December 9, 2014
Down to Earth With: Eric Riggs
Eric Riggs says he often tells students the story of how he got into geoscience as a cautionary tale. That may seem ironic given his current …
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December 9, 2014
Marine mammals blamed for first New World tuberculosis
When Europeans arrived in the Americas they introduced an array of new infectious diseases that decimated the native populations. Now, a new …
December 9, 2014
Golden Gate ghost ships rediscovered
Just beyond San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is a shipwreck graveyard where as many as 300 vessels lie in silty underwater repose. A team of …
December 9, 2014
Skinned oceanic plates may be origin of ophiolites
Long recognized as slivers of oceanic crust incongruously emplaced on land, ophiolites are distinctive sequences of basalt, gabbro and peridotite …
December 9, 2014
Textbook mantle plume theory may need revision
Every basic geology textbook has a section on mantle plumes, which have long been thought to underlie certain island chains and other volcanic …
December 9, 2014
Old piles of shells reveal ancient El Niño patterns
Understanding of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is evolving as scientists unearth new data sources. In a study recently published in …
December 9, 2014
Oil-encased water droplets are mini-ecosystems for microbes
Dark, sludgy oil may not seem like an environment suited to life. But microbes, known to make meals of such organic stews by breaking down large …
December 8, 2014
Geologic Column: What geoscientists can learn from TED Talks
TED talks have become an international — and Internet — phenomenon. The goal of the talks, which began as a series about the alignment of …
December 8, 2014
Down to Earth With: Ecologist Chris Field
Last summer, the American Geophysical Union honored Chris Field, founding director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, …
December 8, 2014
Geomedia: Books: Are we causing a sixth extinction?
Last year, Elizabeth Kolbert released her latest excellent book. Her previous volume, “Field Notes from a Catastrophe,” set a high bar for …
December 8, 2014
Getting there and getting around France's Massif Central
Most flights to France from the U.S. land in Paris. If you are heading directly to the Massif Central, you can either take a one-hour flight from …
December 8, 2014
Travels in Geology: Lentils, lace and lava: France's Massif Central
Tucked between the Pyrenees and the Alps in south-central France is a little-known highland called the Massif Central. This rugged and secluded …
December 8, 2014
A dry and ravaged land: Investigating water resources in Afghanistan
Aside from the front-page issues of war and politics, one of Afghanistan’s most critical national needs is safe and reliable supplies of water. …
December 8, 2014
Antibacterial clays could fight superbugs
Clays with antibacterial properties found near Crater Lake in Oregon could eventually lead to new agents in the fight against …
December 8, 2014
Try and try again: GeoCorps application tips
The competition for GeoCorps America positions has been getting stiffer each year as the number of applicants increases. Last year, the program …
December 8, 2014
Into the parks: A sampling of GeoCorps projects
Applications are now being accepted for spring and summer 2015 GeoCorps America positions. The deadline is Feb. 3 at noon (Mountain Time). Fall …
December 8, 2014
Geocorps America: Putting geoscientists to work on federal lands
In 2009, when Erica Clites was completing her masters in paleontology at the University of California at Riverside, she didn’t know what her next …
December 3, 2014
November 10, 1934: Arizona declares war against California at Parker Dam
From above, tiny green irrigation circles draw a narrow buffer along the 2,300-kilometer course of the Colorado River like the brush strokes of a …
December 3, 2014
December 27, 1888: The Geological Society of America is founded
When the Geological Society of America (GSA) held its first organizational meeting in December 1888, there were only about 200 geologists in …
December 3, 2014
January 26, 1905: The world's largest gem-quality diamond is unearthed
Each day, thousands of visitors to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History view the rare and spectacular Hope Diamond, a …
December 3, 2014
April 20, 1832: Arkansas' hot springs named the First National "Park"
In March 1872, not long after William Henry Jackson’s photographs from the famed Hayden Geological Survey first introduced the U.S. populace to …
November 4, 2014
Ice (Re) Cap: December 2014
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 4, 2014
Rainwater penetrates into ductile crust
Rainwater is capable of percolating deeper into Earth’s crust than once thought possible, according to a new study. The finding could impact our …
November 4, 2014
Snow triggers quakes on Mount Rainier
A new study indicates that more than 150,000 low-frequency earthquakes that occurred on Mount Rainier over the past decade were caused by …