September 2011 on EARTH Magazine

Energy Notes: May 2010-2011

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 15:38:50 -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: Rare Earth Elements

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 10:12:13 -0400

Daniel J. Cordier, rare earth commodity specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, has prepared the following information on the rare earths, which have been used commercially since the 1880s.

The Sulfide Queen rare earth element mine in Mountain Pass, Calif. The U.S. has not mined rare earth minerals since 2002. Credit: Daniel J. Cordier

The rare earths are a group of 17 metallic elements that occur in nature as nonmetallic compounds. Ironically, they’re not at all rare: As a group, they are about as abundant as lead in Earth’s crust. Rare earths earned their name to distinguish them from the alkaline earth elements (like beryllium, calcium and magnesium) that were found in the same deposits where rare earths were first discovered in Scandinavia in the late 1800s.

Travels in Geology: Nova Scotia: A driving tour of Pangaea

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 13:59:54 -0400

What’s the quickest way to see the Scottish Highlands and Africa? Take a trip to Nova Scotia. The southeastern Canadian province is a mash-up of continental fragments whose landscape testifies to the power of glacial and tidal forces. Slightly smaller than West Virginia, the province is easy to get around and is packed with geological sites without being overwhelming.

Getting There and Getting Around Nova Scotia

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 13:50:53 -0400

Getting to Nova Scotia is easy by plane, car or ferry. Most flights arrive in Halifax, roughly in the middle of the province. If you’re driving from the United States, take New Brunswick Route One from the Maine border to meet up with the Trans-Canada Highway, which meanders through the province; however, it’s an eight-hour trip from Bangor, Maine, to Halifax and there’s not a lot to do or see along the way. A shorter route is to take the car ferry that sails from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Digby, on Nova Scotia’s northwestern coast. It takes a few hours, but there are several trips daily and it beats having to drive all the way around the Bay of Fundy.

A day without Glory

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

Glory was expected to fly in a low-Earth orbit about 705 kilometers above Earth's surface. NASA

Glory was set to join the "Afternoon Constellation" or "A-train" of polar-orbiting satellites. NASA

On a warm afternoon in early March, the Taurus XL rocket that was prepped for launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California looked more like a giant chopstick standing on end than a potential game changer in the debate over climate change science. The barrel-shaped satellite that the rocket carried — named Glory — was designed to deliver critical information about small airborne particles called aerosols. The elusive particles account for much of the uncertainty in climate models, and data from the satellite would have helped scientists determine more of the aerosols’ key properties than ever before. Instead, before dawn the next morning and just minutes after launch, Glory’s remains crashed into the southern Pacific Ocean near Antarctica.

All that glitters... Acid mine drainage: The toxic legacy of gold mining in South Africa

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

Acid mine drainage coats the hippos at Hippo Dam at the Krugersdorp Game Reserve. © Stephan du Toit, 2011

Mining communities in the Witwatersrand goldfields are often built near, or on top of, tailings piles that contain uranium dust. © Stephan du Toit, 2011

Pumps at the Grootvlei Mine in South Africa's Easter Basin before pumping ceased in early 2011. South African Water Research Commission

In 1947, in a dolomite cave 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, anthropologist Robert Broom discovered a 2.05-millionyear- old adult australopithecine skull, one of the oldest and most important hominid fossils ever found. The caves of the Sterkfontein Valley have since produced a treasure trove of australopithecine fossils along with evidence of the early use of stone tools and fire, prompting UNESCO in 1999 to name it the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. For 2 million years, the site has preserved evidence of human origins and evolution — but the activities of modern humans are now threatening its existence.

Benchmarks: September 30, 1861: Archaeopteryx is discovered and described

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

_Archaeopteryx _was first discovered and described in 1861. WitmerLab at Ohio University

_Archaeopteryx _was originally identified based on the fossil of a single feather. WitmerLab at Ohio University

_Archaeopteryx lithographica_, Solnhofen specimen, as displayed at the Munich Mineral Show in Germany in 2009. H. Raab, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

The Solnhofen limestone of southern Germany has a storied history. First quarried nearly 2,000 years ago by the Romans, the dense, fine-grained stone gained fame in the early 1800s for its use in lithography. In 1798, Alois Senefelder discovered that a combination of acid etching and drawing with a wax crayon allowed him to create a surface that produced highly precise images. So valued is the Solnhofen lithographic limestone that people still use it today despite the development of cheaper and simpler techniques.

Charting a course correction: A review of Earth: The Operators' Manual

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

Rare are the scientists like Richard Alley. An exceptional researcher known for his work on the great polar ice sheets, he is also a central figure in policy discourse on climate change through his testimony in front of Congress and work with groups such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for which he shared in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Alley is also an outstanding communicator: His audiences at scientific meetings typically overflow the room, and he is enviably comfortable speaking to eight-year-olds. His new work, entitled “Earth: The Operators’ Manual” (ETOM), is a succinct discussion of how our actions affect Earth’s climate, as well as a compelling and hopeful call-to-arms to address warming. ETOM is also a truly multimedia affair, consisting of a book, a three-part miniseries for PBS and public television, outreach events at five major science centers and a website (http://earththeoperatorsmanual.com) for the general public.

CryoScoop: Sea ice synopsis and a whale tale

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

Arctic sea ice in September 2011 shows an open Northwest Passage (red) and a minimum extent that falls below the average for last 30 years (yellow). NASA

Kathryn Hansen is an associate editor at EARTH and writes the CryoScoop blog. Lora Koenig

The extent of Arctic sea ice shrinks each year during the northern hemisphere’s spring and summer, trading a white frozen surface for dark open ocean. Reaching its lowest annual extent by September or October, the ice grows back again through the cold and dark winter months.

CryoScoop: Woolly rhino traveled with an ice scraper

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

An artist's reconstruction shows how the Tibetan woolly rhino might have used its flattened horn to sweep away the snow and look for vegetation. Julie Naylor

As global climate cooled and cold habitats expanded, woolly rhinos descended in latitude. Xiaoming Wang and Laura Saila

Rock exposures in the Himalayas' Zanda Basin are a paleontologic nirvana for fossil-hunters. Xiaoming Wang

Kathryn Hansen is an associate editor at EARTH and writes the CryoScoop blog. Lora Koenig

The discovery of a woolly rhino fossil in Tibet that predates the last glacial maximum shows how these and possibly other creatures were already adapted for the cold climate to come.

Down to Earth With: Nobel Prize winner Adam Riess

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

Adam Riess is sharing the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for his team's discovery that the universe is expanding rapidly. Gail Burton, MacArthur Foundation

Astronomer Adam Riess and his team made a huge splash in 1998 when they announced they had discovered something called dark energy, the major component of our universe. They had been studying supernovae — exploding stars — to learn more about how fast our universe is expanding. By measuring the brightness and color of the light from a supernova, astronomers can tell how far the light has traveled and how its speed has changed over its journey. Riess’ calculations led to the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating due to the repulsive force of dark energy. His discovery was called 1998’s “Breakthrough of the Year” by Science magazine.

Move over Homo habilis: Early human evolution remapped

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

The cranium of the juvenile_ Australopithecus sedib_a. Brett Eloff, picture courtesy of Lee Berger and the University of the Witwatersrand

Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand with the _Australopithecus sediba_ skull. Picture courtesy of Lee Berger and the University of the Witwatersrand

_Australopithecus sediba_ skull reconstruction. ESRF, picture courtesy of Lee Berger and the University of the Witwatersrand

Reconstructed pelvises of the juvenile male (left) and adult female (right) _Australopithecus sediba_ specimens. Peter Schmid, courtesy of Lee Berger and the University of the Witwatersrand

Right hand of the adult female _Australopithecus sediba_ against a modern human hand. Peter Schmid, courtesy of Lee Berger and the University of the Witwatersrand

Mapping out how one species of early hominin branches to another has always been complicated by the rarity of complete specimens and lack of precise dating methods for fossils more than 50,000 years old. Now researchers studying the braincase, pelvis, hands and feet of a primitive hominin — which lived about the same time early Homo species were evolving — are taking full advantage of a rare, nearly complete assemblage of fossils and a new highly accurate dating method to once again redraw humankind’s ancient lineage.

Thinking outside the rocks in the search for ancient earthquakes

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

Ancient amphitheater in Pinara, Turkey, a site known to have been struck by earthquakes. Osmanyaylali, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

This famous Japanese color woodblock entitled "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), depicts a large tsunami wave with Mt. Fuji in the background. Library of Congress

Multiple views of a Roman mausoleum in Pinara, Turkey, show how 3-D laser models are used to test different destructive scenarios like earthquakes and rockfalls. The damage to this structure is most consistent with a large earthquake. Klaus-G. Hinzen

The eyewitness accounts, written in columns from right to left, top to bottom, testify that there was no warning of the tsunami, no shaking to drive villagers to high ground before the wave hit, drowning rice paddies and swamping a castle moat. The entries, written by merchants, peasants and samurai, all clearly mark the time and date: just after midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 1700.

Travels in Geology: Glacial pools to sea caves: A tour of New Zealand's South Island

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

The limestone layers of Pancake Rocks with a view of the rugged West Coast near Punakaiki. Laurie J. Schmidt

The sedimentary Moeraki Boulders lie scattered along the Koekohe Beach on New Zealand's Otago Coast. Laurie J. Schmidt

Wharariki Beach's surreal vista of arches and caves. Laurie J. Schmidt

New Zealand has a reputation for extreme adventure — sky diving, jet boating, bungee jumping and even “zorbing,” which sends you rolling down a hill inside a transparent plastic ball. But beyond the adrenaline sports, you’ll find unique geologic features in landscapes ranging from volcanoes and alpine peaks to beaches and rainforests.

Voices: Climate change and civil conflict: New clues from El Nino

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

New research suggests that countries where the majority of the population lives in areas that become much warmer in El Niño years (red) are more likely to experience wars than countries with temperatures that are less affected (blue). Hsiang et al., courtesy of Nature

In 2007, 11 retired admirals and generals from the U.S. armed forces published a report arguing that global climate changes represented a major threat to global security. That same year, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon argued in a Washington Post op-ed that the ongoing Sudanese civil conflict was, in part, attributable to climatic changes. By combining new techniques from climate physics and econometrics, my colleagues and I have found evidence that there is some truth in these statements. Indeed, the global climate can influence the outbreak of civil wars.

When the dust settles: Investigating lingering health questions 10 years after 9/11

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

Beyond characterizing the minerals in the dust cloud, U.S. Geological Survey and NASA scientists helped identify long-burning fires beneath the rubble. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Jim Watson

Satellite images taken by Landsat 7 after the attack show the smoke and dust plume across lower Manhattan. NASA

Five days after the Twin Towers collapsed, two geoscientists boarded a plane from Denver to New York City. They were part of a team that would use remote sensing techniques to categorize the hazards that might affect the rescue workers, civilians and survivors of the terrorist attacks. One of their immediate tasks involved identifying long-burning fires under the rubble. A second was to create a compositional profile of the debris cloud that resulted from the devastation. Part of the project was to be completed immediately using remote sensing, and part would take several months.