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 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:05:01 EDT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:05:01 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/2008/07/080723101956.htm A small but significant find made during a geological survey provides evidence of the oldest human presence yet discovered along the northernmost margin of Egypt's Nile delta. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723101956.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721173750.htm Tiny microbes beneath the sea floor, distinct from life on the Earth's surface, may account for one-tenth of the Earth's living biomass, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, but many of these minute creatures are living on a geologic timescale. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721173750.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717095027.htm University of Alberta scientists contend they have the answer to mass extinction of animals and plants 93 million years ago. The answer, research has uncovered, has been found at the bottom of the sea floor where lava fountains erupted, altering the chemistry of the sea and possibly of the atmosphere. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717095027.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134558.htm A lone granite boulder found against all odds high atop a glacier in Antarctica may provide additional key evidence to support a theory that parts of the southernmost continent once were connected to North America hundreds of millions of years ago. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714103556.htm For the first time, researchers have taken a detailed look at what lies beneath all of Iceland's volcanoes -- and found a world far more complex than they ever imagined. They mapped an elaborate maze of magma chambers -- work that could one day help scientists better understand how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in Iceland and elsewhere in the world. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714103556.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708191822.htm Through an autopsy of an ancient Scandinavian mountain chain, a team geologists found that carbon dioxide can create explosive eruptions when magma encounters calcium carbonate-based rocks. This discovery overturns a longtime belief by geologists, who thought that carbon dioxide was incapable of dissolving in magma. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708191822.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080706194244.htm The May 12 earthquake that rocked Sichuan Province in China was the first there in recorded history and unexpected in its magnitude. Now a team of geoscientists is looking at the potential for future earthquakes due to earthquake-induced changes in stress. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080706194244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080630130119.htm A new analysis of the setting for last month's devastating earthquake in China by a team of geoscientists shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity, and that similar events in that area occur only once in every 2,000 to 10,000 years, on average. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080630130119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080703115359.htm Even in geology, it's not often a date gets revised by 500 million years. But geologists now say they have found strong evidence that a half-dozen major basins in India were formed a billion or more years ago, making them at least 500 million years older than commonly thought. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080703115359.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140649.htm Researchers have uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep beneath the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean. Such violent eruptions of splintered, fragmented rock -- known as pyroclastic deposits -- were not thought possible at great ocean depths because of the intense weight and pressure of water and because of the composition of seafloor magma and rock. The evidence of violent eruptions on Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic defies assumptions about seafloor pressure and volcanism. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140649.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080619102553.htm The movements in the liquid part of the Earth's core are changing surprisingly quickly, and this affects the Earth's magnetic field, according to new research. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080619102553.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611135115.htm The world's richest source of platinum and related metals is an enigmatic geological structure in South Africa known as the Bushveld Complex. The source of its metallic riches has long been a matter of scientific dispute. Now researchers have traced the origin of the unique ore deposits by using another of South Africa's treasures -- diamonds. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611135115.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080616161631.htm A new study that determines Samoa is indeed on the path of a geologic "hotspot" trail is adding fuel to a vigorous scientific debate over the origins of volcano chains -- especially in the Pacific Ocean. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080616161631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613104743.htm Wilkins Ice Shelf has experienced further break-up with an area of about 160 square kilometers breaking off from May 30-31, 2008. ESA's Envisat satellite captured the event -- the first ever-documented episode to occur in winter. Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613104743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613170202.htm A new analysis of ancient minerals called zircons suggests that a harsh climate may have scoured and possibly even destroyed the surface of the Earth's earliest continents. Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080613170202.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611144021.htm About 15,000 feet up on Tibet's desolate Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau, an international research team was surprised to find thick layers of ancient lake sediment filled with plant, fish and animal fossils typical of far lower elevations and warmer, wetter climates. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611144021.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609093238.htm A two-year-old mud volcano which is still spewing huge volumes of mud, has displaced more than 30,000 people and caused millions of dollars worth of damage was caused by the drilling of a gas exploration well, an international team of scientists has concluded. Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609093238.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080605150912.htm Mountains may experience a "growth spurt" that can double their heights in as little as two to four million years -- several times faster than the prevailing tectonic theory suggests. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080605150912.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080604145543.htm Charged particles within the Earth's radiation belts travel in spiral trajectories along geomagnetic field lines. The strength of the magnetic field increases as the particles approach the Earth; because charge flows perpendicular to magnetic field lines, the component of the particles' velocity parallel to the magnetic field decreases. Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080604145543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529105308.htm To build a hospital, nuclear power station or a large dam you need to know the possible earthquake risks of the terrain. Now, researchers have developed, based on relief data from the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada, a geomorphological index that analyzes land form in relation to active tectonics, applicable to any mountain chain on the planet. Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529105308.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528121311.htm The world's fastest-growing mud volcano is collapsing and could subside to depths of more than 140 meters with consequences for the surrounding environment, according to new research. As the second anniversary of the eruption on the Indonesian island of Java approaches, scientists have also found that the center of the volcano -- named Lusi -- is collapsing by up to three meters overnight. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528121311.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080530144943.htm Yale University scientists may have resolved a controversial glitch in models of global warming: A key part of the atmosphere didn't seem to be warming as expected. Computer models and basic principles predict atmospheric temperatures should rise slightly faster than, not lag, increases in surface temperatures. Also, the models predict the fastest warming should occur at the Tropics at an altitude between eight and 12 kilometers. However, temperature readings taken from weather balloons and satellites have, according to most analysts, shown little if any warming there compared to the surface. Fri, 30 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080530144943.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528095926.htm The island of Sumatra, Indonesia, has shaken many times with powerful earthquakes since the one that wrought the infamous 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Now, scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences are harnessing information from these and earlier quakes to determine where the next ones will likely occur, and how big they will be. Thu, 29 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528095926.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528140303.htm Seafloor bacteria are more abundant and diverse than previously thought, appearing to "eat" the planet's oceanic crust, according to a new study in Nature. The findings pose intriguing questions about ocean chemistry and the co-evolution of Earth and life, such as 'where do these bacteria find their energy?' Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528140303.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528140255.htm An abrupt release of methane about 635 million years ago from ice sheets caused a dramatic shift in climate, triggering a series of events that effectively ended the last "snowball" ice age. Methane clathrate destabilization acted as a runaway feedback to increased warming, and was the tipping point that ended the last snowball Earth. Thu, 29 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528140255.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080525132352.htm Until 1992, when California's magnitude-7.3 Landers earthquake set off small jolts as far away as Yellowstone National Park, scientists did not believe large earthquakes sparked smaller tremors at distant locations. Now, a definitive study shows large earthquakes routinely trigger smaller jolts worldwide, including on the opposite side of the planet and in areas not prone to quakes. Mon, 26 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080525132352.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514093301.htm Scientists will use robots to explore the depths of the Atlantic Ocean to study the growth of underwater volcanoes that build the Earth's crust. During the five-week expedition they will use explorer robots to map individual volcanoes on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge tectonic plate boundary -- which effectively runs down the centre of the Atlantic Ocean - almost two miles (3km) below the surface of the sea. Mon, 19 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514093301.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516123837.htm Only last summer research published by earth scientists in the international journal Tectonics concluded that geological faults in the Sichuan Basin, China "are sufficiently long to sustain a strong ground-shaking earthquake, making them potentially serious sources of regional seismic hazard." An international team of scientists carefully mapped and analyzed a series of geologically young faults that cross Sichuan Province like recently healed scars. Mon, 19 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516123837.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics finds that a much hotter climate could shut down the Earth's plate tectonics. While human-induced climate change couldn't generate the needed heat, volcanic activity or changes in the sun's luminosity could. The research, in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, may help explain why Venus swelters beneath a thick blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508132549.htm Research done by the US Department of the Interior to determine if global warming threatens the polar bear population is so flawed that it cannot be used to justify listing the polar bear as an endangered species, according to a new study. The Interior Department has been ordered to make a determination by May 15. Sat, 10 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508132549.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105654.htm The Chaiten volcano now erupting in southern Chile is one of 200 to 300 volcanoes in the "Andean Arc" region of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia considered active by volcanologists, some of which lie in much more densely populated areas, said a geologist who has studied Chaiten. Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505120702.htm The asteroid presumed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the Earth with such force that carbon deep in the Earth's crust liquefied, rocketed skyward, and formed tiny airborne beads that blanketed the planet, say scientists from the US, UK, Italy, and New Zealand in this month's Geology. Mon, 05 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505120702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134246.htm Scientists probing volcanic rocks from deep under the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean have discovered a special geochemical signature until now found only in the southern hemisphere. The rocks were dredged from the remote Gakkel Ridge, which lies under 3,000 to 5,000 meters of water; it is Earth's most northerly undersea spreading ridge. Mon, 05 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501154212.htm A new model of inner Earth pulls past information and hypotheses into a coherent story to clarify mantle motion. Scientists paint a story for a chemically complex inner earth, a model that sharply contrasts the heavily relied upon paradigm of the past few decades that the mantle is all one thing and well mixed. The original model was composed of simple concentric spheres representing the core, mantle and crust -- but the inner Earth isn't that simple. Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501154212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm Geologists call into question three decades of conventional wisdom regarding some of the physical processes that helped shape the Earth as we know it today. New research provides a direct challenge to the popular "late veneer hypothesis," a theory which suggests that all of our water, as well as several so-called "iron-loving" elements, were added to the Earth late in its formation by impacts with icy comets, meteorites and other passing objects. Sat, 03 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430152025.htm The USGS recently collected new information to aid in resource and hazards assessments of Afghanistan. This survey presents valuable new information to policymakers, potential private investors, and the public in that the data will help identify fault lines and the potential location of undiscovered water, oil and gas, and non-fuel mineral resources in Afghanistan. Data was acquired from an airborne geophysical and photographic survey of the country. Fri, 02 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430152025.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112530.htm A new model of Europe's Earth's crust has been made. The Earth's crust is, on global average around 40 kilometers deep. In relation to the total diameter of the Earth with approx. 12800 kilometers this appears to be rather shallow, but precisely these upper kilometers of the crust, the human habitat, is of special interest for us. Europe's crust shows an astonishing diversity: for example the crust under Finland is as deep as one only expects for crust under a mountain range such as the Alps. Thu, 01 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428175339.htm Recent additions to the premier collection of Southern Ocean sediment cores at Florida State University's Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility will give international scientists a close-up look at fluctuations that occurred in Antarctica's ice sheet and marine and terrestrial life as the climate cooled considerably between 20 and 14 million years ago. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428175339.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095100.htm Over millions of years carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been moderated by a finely-tuned natural feedback system -- a system that human emissions have recently overwhelmed. Scientists have now linked the pre-human stability to connections between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the breakdown of minerals in the Earth's crust. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424153833.htm After finding more than 300 surface faults in Harris County, a geologist now has information that could be vitally useful to the region's builders and city planners. This information -- the most accurate and comprehensive of its kind -- was discovered using advanced radar-like laser technology. Although geologists have long known of the existence of faults in Southeast Texas, only recently have researchers produced a comprehensive map pinpointing the locations of the faults. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424153833.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423153318.htm Geologists studying deposits of volcanic glass in the western United States have found that the central Sierra Nevada largely attained its present elevation 12 million years ago, roughly 8 or 9 million years earlier than commonly thought. The finding has implications not only for understanding the geologic history of the mountain range, but for modeling ancient global climates. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423153318.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424171350.htm To the surprise of many, the earthquake on April 18, 2008, about 120 miles east of St. Louis, originated in the Wabash Valley Fault, not the better-known and more-dreaded New Madrid Fault in Missouri's bootheel. The concern of seismologists is that the New Madrid Fault may have seen its day and the Wabash Fault is the new kid on the block. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424171350.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423185112.htm Geologists can now explain how one of the largest continents ever to exist met its demise. Gondwana was a 'supercontinent' that existed between 500 and 180 million years ago. For the past four decades, geologists have debated how Gondwana eventually broke up, developing a multitude of scenarios which can be loosely grouped into two schools of thought -- one theory claiming the continent separated into many small plates, and a second theory claiming it broke into just a few large pieces. A new computer model shows that the supercontinent cracked into two pieces, too heavy to hold itself together. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423185112.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422103901.htm Although many people think that California "owns" all the earthquakes, Ohio also has its share of faults. Unlike another earthquake that woke people on another April 18, 102 years ago, this quake was fairly mild. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422103901.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417105456.htm Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves -- often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations around the world -- suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other prominent researchers have predicted that stronger and more frequent storms may occur as a result of global warming trends. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417105456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414203459.htm California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes. The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46% - and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414203459.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080413184801.htm Scientists have recorded more than 600 earthquakes in the last 10 days off the central Oregon coast in an area not typically known for a high degree of seismic activity. This earthquake "swarm" is unique, according to marine geologists, because it is occurring within the middle of the Juan de Fuca plate -- away from the major, regional tectonic boundaries. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080413184801.htm