http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/geology/ Geology news. From the discovery of new properties of deep earth and finds in fossil magma chambers to fossil fuels and more. Geology images and text. en-us Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:05:01 EDT Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/geology/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140813.htm The withdrawal of Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a potential nuclear waste repository has reopened the debate over how and where to dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140817.htm Tremors under the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas Fault have increased with increasing stress on a nearby locked segment of the fault, perhaps signaling a greater chance of an earthquake. The tremors, like a constant, low-level rumble, increased after quakes in 2003 and 2004, and are at the end of a segment that last ruptured in 1857 in a 7.8 magnitude quake. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618093238.htm For the first time scientists have discovered the presence of a natural deep earth pump that is a crucial element in the formation of ore deposits and earthquakes. Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618093238.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203456.htm Large volcanic calderas, aka supervolcanoes, are enormous craters tens of kilometers in diameter produced by giant, explosive eruptions that rank among the most violent geologic events. Geophysical studies of recently active calderas and investigations of their eruption products suggest that their magmatic systems are driven by intrusion of mantle-derived basalt in the deep crust, a process commonly referred to as magmatic underplating. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630205159.htm Is it possible that something as insubstantial and transitory as snow could be responsible for large scale vertical movements of Earth's surface and the excavation of deeply incised gorges? Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630205159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203955.htm Microbes and bacteria were the first living organisms on Earth, and they can be preserved in Archean silica-rich rocks. One such outcrop from western Australia, dated to 3.5 billion years ago, may hold the oldest "microfossils." Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203955.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131307.htm When glaciers advanced over much of the Earth's surface during the last ice age, what kept the planet from freezing over entirely? This has been a puzzle to climate scientists because leading models have indicated that over the past 24 million years geological conditions should have caused carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to plummet, possibly leading to runaway "icehouse" conditions. Now researchers report on the missing piece of the puzzle -- plants. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622195628.htm As reports of a strong earthquake in Alaska continue to emerge (on June 22) a Baylor University earthquake researcher says this is not an unusual event in this area. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622195628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143315.htm Modern glaciers, such as those making up the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are capable of undergoing periods of rapid shrinkage or retreat, according to new findings by paleoclimatologists. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622194340.htm The Earth's mantle, situated under the Earth's crust, is very much the spot for studying interesting geological processes. Although we do not realize it, right under our feet there is a sultry world of circulating Earth layers. We only come into contact with these hot Earth layers in the event of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622194340.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618143950.htm Researchers have reconstructed atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past 2.1 million years in the sharpest detail yet, shedding new light on its role in the Earth's cycles of cooling and warming. Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618143950.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615153118.htm By using a super-computer to virtually squeeze and heat iron-bearing minerals under conditions that would have existed when the Earth crystallized from an ocean of magma to its solid form 4.5 billion years ago, geochemists have produced the first picture of how certain forms of iron were initially distributed in the solid Earth. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615153118.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615094038.htm A researcher has defied the long-standing convention by applying equations from magnetohydrodynamics to our oceans' salt water (which conducts electricity) and found that the long-term changes in the Earth's main magnetic field are possibly induced by our oceans' circulation. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615094038.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090610133449.htm Scientists have made the surprising finding that typhoons trigger slow earthquakes, at least in eastern Taiwan. Slow earthquakes are non-violent fault slippage events that take hours or days instead of a few brutal seconds to minutes to release their potent energy. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090610133449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090531100819.htm The Gulf of Mexico contains very thick and concentrated gas-hydrate-bearing reservoir rocks which have the potential to produce gas using current technology. Recent drilling by a government and industry consortium confirm that the Gulf of Mexico is the first offshore area in the United States with enough information to identify gas hydrate energy resource targets with potential for gas production. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090531100819.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528120653.htm Using data from NASA's THEMIS mission, researchers have pinpointed the impact epicenter of an earthbound space storm as it crashes into the atmosphere, and given an advance warning of its arrival. Fri, 29 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528120653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527130828.htm A conundrum has long vexed geoscientists: How to reconcile convection of the Earth's mantle with observations of ancient noble gases in volcanic rocks. Solving the problem requires that the recycling of tectonic plates into the Earth's lower mantle is balanced by hot, buoyant mantle plumes that rise with little mixing to the Earth's surface, producing volcanic island chains like Hawaii. Thu, 28 May 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527130828.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526171813.htm Geologists find a 'blob' of material beneath the US West Great Basin. There are very few places in the world where dynamic activity taking place beneath Earth's surface goes undetected. Volcanoes, earthquakes, and even the sudden uplifting or sinking of the ground are all visible results of restlessness far below, but according to seismologists, dynamic activity deep beneath us isn't always expressed on the surface. Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526171813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519214938.htm A Geographic Information System-driven digital map of past and predicted malaria outbreak hotspots has been used in India as part of a national control program. Researchers describe the creation of the GIS and its implementation in the malaria-stricken Madhya Pradesh region. Tue, 26 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519214938.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140403.htm The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, according to a new study. Wed, 20 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140403.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519111550.htm New observations of the reproductive biology of crabs living around hydrothermal vents help explain their distribution and provide clues about the selection pressures prevalent in these hostile environments. Wed, 20 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519111550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515191558.htm Much is known about the rise of the central Andes mountains, but a new study of the eastern Andes in Colombia indicates that mountain building began much earlier there. Sun, 17 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515191558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511090850.htm A recently discovered hydrogen-rich compound may help overcome one of the biggest hurdles to using hydrogen for fuel -- namely, how do you stuff enough hydrogen into a volume small enough to be practical for powering a car? The newly discovered material is a form of ammonia borane. Working at high pressure in an atmosphere artificially enriched with hydrogen, the scientists were able to ratchet up the hydrogen content by roughly 50 percent. Tue, 12 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511090850.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429174822.htm A new species of archaebacteria thriving within a temperature range of 80 to 105°C and able to divide itself up to a hydrostatic pressure of 120 Mpa (1000 times higher than the atmospheric pression), has just been discovered. Mon, 11 May 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429174822.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507195208.htm A study into ash fallout from the biggest volcanic eruption in almost 20 years has shown that the impact of past eruptions is likely to have been significantly underestimated as so much of the evidence quickly disappears. Sun, 10 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507195208.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505072948.htm Nearly all meteorite impact craters on Earth are circular. Elongated crater structures are expected only at impacts at angles lower than 12 degrees from the horizontal. Geologists document the first elliptical crater on Earth that provides insights into the mechanisms of crater formation at low angles. Fri, 08 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505072948.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090506144317.htm Scientists studying the world's most unusual volcano have discovered the reason behind its unique carbon-based lavas. The new geochemical analyses reveals that an extremely small degree of partial melting of typical minerals in the earth's upper mantle is the source of the rare carbon-derived lava erupting from Tanzania's Oldoinyo Lengai volcano. Thu, 07 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090506144317.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507094218.htm Earth's earliest ice ages may have been due to the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, which consumed atmospheric greenhouse gases and chilled the earth. A team of scientists from Germany, South Africa, Canada, and the US have uncovered evidence that the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere coincided with the first widespread ice age on the planet. Thu, 07 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507094218.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505111702.htm Scientists who have just returned from an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam report that the volcano appears to be continuously active, has grown considerably in size during the past three years, and its activity supports a unique biological community thriving despite the eruptions. Tue, 05 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505111702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429091226.htm Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui) is fascinating due to its remote location in the South Pacific Ocean and its cultural achievement, yielding hundreds of giant stone monoliths. Easter Island also stands out among intra-oceanic volcanic islands for certain remarkable geologic characteristics, such as its location close to the super-fast-spreading East Pacific Rise and above the Easter mantle plume. Mon, 04 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429091226.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429180955.htm A new explanation for the cause of changes in the chemical makeup of the oceans through recent Earth history has been put forward. Scientists suggest that adjustments in ocean chemistry through recent geological time are driven by variations in the intensity of chemical breakdown of continental rocks by rain and ground water. Mon, 04 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429180955.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429132256.htm Scientists have developed a more comprehensive analysis of earthquake activity in the Lake Tahoe region, which suggest a magnitude-7 earthquake occurs every 2,000 to 3,000 years in the basin, and that the largest fault in the basin, West Tahoe, appears to have last ruptured between 4,100 and 4,500 years ago. Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429132256.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090423142322.htm The most powerful earthquakes happen at the junction of two converging tectonic plates, where one plate is sliding (or subducting) beneath the other. Now scientists have found that an anomalous layer at the top of a subducting plate coincides with the locations of slow earthquakes and non-volcanic tremors. Such a layer in similar settings elsewhere could point to other regions of slow quakes. Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090423142322.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090416144527.htm Sedimentary rocks created more than 2.4 billion years ago sometimes have an unusual sulfur isotope composition thought to be caused by the action of ultra violet light on volcanically produced sulfur dioxide in an oxygen poor atmosphere. Now geochemists can show an alternative origin for this isotopic composition that may point to an early, oxygen-rich atmosphere. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090416144527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420121335.htm Ice ages are the greatest natural climate changes in recent geological times. Their rise and fall are caused by slight changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun due to the influence of the other planets. New research indicates that there can be changes in the CO2 levels in the atmosphere that suddenly reach a critical turning point and with that trigger the dramatic climate changes. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420121335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409142243.htm The 2007 Solomon Island earthquake may point to previously unknown increased earthquake and tsunami risks because of the unusual tectonic plate geography and the sudden change in direction of the earthquake, according to geoscientists. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409142243.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409103346.htm Seismologists are re-evaluating the earthquake potential of the Central Coast, a very complex tectonic region located west of the San Andreas Fault, between Monterey Bay and the Western Transverse Ranges. This area of increasing population growth ranks as one of the top 40 US metropolitan areas with significant earthquake risk. Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409103346.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090411080807.htm Propagation of earthquake waves within the Earth is not uniform. Experiments indicate that the velocity of shear waves in Earth's lower mantle between 660 and 2900 km depth is strongly dependent on the orientation of ferropericlase. Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090411080807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409134747.htm Analysis of the recent swarm suggests epicenters migrated north over the 12-day period and maximum hypocenter depths abruptly shallowed from 12 km to 3 km depth at the time of rapid cessation of activity on Jan. 7. Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409134747.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409104134.htm Thirty-four-million years ago, Earth changed profoundly. What happened, and how were Earth's animals, plants, oceans, and climate affected? Focusing on the end of the Eocene epoch and the Eocene-Oligocene transition was a critical but very brief interval in Earth's history. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409104134.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090408145336.htm The Earth's original atmosphere held very little oxygen. This began to change around 2.4 billion years ago when oxygen levels increased dramatically during what scientists call the "Great Oxidation Event." The cause of this event has puzzled scientists, but researchers writing in Nature have found indications in ancient sedimentary rocks that it may have been linked to a drop in the level of dissolved nickel in seawater. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090408145336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330165810.htm Putting a new spin on an old technique, a research professor of earth and planetary sciences has revolutionized scientists' understanding of heat transport in the Earth's crust, the outermost solid shell of our planet. Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330165810.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402143756.htm New computer simulations, paleomagnetism and plate motion histories reveal how hotspots, centers of erupting magma that sit atop columns of hot mantle that were once thought to remain firmly fixed in place, in fact move beneath Earth's crust. Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402143756.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132901.htm Carbon dioxide is a molecular gas at ambient conditions and an important constituent of the Earth's atmosphere. It is also a likely component in the Earth's mantle, and it plays an important role in the life cycle. But at high pressure, carbon dioxide can transform to a solid. Even more interesting, as the pressure increases and temperature varies, the intra- and inter-molecular interactions of carbon dioxide change dramatically and this results in different crystal structures in polymeric dense phases with interesting physical properties, such as "super-hardness". Thus carbon dioxide has become an extremely hot topic in science in the last decade. Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132901.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324131458.htm Red jasper cored from layers 3.46 billion years old suggests that not only did the oceans contain abundant oxygen then, but that the atmosphere was as oxygen rich as it is today, according to geologists. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324131458.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319102423.htm Earthquake monitoring stations are almost always on land, but what about the 70 percent of the Earth's surface under water? California's first permanent seafloor seismic station has now been linked real-time into the Northern California seismic network, allowing scientists to get a more complete picture of the state's fault system -- especially the San Andreas Fault, which runs along the coast. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319102423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320164313.htm A new article examines how groundwater flow beneath the surface of the earth impacts the rate of erosion. The topic has local interest because it has recently been observed that significant erosion is occurring on New Orleans area levees primarily caused by seepage driven flow. Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090320164313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323140433.htm Alaska's Mount Redoubt Volcano has erupted, spewing ash thousands of feet into the air. Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323140433.htm