Technology on EARTH Magazine

Folding drone flies into tight spaces

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 15:51:50 -0400

A new drone can fold itself to squeeze through gaps and then return to its previous shape, all while continuing to fly. Credit: UZH.

Drones can go many places humans can’t, and a new foldable drone is squeezing into even tighter, more dangerous places than ever before. Inspired by birds that can fold their wings in midair to fly through cramped spaces, researchers have created a drone that can fold into various configurations while maintaining stable flight.

Eyes in the sea: Swarms of floating robots observe the oceans

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 12:31:05 -0500

When Scripps biological oceanographer Peter Franks needed a way to mimic planktonic movements in the ocean, Scripps research oceanographer Jules Jaffe created low-cost "miniature autonomous underwater explorers," or M-AUEs. The M-AUEs can be deployed in swarms to track planktonic movements as well as small-scale circulation patterns, oil spill dispersion or even sewage movement. Credit: Jaffe Lab for Underwater Imaging, Scripps Oceanography, UC San Diego.

In 1999, Peter Franks, a biological oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, published a hypothesis that, to his knowledge, nobody had previously considered. Using a mathematical model, he showed how tiny zooplankton and phytoplankton could interact with ocean currents driven by internal waves — slow-moving waves within the ocean that form between water layers of differing density — and form patchy bands running parallel to shorelines. These patches of plankton could benefit from being squeezed together by wave action, he thought, by being better able to feed, survive or even reproduce.

Science by floats

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 12:46:27 -0500

The Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM) set out four years ago to study the Southern Ocean and its role and influence on global climate. The main mission of the project was to increase Southern Ocean observations, especially during the frigid winter months, to better understand climate change and biogeochemistry.

Underwater WiFi? Rising sea levels threaten physical internet

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 13:02:04 -0400

On this map of Miami, blue areas are projected to be underwater by 2118, according to NOAA. Undersea, long-haul and local metro fiber cables are shown, respectively, in red, green and black. Credit: Paul Barford, UW-Madison.

It seems like you can find wireless internet almost anywhere now, but the backbone of the internet is wired: Infrastructure such as fiber optic cables, data centers, traffic exchanges and hubs keeps us connected. In many coastal cities, however, these critical communication pieces are facing increasing risk from rising seas. A new study shows that thousands of kilometers of cables and hundreds of internet traffic hubs will be inundated by rising sea levels in the next 15 years, putting coastal cities like New York, Miami and Seattle at risk for widespread disruptions.

Down to Earth With: Maria Zuber

Wed, 23 May 2018 16:48:13 -0400

In 2011, a pair of orbiters will launch for the moon, making some of the most exact measurements yet of our satellite. Luckily for the orbiters, they’ll have Maria Zuber at the helm. A geophysicist at MIT, Zuber was recently named one of “America’s Best Leaders” last year by U.S. News & World Report for her role in establishing women in high-level science. The moon orbiters alone will make her one of the first women to lead a NASA robotic space mission. Recently, Zuber talked with EARTH reporter Brian Fisher Johnson about the mission, leadership and saving the economy.

Down to Earth With: Geologist and paleontologist David Wilcots

Tue, 01 May 2018 12:10:02 -0400

David Wilcots is a senior geologist and manager of environmental projects at Sci-Tek Consultants, Inc., in Philadelphia. He is also a paleontologist and participates in fossil hunting expeditions in the West. Credit: Thea Boodhoo.

When David Wilcots was 4 years old, his parents took him to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where he encountered his first giant dinosaur skeleton: a roughly 27-meter-long sauropod named Apatosaurus (though at the time it was still popularly known as Brontosaurus). “That just blew my mind,” he remembers. His passion for paleontology grew, branching from dinosaurs into early mammals, and led him to major in geology at Temple University in Philadelphia. In 1988, he earned a master’s in geology at Fort Hays State University in Kansas.

Fieldwork among the pixels: Virtual and augmented reality diversify geoscience education

Tue, 01 May 2018 10:51:05 -0400

A photosphere view of a glacial erratic featured in a virtual reality geology field trip to Columns of the Giants in the Sierra Nevada of California. Credit: Ryan Hollister.

by Sarah Derouin

Battery recycling underlies elevated lead in African soils

Tue, 10 Apr 2018 11:22:11 -0400

Lead-acid batteries — used to power motor vehicles and cellphone towers, and for power storage at wind and solar farms — are one of the most recyclable products, but they are also highly toxic. Credit: baselactionnetwork, CC BY-ND 2.0.

Of all the recycling industries in the world, lead-acid battery recycling is one of the most profitable — and one of the most toxic. In the U.S., regulations on the industry have dramatically reduced lead exposure and pollution at battery recycling plants. But in Africa, where the industry is growing and largely unregulated, lead levels are skyrocketing. A new study in Environmental Research looking at environmental lead levels in seven African countries is shining a spotlight on the ongoing public health crisis.

Benchmarks: April 4, 2011: Air France Flight 447 wreckage found using modern oceanography tools

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 14:32:27 -0400

On June 1, 2009, Air France flight 447 (AF447) from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near the mid-ocean ridge, killing all 228 passengers and crew aboard. Credit: BEA, France, bea.aero.

In the early morning hours of March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 (MH370), en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, lost communication with air traffic control during the transition between Malaysian and Vietnamese air space. It then disappeared, along with all 239 people aboard.

Measuring earthquakes using fiber-optic cables

Mon, 19 Mar 2018 14:09:33 -0400

Nathaniel Lindsey of the University of California, Berkeley, buries fiber-optic cable in a trench near Fairbanks, Alaska, to record earthquake seismicity. Credit: left: Anna Wagner; right: Nathaniel Lindsey.

Fiber-optic cables crisscross the world, ferrying digital data and enabling internet access and telecommunication. In a new study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers tested whether fiber-optic cables can also be used to detect and measure earthquakes.

Geomedia: Books: Putting 'Seeds on Ice' to protect crop diversity

Fri, 12 Jan 2018 14:48:22 -0500

"Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault," Cary Fowler, Prospecta Press, 2016, ISBN: 9781632260574

“Tucked away, deep underground, in a frozen corner of the Scandinavian north is the safety net for our food supply. The Global Seed Vault, on the island of Spitsbergen in Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago and popularly known as the “doomsday vault,” shelters our most precious seeds from possible global catastrophe.

Stable isotopes offer novel methods of disease detection

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:38:41 -0500

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the American record for the longest cumulative time spent in space at 665 days. Bone loss is a serious concern for space travelers — in less than half a year, they can lose up to a third of what a nonspace-traveler would expect to lose in a lifetime — so NASA monitors the bone density of astronauts. Credit: NASA.

Astronauts lead dangerous lives. Besides the inherent risks of blastoff, re-entry and space flight, astronauts experience myriad physical changes from spending time in microgravity. They’re frequently monitored for kidney stones, for example, and for muscle and bone loss that result from a prolonged lack of gravity. How to combat the bone deterioration seen during extended time in space is one of the key questions NASA hopes to resolve before sending people on longer missions, such as to Mars.

From space to village: NASA's SERVIR program brings a big picture to local communities

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:43:49 -0500

Through its SERVIR program, NASA is putting geospatial satellite images and analysis tools into the hands of local decision-makers around the world to help them address natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Credit: K. Cantner, AGI (base image: ©iStockphoto.com/sushi7688).

Life is tightly linked to weather in the Lower Mekong countries of Southeast Asia, and the weather is rarely still. In 2016, the Mekong River was at its lowest level since 1926 as the region endured the second season of its worst drought in 90 years. The drought was felt across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, jeopardizing exports like rice, seafood and fruit. In 2015, the Thailand Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives even asked rice farmers to delay their early summer planting because of water shortages, a move with big financial risks.

In the lab, machine learning improves quake forecasts

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:37:11 -0500

Researchers used machine learning to analyze acoustic signals (bottom signal) from a laboratory fault model subjected to shear stress (top signal) and found the early "groaning, creaking and chattering" emitted by the fault model helped predict when it would fail. Credit: Rouet-Leduc et al., Geophysical Research Letters, September 2017.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that about 500,000 detectable earthquakes occur worldwide every year. But accurate forecasts of when quakes will occur have long been out of reach, in large part because of the complexities of fault behavior.

Comment: Making the first (and last) geoscience class count

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 10:08:48 -0500

From the InTeGrate homepage (serc.carleton.edu/integrate), instructors can navigate to many earth science modules, from programs on water resources or coastal hazards to minerals or diversity. All are designed to bridge science and society. Credit: InTeGrate/Carleton College, Science Education Resource Center.

Imagine that no one had ever taught a general education geoscience course for college students, and that you were given the job of designing such a course from scratch. As you look around today, would your first reaction be, “We’re going to need to spend three or four weeks talking about rocks and minerals”? Or would you be more inclined to discuss the challenges of addressing how the natural processes that sustain the earth system as we know it today — and that support our global community — are changing before our eyes? Not to be glib about it, but while geoscience educators go about our routine of presenting basic facts and concepts, we may be missing an opportunity to engage our students in more compelling conversations involving our science.

Caldera clays may hold key to lithium independence

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 14:29:17 -0500

Oregon's Crater Lake was created when water filled the caldera created by an enormous eruption of Mount Mazama about 7,700 years ago. Clay deposits at the bottom of the lake may concentrate lithium, according to a new study. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

Most of the world’s lithium is mined in South America and Australia. New research suggests that the United States may have its own untapped lithium supplies in lake deposits in the calderas left behind by large volcanic eruptions. In the study, published in Nature Communications, researchers detail a new way to detect deposits of the silvery white metal in places such as Crater Lake in southern Oregon.

Desktop seismology: How a maker-inspired device is changing seismic monitoring

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 12:37:49 -0500

Created in 2016, the Raspberry Shake is a personal seismograph that can detect local to regional earthquakes. The Shake was developed by OSOP, a geophysical instrument company headquartered in Panama. Marketed toward makers and the earthquake-curious, it also has the potential to help professionals increase the station density of seismic monitoring networks. Credit: OSOP.

Earth groans and shimmies constantly, producing everything from occasional building-collapsing earthquakes to subtle shaking humans don’t even feel. There are many ways to track this shaking, ranging from sensitive, expensive seismograph stations to various citizen-science approaches, including the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Did You Feel It?” program, through which people can report what they felt during an earthquake using an online survey.

Geologic Column: Giving Konrad Zuse his due

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 12:02:16 -0400

Statue of Konrad Zuse, Bad Hersfeld, Germany. Credit: Profiler 1888, CC BY-SA 3.0.

German engineer Konrad Zuse is considered the first inventor of the programmable electronic computer in his home country, but sadly, few students elsewhere learn of his pioneering efforts. Zuse’s legacy extends beyond his groundbreaking circuit designs, also encompassing advances in computational theory and even philosophical musings about the computational nature of the universe.

Solar-powered paint could produce hydrogen for fuel

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 11:33:12 -0400

Newly developed solar paint adsorbs moisture from humid air at night and splits the water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen during the day. Credit: RMIT University.

Split a water molecule, and you get hydrogen and oxygen. Burn that hydrogen as fuel and you get water. This straightforward, pollution-free cycle is part of what makes hydrogen so tantalizing as a potential renewable fuel. Unfortunately, splitting water molecules to generate hydrogen is not currently very energy efficient. In fact, more than 95 percent of hydrogen currently used in industry is produced from fossil fuels, not water.

Down to Earth With: Evan Thomas

Fri, 01 Sep 2017 14:37:31 -0400

At age 16, Evan Thomas made a list of 100 life goals — his bucket list. At only 27 years old, he's done pretty well so far: Graduate college with a degree in aerospace engineering — check. Get a doctorate by age 25 — almost (missed by 11 days). Work for NASA — check. Start a business, help people, travel the world — check, check, check. Get a private pilot license — check. Climb the world's tallest mountains — in process. Credit: Courtesy of Evan Thomas.

At age 16, Evan Thomas made a list of 100 life goals — his bucket list. At only 27 years old, he’s done pretty well so far: Graduate college with a degree in aerospace engineering — check. Get a doctorate by age 25 — almost (missed by 11 days). Work for NASA — check. Start a business, help people, travel the world — check, check, check. Get a private pilot license — check. Climb the world’s tallest mountains — in process.

Coatings may prevent pipeline clogs

Fri, 11 Aug 2017 14:01:14 -0400

Clogs caused by the formation of gas hydrates are a major concern for oil and gas pipeline operators. Water-repellent films coating the inside of pipes could prevent hydrate formation. Credit: Luca Galuzzi, CC BY-SA 2.5.

When ice forms in household water pipes, blockages and expansion can cause the pipes to burst. Similar problems can arise in the transportation of oil and gas when ice-like substances called gas hydrates build up inside pipelines — an issue traditionally mitigated by insulating pipes or by using antifreeze additives. But in a new study published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, researchers report an alternative solution: specialized coatings for the inside of oil and gas pipes that prevent hydrate buildups and clogs. The coatings could prove more reliable than the usual approaches, but whether the method can be applied cost-effectively on a large scale is uncertain.

In a position to lead: How military technology and innovation can ease the world's water challenges

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 12:15:13 -0400

Water is run through a solar-powered water filtration system at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hammer in Iraq. Credit: U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Jared Gehmann.

The U.S. military is spread across more than 500 installations worldwide, from small Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in Afghanistan and Iraq that resemble remote villages without water treatment or sanitation infrastructure, to large domestic bases that operate like established municipalities with aging infrastructure. No matter the size or location of a particular installation, though, the military needs a lot of water.

Ash vs. airplanes

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 09:20:44 -0400

Ash from the June 15, 1991, eruption of Mount Pinatubo weighed down the tail of this airplane at Cubi Point Naval Air Station. Credit: U.S. Navy photo by RL Rieger.

Between 1953 and 2009,* there were 129 reported incidents of airplane-ash encounters, with 79 of those causing some degree of airframe or engine damage. Twenty-six involved significant or severe damage, and nine involved some degree of engine shutdown during flight. Most of the encounters occurred within 24 hours of the onset of ash production during an eruption and within 1,000 kilometers of the source volcano. All flights landed safely.

Temblor: An app that brings home your seismic hazard

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:54:47 -0500

Fog blocking ocean views may be an occasional annoyance for homeowners in Pacifica, Calif., but they face far greater hazards from landslides caused by shaking on the nearby San Andreas Fault. Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Spondylolithesis.

When a beautiful old house overlooking the Pacific Ocean — in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco — went on the market, Mike H., the seller’s real estate agent, sold it easily. Twelve potential buyers offered to pay more than the asking price. Perhaps unbeknownst to these eager suitors, however, the house sits about 200 meters from the San Andreas Fault within a mapped high-risk landslide zone.

Comment: To intervene or not to intervene: Improving the environment

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:42:32 -0500

Silviculture is the cultivation of trees. One approach to growing a healthy forest stand is to plant trees of varying ages and sizes, similar to this stand in Germany. Credit: Hans-Peter Ende.

We often view human civilization as an invader of the natural realm, displacing native species in favor of our own creations. Indeed, our technological prowess sometimes leads us to forget that we are biological creatures just like the rest of the world’s inhabitants. Yet we remain inseparable components of Earth’s system. Two competing philosophies provide guides for how we should tread on this planet: Aldo Leopold’s land ethic and John Locke’s land for human use idea. The environmental prescription of Leopold’s land ethic is that we should tread lightly and minimize our intervention. Locke’s philosophy, meanwhile, suggests land and resources are only as good as they are useful to us, such that we should use them freely and intervene as we see fit. But such attitudes may not be as much at odds as they appear, and each overlooks our ability to learn from mistakes of the past. Modern forestry practices — specifically silviculture, or the cultivation of trees — provide examples of the use of human ingenuity to enhance ecosystems, rather than disrupt them.

Geologic Column: Digital divorce!

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 10:25:09 -0400

Credit: Kārlis Dambrāns, CC BY 2.0.

My desire to postpone mental aging by writing Geologic Columns for EARTH got me thinking about the impact of the digital revolution. Our compulsion for constant connection is troubling. A recent road trip to several western national parks with my device-addicted wife underscored the problem. Claudia was often an ethereal presence, compulsively uploading photos of Zion’s cliffs and the rim of the Grand Canyon. She lived in a separate world, emailing shots to friends and family. I was culpable too, agreeing to sneak away from our rim-side cabin, desperate for available Wi-Fi 5 kilometers away.

Thirsty business: How the tech industry is bracing for a water-scarce future

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 09:37:37 -0400

Servers at the Facebook data center in Prineville, Ore., one of the world's most environmentally friendly data centers, use 70 percent less water than Facebook's other data centers. Credit: Facebook, Inc.

Prineville is a sleepy town nestled in the sagebrush desert between the snowy peaks of Cascade volcanoes and the rumpled hills of the Ochoco Mountains. Stunted juniper and shaggy shrubs dot the flat-topped hills that rise above the community of 9,000 people in central Oregon. A narrow ribbon of green — the Crooked River Valley — winds through the parched, buff-colored landscape. It’s striking, but not an obvious place to escape a drought.

Observers at the edge of the ice: Smaller, cheaper machines can safely go where humans can't

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:23:05 -0400

Tourists and glaciologists alike want to get as close to glaciers as is safely possible. Credit: Gary Bembridge, CC BY 2.0 Credit: Gary Bembridge, CC BY 2.0.

Any tourist bound for Greenland or Alaska on a cruise ship would be happy to capture video of a huge chunk of ice as it calves from the face of a glacier hundreds of meters tall or more — filmed from a safe distance of course. When it hits the ocean below, falling ice can send up cascading walls of water that could capsize or drown any vessel that dares too close.

Benchmarks: February 1962 and 1984: John Glenn and Bruce McCandless make space flight history

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 11:25:08 -0500

Left: Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. in his Mercury flight suit. Right: Astronaut Bruce McCandless pilots the Manned Maneuvering Unit during the first untethered spacewalk on Feb. 7, 1984. Credit: both: NASA.

On the morning of Feb. 20, 1962, John H. Glenn sat inside the Mercury Friendship 7 space capsule, perched atop a rocket that had initially been designed to deliver nuclear warheads to the far ends of the world. That rocket would propel Glenn into space, and into the history books, as the first American to orbit Earth.

Geomedia: Apps: Join the crowd: Introducing a new generation of geo-apps

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 15:06:44 -0500

A new app uses smartphones to detect cosmic rays. Credit: Crayfis.io.

At a time when the technical and computing capabilities of science are evolving at breakneck speeds, it might seem like researchers would always seek out more powerful and sophisticated tools to tackle their scientific questions. But some have chosen the opposite strategy: drawing on the dispersed resource of millions of relatively low-tech devices like smartphones and personal computers — and their users.

Geologic Column: Field Sketches

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 10:30:49 -0400

Field sketch from a page of, 'The Geology of New Hampshire: a report comprising the results of explorations ordered by the legislature.' Credit: Public Domain.

I’m not into camping, climbing or caving, but I like fieldwork. My mom, a science teacher, introduced me to collecting minerals and fossils. Before my senior year of high school, I followed my best friend to a 6-week summer research program at the University of Florida. When asked to choose a subject, I listed geology almost by default and was paired with a grad student studying groundwater seepage into a lake. Thirty-five years later, I’m still doing the same kind of work. I enjoy the relevance and intellectual challenge: It’s like playing MacGyver, trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces and a limited set of tools. And the aesthetic appeal of being outdoors reinforces my occasional sense of accomplishment.

Racing to the future of automotive efficiency and performance

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 11:07:30 -0400

The 24-hour Le Mans race is part of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) race series, in which prototypes of the next generation of cars test the limits of speed, endurance and safety. Credit: ©Adrian Hoskins, CC BY 2.0.

“High-performance” and “environmentally friendly” are two phrases not commonly used together to describe race cars. But at the World Endurance Championship (WEC), it’s par for the course. These prototypes are the next generation of cars, testing the limits of speed, endurance and safety. And in just a few years, they may be coming to a lot near you.

New off-the-shelf aerial imaging technique trumps lidar

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 13:55:17 -0400

In recent years lidar has become the gold standard for people looking to make high-resolution aerial maps — from archaeologists studying ruins hidden beneath jungle canopies to engineers monitoring dams and levees. Although the technology has many useful applications, it’s often prohibitively expensive. Now, a new technique using an off-the-shelf digital camera is offering an inexpensive alternative for collecting 3-D aerial data.

Changing the landscape: Geoscientists embrace 3-D printing

Thu, 07 Aug 2014 09:59:19 -0400

Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI.

Franciszek Hasiuk prints T. rex skulls in Iowa State University's school colors using a 3-D printer. He uses these and other printed "fossils" for teaching and outreach. Credit: Franciszek Hasiuk.

In a modest, low-slung room tucked in the back of Oregon State University’s Pacific Slope Archaeological Laboratory, a small box sits quietly buzzing on a countertop and hiccuping each time the mechanical arm inside abruptly changes direction. Behind the box’s clear walls, an object has started to take shape. It looks something like a lumpy plastic pancake, but closer inspection reveals sharp edges and a scalloped surface. It is actually a half-finished replica of an arrowhead excavated from Cooper’s Ferry, Idaho, an idyllic spot along the Salmon River inhabited by early North Americans 13,000 years ago. The box producing it — a 3-D printer called a Replicator 2, designed by the Brooklyn-based company, MakerBot — is much newer.

Crowdfunding spotlight

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 13:52:56 -0400

Science writers at Columbia University used Kickstarter funding to create a calendar of glamour shots of Columbia scientists, including Lisa Goddard and Kátia Fernandes of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Richard Seager and Jason Smerdon of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Credit: all: Charlie Naebeck.

NAME: Rebecca Fowler & Francesco Fiondella, science writers at Columbia University

Crowdfunding science: A new piece of the research grant puzzle

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 13:19:23 -0400

Credit: Kathleen Cantner, AGI

As a leading researcher in the field of atmospheric science, University of Washington scientist Dan Jaffe had never had trouble securing funding for his work on airborne pollutants. Over the past 20 years, he has been awarded more than $7 million dollars in grants from multiple government agencies, from NOAA and NASA, to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). That all changed when he wanted to study the effects of increased coal-train travel through his home state of Washington.

A whale of a wind turbine

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

Humpback whales flout conventional hydrodynamics by sporting 10 to 11 tubercle bumps along the front edge of their flippers. Christopher M. Keane

A Whalepower 'Tubercle Technology' turbine blade. Whalepower

According to conventional wisdom, things that need to move efficiently through air or water should be sleek and streamlined. Dolphins, jets and Olympic swimmers stick to this rule, but humpback whales, with their massive knobby-edged flippers, buck the trend.

Blogging on EARTH: Yellow submarine robot debuts at AGU meeting

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

The robotic submersible in flight mode. It will be tested in March in Lake Tahoe and will head to Antarctica late in 2011. DOER Marine

The submersible ROV looks a lot like a big yellow cigar; it opens up once beneath the ice. DOER Marine

Geologist Ross Powell stands with the DOER submarine ROV that will dive beneath Antarctica in coming years. Northern Illinois University

Geologist Reed Scherer with the submersible ROV at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco this week. Northern Illinois University

The rover is on display at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco this week. Northern Illinois University

McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Photograph by Steven Profaizer, National Science Foundation

It doesn’t look like a typical robot. About half a meter across and 9 meters long, a new, super-high-tech submarine ROV, unveiled Tuesday in San Francisco at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting, strongly resembles … well, a big yellow cigar.

GSA meeting: Water, water everywhere ... creating some to drink

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

HOUSTON – The Geological Society of America’s joint meeting kicked off Sunday, beginning a week filled with thousands of presentations on soil science, atmospheric science, education and evolution, paleontological discoveries, energy issues and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike — made particularly poignant by the Houston, Texas, setting.

The quicker oil picker upper

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

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard use containment booms and absorbent materials to clean up an oil spill. U.S. Coast Guard

Microscopic views of the nanowire paper that may someday clean up oil spills. Francesco Stellacci, MIT and Nature Nanotechnology

After the Cosco Busan container ship crashed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge last November and leaked more than 58,000 gallons of fuel into the bay, the U.S. Coast Guard deployed floating containment booms and absorbent pads to mop up the mess. Such technologies have been used to clean up oil spills for two decades. Soon, however, oil spill cleanup crews may have a more high-tech tool: Researchers have developed reusable sheets of nanowire “paper” that absorb oil without soaking up any water.

Tracking Yellowstone's Activity

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

New technologies track the feverish supervolcano in real time

This story has been modified since it was originally published in EARTH.

Over the past 2.1 million years, Yellowstone volcano has had three explosive super-eruptions. During the most recent super-eruption 640,000 years ago, the supervolcano ejected 2,500 times as much ash and lava as the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. If such an eruption were to occur today, it would bury the immediate vicinity in ash flows up to 600 meters deep, and would ultimately spread ash across the western half of North America. Meanwhile, sulfur aerosols and ash particles from the volcano would travel the world, lowering temperatures, devastating agriculture and causing alarming water and air quality issues.