Volcanoes
- From Callan Bentley comes the “xenobomb”: an amazing natural mash-up of deep earth and surface magmatic processes.
http://blogs.agu.org/mountainbeltway/2012/02/18/the-xenobomb/
Although his neologism has kicked off a small terminology debate in the geoblogosphere:
http://ron.outcrop.org/blog/?p=1492
Earthquakes
- Clever. China tests active subsurface monitoring of a fault by firing regular airgun pulses though it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46398859/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.Tz5WY-NWosZ
(via @kwinkunks) - It looks like the L’Aquila quake trial is going downhill fast as it becomes lost in arcane debates about the best methodology for assessing seismic hazard. I fear for the outcome.
http://www.nature.com/news/new-twists-in-italian-seismology-trial-1.10049 - Meanwhile, here’s another controversial trial of public officials after a deadly disaster, although in this case it’s about about the response rather than prediction.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/02/14/Eight-in-Chile-indicted-in-tsunami-case/UPI-77351329233869/
(via @CPPGeophysics) - And it’s just been reported that the CTV building that collapsed in last February’s Christchurch earthquake, killing 115 people, did not meet the mandated building standards.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2012/02/13/235112.htm - An event like the Christchurch quake in Wellington could cost NZ$37 billion; >400 unreinforced buildings at risk.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6434263/Wellington-earthquake-fear-No-way-in-or-out - Cool stuff – using LIDAR to measure post earthquake deformation: write-up of Science paper:
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/25771-nasa-pioneers-3d-earthquake/http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6069/702
Fossils
- Based on seasonal patterns of bone growth, it seems that polar dinosaurs stayed in the Arctic through the long winter nights.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.22428/abstract
(via @Laelaps)
Planets
- Boo. NASA budget guts planetary science programme, AKA the part of NASA’s space programme that actually achieves things.
http://planetary.org/blog/article/00003373/
(via @elakdawalla) - Weird. The rotation of Venus has noticeably slowed in the last couple of decades.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120214-venus-planets-slower-spin-esa-space-science/
(via @eruptionsblog)
Water
- The water footprint of humanity: 92% goes to crops
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/02/06/1109936109
(via @thirstygecko, @jfleck) - Florida’s aquifer adventure – great images of springs, caves, etc. and discussion of connections between groundwater & the surface.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htBV_ZgoLmo&feature=youtu.be - India’s barefoot water scientists: helping with water supply & sustainability problems for farmers’ shallow wells .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6LT3Gt8N38&feature=youtu.be
Environmental
- The schadenfreude is strong when reading the leaked documents from top climate science-muddiers the Heartland Institute – but will it influence people who didn’t already ‘know’ this stuff?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/feb/15/leaked-heartland-institute-documents-climate-scepticism?CMP=twt_gu
http://www.wral.com/news/science/story/10741778/ - A very interesting analysis of why clean energy is still struggling to take off in US. China and shale gas are two major factors.
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2012/01/ff_solyndra/all/1 - Adding people, ships & oil rigs to the melting Arctic is a recipe for environmental & political chaos.
http://www.cfr.org/arctic/strategy-advance-arctic-economy/p27258?cid=emc-ArcticPIM_pressblast-021612
(via @carlzimmer) - Is protecting the environment incompatible with social justice?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2012/feb/13/protecting-environment-social-justice
(via @ddimick, @guardianeco)
General Geology
- Neutralising Africa’s ‘exploding lake’ Kivu.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16394635 - Words for every geologist to live by: ‘If I stopped at every road cut I came across I’d never get anything else done.’
http://www.watchingforrocks.com/2012/02/back-road-into-town.html - The latest geologic time nitpickery: Should Ma indicate duration as well as a point in time (million years ago)?
http://earth-pages.co.uk/2012/02/15/time-wars-flare-up-again/
Interesting Miscellaney
- Fascinating stuff. ‘Human wormholes’: still-living people who remember distant historical events
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/07/146534518/rasputin-was-my-neighbor-and-other-true-tales-of-time-travel - Mooresville School District, a Laptop (and Learning) Success Story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/education/mooresville-school-district-a-laptop-success-story.html?pagewanted=all
(via @Revkin) - Baby steps in the right direction for female scientists.
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Next-Step-for-Female/130717/ - But meanwhile, in what is unfortunately the real world: the ever-articulate Emily Willingham on what it’s like to be a woman right now.
http://biologyfiles.fieldofscience.com/2012/02/men-should-just-shove-aspirin-up-their.html - And then there’s what stock thinks a young female scientist looks like. What the *&^% happened to her clothes?
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-13771784-lab-work.php
(via @Ananyo)
Evelyn has some good commentary on this apparent misconception:
http://blogs.agu.org/georneys/2012/02/19/how-a-geochemist-really-dresses/
