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 …
The EARTH archive
January 2015
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50 articles · Page 2 of 3
December 9, 2014
Utah gravity slide was one for the record books
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 …
December 9, 2014
1912 not an exceptional iceberg year
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 …
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
Neanderthals dined on pigeons
The butchering, cooking and eating of birds has previously been thought to be an enterprise unique to modern humans, who were smart enough to …
December 9, 2014
Dating the demise of the Neanderthals
For a time, _Homo sapiens _and Neanderthals shared space in Europe, likely interacting and possibly interbreeding, but roughly 40,000 years ago …
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
Hallucigenia finally finds a home
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 …
December 9, 2014
All dinosaurs may have had feathers
Since the first feathered dinosaur was discovered in China in 1996, more and more feathered theropod specimens have been found. Now, a new …
December 9, 2014
Lead-up to Icelandic earthquakes seen in groundwater chemistry
Scientists tracking groundwater in Iceland have reported that significant shifts in the water’s chemistry occurred months prior to earthquakes in …
December 9, 2014
Twister season comes earlier to tornado alley
Recent studies have examined whether tornadoes are increasing in intensity or number, but a consensus has not yet been reached. Now, a new study …
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
Comment: Preparing for the volcano in your backyard: New Zealand sets an example
Globally, one in 10 people live within 100 kilometers of a geologically “active” volcano — meaning one that has probably erupted in the last …
December 8, 2014
Energy Notes: July 2013-2014
U.S. Oil & Petroleum Imports (million of barrels per day) Oil and petroleum imports data are preliminary numbers taken from the American …
December 8, 2014
Mineral Resource of the Month: Strontium
Joyce Ober, mineral commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared the following information about strontium, the element that …
December 8, 2014
Benchmarks: January 3, 1970: Lost City meteorite is tracked and recovered
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 …
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
The '100-year flood' fallacy: Return periods misleading in communication of flood risk
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 …
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 …