Geology News

Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment

Geology.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:01:29 +0000

“Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program.” Quoted from the USGS press release.

Roadside Geology Guides

Geology.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:57:13 +0000

Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States. The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists and others who are interested in the Earth.

Lithium Use in Batteries

Geology.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:51:13 +0000

“Lithium has a number of uses but one of the most valuable is as a component of high energy-density rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.”

Horizontal Wells are Costly

Geology.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:37:27 +0000

An article in the Denver Post discusses horizontal wells being drilled by Nobel Energy in the Niobrara Formation of Colorado. The wells go horizontal for about 9000 feet and cost about $8 million each.

Minerals Bills in Congress

Geology.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:30:11 +0000

Lee Allison provides summaries of and links to some of the minerals bills in Congress. These include:
* National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012
* Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011
* National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012
* Soda Ash Royalty Extension, Job Creation, and Export Enhancement Act of 2011

Geological Waters

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:01:48 +0000

Several varieties of bottled water are actually geological products. Do you know what is required for a product to be labled as “mineral water”, “spring water” or “artesian water”? Do they have any special properties?

Climate Change and Water Impact

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:21:50 +0000

Arguably, the most important impacts of climate change – including those to ecosystems, agriculture, energy, and industry – will be tied to changes in water availability

Natural Seep or Anthropogenic Oil?

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:08:05 +0000

Sustained, natural oil seepage from the seafloor is common off southern California, and is of great interest to resource managers, who are tasked with distinguishing natural from anthropogenic oil sources. The major purpose of this study was [...] enable differentiation of the highly similar Monterey Formation oils from Outer Continental Shelf production and adjacent natural seeps.

Polar Bears Swimming Long Distances

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:41:25 +0000

“Polar bears spend much of their lives in and around water, and they are well adapted for swimming. But recent findings of USGS scientists demonstrate that they are even better swimmers than many imagined: In years of extreme sea-ice retreat in the southern Beaufort Sea region of Alaska, polar bears have been documented taking very long swims, in excess of 30 miles.” Quoted from the USGS press release.

Female Enrollment in the Geosciences

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:30:40 +0000

The American Geosciences Institute features “Female Enrollments and Degrees in U.S. Geoscience Programs” for their May, 2012 issue of Geoscience Currents.

NetQuakes

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:12:17 +0000

“NetQuakes strong-motion instruments enable seismologists to collect extensive data in urban areas where installing traditional seismographs is not practical. This instrument (in blue, to the right of the upended chairs) takes up very little space in a Bay Area resident’s garage. It is the size of a auto battery, runs on a home wifi and captures data on a 2GB flash drive.”

Learn how to get one here.

Rock Tumbling Bible

Geology.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:08:57 +0000

Modern Rock Tumbling by Steve Hart is the most up-to-date book on the rock tumbling hobby. It explains the tumbling process completely and provides enough detail that you should produce excellent results if you follow his instructions.

New Lava Flow on Bagana Volcano

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:24:10 +0000

“Despite being one of the most active volcanoes in Papua New Guinea, Bagana is poorly monitored. Located on the mountainous spine of Bouganville Island, it is both far from any cities or large towns and hard to reach due to the rough terrain. [...] Satellites provide the most reliable way to watch this activity. [...] This natural-color image reveals a fresh lava flow on Bagana’s eastern flank. Imagery from Landsat 7 shows that the flow was established some time between March 2011 and February 2012.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

Algeria Oil and Gas Country Report

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:56:52 +0000

“Algeria is an important oil and natural gas producer and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Algeria’s hydrocarbons sector accounted for 60 percent of its budget revenues, 36 percent of its GDP, and over 97 percent of its export earnings in 2010.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration country report.

El Paso Wants to Export LNG

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:28:30 +0000

El Paso Corporation seeks government authorization to export up to 1/2 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day from its Elba Island, Georgia terminal.

Should the US Export Natural Gas?

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:58:45 +0000

The United States has a glut of natural gas and prices are much higher in other parts of the world – especially Asia. Should the United States begin exporting natural gas as LNG. That would generate income but would also raise the price of gas in the United States.

USGS Water Year Summary

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:52:23 +0000

The Streamflow of 2010 — Water Year Summary is a collection of maps, graphs and data that summarize stream flow during the October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010 water year.

Wildfire Hydrology & Hazard

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:02:43 +0000

This open-file report presents materials from the 2012 Southwest Wildfire Hydrology & Hazards Workshop, including the workshop schedule, presentation abstracts, and a list of attendees. The oral presentations and posters are part of this report and are available for viewing.

Solar Eclipse Photos from Grand Canyon

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:52:26 +0000

NASA has a webpage with photos taken of Sunday’s annular solar eclipse from the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Solar Eclipse Video (7 seconds)

Geology.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:37 +0000

“The joint JAXA/NASA Hinode mission captured this video of an annular eclipse of the Sun on May 20, 2012. During an annular eclipse the moon does not block the entirety of the sun, but leaves a bright ring of light visible at the edges. For the May eclipse, the moon was at the furthest distance from Earth that it ever achieves – meaning that it blocked the smallest possible portion of the sun.” Quoted from the NASA video release.