USArray Update
Wednesday October 31, 2012
The massive research program EarthScope has been rolling along for the last eight years. Because its SAFOD component, which drilled a borehole across the San Andreas fault, was in my ... Read More
The First X-Ray Diffraction on Mars
Tuesday October 30, 2012
The Curiosity rover has completed the first x-ray diffraction experiment ever done by a robot (correct me if I'm wrong), showing that a soil sample from the Rocknest locality is ... Read More
How Do Hurricanes Affect the Geologic Record?
Monday October 29, 2012
When it comes to moving sediment around and demolishing current topography, storms do most of the work. Although geologists like Sir Charles Lyell made their 19th-century reputations arguing otherwise—the so-called ... Read More
This Week's Geo-Quiz: General Geology IV
Sunday October 28, 2012
The proudest geologist is the generalist, who fancies himself or herself competent in, or at least acquainted with, the full range of geoscientific subjects. For that particular species of pride ... Read More
Crowdsourcing Science from Hurricane Sandy
Saturday October 27, 2012
The eastern United States is hunkering down for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy later this weekend. If you're in the storm's way and have a secure place to stay, consider ... Read More
Magma Basics
Friday October 26, 2012
It might not seem odd until you think about it: why the heck is the Earth full of molten rock, just waiting to burst all over us as red-hot lava? ... Read More
Drilling Into Active Faults III
Thursday October 25, 2012
I have to keep up with things better. One exciting avenue of geoscience research is projects in which we drill holes down to active earthquake faults, to help us see ... Read More
Fallout from the L'Aquila Verdict
Tuesday October 23, 2012
There has been much commentary in the wake of yesterday's shocking manslaughter conviction of six scientists and a government official for poor communication in the days before the 2009 L'Aquila ... Read More
L'Aquila Scientists Convicted: The Fiasco Goes On
Monday October 22, 2012
An Italian judge has declared six seismologists and a government official guilty of manslaughter in connection with the April 2009 earthquake at L'Aquila, which killed 309 people. This is disheartening ... Read More
This Week's Geo-Quiz: Plate Tectonics
Sunday October 21, 2012
Over two hundred years ago, we began to glimpse the outlines of a great system, an engine that sculpts and maintains the Earth as we know and love it. It ... Read More
Friday Is Geologic Map Day
Friday October 19, 2012
The last of the special designated days in Earth Science Week is Geologic Map Day. This is dear to my heart because geologic maps, to me, are the best way ... Read More
National Fossil Day
Wednesday October 17, 2012
Today is the midpoint of Earth Science Week, which has been declared National Fossil Day by the National Park Service. If you're lucky enough to be in Washington DC, the ... Read More
No Child Left Inside Day
Tuesday October 16, 2012
Today is the part of Earth Science Week called "No Child Left Inside Day." The organization in charge of Earth Science Week, the American Geosciences Society, has a page with ... Read More
Earth Science Week, Happening Now
Monday October 15, 2012
Earth Science Week 2012 began yesterday and runs all week. The theme this year is "Discovering Careers in the Earth Sciences." There are lots of different careers to be had ... Read More
This Week's Geo-Quiz: Ores
Sunday October 14, 2012
Geologists can be ecumenical about minerals: they're all interesting for various reasons. But some minerals are more equal than others, especially when money is involved. Ores are those big-money minerals ... Read More
Public Parks to Dig Your Own . . .
Friday October 12, 2012
Fossil collecting can lead people into temptation. Roadside exposures are OK for people to inspect, as long as you aren't endangering traffic somehow. In some states, riverbeds are public land ... Read More
Hype for Hutton
Tuesday October 9, 2012
James Hutton is the 18th-century Scot who came up with the first workable theory of global geology in his 1788 address to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Today he is ... Read More
It's Nobel Week. Where Are the Geologists?
Monday October 8, 2012
This week is the March Madness of science, as the Nobel Foundation announces, one at a time, the 2012 prize winners in a small set of specialties: medicine, physics and ... Read More
This Week's Geo-Quiz: Geologists
Sunday October 7, 2012
The "Who Wants to Be a Geo-Whiz" quiz this week should really be called "Who Is a Geo-Whiz?" It's about the important people in geology, past and present. So, remember ... Read More
Think About Radon
Saturday October 6, 2012
As winter approaches the United States and other northern hemisphere countries, it may be time to give a thought to radon. A geologic hazard tied to underground resources, radon is ... Read More
New MacArthur Awardee Is a Geochemist
Tuesday October 2, 2012
This year's MacArthur Foundation grants have been announced, and they include a geochemist, Terry Plank, a professor at Columbia University. Dr. Plank gets a grant of $100,000 per year for ... Read More
This Week's Geo-Quiz: Geology "-ologies"
Monday October 1, 2012
You could call geology a single science with a wide purview—that's what I do. But geoscience is also a bundle of many specialties, each with its own "ology" name. That's ... Read More