Earthquakes
- Debate over whether some faults detected beneath Japanese reactors are active or not is holding up nuclear restart.
http://www.nature.com/news/quake-fears-rise-at-japan-s-reactors-1.12368 - Seismic imaging of section of the Alpine Fault in NZ finds 3 principal en echelon strands, several shallow secondary splays.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012JB009344/abstract - Hmmm. Quake-proofing buildings with ‘seismic cloaks’ that divert seismic waves around them? Not so easy, I suspect.
http://www.dvice.com/2013-2-6/france-tests-seismic-cloak-tells-earthquakes-bring-it
Volcanoes
- An obsidian flow has been spotted at Puyehue-Cordun Caulle. Erupted 2011-2012, but still flowing!!!
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=80330
(via @Fitzgabbro) - Water jetpacks, Saturn V rockets, and Mount St. Helens
http://www.geologyinmotion.com/2013/02/water-jetpacks-saturn-v-rockets-and.html
Fossils
- Setback for argument that Chicxulub impact predated KT extinction: pre-KT ‘impact layer; identified as normal volcanic ash.
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/en/Geoscientist/February%202013/Chicxulub%20impact%20layer%20reinterpreted
(Paleo)climate
- Between El Nino & La Nina there is… ‘La Nada.’ Which is where Pacific currently stuck, stymying long-range forecasts.
http://phys.org/news/2013-02-pacific-la-nada-limbo.html - Bookmarked for the summer: new website tracks Greenland ice daily:
http://nsidc.org/greenland-today/
(via @theAGU) - A 300 year historical perspective on New England winter storms
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=123
(via @thirstygecko, @fitivalle, @EricHolthaus) - Want to see something terrifyingly awesome? How about this video of a city-sized chunk of glacier calving offu2026
http://www.tumblr.com/ZR6x9udTLmAp
(via @drskyskull)
Geomorphology
- The Anthropocene: is there a geomorphological case?
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/esp.3368/abstract
(via @David_Bressan) - A few islands down from the Big Island, volcanism is dead and erosion is king, as nicely illustrated by the EGU Geolog’s Monday Image of Kalalau Valley.
http://geolog.egu.eu/2013/02/04/imaggeo-on-mondays-kalalau-valley/
Water
- Nice photos and annotation by @callanbentley on flood aftermath near his house:
http://blogs.agu.org/mountainbeltway/2013/02/05/after-the-flood/ - Excellent article: Floods: a disaster waiting to happen by @fionaharvey.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/02/floods-disaster-waiting-to-happen
(via @EuroGeosciences) - Interesting post & comments by @jfleck: Anthropocene Diaries: Searsville Dam + i love the series name
http://bit.ly/UdILvw - China’s latest dam-building plans on major river in Tibet irk downstream neighbor India
http://wapo.st/XrqKEV
(via @earthmagazine) - Fresh Water for All – a really nice infographic from @UNESCO:
http://all-geo.org/jefferson/unescos-fresh-water-for-all/ - 1 in 6 homes in England at risk of flooding, so work to start on 93 flood defences
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21364056
Environmental
- With respect to climate change and resource depletion, “The laws of physics are indifferent to the political schedules of humans.”
http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2013/02/oil-climate-and-time-why-some-problems.html - Emissions allocations too high, so European carbon price ‘inching ever closer to zero’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/07/european-carbon-price-zero
(via @EuroGeosciences)
General Geology
- Why do (or learn about) Earth Science? So many good reasons, as the great conversation sparked and Storified by Tim Wright attests.
http://storify.com/timwright_leeds/whyearthsci - A very nice post from @Evan Bianco discusses how what we see is distorted by medium we’re looking through – true both for eyes and rocks/seismic.
http://www.agilegeoscience.com/journal/2013/2/5/filters-that-distort-vision.html - Ah, the Dalradian! Or: that rock unit on Arran with 6+ deformation phases. Metageologist waxes lyrical on its Irish incarnation.
http://all-geo.org/metageologist/2013/02/dalradian-celtic-supergroup/ - An awesome example of geology interacting with human behaviour/industry: the plunging Potteries Syncline from location of mine shafts & adits.
http://twitter.com/hypocentre/status/298543484586057728/photo/1
(via @hypocentre) - Interesting-looking review paper discusses development of ideas about cycle of supercontinent formation & break-up:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X13000506 - Want to see continental break-up and formation of an ocean basin in action? head to the Afar Rift.
http://www.largeigneousprovinces.org/13jan
(via @timwright_leeds) - “There are five types of rocks…” Parodies of Brian Cox-style rhapsodies about the coolness of the Universe are not new, but this one takes the mockery a bit further than most.
http://www.cracked.com/video_18528_the-least-scientific-nature-documentary-ever.html
(via @davidmpyle, @Profianstewart) - Vital earth observing mission: : Fingers crossed for Landsat-8.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/fromthefield/2013/02/08/fingers-crossed-for-landsat-8/?src=eorss-blogs
(via @PopePolar, @avoiland, @NASA_EO) - The EGU blog network is looking to expand. Apply!
http://geolog.egu.eu/2013/02/08/fancy-joining-the-egu-blog-network/ - As Erik says: “This never happens to me. Ever. Ever.”
http://xkcd.com/1169/
(via @eruptionsblog)
Interesting Miscellaney
- USA today gets its hands on the reviews to the now largely discredited Arsenic life paper, and it seems they missed the forest for the trees.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/vergano/2013/02/01/arseniclife-peer-reviews-nasa/1883327/
hhttp://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2013/02/arseniclife-reviews-missing-forest-for.html
Not that this tells us anything new: pre-publication peer review is not, and has never been, the ultimate arbiter of good science. - Life Found Deep Under Antarctic Ice For First Time: cool, but lots of speculation reported as fact. the genomes and metabolism of retrieved beasties are not going to be known a week after extraction. ‘Tis not CSI.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/130205-antarctica-ice-life-moons-science-environment-lakes/?now=2013-02-05-00:01
(via @BrianShiro) - By popular vote, the cat replaces the iron in Monopoly. If only it were a portly soul, then at least irony would be satisfied.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/02/06/monopoly_token_contest_game_makers_announce_a_cat_will_replace_the_iron.html - Upgoer 5 and Ten Hundred Words of Science make it to the esteemed pages of the New York Times.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/with-a-techological-boost-how-to-keep-it-simple-and-not-sound-stupid/ - Yes! this! “Science, the human endeavor” by @biochembelle
http://biochembelle.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/science-the-human-endeavor/ - Call for submissions for the Diversity in Science Carnival on Identity:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/context-and-variation/2013/02/04/diversity-in-science-carnival-identity-edition/
(via @KateClancy) - Hold the exclamation points! And other tips on writing for kids
http://pitchpublishprosper.com/hold-the-exclamation-points-and-other-tips-on-writing-for-kids/
(via @VirginiaGewin, @sciwrihandbook) - Excellent advice, with wit! The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-better-than-you-normally-do
(via @BoraZ) - [This is seems like Anne’s life lately.] Fund me, maybe…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTvajOQ_xak
(via @edyong209, @BekiHill)
Nice plan for content warnings on Mastodon and the Fediverse. Now you need a Mastodon/Fediverse button on this blog.