Highlights on EARTH Magazine

World War G: Zombies, energy and the geosciences

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:12:51 -0500

Kathleen Cantner, AGI

Editor's Note: Traditionally, EARTH has published a "highlights" or "year in review" issue at the end of the year. This year, we decided to try a new approach: We asked our staff and some frequent contributors to write a short commentary on something that grabbed their attention in 2013. We gave everyone carte blanche. What follows is a collection of extremely varied, often very personal insights into how the planet impacted each individual. You can find some online this month, but for the full grouping, you'll have to buy the issue here or subscribe.

Bailing through the Boulder flood: One neighborhood's experience

Fri, 15 Nov 2013 13:31:47 -0500

Despite everything I learned in my sedimentology-stratigraphy class about alluvial fan deposits, and the debris flows and floods that emplace them, I never once considered what those depositional events might sound like. Now I know.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Agriculture: The future will have a different face than the past

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

U.S. Geological Survey

Tomorrow’s agriculture is facing an immense challenge. By 2050, the world’s population will reach somewhere between 9 billion and 10 billion people, and a greater proportion of those people will be enjoying a richer diet than today’s population. That means farmers will have to grow twice as much food. The world has already witnessed a preview of what might happen if large populations don’t receive an adequate supply of food: They do not accept their fates passively.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Energy: A fool's look into the future

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

Are hydrogen fuels, natural gas or biofuels the way of the future? BP, p.l.c.

Honda Civic built to run on natural gas, as shown at the 2009 Auto Show in Washington, D.C. IFCAR

Jon White, a doctoral student at Purdue University in Indiana, conducts a field test on a Sandia experimental wind turbine in Bushland, Texas. Mark Rumsey, Sandia, Department of Energy

In the 1985 classic “Back to the Future,” Doc Brown, the mad scientist played by Christopher Lloyd, queries his time-traveling visitor, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), in 1955 about the future of America with the simple question of who was president. The answer of Ronald Reagan appeared astounding and ridiculous, as his name was on a movie poster at the time.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Energy: Oil and gas around the world

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

BP's Jack Ryan drillship off the coast of Angola drilled more than 3,500 meters below the sea to find oil and gas. BP. p.l.c.

BP's Jim Cunningham rig, offshore Angola. BP, p.l.c.

Energy is a combined product of natural resources, human ingenuity and economy; it is also an engine for economic and social development. This is truer now than ever before because the global economy is more integrated and populations are growing, and with that, competition, challenges and prospects are also rising.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Natural Hazards: Reducing society's risks

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:51:09 -0500

Many of the world's largest cities, such as Caracas, Venezuela, are hotspots of extreme poverty and most vulnerable to catastrophes following natural hazards. Abby Baca, RMS

U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones and her son, Niels Hauksson, watch the Station Fire near their home in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. Egill Hauksson

The Station Fire in California burned dangerously close to communications towers and the Mount Wilson Observatory. Todd Hoefen, USGS

More than 65,000 people were left temporarily homeless by the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that struck L'Aquila, Italy, in April. Walter Mooney, USGS

The L'Aquila earthquake crumpled both medieval and modern infrastructure. Walter Mooney, USGS

The global financial disaster of 2009 has many parallels with catastrophic natural hazards. It struck pretty much without warning, its impact was greatly exacerbated by an incredibly complex system of cascading consequences, and finally, mechanisms supposedly in place to mitigate the worse impacts (regulations, in the case of the financial system) failed. There was awareness that such a meltdown could theoretically occur, but it was considered such a low-probability event that it was evidently not worth planning for.

Benchmarks: December 16, 1811-February 7, 1812: The New Madrid earthquakes strike the Heartland

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) Executive Director Jim Wilkinson moderates a panel discussion during the 18th annual 'Earthquakes Mean Business' seminar on Feb. 11, 2011. Alisa Nave, CUSEC

Fissures that formed during the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes can be seen in this 1904 picture from Mississippi County, Mo. Fuller, M.L., U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

Seismic risk across the United States as estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2008. Colors show the levels of estimated horizontal shaking. U.S. Geological Survey

Students demonstrate how to protect themselves during an earthquake in this 'Drop, Cover and Hold On' drill. Alisa Nave, CUSEC

This winter marks the bicentennial of a series of powerful intraplate earthquakes that occurred in the central United States over a two-month period beginning on Dec. 16, 1811. Named for New Madrid, one of the settlements on the Mississippi River, these tremors were among the largest historic earthquakes to occur east of the Rocky Mountains.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Minerals management: The changing commodities scene

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars may be good news for producers of the lightweight metal aluminum. Megan Sever

Many people would like to forget 2008. The subprime mortgage crisis came to a head and sent the world’s financial markets into a free fall. The situation didn’t improve much in 2009 as unemployment soared and consumers held on tightly to their dwindling dollars.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Policy: A tale of two years

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The U.S. Capitol Building Diliff

The International Space Station, seen from the shuttle Discovery. The shuttle program is due to be retired in 2010, and the space station decommissioned in 2015. NASA

Florida Power & Light's Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center will be the largest solar thermal plant outside of California when it opens in 2010. Florida Power & Light

BP's Thunderhorse oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Congress and the Obama administration are considering whether to allow more drilling off U.S. coasts. BP p.l.c.

In U.S. policy, the past year was dominated by discussions of energy and climate change issues, at least in the earth sciences realm. In the first year of his administration, President Barack Obama focused on his top campaign priorities — but between discussions of healthcare reform, trying to rejuvenate the economy and setting up his cabinet, he still found time to discuss the sciences.

Crystal Ball EARTH: Space: NASA keeps watch on a changing planet

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

NASA's Glory satellite will launch by the end of 2010. NASA

The TIM instrument will measure total solar irradiation. NASA

Launched in January 2003, NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) is examining changes in ice and land masses on Earth. ICESat will be replaced by its successor, ICESat-II, in 2014. NASA

A NASA P-3B aircraft makes its final approach into Thule Air Base in Greenland. NASA

Aquarius, scheduled to launch in 2010 aboard Argentina's SAC-D spacecraft, will measure changes in ocean salinity. NASA

The GRIP campaign will help researchers get highly accurate measurements of rapid intensification or other changes in a hurricane. NASA

The unmanned Global Hawk aircraft will fly over hurricanes while onboard instruments take continuous measurements. NASA

In 2009, we saw a number of changes on Earth. The average global ocean surface temperature last summer was the warmest on record. Thin seasonal ice has recently replaced thick older ice as the dominant type of ice in the Arctic. And scientists saw that despite a quiet sun with few sunspots, Earth can continue to be bombarded with a high level of solar energy.

Highlights of 2011: New Zealand: After 8,000 aftershocks, when will it stop?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Many churches were damaged or destroyed in the earthquakes. Many that weren't damaged are allowing other congregations to hold services in their buildings. Andy Miah, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Many neighborhoods still don't have sewer service, so residents are relying on portable toilets. Ann (Helen) Devereux, Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

When the earthquakes struck, they liquefied silt and sand that came pouring out from belowground and covered streets. Andy Miah, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Fissures opened up in the ground from the earthquakes, especially near riverbanks. Ann (Helen) Devereux, Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Damaged buildings have been marked by one of three tags following the earthquakes: Red means the building is destroyed; yellow means a building needs repairs; green means the building is alright. Wayne Feiden, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Cleaning up all the sand and silt that was liquefied in the earthquakes has taken months. Andy Miah, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

The untold story of life after a major earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand