Geology News

November 7, 2016

Fuel From Sewage Is the Future

Enormous Dome in Andes Driven by Magma Below

Entire Himalayan Arc Can Make Large Quakes

Shell Growth Chart Helps Decode Past Climate

Latest Headlines

updated 4:57pm EST

'Tug of War' Keeps Scientists Working on Storm Tracks

Sep. 2, 2016 — A new analysis finds that human-induced climate change complicates projecting the future position ... read more

'Anthropocene': Potential New Geological Time Interval

Aug. 29, 2016 — The Working Group on the 'Anthropocene' (AWG) will provide its summary of evidence and its provisional recommendations on a potential new geological time ... read more

2014 Napa Earthquake Continued to Creep, Weeks After Main Shock

Aug. 19, 2016 — On August 24, 2014, just south of Napa, California, a fault in Earth suddenly slipped, violently shifting and splitting huge blocks of solid rock, 6 miles below the surface. ... read more

Crack Discovered in Earth's Magnetic Shield

Nov. 3, 2016 — The GRAPES-3 muon telescope recorded a burst of galactic cosmic rays of about 20 GeV, on 22 June 2015 lasting for two hours. The burst occurred when a giant cloud of plasma ... read more

Popcorn-Rocks Solve the Mystery of the Magma Chambers

Nov. 2, 2016 — Since the 18th century, geologists have struggled to explain how big magma chambers form in the Earth’s crust. In particular, it has been difficult to explain where the ... read more

Catalog of Known Near-Earth Asteroids Tops 15,000

Oct. 31, 2016 — The number of discovered near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) now tops 15,000, with an average of 30 new discoveries added each week. The number of discovered near-Earth asteroids ... read more

Ant Genomics Help Reshape Biological History of the Americas

Oct. 25, 2016 — Scientists have long believed that the Isthmus of Panama emerged from the ocean three million years ago, triggering a massive interchange of species between the Americas in its wake. However, recent ... read more

Why Does Our Planet Experience an Ice Age Every 100,000 Years?

Oct. 26, 2016 — Experts have offered up an explanation as to why our planet began to move in and out of ice ages every 100,000 ... read more

What the Ancient Carbon Dioxide Record May Mean for Future Climate Change

Oct. 24, 2016 — Scientists have reconstructed the ancient atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) record from about 300 million years ago. Their study reveals previously unknown fluctuations of ... read more

Mt. Aso Could Erupt Much Sooner, Scientists Warn

Oct. 20, 2016 — Damage from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake could hasten Mt. Aso's eruption, volcanologists warn. In a new paper, scientists report new faults in the vicinity of Mt. Aso's magma ... read more

Scientists Might Know Why The San Andreas Fault Has Been So Calm

Don't Freak Out About California's Swarm Of Earthquakes Just Yet

Costa Rica Volcano Continues to Emit Ash

Costa Rica Turrialba Volcano Erupts Twice

Exploring Vast 'Submerged America,' Marine Scientists Discover 500 Bubbling Methane Vents

Oct. 20, 2016 — Five hundred vents newly discovered off the US West Coast, each bubbling methane from Earth's belly, top a long list of revelations about "submerged America" being celebrated by ... read more

Magnetic Oceans and Electric Earth

Oct. 19, 2016 — Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet's protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA's Swarm satellites have not only measured this ... read more

Making of a Desert: Central Asia Over the Ages

Oct. 17, 2016 — The first large-scale map of rainfall declines revealed by signatures in ancient soil could help researchers better understand profound regional and global climate ... read more

Earthquake Series Cause Uplift Variations at Continental Margins

Oct. 17, 2016 — A new mechanism may explain how great earthquakes with magnitudes larger than M7 are linked to coastal uplift in many regions worldwide. This has important implications for the seismic hazard and the ... read more

Greenland Ice Is Melting 7 Percent Faster Than Previously Thought

Oct. 14, 2016 — The same hotspot in Earth's mantle that feeds Iceland's active volcanoes has been playing a trick on the scientists who are trying to measure how much ice is melting on nearby Greenland. ... read more

Geologist Explores Minerals Below Earth's Surface

Oct. 13, 2016 — A geology researcher is going deep below Earth's surface to understand how some of the most abundant minerals that comprise Earth's crust change under ... read more

Consequences from Antarctica Climate Change

Oct. 13, 2016 — New research reveals how a single warming event in Antarctica may be an indication of future ecosystem changes. Stationed in East Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys -- a polar desert that's ... read more

Megadrought Risks in Southwest U.S. Soar as Atmosphere Warms

Oct. 10, 2016 — As a consequence of a warming Earth, the risk of a megadrought -- one that lasts more than 35 years -- in the American Southwest likely will rise from a low chance over the past thousand years to a ... read more

Magma Movements Foretell Future Eruptions

Oct. 7, 2016 — Geologists have traced magma movement beneath Mt. Cameroon volcano, which will help monitoring for future volcanic ... read more

Exhaling Earth: Scientists Closer to Forecasting Volcanic Eruptions

Oct. 6, 2016 — On average, 40 volcanoes on land erupt into the atmosphere each month, while scores of others on the seafloor erupt into the ocean. A new time-lapse animation uniting volcanoes, earthquakes, and ... read more

Case of Earth's Missing Continental Crust Solved: It Sank

Oct. 5, 2016 — How do you make half the mass of two continents disappear? To answer that question, you first need to discover that it's missing. That's what a trio of geoscientists did, and their ... read more

Earthquake Risk: New Fault Discovered in Earthquake-Prone Southern California Region

Oct. 4, 2016 — A swarm of nearly 200 small earthquakes that shook Southern California residents in the Salton Sea area last week raised concerns they might trigger a larger earthquake on the southern San Andreas ... read more

Ice Cores Reveal a Slow Decline in Atmospheric Oxygen Over the Last 800,000 Years

Oct. 3, 2016 — Researchers have compiled 30 years of data to construct the first ice core-based record of atmospheric oxygen concentrations spanning the past 800,000 years. The record shows that atmospheric oxygen ... read more

Strength of Earth's Outer Shell Can Be Measured, Weak Spots Pinpointed

Oct. 3, 2016 — An advanced imaging technique used to map Earth's outer shell also can provide a measure of strength, finding weak spots and magma upwellings that could point to volcanic or earthquake activity, ... read more

Ancient Global Cooling Gave Rise to Modern Ecosystems

Sep. 30, 2016 — Sea surface temperatures dipped dramatically during a period from 7 million to 5.4 million years ago, a time of massive global ecological change, scientists have ... read more

First Evidence of Deep-Sea Animals Ingesting Microplastics

Sep. 30, 2016 — Scientists working in the mid-Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean have found evidence of microfibers ingested by deep sea animals including hermit crabs, squat lobsters and sea cucumbers, revealing ... read more

New Technique for Finding Weakness in Earth's Crust

Sep. 29, 2016 — Scientists have developed a method to estimate weakness in the Earth’s outer layers which will help explain and predict volcanic activity and ... read more

Water Crisis in Bangladesh

Sep. 28, 2016 — Overpumping of groundwater to supply one of the planet's largest cities could be jeopardizing the future water supply for citizens living outside the city center, say researchers working in ... read more

Dense Arrays of Seismometers Are Letting Scientists Get a Clearer Look at a Giant Scar That Underlies the American Midwest

Sep. 28, 2016 — Deep beneath the fertile flat farmland, there is a huge scar in the Earth called the Midcontinent Rift. This ancient and hidden feature bears silent witness to a time when the core of what would ... read more

Volcano Emissions Linked to Increases in Asthma Attacks

Sep. 27, 2016 — A new study from the active volcano K?lauea, which is on the big island of Hawaii, reports that people -- especially children -- with asthma are at greater risk of having serious asthma attacks if ... read more

Thursday, October 20, 2016