December 14, 2015
The question of mantle plumes
In 1963, J. Tuzo Wilson first proposed that volcanic chains like the Hawaiian Islands form when a tectonic plate drifts over a “hot spot” in the …
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1236 articles · Page 32 of 52
December 9, 2015
Comment: GSW: A celebrated society celebrates its 1,500th meeting
I tucked in my shirt as I walked up the front steps of the stately mansion that houses the Cosmos Club on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, …
November 20, 2015
Benchmarks: August 1975: Geotimes magazine inspires name of rock formation: A Q&A with Tony Alabaster
In August 1975, an intriguing rock formation in Oman appeared on the cover of Geotimes magazine, EARTH magazine’s predecessor. This pillow lava — …
November 20, 2015
Benchmarks: August 2, 1922: Marines invade Teapot Dome, deepen scandal
Early in the morning of Aug. 2, 1922, soldiers from the United States Marine Corps arrived at the train station in Casper, Wyo. They had been …
November 20, 2015
Getting there and getting around Sedona
Although Flagstaff’s Pulliam Airport is located just 40 kilometers from Sedona, flights into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, a two-hour …
November 20, 2015
Travels in Geology: Sedona: A journey to the edge of a supercontinent
Built upon crimson slopes studded with junipers and towering pines, surrounded by soaring rock spires, and encircled by 800,000 hectares of …
November 19, 2015
Public improvements, private funding
Seattle city engineer Reginald H. Thomson may have been the driving force behind the Denny Hill regrades, but they could not have occurred …
November 19, 2015
Benchmarks: December 10, 1930: Seattle's Denny Hill disappears
Few cities in the United States can rival Seattle for the scale of reengineering to its landscape. Not only did its citizens make more than 890 …
November 19, 2015
Geomedia: Gifts: Holiday Gift Guide
Science is definitely the new chic, so we’ve tracked down the latest and greatest science accessories and furnishings to help you find the …
November 17, 2015
Geomedia: Television: 'NOVA: Making North America' Is Flashy, But Fails on Storytelling
Geology isn’t often depicted in the popular media, and when it is, the coverage is often related to well-trodden topics like dinosaurs or natural …
November 12, 2015
Ice (Re)Cap: December 2015
From Antarctica to the Arctic; from polar caps, permafrost and glaciers to ocean-rafted sea ice; and from burly bears to cold-loving microbes, …
November 12, 2015
Balanced boulders in earthquake country highlight interconnected faults
Precariously balanced boulders look like bizarre accidents in any landscape, but when they’re found in regions famous for frequent earthquakes, …
November 12, 2015
Chinese cave art reveals record of climate change
In times of drought, Dayu Cave in the Qinling Mountains of central China has remained a reliable source of water, and since at least the 16th …
November 12, 2015
Ocean oxygen levels control seafloor carbon burial
Residual organic carbon from dead marine phytoplankton and other oceanic life can follow two pathways: It can be deeply buried in seafloor …
November 12, 2015
Human hands not most advanced
Compared to chimpanzees, our recent evolutionary cousins, humans have long thumbs relative to our fingers. This trait has endowed our ancestors …
November 12, 2015
No laughing matter: Ocean nitrous oxide emissions greater than thought
Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and, since the banning of chlorofluorocarbons in 1987, it has become the main driver of ozone loss from …
November 6, 2015
Wormholes may limit landslides
Scientific investigations sometimes take unexpected twists and turns. When Emma Harrison, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, …
November 2, 2015
Comment: Pipe Dreams: What have we learned from the Volkswagen Clean-Diesel scandal?
In the last couple of years, we both considered buying a Volkswagen. The company’s “clean-diesel” cars offered great fuel economy and were fun to …
November 2, 2015
Geologic Column: The beginning of "time" as we know it
As we approach the end of a year, my thoughts often turn to calendars and the measurement of time. Time is our window on the world; we use it to …
November 2, 2015
Solar flare calibration reveals past patterns of volcanism and cooling
When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it sent a cloud of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere that blocked incoming solar …
November 2, 2015
Due diligence in river incision data
As great equalizers of topography, rivers and streams whittle down landscapes by alternately scouring away broad flat swaths of sediment and …
November 2, 2015
Warty algae-like sheets survived Snowball Earth events
Between about 730 million and 635 million years ago, during the Cryogenian Period of the Late Proterozoic, Earth is thought to have been almost …
November 2, 2015
Isotopes could reveal ancient American turquoise trade
For centuries before the arrival of Europeans, turquoise was prized among pre-Hispanic cultures of North America. Caches of the distinctive, …
November 2, 2015
Opalescent pools shimmer beneath Santorini
With its bright blue waters and dramatic cliffside villas, Santorini, Greece, is an idyllic vacation destination, but lurking beneath the Aegean …