September 21, 2016
Travels in Geology: Gubbio, Italy: A geologist's mecca
The history of our planet is written in the rocks. It was in Italy where the earliest geologists first understood this. As a geologist planning a …
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1236 articles · Page 25 of 52
September 21, 2016
Ice (Re)Cap: October 2016
From Antarctica to the Arctic; from polar caps, permafrost and glaciers to ocean-rafted sea ice; and from burly bears to cold-loving microbes, …
September 20, 2016
Water use soared as workers flocked to North Dakota's oilfields
Amid North Dakota’s oil boom, about 24,000 temporary oilfield workers moved to Williams County — in the state’s Bakken oil shale region — between …
September 20, 2016
Geologic Column: Proposing a new U.S. Holiday: Explorers' Day
October has two holidays, just days apart, that celebrate two individuals both heralded as the discoverers of the New World: Leif Erikson and …
September 20, 2016
Comment: Did life start on a snowball?
The Hadean Eon, the first 500 million years of Earth’s history, was a harsh and violent time. After Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago, the …
September 20, 2016
Benchmarks: October 2, 1574: Dutch unleash the ocean as a weapon of war
Lucas Joel In 1574, the city of Leiden in the Netherlands was brought to its knees: By August of that year, about 6,000 of the city’s roughly …
September 20, 2016
Geomedia: Books: "Alfred Wegener": The definitive biography of a geoscience star
Today, Alfred Wegener’s name appears in almost every geology textbook. He is celebrated as the father of the continental drift hypothesis, the …
September 15, 2016
Getting there and getting around Guatemala's Volcan Pacaya
Visitors to Guatemala fly into Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport, the country’s only international airport. From there, I …
September 15, 2016
Travels in Geology: Guatemala's Volcan Pacaya: A feast for the senses
Located in northernmost Central America, Guatemala is home to 22 volcanoes, seven of them active, some of which are accessible to hikers looking …
September 13, 2016
Clouds can form without particles
In addition to their aesthetic and photogenic appeal, clouds play a crucial role in Earth’s climate and ecosystems, helping regulate temperatures …
September 13, 2016
Tectonic rejuvenation in North America's ancient mountains
The mountains of eastern North America, like the Appalachians, Adirondacks and White Mountains, are old: They grew as the pieces of the …
September 13, 2016
California drought stops slow-moving landslides
Most people think of landslides as fast-moving events, but many slides creep slowly, advancing over hundreds or thousands of years. In a new …
September 13, 2016
Early Earth's atmosphere weighed half as much
The conditions that prevailed on early Earth are, in many ways, as alien as those found on far off exoplanets. Some clues can be found in ancient …
September 13, 2016
Junk gem reveals new diamond-forming process
Not all diamonds are gems. Those found bearing imperfections or inclusions, known as bort or junk diamonds, are often demoted to industrial uses …
September 13, 2016
Bad weather hampered Mongol invasion of Europe
In 1241, the armies of the Mongol Empire, continuing their campaign through Asia and Europe, invaded western Hungary. Before long, however, the …
September 13, 2016
Thirsty business: How the tech industry is bracing for a water-scarce future
Prineville is a sleepy town nestled in the sagebrush desert between the snowy peaks of Cascade volcanoes and the rumpled hills of the Ochoco …
August 29, 2016
Exploring the newest gift to America: Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
“Are you sure this is right? It feels like we are headed to Neverland,” my boyfriend asked me while hiking last weekend. We were in the country’s …
August 23, 2016
Benchmarks: October 1, 1960: Camp Century, a cold war ice fortress is built
The soldiers who staffed Camp Century enjoyed many of the same accommodations as their fellow soldiers at bases around the world. They had a mess …
August 23, 2016
Benchmarks: September 23, 1933: The U.S. oil industry arrives in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia currently produces about 11 million barrels of oil per day, edging out Russia and the U.S. to rank first in the world in production, …
August 23, 2016
Benchmarks: August 24, 1873: The Mount of the Holy Cross is found, photographed and mapped
The rumors had persisted for decades, some said for centuries. Deep in the Colorado Rockies was a mystical mountain. Upon the face of a towering …
August 19, 2016
Travels in Geology: Limestone and legends in Northern Vietnam
Early in Vietnam’s history, the country was repeatedly attacked by enemies arriving by sea. According to Vietnamese legend, the mythical Jade …
August 19, 2016
Down to Earth With: Hydrogeologist Shemin Ge
" graduated from high school in China, the country was still in the throes of the Cultural Revolution. During this movement, which lasted from …
August 19, 2016
Geologic Column: The notion of mantle plumes
The article “The Question of Mantle Plumes” in the January/February 2016 issue of EARTH was a well-researched and educational reminder that the …
August 17, 2016
Comment: Mudrock cement and the importance of basic research
Diverse motivations drive scientific research. For many of my geoscience colleagues, curiosity seems motivation enough. However, motivations …