Geology News - September 2008

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.

September 30, 2006

Ripples of uncertainty dog the unconventional gas business in Western Canada
As conventional gas reserves continue to dwindle in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), operators are starting to turn their attention to producing natural gas from unconventional sources. For the WCSB to sustain, maintain, and be competitive in the global market, the unconventional gas sector will require a stable regulatory environment, industry synergies, and new technologies.

List of geoblogs
A list of 101 geology blogs grouped by category.

September 26, 2008

The myth of no oil
Oil supply estimates have been historically understated. That's because they are calculated using oil reserves - the amount of oil that is considered economically and physically recoverable using available technology - rather than the much larger oil resources.

Oldest ice in North America hints at hardy tundra
Scientists fear that modern permafrost—soil that remains frozen in the polar regions—may melt and release potentially huge reservoirs of carbon that would speed global warming, scientists say. But a new study suggests that such a thaw could take much longer than previously believed.

Report warns of climate change impact on Asia Pacific coastal areas
A report by international aid agency World Vision says the negative effects of climate change are becoming more evident in coastal areas across the Asia Pacific Region.

Universities struggle with a gush of students in oil and gas programs
Universities training the next generation of engineers and geologists are coping with a surge in enrolment. Companies are aggressively recruiting new graduates, visiting campuses often and guaranteeing students jobs by the time they leave their summer internships.

September 22, 2008

Turning up the heat
Manitoba leads the country in geothermal heat pumps, with roughly 4,000 of the systems around the province, and advocates tout the underground pumps as the most environmentally friendly option on the market.

Canada boosts frontier troops as Russia eyes Arctic
Canada is stepping up its military alertness along its northern frontier in response to Russia's "testing" of its boundaries and recent Arctic grab, the prime minister said Friday.

Wisconsin group believes studying karst geology is important
Crawford Stewardship Project (CSP) members are attending meetings within the Coulee Region and throughout the state to promote better scientific understanding of our region’s karst (broken limestone) bedrock, soil composition and surface water/ground water interactions.

September 18, 2008

Offshore drilling won't solve immediate problems
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to lift the federal ban on offshore drilling, but one local geology expert and former employee of a large oil company says drilling off shore won't solve problems any time soon.

September 17, 2008

Oil spills from rigs off East Coast far exceed predictions
The number of small spills reported by the energy companies that operate Canada's offshore oil and gas rigs has far exceeded their original predictions, a new study says. Researchers at York University and the Alder Institute in Newfoundland found that the operators of the Terra Nova project off Newfoundland, for example, had originally predicted 5.3 spills of less than 50 barrels per spill during the 15-year life span of the project.

Arctic sea ice settles at second-lowest, underscores accelerating decline
The Arctic sea  ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the second-lowest extent recorded since the dawn of the satellite era.  While above the record minimum set on September 16, 2007, this year further reinforces the strong negative trend in summertime ice extent observed over the past thirty years.

Global warming greatest in past decade
Researchers confirm that surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer over the last 10 years than any time during the last 1300 years, and, if the climate scientists include the somewhat controversial data derived from tree-ring records, the warming is anomalous for at least 1700 years.

September 16, 2008

Geological study finds use for lasers
Researchers from New Mexico State University are replacing magnifying glasses, fingernails and diluted hydrochloric acid — the rock identification tools of field geologists — with Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), a technique that holds great potential for the science of geology and much more.

September 15, 2008

Oil sands under fire in U.K.
Days after Canada's oil sands moved into the federal election spotlight, one of Britain's largest investment firms is launching a campaign to convince petroleum giants BP and Shell to scale back their plans to exploit the controversial energy source.

U.S. oil and gas field deaths rising sharply
Deaths among those working American oil and gas fields have risen at an alarming rate.

September 12, 2008

Models reveal 'geology of Games'
Decades of geological data are being used to produce 3D computer models of what lies beneath the proposed sites for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Geothermal power to light up the Aegean
Despite the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration establishing the existence of 30 geothermal fields in Greece - two of them sizeable enough to produce at least 250MW of uninterrupted electrical power - geothermal energy remains non-existent among the country's 900-plus megawatts of electricity produced from renewable sources.

September 11, 2008

Scientist uncovers miscalculation in geological undersea record
This study is a major step in terms of rethinking how geologists interpret variations in the 13C/12C ratio throughout Earth's history.

Ice shelf loss along Canada's Ellesmere Coast
On July 22, 2008, a new wave of ice shelf disintegration began and, by late August, these ice shelves had lost a total of 214 square kilometres (83 square miles).

Arctic study pointer to future climate trends
Glaciers all over the world, including that of north and south poles, are receding because of global warming. But it is hard to predict at this stage with accuracy whether similar trends will continue or climate will take a different turn in future.

Faster rise in sea level predicted from melting greenland ice sheet, based on lessons from ice age
Geologists predict that the sea level rise from greenhouse-induced warming of the Greenland ice sheet could be double or triple current estimates over the next century.

Iran geological maps for cities
Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization plans to draw up geological maps of different areas on one twenty five thousandth scale able to provide necessary information needed by engineers engaged in executive and development sectors.

Scots TV scientist Iain Stewart is on one-man mission to make geology sexy
His rugged looks, relaxed dress code and growing army of female fans mean TV scientist Iain Stewart is no ordinary boffin. The Scots geology expert is on a one-man mission to make volcanoes, earthquakes and even rock formations sexy.

China quake forces geologists to redraw seismic hazard maps
The May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, China, that claimed the lives of more than 65,000 people, has forced geologists to think that similar regions may also be in danger and that seismic hazard maps should be redrawn as a result.