March 2010 on EARTH Magazine

Energy Notes: November 2008-2009

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 16:00:26 -0400

Credit: The American Geosciences Institute

U.S. Oil & Petroleum Imports (millions 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: Cesium

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 12:26:54 -0400

Marc A. Angulo, a mineral commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, compiled the following information on cesium, a metal used in atomic clocks, gas and oil drilling fluids, and medical applications.

Cesium, an alkali metal that is slightly golden in color and melts in one’s hand, is one of only two metals (along with mercury) that are liquid at room temperature. It is not found in nature in its elemental state because it is easily oxidized.

Down to Earth With: Sharon Mosher

Wed, 23 May 2018 10:56:04 -0400

Sharon Mosher. Credit: Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

Sharon Mosher was born with a rock in her hand, as her mom used to say. As a child in Illinois, she was fascinated by geology, conducting mineral tests on rocks in the chemistry lab her dad set up for her in their basement. She decided she wanted to be a geologist the moment she learned that’s what you call a person who studies rocks.

The Washington Monument's Apex

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 12:11:30 -0400

An aluminum pinnacle has graced the Washington Monument since 1884, but subsequent modifications have changed the look of the point. In 1885, after the first major lightning strike to the monument, engineers were alarmed to find that the electricity had cracked a stone beneath the aluminum pyramid. They quickly outfitted the monument apex with a copper band and small lightning rods connected to a series of copper rods running down the corners of the stonework and connected to the internal lightning rods. In 1934, engineers discovered that the aluminum itself had deteriorated after years of lightning strikes. They replaced the copper band with eight larger copper rods extending 15.2 centimeters above the aluminum apex, hoping to shield the point from enough electricity to preserve the stone obelisk’s peak. So far, it has.

March 23, 1821: Bauxite Discovered

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:47:18 -0400

When Napoleon III commissioned this aluminum baby rattle for his son, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph, aluminum was more costly than silver. Credit: courtesy of Alcoa, Inc.

Compared to gold, silver, lead and copper — metals that people have extracted, refined and used for millennia — aluminum is a relative newcomer. Pure aluminum was more valuable than gold when it was first discovered in the early 19th century. It graced the fine china of Napoleon III and was displayed next to the French Crown Jewels at the 1855 Paris Exhibition. Today, aluminum is cheap and plentiful, used in everyday products ranging from soda cans to jets. The transformation of the metal from unknown material to rare metal to ubiquity in fewer than two centuries is due to two pivotal discoveries: an abundant aluminum ore — bauxite — and a process of refining this ore using electricity.

Voices: Redefining humanity through energy use

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

What is it, exactly, that distinguishes us from other species? The definition of humankind has perplexed scientists, philosophers and theorists for centuries. DNA composition differentiates species in a technical sense, but that definition is hardly satisfying. Certainly there must be something more ethereal that separates us from “lower” forms of creatures. Over the centuries, several definitions have emerged — from using tools to speaking — but have then been proven insufficient in some heuristic way. So I propose another option: manipulating energy.

A history of "Big Ones"

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

The last time Chile experienced an earthquake larger than magnitude 8.8 was on May 22, 1960, when a magnitude-9.5 earthquake rocked the South American nation, killing 1,655 people and leaving 2 million people homeless, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was the largest earthquake in recorded history. Prior to that, a magnitude-8.5 quake struck central Chile near its border with Argentina on Nov. 11, 1922 — the 13th-largest earthquake on record. The newest earthquake also made the record books: It is tied with an earthquake that hit offshore Ecuador in 1906 as the fifth-largest earthquake.

Chile's quake larger but less destructive than Haiti's

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

Cities where citizens reported shaking from the Chile earthquake that struck Feb. 27. Blue indicates weak shaking and red indicates strong shaking. Circle size correlates to city size. U.S. Geological Survey

A USGS ShakeMap of the earthquake in Chile. Blue indicates weak shaking and red indicates strong shaking. U.S. Geological Survey

On Feb. 27, at 3:34 a.m. local time, a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck offshore Maule, Chile, 325 kilometers southwest of the capital, Santiago. The quake released 500 times more energy than the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — yet the smaller quake produced more extensive damage: The Haitian quake killed more than 200,000 people and left more than 1.2 million people homeless, whereas the Chilean quake killed at least 711 people and displaced 2 million people, according to the New York Times.

Closing Istanbul's seismic gap

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

The North Anatolian Fault breaks into a complicated network of fault branches under the Marmara Sea, where it passes just 20 kilometers south of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Tobias Hergert

Since 1939, a progression of deadly earthquakes has been marching westward across Turkey’s North Anatolian Fault, stalking the mega-city Istanbul. Just over a decade ago, a magnitude-7.4 quake struck near Izmit, 100 kilometers east of Istanbul, killing 18,000 people. All signs point to Istanbul as the next likely target. But a new study suggests Turkey’s largest city may be struck by a series of moderate earthquakes, rather than one big event.

Geomedia: Twitter gives heads-up to users and officials about earthquakes

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

Twitter stirs up a wide range of reactions — it’s hailed as a vital social networking service by some, despised as the ultimate waste of time by others. But the popular online message board does possess one characteristic that is universally undeniable: speed.

Pacific Northwest earthquake threat heightened?

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

At any given time, a massive earthquake could strike the coast of the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada, the site of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Scientists have long known about the potential earthquake threat to major population centers like Portland, Ore., Seattle, Wash., and Vancouver, British Columbia. But scientists thought that the likely place for such a quake was off the coast. New research, however, extends the region likely to quake farther inland, thus indicating the earthquake threat to the people living in the Pacific Northwest is much higher than scientists realized.

Scientists find watery super-Earth

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

Newly discovered super-Earth GJ 1214b orbits a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth in this artist's conception. David A. Aguilar, CfA

The search for Earth-like planets has never looked better. Scientists say they have discovered a water-rich planet that is only 2.7 times larger than Earth. Although positioned just outside the habitable zone for life, the planet gives scientists their best hope yet that other Earth-like planets exist in our universe.

Shell-shocked: How different creatures deal with an acidifying ocean

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

Ries and one of his students collect specimens. Justin B. Ries

An aragonite conch shell reared under current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (400 ppm) appears normal, but... Justin B. Ries

...when reared under elevated (2,850 ppm) levels, it shows clear signs of dissolution, especially at the upper lip of the shell. Justin B. Ries

An aragonite quahog shell reared at current (400 ppm) atmospheric carbon dioxide levels shows well-formed ridges. Justin B. Ries

Under elevated (2,850 ppm) carbon dioxide, however, the ridges on the shell are nearly dissolved away. Justin B. Ries

A tropical pencil urchin (high-magnesium calcite shell) reared under current (400 ppm) atmospheric carbon dioxide conditions still has well-formed spines. Justin B. Ries

When reared at elevated (2,850 ppm) carbon dioxide, however, another urchin's spines are nearly dissolved away. Justin B. Ries

Justin Ries look at 18 species of marine calcifiers, including crustaceans, corals, bivalves, gastropods, coralline algae and urchins. Justin B. Ries

Staghorn corals, such as these off of Belize, are more vulnerable to ocean acidification because they build their shells from aragonite, not calcite. Castillo, UNC-Chapel Hill

To survive in the ocean, soft-bodied organisms must possess one of five traits: big teeth, toxic flesh, invisibility, quickness or a hard shell. Most marine organisms that employ the latter, called calcifiers, build their hard shells from the mineral calcium carbonate. However, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are making the oceans more acidic — which, in turn, is reducing the concentration of carbonate ions dissolved in seawater that organisms use to build their protective shells and skeletons. Calcifying marine organisms — such as clams, crabs, corals and conchs — may soon find themselves short on building material.

Temblor flattens Turkish towns

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

The magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit eastern Turkey on the East Anatolian Fault. U.S. Geological Survey

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck eastern Turkey at 4:32 a.m. local time Monday. The quake was centered in Elazig province about 625 kilometers east of Turkey’s capital, Ankara. The earthquake toppled buildings, flattened homes, injured at least 100 people and killed 57, according to the Associated Press.