.

High gold price swells ranks of illegal miners
As a new gold rush spreads to the world's remotest corners, the faceoff between illegal, small-scale miners and multinational firms has cost millions of dollars and claimed lives.

US expert urges Karachi to check for underground uranium contamination
Pakistan, like the US and Mexico, could also be suffering from uranium contamination of underground water because of industrial units, hypothesized Dr Philip C. Goodell, Geologist and Professor at the Texas University, Department of Geology.

Tokyo University geologist to assist temple restoration
The intensely weathered temple is on the brink of collapse, according to Tokunaga, an associate professor of geology at Tokyo University. He has been working with the Japanese Government Team for Safeguarding Angkor since last year.

July 15, 2008

2010 organizing and the tar sands: inspiring the SPP and helping the Olympics
The tar sands— under their “rebranded” name of oil sands, received an entire separate round of talks and agreements within the SPP negotiations— “The Oil Sands Experts group.”

Seismic report puts estimate on property damage costs in Oregon
A new state report estimates that an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 off the Oregon Coast would cause about 1,000 deaths and $12 billion in property damage. The report by the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries prompted Senate President Peter Courtney to call for a quicker process of seismic upgrading by schools, hospital emergency rooms and other public-safety facilities.

July 14, 2008

Ottawa and Nova Scotia announce $870M resource deal
The deal aims to put to rest a dispute that dates back to 1986, when the federal government promised Nova Scotia compensation for giving up its ownership interest in offshore resources.

Orissa, India, finds another bauxite reserve, explores new mines
According to a preliminary estimation made by the Directorate of Geology, nearly 8 million tonnes (MT) of bauxite was reserved at Ushabali plateau in Kandhmal district.

Science that rocks: warming to global geology
A professor of geology at Salem State College has been studying sea levels at Chesapeake Bay and core samples beneath North Shore ponds.

Underground water in Varanasi, India, contaminated with uranium
In an alarming development, a group of scientists has revealed that underground water in Varanasi and adjoining areas is contaminated with uranium, but the centre and the state government are unaware of the fact.

Natural gas is used in virtually everything we consume
Using oil and natural gas, the petrochemical industry manufactures chemicals that serve as building blocks in making everything from plastics and clothing to medicine and computers.

Angolan government prioritizes geological survey of national territory
The Angolan government will prioritize the geological survey of the whole territory so as to improve the knowledge on the mineral potential.

July 11, 2008

Journey to the Center of the Earth: schisty summer fun
With the exception of dinosaurs, geology can be a hard sell, especially to kids. But the new Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D special effects extravaganza might entice even the most apathetic junior geologists to wonder what really is down there in Earth’s core.

Related story

Mississippi university geologist dies in car crash
James Woolsey, the director of Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute at University of Mississippi died in a vehicle accident near Batesville on Wednesday. Woolsey a renowned geologist and expert in undersea minerals resources, led efforts to establish a gas hydrate monitoring station on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

Can microorganisms be a solution to the world's energy problems?
In the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology, researchers outline paths where bacteria are the best hope in producing renewable energy in large quantities without damaging the environment or competing with our food supply.

Pre-quake changes seen in rocks
A team of US researchers has detected stress-induced changes in rocks that occurred hours before two small tremors in California's San Andreas Fault.

July 10, 2008

A carbon tax is a good tax
Oil companies want us to think of fossil fuels as being as renewable as wheat or apples. Saying otherwise would spoil the party, the "energy boom," that might better be called a "depletion boom."

Alberta to capture CO2 with oil sands revenue
The government estimates that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions brought about by these initiatives would be the equivalent of taking 1m motor vehicles off the road.

Early warning system for earthquakes: seismic 'stress meter' warned of earthquake 10 hours in advance
Using remarkably sensitive new instruments, seismologists have detected minute geological changes that preceded small earthquakes along California's famed San Andreas Fault by as much as 10 hours.

Retired geology professor gives fossils to college
Mr. Kirchgasser is cataloguing his collection of several hundred invertebrate fossils, days before he donates it to the college. SUNY Potsdam will use his fossils as teaching tools, and some will be displayed on a rotating basis in the Geology Hallway Museum in Timerman Hall.

Research suggests moon might contain water
A study published in the journal Nature shakes up long-held assumptions that the moon is dry. Researchers say glass beads collected by Apollo astronauts nearly 35 years ago contain as much water as collected from ocean ridges on Earth.

Peak oil: it doesn’t translate into Kurdish
As oil prices again flirt with records, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration hustles to revise upward its forecasts for the price of oil and gas, the “peak oil” camp seems to win more converts every day. However, the Kurdish region of northern Iraq is the last bastion of “easy oil,” where black pools seep to the surface and where wildcatters can strike gushers after a few months of poking around.

July 9, 2008

Alberta Premier Stelmach pledges $4B to cut emissions
The Alberta government will spend $4 billion to help slash greenhouse gas emissions as Premier Ed Stelmach's government strives to improve its environmental credentials amid heightened Canadian and international scrutiny.

Government press release

Carbon dioxide taking its toll on oceans
Besides loading the atmosphere with heat-trapping greenhouse gases, human emissions of carbon dioxide have also begun to alter the chemistry of the ocean, according to researcher by scientists at the University of Hawaii.

Monster interest in loch filming
A documentary has been shot on the geology of Loch Ness and locals are expecting another one to be done on the geology of the Great Glen.

Glaciers on California's Mt. Shasta keep growing
With global warming causing the retreat of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere in the Cascades, Mt. Shasta is actually benefiting from changing weather patterns over the Pacific Ocean.

July 8, 2008

Thousands stuck after China landslide
Landslides have blocked a highway with rubble and isolated 3,000 people in a quake-hit town in southwest China.

Geologists push back date basins formed, supporting frozen Earth theory
Even in geology, it’s not often a date gets revised by 500 million years. But University of Florida geologists say they have found strong evidence that a half-dozen major basins in India were formed a billion or more years ago, making them at least 500 million years older than commonly thought.

Invisible waves shape continental slope
A class of powerful, invisible waves hidden beneath the surface of the ocean can shape the underwater edges of continents and contribute to ocean mixing and climate, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have found.