Geosciences posts
- June 10, 2012
- 09:17 AM
- 475 views
The Geology of Mount Everest
by Metageologist in Metageologist
Growing up, I was mildly obsessed with Mount Everest. Even now I marvel at its wonderful geology. Looking at that, who can blame me? My youthful obsession was fuelled by books of British expeditions in the 1970s climbing it by … Continue reading →... Read more »
SEARLE, M., SIMPSON, R., LAW, R., PARRISH, R., & WATERS, D. (2003) The structural geometry, metamorphic and magmatic evolution of the Everest massif, High Himalaya of Nepal-South Tibet. Journal of the Geological Society, 160(3), 345-366. DOI: 10.1144/0016-764902-126
- June 7, 2012
- 02:55 AM
- 333 views
Ten Thousand Smokes, One Hundred Years
by teofilo in Gambler's House
One hundred years ago today, one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in recorded history took place in southwestern Alaska. The volcano, known as Novarupta, is located in what is now Katmai National Park, which was established in 1918 as a direct result of the eruption and its effects on the landscape. As a result, this [...]... Read more »
Dailey, I. (1912) Report of the Eruption of Katmai Volcano. Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, 44(9), 641. DOI: 10.2307/200811
- June 5, 2012
- 12:42 PM
- 485 views
Channel flow – hot rocks, big glaciers and the world’s tallest mountains
by Metageologist in Metageologist
Leonardo da Vinci, famed artist and Renaissance “Renaissance Man” made some interesting remarks about Geology. When he looked at rocks in the Alps containing fossil molluscs, it was clear to his trained eye that the fossils were near identical to … Continue reading →... Read more »
Harris, N. (2007) Channel flow and the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen: a critical review. Journal of the Geological Society, 164(3), 511-523. DOI: 10.1144/0016-76492006-133
Godin, L., Grujic, D., Law, R., & Searle, M. (2006) Channel flow, ductile extrusion and exhumation in continental collision zones: an introduction. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 268(1), 1-23. DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.268.01.01
- May 29, 2012
- 11:32 PM
- 259 views
What is Science Literacy?
by Steve Easterbrook in Serendipity
A few people today have pointed me at the new paper by Dan Kahan & colleagues (1), which explores competing explanations for why lots of people don’t regard climate change as a serious problem. I’ve blogged about Dan’s work before – the studies they do are very well designed, and address important questions. If you’re [...]... Read more »
Kahan, D., Peters, E., Wittlin, M., Slovic, P., Ouellette, L., Braman, D., & Mandel, G. (2012) The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1547
Maienschein, J. (1998) Scientific Literacy. Science, 281(5379), 917-917. DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5379.917
William F. McComas. (1998) The Principle Elements of the Nature of Science: Dispelling the Myths. The Nature of Science in Science Education. info:/
- May 16, 2012
- 04:24 PM
- 344 views
Hot rocks, big rivers and the world’s tallest mountain face
by Metageologist in Metageologist
In areas of active mountain-building the middle crust can get hot and weak, like a soft jam/jelly filling in a sandwich. These squishy rocks are hidden from us by the cold rigid upper crust, so we wouldn’t expect to see … Continue reading →... Read more »
Peter K. Zeitler, Anne S. Meltzer, Peter O. Koons, David Craw, Bernard Hallet, C. Page Chamberlain, William S.F. Kidd, Stephen K. Park, Leonardo Seeber, Michael Bishop.... (2001) Erosion, Himalayan Geodynamics, and the Geomorphology of Metamorphism. GSA Today. info:/
- May 14, 2012
- 07:47 PM
- 478 views
Cómo reconocer la buena geociencia
by Daniel Garcia-Castellanos in Retos Terrícolas
[Versión extendida del artículo para Amazings]La ciencia avanza A Hombros de Gigantes, decía Chartres ya en el siglo XII. La frase se refierea que nuestra pequeña contribución al conocimientose basa y se suma a lo que nos transmitierongeneraciones anteriores, y sólo gracias a ellaspodemos ver más allá. [Fuente]. ¡Hay tantos estudios que se arrogan el estatus de científico sin serlo! Los Magufos están incluídos en ese grupo,........ Read more »
Alvarez, W., & Leitao, H. (2011) The neglected early history of Geology: The Copernican Revolution as a major advance in understanding the Earth: REPLY. Geology, 39(9). DOI: 10.1130/G32501Y.1
- May 8, 2012
- 02:01 PM
- 451 views
How to dig a submarine canyon with no net erosion
by Daniel Garcia-Castellanos in Retos Terrícolas
[This just appeared in Geology (link to abstract)]Survival of a submarine canyon during long-term outbuilding of a continental marginDavid Amblas et al., Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain. Geology, doi: 10.1130/G33178.1. The resemblance between subaerial and submarine canyons has led to the long-standing view of submarine canyons as purely erosive landforms. Yet submarine canyons forming at continental slopes that grow from long-term accumulation of sediment are observed both at........ Read more »
Amblas, D., Gerber, T., De Mol, B., Urgeles, R., Garcia-Castellanos, D., Canals, M., Pratson, L., Robb, N., & Canning, J. (2012) Survival of a submarine canyon during long-term outbuilding of a continental margin. Geology. DOI: 10.1130/G33178.1
- May 3, 2012
- 04:00 AM
- 567 views
Were dinosaurs undergoing long-term decline before mass extinction? |video| @GrrlScientist
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
A new scientific paper uses a unique methodology to addresses this timeless question ... Read more »
Brusatte, S., Butler, R., Prieto-Márquez, A., & Norell, M. (2012) Dinosaur morphological diversity and the end-Cretaceous extinction. Nature Communications, 804. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1815
- April 30, 2012
- 10:00 AM
- 739 views
Effects of the expanding agriculture frontier in the Bolivian Amazon
by Umberto in Up and Down in Moxos
Last week, a paper published in Nature spurred a lot of debates on the internet about the future of agriculture and our ability to feed the 9 billion people that the world will have in 2050. One important aspect related to this debate is the availability of agricultural land. However, people do not always have a clear idea of what expanding the agriculture land means. Here an example of what is happening in one of the most biodiversily rich places of the world: the Bolivan Amazon. Let’s just ........ Read more »
Seufert V, Ramankutty N, & Foley JA. (2012) Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture. Nature. PMID: 22535250
- April 28, 2012
- 03:05 AM
- 469 views
Graphing Out Loud: ups and downs
by csoeder in Topologic Oceans
A while back, we started looking at a poorly thought-out article from the website C3Headlines. C3 is starting to make a name for itself as a goldmine of climate comedy- their claims have recently been addressed at Tamino and SkepticalScience. We’re going to keep digging into C3‘s claim that carbon dioxide concentrations have been increasing linearly over [...]... Read more »
Long, S., Elizabeth A. Ainsworth, Andrew D. B. Leakey, Josef Nosberger, & Donald R. Ort. (2006) Food for Thought: Lower-Than-Expected Crop Yield Stimulation with Rising CO2 Concentrations. Science, 312(5782), 1918-1921. DOI: 10.1126/science.1114722
- April 27, 2012
- 11:35 AM
- 917 views
Baby Corn Plants Recruit Helpful Bacteria Posse
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
When you're a newly sprouted corn seedling, all alone in the dirt, you need any advantage you can get. After all, you can't pick up your roots and travel to find resources or avoid pests. That's why corn plants emit toxic chemicals that keep away hungry insects aboveground and harmful microbes below. But to at least one kind of bacteria, this poison is more of a beacon. They follow the toxic trail back to the corn plant, set up camp in its roots, and help the vulnerable seedling grow.
A plan........ Read more »
Neal, A., Ahmad, S., Gordon-Weeks, R., & Ton, J. (2012) Benzoxazinoids in Root Exudates of Maize Attract Pseudomonas putida to the Rhizosphere. PLoS ONE, 7(4). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035498
- April 13, 2012
- 11:56 AM
- 441 views
Food and Energy Security – Read the Editorial by Martin Parry
Read about Food and Energy Security, a new Wiley Open Access Journal, in an editorial by Martin Parry.... Read more »
Parry, M. (2012) Food and energy security: exploring the challenges of attaining secure and sustainable supplies of food and energy. Food and Energy Security. DOI: 10.1002/fes3.1
- April 13, 2012
- 01:39 AM
- 827 views
A White Roof: So Simple It's Insane So Insane It Just Might Work
by DJ Busby in Astronasty
Reflectivity might work better at mitigating global warming than focus on CO2... Read more »
Millstein, D., & Menon, S. (2011) Regional climate consequences of large-scale cool roof and photovoltaic array deployment. Environmental Research Letters, 6(3), 34001. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/6/3/034001
- April 4, 2012
- 04:26 PM
- 637 views
Graphing Out Loud: curves and lines
by csoeder in Topologic Oceans
I love graphs – my eyes quickly glaze over at a table of numeric data, but a graph, used correctly, can quickly and easily tell the whole story. ‘Used correctly’ is the key phrase – for all their power, graphs are infamously easy to bungle, and when used incorrectly they can misinform – or lie [...]... Read more »
Andreas D. Hüsler, & Didier Sornette. (2011) Evidence for super-exponentially accelerating atmospheric carbon dioxide growth. arXiv. arXiv: 1101.2832v3
- April 3, 2012
- 11:26 AM
- 911 views
Dinosaur Age Not Dramatic Enough? Add Fire
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
As if a world dominated by hungry, house-sized lizards weren't sufficiently exciting, scientists have added another set piece to our image of the Cretaceous: raging wildfires.
The Cretaceous period, which ended about 65 million years ago with the extinction of the dinosaurs, was hot. That's thanks to volcanos that pumped carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and created a greenhouse effect. Researchers from London and Chicago now say it was also a "high-fire" world. Frequent blazes may have ke........ Read more »
Brown, S., Scott, A., Glasspool, I., & Collinson, M. (2012) Cretaceous wildfires and their impact on the Earth system. Cretaceous Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2012.02.008
- March 22, 2012
- 04:00 AM
- 683 views
Wet Depostion of Fission Products in North America Released by Fukushima
by Matt Herod in GeoSphere
A review and interpretation of an article presenting data on the fallout of iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137 in North America. The data is also compared to fallout from Chernobyl and CNSC limits on drinking water.... Read more »
Wetherbee, G. A., Gay, D. A., Debey, T. M., Lehmann, C. M. B., . (2012) Wet Depostion of Fission Product Isotopes to North America Released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Incident, March 2011. Environmental Science and Technology. info:/
- March 21, 2012
- 12:00 AM
- 648 views
Chinese Dam Building Tests Southeast Asian Resilience
by Matthew Garcia in Hydro-Logic
China’s hydropower development activities on the Mekong and Salween Rivers are a clear illustration of the country’s potentially destabilizing strategy, with both diplomatic and environmental impacts, in Southeast Asia...... Read more »
Lu, X., & Siew, R. (2006) Water discharge and sediment flux changes over the past decades in the Lower Mekong River: possible impacts of the Chinese dams. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10(2), 181-195. DOI: 10.5194/hess-10-181-2006
Grumbine, R., & Xu, J. (2011) Mekong Hydropower Development. Science, 332(6026), 178-179. DOI: 10.1126/science.1200990
Grumbine, R., Dore, J., & Xu, J. (2012) Mekong hydropower: drivers of change and governance challenges. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10(2), 91-98. DOI: 10.1890/110146
Ziv, G., Baran, E., Nam, S., Rodriguez-Iturbe, I., & Levin, S. (2012) Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201423109
- March 14, 2012
- 07:33 PM
- 791 views
Seafloor spreading, magnetic reversals, and plate tectonics
by Daniel Garcia-Castellanos in Retos Terrícolas
Making science implies the formulation of refutable hypothesis, this is, the proposal of new ideas (based on former research) that lead to predictions that can be either confirmed or falsified (by future research).Timing of the last reversals of the Earth's magnetic field.The vertical axis is Time, in million years before present.Periods in black matched today's polarity. Source: Wikimedia Commons.A case history in Earth science is the confirmation of the plate tectonics theory during ........ Read more »
VINE, F., & MATTHEWS, D. (1963) Magnetic Anomalies Over Oceanic Ridges. Nature, 199(4897), 947-949. DOI: 10.1038/199947a0
Pétrélis, F., Besse, J., & Valet, J. (2011) Plate tectonics may control geomagnetic reversal frequency. Geophysical Research Letters, 38(19). DOI: 10.1029/2011GL048784
Glatzmaiers, G., & Roberts, P. (1995) A three-dimensional self-consistent computer simulation of a geomagnetic field reversal. Nature, 377(6546), 203-209. DOI: 10.1038/377203a0
- March 14, 2012
- 02:35 PM
- 750 views
A story of people and rivers in the Amazon of 5000 years ago
by Umberto in Up and Down in Moxos
This time I will tell you about a story that began in theMid-Holocene (5000 years ago) and is set in the Bolivian Amazon. More preciselyin the south-eastern part of the Llanos de Moxos seasonally flooded savannah,in what we call the Monumental Mounds Region MMR (Fig. 1). Here, between 400 and 1400 AD, pre-Columbiansbuilt hundreds of monumental earth mounds, known locally as “lomas”. These earthmounds are planned, complex buildings made by one or more pyramids built on topof elevated pl........ Read more »
Lombardo, U., & Prümers, H. (2010) Pre-Columbian human occupation patterns in the eastern plains of the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivian Amazonia. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37(8), 1875-1885. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2010.02.011
- March 13, 2012
- 02:00 PM
- 682 views
On March 15, 5 suborbital sounding rockets are scheduled to launch from the NASA Wallops Facility, VA
by Olga Vovk in Milchstraße
This is part of a study of the upper level jet stream located in the mesosphere.
These five rockets will release an aluminum based chemical into the upper layers of atmosphere (the mesosphere) that will form milky-white clouds that will trace winds in space. These clouds might be visible for public up to 20 minutes by East coast residents from southern parts of New Hampshire and Vermont till South Carolina.... Read more »
Larsen, M. F., and C. G. Fesen. (2009) Accuracy issues of the existing thermospheric wind models: Can we rely on them in seeking solutions to wind-driven problems?. Ann. Geophys., 27, 2277–2284. info:/
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