November 2014 on EARTH Magazine

2014 Commentaries

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 10:40:49 -0500

For our 2014 year-end issue, we decided to continue a new tradition begun last year, once again asking the EARTH editorial team and several of our regular contributors to offer short commentaries on topics that caught their fancy or ideas they’ve been mulling over the course of the year. The topics are often very personal and are quite varied, although many of the contributions seem to tie into one of two themes: lists and family.

Polar dino tracks show full ecosystem

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 20:38:33 -0500

Researchers recently uncovered a new dinosaur tracksite in Alaska’s Denali National Park. The well-preserved Late Cretaceous footprints were left by duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs. Most of the tracks are incredibly detailed, and some even show some skin impressions; they represent animals of various ages. Given the wealth of data, the tracks provide insight into the herd dynamics and paleobiology of the greenhouse-world Arctic.

Inland earthquake triggers distant tsunami

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 20:32:31 -0500

On Sept. 24, 2013, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck southern Pakistan, killing more than 800 people. The quake made global headlines in part due to the birth of a small island it triggered just off the coast — a mound of mud dubbed Quake Island that has since washed away. A new study has found evidence of another curious event linked to the quake: a small tsunami that appears to have been remotely triggered by a submarine landslide far from the earthquake’s inland epicenter.

Geologic Column: Get busy living!

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 20:13:04 -0500

Credit: ©shutterstock.com/Sunnystudio.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.” So says a long-imprisoned, recently released convict grappling with the task of facing life in the world outside the prison walls in the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption.” In many ways, it makes a fitting question for one who has just faced a health crisis, as I recently learned.

Energy Notes: June 2013-2014

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:43:46 -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: Mica

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:11:53 -0500

Jason Christopher Willett, a mineral commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, compiled the following information on mica.

Sheets of muscovite and biotite mica litter the ground at the Ruggles Mine in Grafton, N.H., where mica was discovered in 1803. Credit: ©James St. John, CC BY 2.0.

The mica mineral group includes 34 phyllosilicate minerals, all with a layered, platy texture. The mineral has been known for millennia: Mica was first mined in India about 4,000 years ago, where it was used primarily in medicines. The Mayans used it for decorative effect in stucco to make their temples sparkle in the sun. Today it is used in everything from electrical products to makeup.

Down to Earth With: CEO and Geo-Data miner Nicole Barlow

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 13:00:06 -0500

Nicole Barlow runs Purple Rock, Inc., a company she created to mine for nuggets of geologic knowledge stashed in old documents that fill up store rooms, boxes and filing cabinets. Credit: Nicole Barlow.

Miners are the classic geo-entrepreneurs. Nicole Barlow is a new kind of geo-entrepreneur: She also mines — but instead of rocks, she digs into dark data. That’s all the information stored away in file cabinets, boxes and geological survey store rooms. And instead of finding gold or silver, she uncovers nuggets of information and digitizes old documents.

Getting there and getting around Scotland

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 10:19:24 -0500

The main bus terminal (above) is located right next to Edinburgh's Waverly Train Station, also a hub for car rentals. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

To visit Scotland, fly into Edinburgh or take a train from London. Arthur’s Seat is within walking distance of the Royal Mile and downtown Edinburgh. Scotland has a good train and bus system with routes to the Highlands, but traveling between the smaller villages is easier by private car, if you can handle driving on the left-hand side of the road. The Cairngorm Mountains are best approached from Braemar, Tomintoul, Aviemore or Kingusse, all small towns with hotels and restaurants that cater to tourists visiting the park.

Living mountains and wild places

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 10:00:12 -0500

The Pools of Dee, located in the heart of the Lairig Ghru, are the headwaters for the River Dee. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

Mountains often boast a strong literary tradition, and the legendary Cairngorms are no exception. Two of the Highlands’ most geo-minded authors are Nan Shepherd and Robert Macfarlane. Shepherd was born in 1893 and spent her whole life in Aberdeen, exploring the Cairngorm Mountains. Among the first female mountaineers, Shepherd also wrote novels, poetry and one nonfiction ode to the Cairngorms called “The Living Mountain.”

Bag your first Munro

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 09:18:56 -0500

Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

One of the founding members of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, Hugh Munro, compiled a list of all the mountains in Scotland taller than 3,000 feet (914.4 meters), which are now called Munros. At present, there are 283, although this number has changed over time due to improvements in surveying and mapping. Munro-bagging is a national pastime in Scotland; for some dedicated Scots, summiting all the Munros is a lifelong project.

Travels in Geology: The inspiring, globe-trotting rocks of Scotland

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:21:47 -0500

One of many small lochs, also known as a lochans, in the Cairngorm Mountains. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

As the birthplace of both modern geology and the sport of mountaineering, Scotland is home to some incredible, inspiring rocks. For a relatively small landmass — less than 80,000 square kilometers — England’s northern neighbor boasts incredible geologic diversity — the product of a 3-billion-year tectonic journey from the South Pole to its current position.

Comment: How much hazard mitigation is enough?

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:24:17 -0400

Aerial views of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast. Credit: New Jersey National Guard.

After Hurricane Sandy caused about $65 billion of damage to the U.S. East Coast in 2012, the question of how to reduce damage from future storms came under extensive discussion. This question illustrates the complexity of preparing for natural disasters.

Rome's lead water pipes likely not a health risk

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:10:33 -0400

A lead pipe that supplied water to the Roman Baths in Bath, England. Credit: ©gds, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Ancient Rome was renowned for its vast and advanced plumbing system that brought freshwater to the city through viaducts and distributed it to the population via metal and clay pipes. But Rome’s civil engineers didn’t know about the neurological effects of lead in drinking water as we do today.

Massive icebergs scoured Arctic seafloor

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:04:25 -0400

In August 1990, the R/V Polarstern departed Tromsø, Norway, to investigate the ocean bottom bathymetry of the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard. More than 20 years later, marine geologist Jan Erik Arndt and his colleagues at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany, were reviewing data from the cruise when they discovered something new — the deepest evidence of iceberg scouring ever found.

Seismic friction causes fault iridescence

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:58:56 -0400

Geologist Mitch Prante examines thin hematite layers on a fault surface that recorded ancient seismicity in the Wasatch Fault Zone in Utah. Credit: Jim Evans.

Although iridescent spots on rocks in Utah’s Wasatch Fault Zone were first recognized two decades ago, scientists haven’t understood their origin, until now. New research shows that the iridescence appears on fault surfaces subjected to flash heating from friction and that the spots can provide clues to ancient seismic events.

Red Planet Roundup: November 2014

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:54:18 -0400

As Curiosity and Opportunity rove around Mars, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Mars Express and Mars Odyssey orbit above, and scientists on Earth study the Red Planet from afar, new findings are announced almost weekly. Here are a few of the latest updates.

Ohio millers imported French stone

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:44:57 -0400

Freshwater snail fossils were key in determining the French origins of millstones found in Ohio. Credit: Joseph Hannibal.

What’s the difference between France and Ohio? A few fossils. Common Ohio chert looks like a rock called French buhr found around Paris, except for a couple of fossils. Researchers say these fossils can be used to distinguish the Ohio flint from its often-misidentified French lookalike.

Seasonal ice-cover reduction throughout Arctic waters mapped

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:41:43 -0400

A new 35-year-long look at the extent of Arctic sea-ice seasons indicates that shortening sea-ice seasons are a consequence of Arctic warming. Credit: Claire Parkinson.

Nowhere is climatic warming more evident than in the Arctic. Arctic air has warmed almost twice as much compared to the global average in recent decades, and Arctic sea-ice extent has hit historic lows in the last decade.

Russian earthquake ruptures superfast and deep

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:31:09 -0400

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Aivazovsky

A “superfast” magnitude-6.7 earthquake was detected off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia, in May. The earthquake, called a “supershear” quake, is one of a handful of superfast earthquakes noted by researchers over the years, but this is the first identified at such great depth.

New lunar research answers old questions, poses others

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 21:12:09 -0400

This optical micrograph shows pyroclastic glass beads in a lunar rock sample brought back during the Apollo missions. Scientists detected lunar water in glass beads similar to these in 2008. Credit: G.J. Taylor, HIGP.

From its close perch in the sky, the moon has long mystified artists, lovers and scientists. Now a quartet of recent papers — all of which touch on the moon’s violent birth and turbulent infancy — may help scientists put two long-standing lunar mysteries to rest, while deepening a third enigma and suggesting a speculative solution to a fourth.

Past penguin populations not dependent on ice extent

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:27:55 -0400

In the past, populations of Chinstrap and Adélie penguins (shown here) increased in number during times of gradual warming in Antarctica. Credit: ©Shutterstock.com/axily.

Penguins’ lives revolve around ice, so it seems they might be particularly vulnerable to changing ice conditions and ice loss. But a new study charting the rise and fall of penguin populations over the last 30,000 years suggests that past populations have actually increased during times of climate warming and retreating ice.

Harpooning space debris

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:20:51 -0400

Credit: Callan Bentley.

Harpooning was first used to spear fish, and later whales, but has yet to be used in space. Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is considering the ancient technique to capture rogue satellites interfering with important orbits.

Mercury formed by hit and run?

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:10:27 -0400

Mercury is iron rich and lacks a mantle, unlike its silicate-rich neighbors Venus and Earth. Credit: NASA.

The solar system was once as busy as a store parking lot on Black Friday. Collisions were common in the early days, and new evidence of a hit-and-run scenario may explain some of Mercury’s peculiarities.

Clues to limestone weathering written in Western Wall

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:01:52 -0400

Builders and masons take note: When it comes to the durability of limestone, grain size matters. New research combining field and lab data shows that fine-grained limestone is more susceptible than its coarser-grained cousins to a one-two punch of chemical and mechanical weathering. The findings, which arose in part from observations of Jerusalem’s historic Western Wall, could have implications for Earth’s carbon cycle and landscape — as well as for architectural preservation.

Benchmarks: November 8, 2013: Super-typhoon Haiyan tests Philippines warning protocols

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 19:34:30 -0400

Should we rethink our warning terminology?

On the morning of Nov. 8, 2013, Super-Typhoon Haiyan struck the east-central Philippines with sustained wind speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour. In a mere eight hours, the storm cut a path of total devastation over an area of 300 square kilometers, an area roughly the size of Seattle. More than 7,800 people were confirmed dead or missing and 27,000 injured; more than 4 million were displaced from their homes. Economic losses to homes, infrastructure and agriculture reached more than $12 billion (U.S.).

Geologic Column: Geography as destiny: How glaciation led to the Civil War

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 19:11:01 -0400

credit: Michael Collier.

It intrigues me how geography — a product of dynamic processes shaping Earth’s surface — influences our lives, culture and even plays a hand in the affairs of nations. Take, for example, the last glacial maximum, which shaped parts of North America roughly 20,000 years ago, and in doing so contributed to factors that eventually led to the American Civil War.

Comment: IPCC faces challenges in communicating climate science

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 18:04:14 -0400

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released piecemeal over the last year, reports “unequivocal” warming of the climate system due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, further emphasizing the need for global mitigation and adaptation schemes. But not everyone is ready to curtail carbon emissions, and the increasing clamor from skeptics and deniers — along with potential overstatements and even understatements by scientists — creates a polarized political environment that complicates efforts to communicate science effectively.

Energy notes: May 2013-2014

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:37:58 -0400

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: Zeolites

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 16:49:50 -0400

Robert Virta, a mineral commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared the following information about the zeolite industry.

Zeolites comprise a group of silicate minerals with very open crystalline structures that make them suitable for catalytic, ion exchange and molecular sieving applications. Aluminum, silicon and oxygen atoms are arranged in a 3-D framework of channels and cages. Water molecules and cations, such as calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium, occupy these interconnected channels and cages. The cations can readily substitute for one another, and water molecules may be gained or lost without any major changes to the basic zeolite crystal structure.

Down to Earth With: Molecular biologist Sarah L. Anzick

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:18:33 -0400

Sarah L. Anzick was 2 years old when a Clovis burial site was found on her family's ranch in 1968. In 2014, she was part of the team that analyzed the infant's genome, which shows that modern Native Americans evolved in the Americas. Credit: Sarah L. Anzick.

In May 1968, when Sarah L. Anzick was 2 years old, the 12,600-year-old remains of a male toddler were discovered at the base of a bluff on her family’s ranch near Wilsall, Mont. The Anzick infant — one of just a handful of ancient skeletons to have been found in North America and the only known Clovis burial site — had been carefully buried with more than 100 stone and bone tools.

Getting there and getting around Bali

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 10:56:59 -0400

Visitors to Bali arrive at the Ngurah Rai International Airport on the island’s southern side. No direct flights are available from the U.S.; most itineraries route through a major East Asian hub. To travel between Bali and the neighboring islands of Java or Lombok, you can either catch a short domestic flight (options include Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air) or take a short, though frequently rough, ferry ride.

Travels in Geology: Bali beckons

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 09:14:23 -0400

Bali is the top tourist destination in Indonesia — a vast archipelago of more than 18,000 islands stretching more than 5,000 kilometers between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Credit: ©Shutterstock.com/KKulikov.

In Indonesia — a vast archipelago of more than 18,000 islands stretching more than 5,000 kilometers between the Indian and Pacific oceans — Bali is the top tourist destination. The compact island boasts everything a visitor could want: copious sun, sand and surf, flavorful food and fruity libations, stunning sunsets, and verdant rice paddies tucked beneath misty mountains. It also has a number of geo-attractions, including hot springs and Indonesia’s first global geopark. But it’s the engaging, friendly and colorful Hindu culture — from the elaborate temples and dance performances to the ubiquitous religious offerings — that makes Bali such a vibrant and exotic destination. It was a requisite side trip for our family on a recent sabbatical in Australia.

Solar storms cause spike in electrical insurance claims

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 20:57:19 -0400

A new study suggests that solar storms correlate with upticks in business insurance claims for complications such as electrical surges, arcing and overheating. Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI.

On March 13, 1989, a geomagnetic storm spawned by a solar outburst struck Earth, triggering instabilities in the electric power grid that serves much of eastern Canada and the U.S. The storm led to blackouts for more than 6 million customers and caused tens of millions of dollars in damages and economic losses. More than 25 years later, the possibility of such a catastrophe still looms, and the day-to-day effects of space weather on electrical systems remain difficult to quantify. Now, a new study correlating electrical insurance claims with geomagnetic data suggests that even moderate space weather may play a significant role in destabilizing the power grid.

Tiny ants are heroic weathering agents

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:28:59 -0400

Over geologic timescales, weathering of silicate minerals — which account for more than 90 percent of all crustal rocks on Earth — plays a significant role in decreasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as carbon dioxide is consumed in chemical weathering reactions and the resultant carbonate becomes sequestered in the form of limestone and dolomite.

Can renewable energy and desalination tackle two problems at once?

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:31:03 -0400

Over the past four years, a record-setting drought has impacted Texas, the second-most populous state in the U.S. The drought started in October 2010, and 2011 was the driest year on record for Texas, with an average of less than 40 centimeters of rain falling across the state. Today, more than 60 percent of the state is still experiencing some degree of drought, leaving reservoirs less than two-thirds full and impacting more than 15 million people. Stories of dry riverbeds and cities using their wastewater as a source for drinking water fill the headlines. Meanwhile, the state has continued to grow faster than all but two other parts of the U.S. (North Dakota and the District of Columbia), and electric grid operators worry about meeting demand.

Casting a seismic shadow

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:22:09 -0400

Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI.

In the week or two before the magnitude-8.6 Indian Ocean earthquake in 2012, Earth was unusually quiet, with few large quakes over magnitude 5. Afterward, seismic activity all over the globe was elevated for more than a week. Then, suddenly, global seismicity dropped off precipitously: Beginning two weeks after the mainshock, no earthquakes of magnitude-6.5 or greater occurred for 95 days.

Triggered tremor along the San Andreas Fault

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:14:29 -0400

The San Andreas Fault (SAF) in California is one of the most active in the U.S., but the 1,300-kilometer-long strike-slip fault seems to only be susceptible to small-scale dynamic triggering. After the magnitude-9 Tohoku quake in Japan in 2011, the SAF experienced an elevated incidence of tremor up and down its length. The tiny tremors were recorded at depths between 16 and 30 kilometers, below the fault’s seismogenic zone.

Remote triggering of ice quakes

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 12:19:30 -0400

The HOWD seismic station in Antarctica where ice quakes were measured following the Maule earthquake in Chile. Credit: Erik Kendrick, Ohio State University.

On Feb. 27, 2010, a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck the subduction zone off the coast of Chile. The resulting Rayleigh surface waves rippled around the world, triggering small earthquakes in many different tectonic settings, including Antarctica. As the surface waves moved across the white continent, a third of Antarctic seismic stations reported shaking coming from so-called “ice quakes.”

We're all living in the global aftershock zone

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 11:34:29 -0400

Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI.

When large back-to-back earthquakes hit Earth — and the headlines — many people wonder if the events are linked. Can one earthquake trigger another hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away? The answer, scientists say, is yes, although it appears the hazards of such triggering may not be that dangerous.

Calculating America's energy landscape

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 10:04:25 -0400

Large concentrated solar power plants, like this one in the Mojave Desert, have big a footprint on landscapes. Credit: Alan Radecki.

Studying the landscape-scale impact of energy development, especially renewable energies, requires working at the interface where policy, business, activism, scientific research and stakeholders overlap. But determining broad-scale impacts comes down to having solid data — on key species, slope aspect, transmission distance and more — to understand and predict what happens on energy landscapes. Collecting, analyzing and sharing such data was the focus of several symposia at last summer’s North America Congress for Conservation Biology meeting in Montana.

Geomedia: 'Dinosaur 13' chisels away at the story behind discovery of Sue

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:56:42 -0400

'Dinosaur 13' opens in theaters Friday, Aug. 15.

As the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, “Sue” is an icon. She even has her own logo and her own Twitter account. Sue made history in the early 1990s, and not just for being a major paleontological discovery: The human drama that unfolded afterward is the focus of the 2002 book “Rex Appeal,” and, now, the subject of a new documentary, “Dinosaur 13,” to be released in theaters Aug. 15.