Geology

Over the past century, 70 percent of beaches on the islands of Kaua'i, O'ahu, and Maui have had long-term erosion, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of Hawai'i (UH) report released today. They studied more than 150 ...

Article - News Staff - May 8 2012 - 3:00am

Rhine River- Now With 5 Million More Years!

Based on new fossil evidence, the age of the Rhine river is five million years older than previously believed. The famous Rhine of song and legend flows through Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands on its way to the North Sea. The catchmen ...

Article - News Staff - May 16 2012 - 4:00pm

Organic Carbon In Meteorites Came From Mars

Molecules containing large chains of carbon and hydrogen, which happen to be the building blocks of all life on Earth, have been found in meteorites from Mars but scientists have been unsure how this organic carbon was formed and even disagreed on whether ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 4 2012 - 6:17pm

Patapsco Aquifer In Maryland Has Ground Water A Million Years Old

A new study says a portion of the groundwater in the upper Patapsco aquifer underlying Maryland is truly ancient- over a million years old. ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 19 2012 - 6:30am

Geologic Puzzle: What Explains Titan's Low Crater Count?

Compared to most moons in our solar system, Titan is relatively smooth. It has few craters but Titan is around four billion years old, about the same age as the rest of the solar system- so it isn't an age issue. Yet if you went by the number of crat ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 20 2012 - 11:00am

An Earthquake At 90 Degree Angles?

The earthquake that shook Sumatra on on April 11, 2012 is distinct, not just because it was magnitude-8.6 but also because it was both larger than scientists thought an earthquake of its type could ever be and it was rupturing along multiple faults that ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 8 2012 - 3:00pm

Are Large Earthquakes Across The Globe Linked?

Reading media accounts, it seems the past decade has witnessed what seems to be a cluster of large earthquakes, with massive events in Sumatra, Chile, Haiti and Japan since 2004. Some hypothesize that this cluster has occurred because the earthquakes may b ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 24 2012 - 10:57am

Sumatra 8.6 Magnitude Earthquake Was Largest Within-Plate Quake In Observed History

An 8.6 magnitude earthquake occurred 62 miles off the coast of Sumatra on April 11th, 2012. Along with being severe by any measure, in one way it was the largest earthquake in observed human history; it originated within the plate rather than at a plate ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 1 2012 - 11:13am

Is That A Volcano You Smell 5 Miles In The Air?

If you are flying an airplane and detect an unusual odor in a confined space 5 miles up in the air, what can it be? Burritos for lunch? Not this time. The foul smell with traces of sulfur in the cockpit came from none other than the Grímsvötn volcano th ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 5 2012 - 11:10am

Geofacets Adds Over 18,000 Maps From SEPM

Elsevier and SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) have announced the integration of more than 18,000 geological maps from SEPM into Elsevier's web-based research tool, Geofacets. The integration grants geoscientists access to scientific information ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2012 - 4:00pm