Geosciences posts
- May 20, 2013
- 11:14 PM
- 28 views
Dosage: one space mirror per year. Some side effects may occur.
by Michael Angus in Anthroblogenic Warning
Something small has gone wrong in your home. Maybe a light bulb has gone out, or the tap has started leaking at the hinge. You can't fix it right now, because you're half way through watching nineties classic "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York". Or maybe "Game of Thrones". Whatever, I don't keep up with TV. The point is you need a quick fix, so you grab a lamp from the bedroom or stick a towel under the sink. That'll do, you think. I'll sort it out properly tomorrow. Future me totally has this one ........ Read more »
Vaughan, N., & Lenton, T. (2011) A review of climate geoengineering proposals. Climatic Change, 109(3-4), 745-790. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-011-0027-7
- May 20, 2013
- 04:09 PM
- 28 views
Earth’s centre is out of sync
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
We all know that the Earth rotates beneath our feet, but new research from ANU has revealed that the centre of the Earth is out of sync with the rest of the planet, frequently speeding up and slowing down.... Read more »
ANU News. (2013) Earth’s centre is out of sync. Australian National University. info:/
- May 19, 2013
- 03:48 PM
- 29 views
A deeper look at the geology of diamonds
by Metageologist in Metageologist
The geology of diamonds is fascinating in itself, but they also give insights into wider geological processes and history. Up until 1725, diamonds were only known from India. That all changed when Brazilians panning river sediments for gold, instead found diamonds. Recent … Continue reading →... Read more »
Harte, B., & Richardson, S. (2012) Mineral inclusions in diamonds track the evolution of a Mesozoic subducted slab beneath West Gondwanaland. Gondwana Research, 21(1), 236-245. DOI: 10.1016/j.gr.2011.07.001
Harte, B., & Cayzer, N. (2007) Decompression and unmixing of crystals included in diamonds from the mantle transition zone. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 34(9), 647-656. DOI: 10.1007/s00269-007-0178-2
- May 18, 2013
- 07:08 AM
- 140 views
Ocean heat puts pressure on poorest fisheries
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
The first evidence that climate change has affected fishing catches, revealed by William Cheung from the University of British Columbia and his team, shows tropical countries are set to be hardest hit.... Read more »
Cheung, W., Watson, R., & Pauly, D. (2013) Signature of ocean warming in global fisheries catch. Nature, 497(7449), 365-368. DOI: 10.1038/nature12156
Payne, M. (2013) Fisheries: Climate change at the dinner table. Nature, 497(7449), 320-321. DOI: 10.1038/497320a
- May 17, 2013
- 09:48 PM
- 31 views
In large earthquakes, the Earth moves for almost everyone
by Chris Rowan in Highly Allochthonous
The Global Positioning System has completely revolutionised how geologists study the deformation of the Earth. If you leave a GPS receiver in a fixed location for days, months and years, it is precise enough to measure motions on the millimetre … Continue reading →... Read more »
Corne ́ Kreemer, Geoffrey Blewitt, William C. Hammond, & Hans-Peter Plag. (2006) Global deformation from the great 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake observed by GPS: Implications for rupture process and global reference fram. Earth, Planets, Space, 58(2), 141-148. info:other/
Tregoning, P., Burgette, R., McClusky, S., Lejeune, S., Watson, C., & McQueen, H. (2013) A decade of horizontal deformation from great earthquakes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. DOI: 10.1002/jgrb.50154
- May 17, 2013
- 02:09 PM
- 31 views
Land-Fast Ice Cover off North Greenland: Will NASA bite?
by Andreas Muenchow in Icy Seas
When a large outlet glacier of North Greenland (Petermann Gletscher) discharged an ice island four times the size of Manhattan in August of 2010, the United States’ Congress held formal inquiries on its cause within days of the event. Congressmen, … Continue reading →... Read more »
Johnson, H., Münchow, A., Falkner, K., & Melling, H. (2011) Ocean circulation and properties in Petermann Fjord, Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116(C1). DOI: 10.1029/2010JC006519
Münchow, A., Falkner, K., Melling, H., Rabe, B., & Johnson, H. (2011) Ocean Warming of Nares Strait Bottom Waters off Northwest Greenland, 2003–2009. Oceanography, 24(3), 114-123. DOI: 10.5670/oceanog.2011.62
Reeh, N., H. H. Thomsen, A. K. Higgins, and A. Weidick. (2001) Sea ice and the stability of north and northeast Greenland floating glaciers. Annals of Glaciology, 474-480. info:/
Rignot, E., & Steffen, K. (2008) Channelized bottom melting and stability of floating ice shelves. Geophysical Research Letters, 35(2). DOI: 10.1029/2007GL031765
- May 16, 2013
- 06:37 PM
- 34 views
Water’s secrets
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A team of Canadian and UK researchers has discovered what may be some of the oldest pockets of water on the planet – and they may contain life.... Read more »
Kim Luke, University of Toronto, Office of Public Relations, McMaster University, Aeron Haworth, The University of Manchester, & Lancaster University, News. (2013) Water's secrets. Tracing Knowledge. info:/
- May 16, 2013
- 12:00 PM
- 43 views
Global Warming Consensus: We can haz it!
by Greg Laden in Greg Laden's Blog
An important study has just been published1 examining the level of consensus among scientists about climate change. The issue at hand is this: What is the level of agreement in the scientific community about the reality of climate change and about the human role in climate change? The new paper, Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic…... Read more »
Cook, J., Nuccitelli, D., Green, S., Richardson, M., Winkler, B., Painting, R., Way, R., Jacobs, P., & Skuce, A. (2013) Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature. Environmental Research Letters, 8(2), 24024. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024
- May 13, 2013
- 04:03 PM
- 42 views
Geologists study mystery of ‘eternal flames’
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
“Eternal flames” fueled by hydrocarbon gas could shine a light on the presence of natural gas in underground rock layers and conditions that let it seep to the surface, according to research by geologists at the Department of Geological Sciences and the Indiana Geological Survey at Indiana University Bloomington.... Read more »
Steve Hinnefeld. (2013) Geologists study mystery of 'eternal flames'. Indiana University News Release. info:/
- May 13, 2013
- 02:06 PM
- 43 views
Earth's central part is rotating differently than the rest of the planet
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Scientists have found that the inner-core of the Earth rotates at a different and variable rate than the mantle - the central part of the Earth or another planet that is present between the core and the crust.
Published in:
Nature Geoscience
Study Further:
Scientists observed earthquake doublets - pairs of nearly identical earthquakes that can occur a couple of weeks to 30 or 40 years apart - over the last 5 decades to find the speed of the inner-core of the Earth.
........ Read more »
Tkalčić, H., Young, M., Bodin, T., Ngo, S., & Sambridge, M. (2013) The shuffling rotation of the Earth’s inner core revealed by earthquake doublets. Nature Geoscience. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1813
- May 12, 2013
- 12:43 PM
- 8 views
Some facets of the Geology of Diamonds
by Metageologist in Metageologist
Originally published on the Scientific American guest blog. Geoscientists can’t say if diamonds are forever, but they can say that some are already billions of years old. They form in a place we’ll never reach: the deep earth, hundreds of … Continue reading →... Read more »
Shirey, S., Cartigny, P., Frost, D., Keshav, S., Nestola, F., Nimis, P., Pearson, D., Sobolev, N., & Walter, M. (2013) Diamonds and the Geology of Mantle Carbon. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 75(1), 355-421. DOI: 10.2138/rmg.2013.75.12
Schulze, D., Harte, B., , ., Page, F., Valley, J., Channer, D., & Jaques, A. (2013) Anticorrelation between low 13C of eclogitic diamonds and high 18O of their coesite and garnet inclusions requires a subduction origin. Geology, 41(4), 455-458. DOI: 10.1130/G33839.1
- May 9, 2013
- 01:01 PM
- 42 views
A harder look at the geology of diamonds
by Metageologist in Metageologist
My recent post about diamonds was a rapid romp through some of the most marvellous things earth scientists have discovered about them. In the interests of keeping the casual reader engaged I left out many things. If this left you with … Continue reading →... Read more »
Schulze, D., Harte, B., , ., Page, F., Valley, J., Channer, D., & Jaques, A. (2013) Anticorrelation between low 13C of eclogitic diamonds and high 18O of their coesite and garnet inclusions requires a subduction origin. Geology, 41(4), 455-458. DOI: 10.1130/G33839.1
- May 9, 2013
- 10:00 AM
- 40 views
Arctic mission recovers record of surprising warmth
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
The longest continuous Arctic land sediment core shows that the last time CO2 levels reached current levels, over 2.6 million years ago, North-East Russia was taken was 8°C warmer. ... Read more »
Melles, M., Brigham-Grette, J., Minyuk, P., Nowaczyk, N., Wennrich, V., DeConto, R., Anderson, P., Andreev, A., Coletti, A., Cook, T.... (2012) 2.8 Million Years of Arctic Climate Change from Lake El'gygytgyn, NE Russia. Science, 337(6092), 315-320. DOI: 10.1126/science.1222135
Julie Brigham-Grette, Martin Melles, Pavel Minyuk, Andrei Andreev, Pavel Tarasov, Robert DeConto, Sebastian Koenig, Norbert Nowaczyk, Volker Wennrich, Peter Rosén, Eeva Haltia, Tim Cook, Catalina Gebhardt, Carsten Meyer-Jacob, Jeff Snyder, Ulrike Herzsch. (2013) Pliocene Warmth, Polar Amplification, and Stepped Pleistocene Cooling Recorded in NE Arctic Russia. Science. info:/10.1126/science.1233137
- May 8, 2013
- 07:56 AM
- 36 views
The Turbulence of Van Gogh and the Labrador Shelf Current
by Andreas Muenchow in Icy Seas
Vincent Van Gogh painted his most turbulent images when insane. The Labrador Current resembles Van Gogh’s paintings when it becomes unstable. There is no reason that mental and geophysical instability relate to each other. And yet they do. Russian physicist … Continue reading →... Read more »
Aragón, J., Naumis, G., Bai, M., Torres, M., & Maini, P. (2008) Turbulent Luminance in Impassioned van Gogh Paintings. Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision, 30(3), 275-283. DOI: 10.1007/s10851-007-0055-0
Ball, P. (2006) Van Gogh painted perfect turbulence. news@nature. DOI: 10.1038/news060703-17
Wu, Y., Tang, C., & Hannah, C. (2012) The circulation of eastern Canadian seas. Progress in Oceanography, 28-48. DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2012.06.005
- May 8, 2013
- 06:13 AM
- 46 views
New Robotic Instruments to Provide Real-Time Data on Gulf of Maine Red Tide
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A new robotic sensor deployed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Gulf of Maine coastal waters may transform the way red tides or harmful algal blooms (HABs) are monitored and managed in New England. The instrument was launched at the end of last month, and a second such system will be deployed later this spring.... Read more »
WHOI Media Relations Office. (2013) New Robotic Instruments to Provide Real-Time Data on Gulf of Maine Red Tide. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution . info:/
- May 8, 2013
- 04:31 AM
- 38 views
The Black Sea is a Goldmine of Ancient Genetic Data
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
When Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) marine paleoecologist Marco Coolen was mining through vast amounts of genetic data from the Black Sea sediment record, he was amazed about the variety of past plankton species that left behind their genetic makeup (i.e., the plankton paleome).... Read more »
WHOI Media Relations Office. (2013) The Black Sea is a Goldmine of Ancient Genetic Data. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. info:/
- May 7, 2013
- 10:28 PM
- 42 views
Is Blogging Really the Future of Public Anthropology?
by Kristina Killgrove in Powered By Osteons
In a new short article out in the British Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Martijn de Koning asks what challenges anthropologists face in using blogs as a method of anthropological outreach. He begins by highlighting some of the motivations for anthropologists to blog: "[M]any anthropologists have suggested that for them the primary reasons for blogging are self-realization, creativity and networking, sharing research experiences and outcomes, and commenting on current ........ Read more »
M. de Koning. (2013) Hello World! Challenges for blogging as anthropological outreach. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 19(2), 394-397. info:/10.1111/1467-9655.12040
J. Montgomery, J. Evans, S. Chenery, V. Pashley, K. Killgrove. (2010) 'Gleaming, white, and deadly': using lead to track human exposure and geographic origins in the Roman period in Britain. Journal of Roman Archaeology. info:/
Sabloff, J. (1998) Distinguished Lecture in Archeology: Communication and the Future of American Archaeology. American Anthropologist, 100(4), 869-875. DOI: 10.1525/aa.1998.100.4.869
- May 7, 2013
- 02:45 PM
- 43 views
New analysis suggests wind, not water, formed mound on Mars
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A roughly 3.5-mile high Martian mound that scientists suspect preserves evidence of a massive lake might actually have formed as a result of the Red Planet’s famously dusty atmosphere, an analysis of the mound’s features suggests. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound holds evidence of a large body of water, which would have important implications for understanding Mars’ past habitability.... Read more »
Morgan Kelly. (2013) New analysis suggests wind, not water, formed mound on Mars. Princeton University Office of Communications. info:/
- May 7, 2013
- 12:32 AM
- 46 views
Make Chardonhay while the sun shines
by Michael Angus in Anthroblogenic Warning
I'll start this blog with a confession; it might just be an excuse to make terrible wine based puns like the one in the title, so I'd be grapeful if you would go easy on me. Eh? Eh? No, looks like nobody's going with it. Not going to fly this one. They're sauvignone of it. Alright, I'll stop. It is nice to have a topic which isn't all doom and gloom for once though, it's not easy trying to write a climate blog that doesn't descend into weeping sobs at the state of humanity somewhere in the concl........ Read more »
Hannah L, Roehrdanz PR, Ikegami M, Shepard AV, Shaw MR, Tabor G, Zhi L, Marquet PA, & Hijmans RJ. (2013) Climate change, wine, and conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(17), 6907-12. PMID: 23569231
- May 4, 2013
- 03:39 AM
- 67 views
Google search basis undermines sunspot-winter coldness link
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
A recent study linking cold winters in Europe to sunspots has updated bad science reaching back to the 19th century for the internet age, reveal Geert Jan van Oldenborgh from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and his colleagues, helped by an unholy alliance between Roger Pielke Sr and Stefan Rahmstorf.... Read more »
Sirocko, F., Brunck, H., & Pfahl, S. (2012) Solar influence on winter severity in central Europe. Geophysical Research Letters, 39(16). DOI: 10.1029/2012GL052412
Pittock, A. B. (1983) Solar variability, weather and climate: An update. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 109(459), 23-55. DOI: 10.1002/qj.49710945903
van Oldenborgh, G., de Laat, A., Luterbacher, J., Ingram, W., & Osborn, T. (2013) Claim of solar influence is on thin ice: are 11-year cycle solar minima associated with severe winters in Europe?. Environmental Research Letters, 8(2), 24014. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024014
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