January 2015 on EARTH Magazine

Comment: GSW: A celebrated society celebrates its 1,500th meeting

Wed, 09 Dec 2015 10:23:53 -0500

GSW has met at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., since 1893. Credit: Agnostic Preachers Kid, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The GSW gavel. Credit: Callan Bentley.

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, D.C. At the top, I tentatively opened the massive wrought-iron door. The warmly lit interior came into view, and I crossed the threshold.

Asbestos found in Nevada and Arizona: Roadblock and potential health hazard?

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 09:04:03 -0500

Naturally occurring asbestos has been found in and around Boulder City and Henderson in southern Nevada, including in many desert areas popular with mountain bikers, hikers, horseback riders and recreational vehicle users. Boulder City lies about 30 kilometers southeast of Las Vegas and west of Lake Mead, seen here. Credit: ©Prayitno, CC BY 2.0.

In 2011, Brenda Buck, a medical geologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), was studying the human health effects of mineral dusts at Nellis Dunes — a 40-square-kilometer area northeast of Las Vegas that is popular with off-road enthusiasts, 300,000 of whom visit the dunes each year.

Did three convicts survive their escape from Alcatraz? Modern modeling adds to a decades-old mystery

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 10:11:00 -0500

The former Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Credit: Jon Sullivan, public domain

Twenty-first century science is shedding new light on a 53-year-old mystery involving one of the country’s most notorious prisons: Did three convicted bank robbers survive their escape attempt from Alcatraz Island? New results, presented at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) annual meeting in San Francisco last December, suggest there’s a chance they did.

Getting there and getting around Bermuda

Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:50:48 -0500

Several major airlines serve Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport, located on St. David’s Island about 30 minutes from Bermuda’s capital and largest city, Hamilton. Dozens of bus routes can take passengers to almost any place on the island, but getting to and from the airport — or anywhere with large suitcases — on the bus is frowned upon. Instead, take a taxi. Rental cars are not available to visitors. The alternative is scooters, but nerves of steel and good health insurance are a must for navigating the narrow, windy, high-speed roads. And although the island is small — less than two-thirds the size of Manhattan — and many places are within walking distance, few roads outside Hamilton have sidewalks or even shoulders. A handful of ferry routes can also help you reach some destinations.

North American terranes not so exotic after all

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:18:34 -0500

The Wrangellia Terrane extends from Vancouver Island, seen here, to central Alaska. Credit: Keith Freeman, CC BY-SA 2.5.

The cordillera of western North America is a patchwork of various landmasses, or terranes, that assembled through collision and accretion to the Laurentian Shield, leaving a complicated tectonic history for geologists to unravel.

Mantle plume alternative explains Australian volcanism

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:11:35 -0500

Magma often finds its way to the surface along Earth’s crustal boundaries as tectonic plates crash together, rift apart or grind past each other. Less understood is why volcanoes sometimes emerge far away from plate boundaries. Narrow plumes of buoyant mantle rock rising from hundreds of kilometers deep have long been supposed as the source of intraplate volcanoes, but evidence for plumes is lacking in many areas. Now, in a new study, researchers have reported evidence for an alternative process, known as edge-driven convection, which appears to be driving intraplate volcanism in southeastern Australia.

Scientists complete a global inventory of lakes

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 11:31:14 -0500

Oregon's Crater Lake is one of more than 117 million newly inventoried lakes around the world. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

How many lakes are there in the world? Until recently, the exact number was anybody’s guess. Now, a new global inventory conducted using satellite imagery has placed the count at 117 million. The GLObal WAter BOdies database (GLOWABO) includes all lakes greater than 0.002 square kilometers, which combined, cover a surface area of 5 million square kilometers, or 3.7 percent of the Earth’s nonglaciated land area.

Secondary aerosols a primary cause of Chinese smog

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:31:29 -0500

Taken one day apart — on Jan. 31 (top) and Feb. 1, 2013 (bottom) — these photos of Beijing's National Stadium hint at the scale of China's pollution problem. Credit: both: Ru-Jin Huang and Jun-Ji Cao.

Images of Chinese skylines and streetscapes blurred by pollution-fueled hazes have become increasingly common in recent years amid ongoing urbanization and industrialization. According to a new study published in Nature, much of the pollution fogging the country’s major cities is arising not from fine particles emitted directly into the sky, but by gases that react and condense in the atmosphere to form secondary aerosols.

Icebergs were the original Florida snowbirds

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:14:53 -0500

As icebergs drifted south along the coast, their keels plowed across the seafloor, creating the characteristic grooves shown here in a seafloor bathymetry image from offshore of South Carolina. Credit: Jenna C. Hill.

A new study shows that between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago, icebergs drifted southward off the coasts of South Carolina and Florida.

Comment: Supersites: Sharing geoscience data for science and society

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:31:09 -0500

The Geohazard Supersites and Natural Laboratories initiative, a network of Earth-observing institutions, can designate certain natural disasters "event supersites" to help coordinate the collection and distribution of crucial data needed by first responders and scientists. Such data helped produce this map of surface deformation caused by the magnitude-7 earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. Credit: Eric Fielding/JPL/NASA/JAXA.

When major geologic hazards strike, they gain global attention. Disaster responders and scientists want remote sensing and in-situ observations of the site in order to respond faster and learn more about the event. Satellites operated by many countries as well as commercial entities provide eyes in the sky, while ground-based networks of seismic, geodetic, geochemical and other instrumentation keep ears to the ground. In the past decade, the United Nations has organized the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), a collaboration of 89 institutions and organizations that sustain comprehensive Earth-observing capabilities for the benefit of humankind. GEO has six global objectives, including the Geohazard Supersites and Natural Laboratories (GSNL) initiative. GSNL is a unique international collaboration focused on sharing spaceborne and other geophysical data to understand geohazards and to promote preparedness and hazard mitigation. GSNL has had several successes already and is poised for many more.

Energy Notes: August 2013-2014

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:13:27 -0500

Credit: The American Geosciences Institute.

U.S. Oil & Petroleum Imports (million of barrels per day)

Oil and petroleum imports data are preliminary numbers taken from the American Petroleum Institute’s Monthly Statistical Report. For more information visit www.api.org.

Mineral Resource of the Month: Antimony

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:03:11 -0500

David Guberman, the antimony commodity specialist for the National Minerals Information Center at the U.S. Geological Survey, compiled the following information about antimony, widely used in alloys and in flame retardants.

Stibnite is a principal ore of antimony. Credit: PepperedJane.

Antimony is a lustrous silvery-white semimetal or metalloid. Archaeological and historical studies indicate that antimony and its mineral sulfides have been used by humans for at least six millennia. The alchemist Basil Valentine is sometimes credited with “discovering” the element; he described the extraction of metallic antimony from stibnite in his treatise “The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony,” published sometime between 1350 and 1600. In the early 18th century, Jöns Jakob Berzelius chose the periodic symbol for antimony (Sb) based on stibium, which is the Latin name for stibnite.

Down to Earth With: Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson

Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:38:59 -0500

As a child growing up in Gassaway, W.Va., Lonnie Thompson was poor. When his father died while Thompson was a senior in high school, he realized he’d need to earn a reliable paycheck as quickly as possible. As an undergraduate at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., he knew he wanted to study science; he started off as a physics major before settling on geology. Later, when he arrived at Ohio State University (OSU) as a graduate student in 1971, Thompson’s intent was to study coal geology, a practical choice that he believed would quickly secure him a job.

Geomedia: Books: A brief history of our cosmic origins

Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:27:48 -0500

"The Stardust Revolution: The New Story of Our Origin in the Stars," by Jacob Berkowitz, Prometheus Books, 2012, 9781616145491.

In the 1980 television show “Cosmos,” astronomer Carl Sagan famously noted: “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” This scientifically and philosophically profound concept — that we are starstuff through and through — has been known for less than 50 years, and the history of its discovery was fraught with naysayers.

Travels in Geology: Navigating the rocks, reefs and waters of Bermuda

Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:42:20 -0500

Much of Bermuda's coastline is rocky but the south shore hosts beautiful pink and white sand beaches. Credit: Kelly Speare.

The Bermuda Triangle is not an actual scientific phenomenon. But if a family were looking for a place to disappear to for a week or so, Bermuda is a great choice. Picturesque beaches, beautiful weather and a pleasant mix of Caribbean and British cultures make it a popular vacation destination. It’s also a place where geology and history are on display, making both relaxation and exploration easy.

New tracers can identify fracking fluids

Tue, 30 Dec 2014 10:30:32 -0500

Hydraulic fracturing to harvest natural gas has been controversial due in large part to the potential for contamination of ground and surface waters by the pressurized fluids used to force open cracks in deep shale formations and by the so-called flowback fluids that re-emerge at the surface from fracking wells. Now, researchers have developed a geochemical method of tracing fracking fluids in the environment; it’s a tool that could be used to identify hazardous spills in the future and may lead to better use and disposal of fracking wastewater.

California: A profusion of drought restrictions with varying results

Tue, 30 Dec 2014 10:14:04 -0500

These hydroelectric turbines at Oroville Lake in California should be well below water; however, due to the ongoing severe drought, they have been exposed. Credit: ©Shutterstock.com/David Brimm.

With 100 percent of California experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions last year, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Gov. Jerry Brown mandated the tracking of monthly personal water usage for the first time. In addition, water districts around the state also took up varying degrees of drought restrictions, including such strategies as raising water prices and severely limiting outdoor irrigation. But whether these restrictions will make a dent in California’s water shortage amid the ongoing and historic drought remains to be seen.

The amazing minerals of the Larsemann Hills

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 13:41:00 -0500

Four minerals were discovered on Stornes Peninsula in the Larsemann Hills of East Antarctica based on fieldwork there from 2003 to 2004. In part because of these minerals and other rare boron and phosphate minerals found in this pristine region, Stornes Peninsula is now protected as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area — the highest level of environmental protection in Antarctica. Below are some details about these special minerals.

Protecting the mineral treasures of Antarctica's Larsemann Hills

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 12:38:44 -0500

It was late November 2003 and not quite summer in Antarctica. As the Squirrel helicopter lifted off after delivering its last load, we set about putting up our two tents and making camp on Stornes Peninsula. The peninsula, which would serve as our home and base for fieldwork for the next two months, is part of the Larsemann Hills, a 40-square-kilometer region of rocky islands and promontories on the eastern shore of Prydz Bay, some 120 kilometers southwest of one of Australia’s Antarctic bases, Davis Station. Our only contacts with the outside world were twice-daily radio calls and an occasional helicopter flight to refurbish our larder and take out our samples. No telephone, no Internet.

Red Planet Roundup: January 2015

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:15:08 -0500

Within days of arriving at Mars, MAVEN mapped carbon, oxygen and hydrogen in the planet's upper atmosphere with the help of its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument. Credit: University of Colorado/NASA.

As two rovers patrol the surface of Mars, five spacecraft orbit above and scientists back here on Earth study the Red Planet from afar, new findings are announced almost weekly. Here are a few of the latest updates.

Modeling a big mess from Yellowstone

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:11:31 -0500

How Yellowstone ash could spread across the U.S. Credit: USGS.

In the event of another super-eruption at Yellowstone National Park, few places in the U.S. would be ash-free, according to a new modeling study. The northern Rocky Mountains would be blanketed in meters of ash, and millimeters would be deposited as far away as New York City, Miami and Los Angeles.

New species of titanosaurus discovered in Tanzania

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:06:57 -0500

The Cretaceous landscape was dominated by huge herbivorous sauropods, the largest land animals ever to walk the planet. Fossils from many of these massive creatures have been unearthed around the world, but the recent discovery of a new specimen of titanosaurus in Tanzania is among the first sauropods found on the African continent.

Marine mammals blamed for first New World tuberculosis

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:01:46 -0500

Fur seals in Argentina. Credit: Ricardo Bastida.

When Europeans arrived in the Americas they introduced an array of new infectious diseases that decimated the native populations. Now, a new genetics-based study published in Nature shows that the emergence of tuberculosis in Peru seems to have predated the arrival of the Spanish — and that seals and sea lions may be to blame instead for the ancient infections.

Golden Gate ghost ships rediscovered

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:56:13 -0500

A new remote sensing survey of the seafloor off the coast of San Francisco revealed the 1863 wreck of the clipper ship Noonday as well as others. Credit: both: NOAA.

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 NOAA researchers conducting a two-year study to identify and map the long-forgotten ships in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the adjacent Golden Gate National Recreation Area has announced the discovery of three wrecks: the 1863 wreck of the clipper ship Noonday, the 1910 shipwreck SS Selja and an unidentified early steam tugboat wreck tagged the “mystery wreck” — all now obscured by mud and silt on the ocean floor.

Skinned oceanic plates may be origin of ophiolites

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:48:33 -0500

Part of an ophiolite sequence in northern Italy. Credit: ©Qfl247, CC BY SA 3.0.

Long recognized as slivers of oceanic crust incongruously emplaced on land, ophiolites are distinctive sequences of basalt, gabbro and peridotite found globally near former and current convergent zones, where oceanic tectonic plates subduct under continents. But scientists don’t have a clear idea why or how ophiolites split from downgoing plates and find their way onto land. Now, a new study suggests part of the answer may relate to weak layers of mantle that allow oceanic crust to be peeled, or “skinned,” from subducting slabs as they descend.

Utah gravity slide was one for the record books

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:43:58 -0500

About 22 million years ago, one of the largest volcanic landslides in history occurred in Utah. Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI.

When Washington state’s Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, the volcano’s northern flank gave way, sending about 2.5 cubic kilometers of material down its slopes and into nearby valleys in what was the largest debris avalanche in recorded history. But roughly 22 million years earlier, one of the largest-known volcanic landslides the world has ever seen occurred in southwestern Utah, according to a study in Geology. That one, estimate the study’s authors, released between 1,700 and 2,000 cubic kilometers of ash, tuff and sandstone — nearly 1,000 times as much as Mount St. Helens — over a 3,400-square-kilometer area.

1912 not an exceptional iceberg year

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:23:13 -0500

The iceberg responsible for the Titanic collision was never positively identified, but one purported to have a red streak of paint along its side was photographed on the morning of April 15, 1912, just a few kilometers south of where the Titanic sank. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center/www.navcen.uscg.gov.

A new study disputes the notion that an exceptional number of icebergs were floating in the North Atlantic the year the Titanic collided with one at roughly 42 degrees North latitude and quickly sank, killing more than 1,500 people. However, the study also suggests that weather conditions around the time of the sinking likely pushed icebergs farther south than normal for that time of year.

Textbook mantle plume theory may need revision

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:19:20 -0500

Every basic geology textbook has a section on mantle plumes, which have long been thought to underlie certain island chains and other volcanic hot spots, but hard evidence in support of narrow columns of magma upwelling from deep within the Earth’s mantle remains scant. Now a new study suggests that the long-held plume theory should be abandoned altogether.

Neanderthals dined on pigeons

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:14:08 -0500

Gorham's Cave on the southeast side of the Rock of Gibraltar has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years. Credit: C. Finlayson, Gibraltar Museum.

The butchering, cooking and eating of birds has previously been thought to be an enterprise unique to modern humans, who were smart enough to catch them. However, a discovery in the dolomite caves of the Rock of Gibraltar shows that Neanderthals were the first to enjoy avian fare.

Dating the demise of the Neanderthals

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:10:37 -0500

Researchers Thomas Higham and Katerina Douka examine samples at a Neanderthal site in Abric Romani, Spain. Credit: Thomas Higham.

For a time, _Homo sapiens _and Neanderthals shared space in Europe, likely interacting and possibly interbreeding, but roughly 40,000 years ago the Neanderthals died out for unknown reasons. Pinpointing the extinction of the Neanderthals has proved difficult due to limitations in carbon-14 dating techniques, the accuracy of which declines in samples approaching and older than 50,000 years due to a decreasing amount of carbon-14 for testing. Now, using a new dating technique, scientists have confirmed that Neanderthals likely disappeared between 41,000 and 39,000 years ago.

Old piles of shells reveal ancient El Niño patterns

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:00:51 -0500

An Incan-era shell midden in Peru's Ica Valley. Credit: Matthieu Carré.

Understanding of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is evolving as scientists unearth new data sources. In a study recently published in Science, scientists turned to the discarded remains of shellfish for a 10,000-year record of eastern Pacific ENSO activity, which offered glimpses into unexpected past ENSO behavior and intensity.

Hallucigenia finally finds a home

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:56:07 -0500

A microscopic look at the claws of Hallucigenia and modern velvet worms links the two distant relatives. Credit: Royal Ontario Museum.

A fossil so bizarre that it was formally dubbed Hallucigenia has finally found a place in the evolutionary tree of early life. One of the more head-scratching fossils to come out of the famous 500-million-year-old Burgess Shale assemblage in British Columbia, the worm-like creature with legs, spikes and a head difficult to distinguish from its tail was originally drawn both backwards and upside down: The spines were originally thought to be legs, and its legs were thought to be tentacles.

All dinosaurs may have had feathers

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:51:54 -0500

Artist's reconstruction of the feathered Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, an ornithischian from the Jurassic. Credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Since the first feathered dinosaur was discovered in China in 1996, more and more feathered theropod specimens have been found. Now, a new nontheropod fossil found in Siberia and described in Science suggests that all species of dinosaurs may have had feathers.

Lead-up to Icelandic earthquakes seen in groundwater chemistry

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:47:18 -0500

The Husavik-Flatey Fault cuts across part of northern Iceland near the town of Husavik. An earthquake on this fault in 2012 was one of two found recently to correlate with significant changes in groundwater chemistry measured months before the quakes occurred. Credit: Alasdair Skelton.

Scientists tracking groundwater in Iceland have reported that significant shifts in the water’s chemistry occurred months prior to earthquakes in 2012 and 2013. It’s far too early to apply the findings to earthquake hazard assessment, researchers say, but the results suggest that precursory groundwater changes may also herald earthquakes elsewhere and point toward a potential means of future seismic monitoring.

Twister season comes earlier to tornado alley

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:22:06 -0500

Tornado season is peaking earlier in the spring than it did 60 years ago. Credit: ©Lauren Ayres, CC BY-NC 2.0.

Recent studies have examined whether tornadoes are increasing in intensity or number, but a consensus has not yet been reached. Now, a new study looking at a different aspect of tornadoes — when they occur — has found that the severe storm systems that spawn tornadoes may be peaking earlier in the spring than in the past in the infamous tornado alley.

Geologic Column: What geoscientists can learn from TED Talks

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 13:18:01 -0500

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/©TED.

TED talks have become an international — and Internet — phenomenon. The goal of the talks, which began as a series about the alignment of technology, entertainment and design (hence “TED”), is to “share ideas worth spreading.” The presentations are pithy, conversational, focused and entertaining; they are often inspirational and sometimes very personal. Geoscientists — whether presenting conference papers, classroom lectures or presentations for general audiences — can learn a lot from TED talks, especially from the structure and guidance applied to preparing the talks.

Comment: Preparing for the volcano in your backyard: New Zealand sets an example

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 13:00:12 -0500

A view of Auckland, New Zealand, with Mount Eden in the foreground; at least 10 other volcanoes are also within the field of view of the photo. Credit: Kevin Snowden, ©Auckland Council.

Globally, one in 10 people live within 100 kilometers of a geologically “active” volcano — meaning one that has probably erupted in the last 10,000 years and will almost certainly erupt again. As I write this, homes in Pahoa, Hawaii, are being threatened by lava from Kilauea, and at least one home has been engulfed. The devastation that volcanic eruptions can leave behind, the huge uncertainties in what will happen next, and their often-prolonged timescales test communities’ resilience like few other events. Even the effects of distant volcanoes can be crippling: Volcanic ash can suspend air traffic, disrupt electrical transmission lines, require large areas to be cleaned up, and provide many other headaches.

Energy Notes: July 2013-2014

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 12:54:05 -0500

Credit: The American Geosciences Institute.

U.S. Oil & Petroleum Imports (million of barrels per day)

Oil and petroleum imports data are preliminary numbers taken from the American Petroleum Institute’s Monthly Statistical Report. For more information visit www.api.org.

Mineral Resource of the Month: Strontium

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 12:47:48 -0500

Joyce Ober, mineral commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared the following information about strontium, the element that gives fireworks their bright red color.

Strontium creates the brilliant red in this fireworks display, whereas a combination of strontium and copper creates the purple coloration. Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist David Rush.

Strontium occurs commonly in nature, ranking as the 15th most abundant chemical element on Earth. Only two minerals contain sufficient strontium, however, to be used commercially to produce strontium compounds: Strontianite (strontium carbonate) has a higher strontium content, but celestite (strontium sulfate) is by far the most abundant strontium mineral.

Benchmarks: January 3, 1970: Lost City meteorite is tracked and recovered

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 12:20:59 -0500

More than 17 kilograms of fragments of the Lost City meteorite were found. The largest, shown here, weighed 9.83 kilograms. Credit: SAO courtesy of APDA/PARI.

On the evening of Saturday, Jan. 3, 1970, residents of northeastern Oklahoma saw a fireball as bright as a full moon blaze across the sky. The nine-second light display was accompanied by a sonic boom heard over a 1,000-square-kilometer area.

Down to Earth With: Ecologist Chris Field

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:59:07 -0500

Chris Field, founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, has won the Max Planck Research Award and the Roger Revelle Medal. Credit: Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News.

Last summer, the American Geophysical Union honored Chris Field, founding director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, with its annual Roger Revelle Award, which recognizes “outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences, atmosphere-ocean coupling, atmosphere-land coupling, biogeochemical cycles, climate or related aspects of the Earth system.”

Geomedia: Books: Are we causing a sixth extinction?

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:55:35 -0500

"The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History," by Elizabeth Kolbert, Henry Holt and Co., 2014, 9780805092998.

Last year, Elizabeth Kolbert released her latest excellent book. Her previous volume, “Field Notes from a Catastrophe,” set a high bar for accessible, accurate science writing about environmental issues, but in my opinion, “The Sixth Extinction” surpasses it in several regards. Readers of this magazine will appreciate its solid geologic grounding and perspective, with entire chapters devoted to the end-Ordovician and end-Cretaceous extinctions, as well as sections on the principles of evolution and Earth history. Climate change, the focus of her earlier book, looms large here too, though it is just one of the many threats to the survival of our biosphere that Kolbert covers.

Getting there and getting around France's Massif Central

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:44:15 -0500

Le Puy is famous for the manufacturing of fuseau lace, which is still made by hand, as well as by machine. Credit: both: Terri Cook and Lon Abbott.

Vulcania, Europe's only volcanic theme park, was the brainchild of two volcanologists who were killed in the explosive 1991 eruption of Japan's Mount Unzen the year before the park opened. Credit: Terri Cook and Lon Abbott.

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 Paris to Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport or take the Corail Auvergne train, a 3.5-hour trip.

Travels in Geology: Lentils, lace and lava: France's Massif Central

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:12:18 -0500

Canoeing offers impressive views of the limestone walls of the Tarn Gorge in Cévennes National Park in France. Credit: Terri Cook and Lon Abbott.

The Massif Central is a roughly 5,000-square-kilometer highland region in south-central France filled with volcanic necks, scenic gorges and picturesque parks and towns. Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI.

Paragliders soar after departing from the Puy de Dôme, the highest point in the northernmost of three chains of volcanoes in the Massif Central. Credit: Terri Cook and Lon Abbott.

Tucked between the Pyrenees and the Alps in south-central France is a little-known highland called the Massif Central. This rugged and secluded region is celebrated for its natural beauty, which is preserved in several large parks that attest to the area’s long and diverse human and geologic history. At the heart of the Massif Central is the picturesque town of Le Puy-en-Velay, known for its green lentils, handcrafted lace and potent Verveine liqueur. There, an arresting trio of volcanic necks capped with historical attractions looms above medieval houses, lace workshops and cobblestone streets where pilgrims have gathered for more than a thousand years to begin their long journey to one of Christendom’s holiest sites.

A dry and ravaged land: Investigating water resources in Afghanistan

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 10:15:48 -0500

A tale of three Afghanistans: Deserts, mountain streams and growing cities. Credit: top and middle: Thomas J. Mack, USGS; bottom: ©iStockphoto.com/MieAhmt.

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. The United Nations estimates that Afghanistan’s current population of about 31 million will increase by nearly 80 percent by the year 2050 to approximately 56 million. Such an increase will raise demand on the country’s already stressed water resources. In addition, recent research suggests that global climate change could alter precipitation patterns in Afghanistan. In particular, both the amount and the timing of snowfall received at higher elevations could change, impacting the major source of water for many areas in Afghanistan.

The '100-year flood' fallacy: Return periods misleading in communication of flood risk

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 10:07:48 -0500

Terms like "100-year flood," which designate return periods for events like floods, storms and droughts, may not be the best way to communicate the risk they pose. Credit: ©Shutterstock.com/northallertonman.

The “100-year flood” is a familiar term to anyone who lives in a flood-prone area or has ever looked at a flood map before buying homeowner’s insurance. Return periods, or recurrence intervals, like this are standard parlance for describing the magnitude and potential hazard of floods, as well as other hydrologic events like storms and droughts. Although such terms have long helped policymakers and the public try to make sense of severe weather, one researcher suggests they may confuse the issue more than clarify it.

Antibacterial clays could fight superbugs

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:40:45 -0500

Clays with antibacterial properties found near Crater Lake in Oregon could eventually lead to new agents in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA, according to a new study.

Try and try again: GeoCorps application tips

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:19:13 -0500

Matt Dawson, seen here during his 2007 GeoCorps internship at the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Fort Benton, Mont., is now the Geo- Corps America program coordinator at the Geological Society of America in Boulder, Colo. Credit: Matt Dawson.

The competition for GeoCorps America positions has been getting stiffer each year as the number of applicants increases. Last year, the program received more than 1,400 applications for 136 summer positions.

Into the parks: A sampling of GeoCorps projects

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:07:00 -0500

GeoCorps projects can take participants to a variety of stunning work locations. Left: Patrick Burns, a U.S. Forest Service GeoCorps intern, worked in the Fraser Experimental Forest in the Rocky Mountains. Middle: GeoCorps participant Chris Ciervo explores the Snake Creek Cave system in Great Basin National Park in Nevada. Right: Many GeoCorps positions involve mapping abandoned mines, such as this one in Mojave National Preserve in California. Credit: all: GSA.

Applications are now being accepted for spring and summer 2015 GeoCorps America positions. The deadline is Feb. 3 at noon (Mountain Time). Fall and winter positions will be posted on May 1, with an application deadline of noon on July 1. Applicants may apply for up to three positions (although they can only accept one) and must be a member of the Geological Society of America to apply. Below is a sampling of some GeoCorps projects.

Geocorps America: Putting geoscientists to work on federal lands

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 08:38:06 -0500

The GeoCorps America program has been putting geoscientists to work on federal lands since 1997. In fall 2014, Devils Tower National Monument hosted the thousandth GeoCorps participant, Claudia Velasco. Pictured left to right: Matt Dawson, GeoCorps program coordinator; Piper Lewis, GeoCorps participant number 1001; Velasco; Linda Tokarczyk and Mike Finn, managers of community relations for Rare Element Resources, which funded Velasco's project. Credit: GSA.

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 career move would be. Since the economic downturn beginning the previous year, unemployment for recent graduates had been high. “I didn’t really think I was going to be able to find work in the field of paleontology,” she says. But Clites had a fallback plan, which turned out to be a springboard to the career she always wanted.