November 15, 2017
Benchmarks: December 5, 1952: The Great Smog smothers London
On Friday, Dec., 5, 1952, a blanket of thick, yellow smog settled over London, cloaking the city for five days straight. Smog wasn’t uncommon — …
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1236 articles · Page 16 of 52
November 15, 2017
Comment: Arctic warming and midlatitude weather: Is there a connection?
Over the past couple of decades, the Arctic has warmed more strongly than the rest of the planet. A big question within the climate research …
November 15, 2017
Red Planet Roundup: December 2017
With two rovers patrolling the surface of Mars, six spacecraft orbiting above it, and scientists here on Earth studying the Red Planet from afar, …
November 15, 2017
What drives hot spots of sea-level rise?
As sea levels creep up around the world, scientists have observed hot spots where regional rates of sea-level rise greatly outpace the global …
November 15, 2017
Caldera clays may hold key to lithium independence
Most of the world’s lithium is mined in South America and Australia. New research suggests that the United States may have its own untapped …
November 15, 2017
Antimony may have poisoned Pompeii's drinking water
The ancient Romans may have had advanced water distribution systems, but the water pipes they used were highly toxic. Many Roman-era water pipes …
November 15, 2017
Volcanic activity contributed to first of the "Big Five" mass extinctions
During the Ordovician, between about 488 million and 444 million years ago, plant life first emerged on land, while primitive fish and a variety …
November 9, 2017
Imaging Iceland's volcanic roots
Home to more than 30 active volcanoes, Iceland is one of the most vigorous volcanic settings on Earth. A new look at the core-mantle boundary …
November 9, 2017
Alaskan subduction zone mirrors Tohoku zone that unleashed tsunami
In 2011, a large swath of coastal Japan was devastated and more than 15,000 people were killed when the magnitude-9.1 Tohoku earthquake unleashed …
November 9, 2017
Marine megafaunal extinction discovered
Extinctions of large land animals during the Pleistocene are well documented. In a new study, scientists report that marine megafauna also …
November 8, 2017
Desktop seismology: How a maker-inspired device is changing seismic monitoring
Earth groans and shimmies constantly, producing everything from occasional building-collapsing earthquakes to subtle shaking humans don’t even …
October 31, 2017
Bare Earth Elements: Bone up on your spooky geo-vocabulary this Halloween
I simply couldn’t resist writing this post. While I’m hardly a fanatical Halloween guy, I am an impassioned lover of puns and word humor …
October 27, 2017
Benchmarks: November 18, 1929: Turbidity currents snap trans-Atlantic cables
On the evening of Monday, Nov. 18, 1929, a magnitude-7.2 earthquake ruptured off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Those living on the Burin …
October 27, 2017
Geologic Column: Giving Konrad Zuse his due
German engineer Konrad Zuse is considered the first inventor of the programmable electronic computer in his home country, but sadly, few students …
October 26, 2017
Getting there and getting around Scotland's Southwestern Islands
Ferry service to Arran and Islay is the primary way to access the islands from the Scottish mainland. Caledonian MacBrayne (“CalMac”) offers a …
October 26, 2017
Travels in Geology: The diverse geology, landscapes and whiskys of Scotland's Southwestern Islands
Arran and Islay are two large islands of southwestern Scotland that showcase a suite of interesting rocks and landscapes, and Scotland’s …
October 18, 2017
Comment: The Congressional ecosystem: A paleontologist's perspective
At the height of the 2016 presidential election, the nation’s eyes were on Washington, D.C., and prominent voices were critical of the Capital. …
October 18, 2017
Down to Earth With: Deep-sea biologist Stace Beaulieu
People often find their way to the geosciences after a college class sparks their interest. But not Stace Beaulieu, a senior research specialist …
October 18, 2017
Ice (Re)Cap: November 2017
From Antarctica to the Arctic; from polar caps, permafrost and glaciers to ocean-rafted sea ice; and from burly bears to cold-loving microbes, …
October 18, 2017
Microbes influence ooid formation
The formation of carbonate spheroids called ooids is a bit of a mystery. They are thought to form in warm waters saturated with carbonate, which …
October 13, 2017
Northern Finns didn't starve during Little Ice Age
Today, Finland’s Northern Ostrobothnia region is one of the northernmost places in Europe that can support agriculture. But how this region fared …
October 13, 2017
Can distant earthquakes trigger submarine landslides?
Large earthquakes can nudge both nearby and distant faults closer to failure, sometimes setting off additional earthquakes halfway around the …
October 13, 2017
How long will the lava flow? Predicting eruption durations with satellite monitoring
If you live near a lava-spewing volcano, it could be helpful to know just how long molten rock might flow during a fiery eruption. In a new …
October 13, 2017
Mangroves sprouted in Arctic during Eocene
Mangrove trees, which today thrive in tropical and subtropical climates in the low and midlatitudes, grew in the high Russian Arctic about 56 …