Quartz is the Key

March 16, 2011

Mountain and Rift Building

Science Daily - Quartz

New studies supporting and old study named "The Wilson Tectonic Cycle" support how ocean basins opened and closed along the North American eastern seaboard. The new evidence is that quarts is the key role in causing he Earth's surface to fold, stretch, crack, and wrinkle. The evidence comes from places where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains, where the crust under the plains has nearly no quarts in it while the Rockies have a high quantity of quartz and there for took the effect of the earths movement. The stress of rocks cause the response of earthquakes and mountain building. For a long time rift zones and mountain belts formed at the same location over and over again and with the use of Earthscope Array of seismic stations they were able to determine the thickness along the seismic velocity ratio along the continental crust.

Higher Rate of Global Warming

March 16, 2011

Hyper-Thermal Heating

Science Daily - Global Warming

A new study has found that over the life time of Earth's History more and more burst of global warming have taken place then previously thought.  The study shows that within the deep oceans carbon dioxide was released and triggered hyper thermal events of great heating. These events would raise temperates nearly 2-3 degrees Celsius for almost 40,000 years before returning to the original temperature. Further use of the study will reveal the effects global warming had on climate, ocean circulation and marine ecosystem as well as predict the future of global warming. As previously thought, these hyper thermal events happened much more then thought at an average of 400,000 years, with the strongest of the times known to be the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in which the Earth took nearly 200,000 years to return back to its original temperature. 

March 22, 2011

Fossil Tools of Trade

Science Daily - Fossilgraph

A new tool called the "fossil seismograph" is being used to predict future earthquakes by studying earthquakes of the ancient past. The tool first developed in study of disturbed sediment in the Dead Sea region was idea to study the risk of where the plan to build new hydroelectric power plants. Current technologies such as the seismographical data only dates back a few centuries where this new system investigates wave patterns of heavy sediment that penetrate into the lighter sediments. The first use in the Dead Sea where sediment look stable but with the new tool they have discovered that the heavier sediment was pulled on top of the lighter sediment. This proposes a similar idea that the how clouds and waves are formed are similar to how these rock sediment patterns form as well.

Deep or Shallow Living

March 28, 2011

Shrimp used for Deep Sea Living

Science Daily - Deep Sea Shrimp

A new study involving shallow water shrimp were used to test the tolerance of deep sea pressure gave new understanding of other shallow water species could also be treated in the deep sea. The idea is that during certain times of Earth's history extinctions caused many deep water creatures to go nearly extinct, and the ones that re-colonized shallower areas of the sea evolved to have adaptations for both shallow and deep sea environment. Though currently they at question as to how these creatures initially made the journey from deep sea to shallow water environments. One of the theories is that it was during a geological period where the water was much colder say an ice age, or traveling to the northern poles.  The study used variable shrimp as a shallow water was a prime candidate because it already lived in extreme conditions.

Cotton Candy Rocks

March 28, 2011

Smaller Then Dust

Science Daily - Cotton Candy

According to new research studies, we are predicting that the earliest rocks in our Solar System are more similar to the pink and teal fluffy cotton candy rather then the rocks we know today. The study that was based on computer models and lab experiments gives new evidence that the first rocks were porous and fragile and during times of extreme turbulence was eventually cast into harder rocks that eventually made planets like earth. The effect of these rocks traveling thought billions of years of space is similar to a rock in a river taking the reverse effect and breaking up. The test subject being an asteroid fragment known as a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite that they assumed formed over larger time frame and the original pieces only being around a millimeter in size.

Canada's Natural Border

March 29, 2011

New Evidence of Separated Countries

Science Daily - Northern Borders

A new research shows evidence that canadian rocks are different on each side of the northern country borders. This was thought not to be true because the mountain chains run right from Canada into North America. This was found evident when one professor attempted to further prove the long standing idea that the rocks heed not attention to the political borders but though research found out himself wrong. A tiny piece of zircon found in sandstone was able to determine the the original location of certain rocks and when compared to there current locations. The Cretaceous sediment in the United States have a clear American signature where those in Canada have a different signature and properties The reasoning behind this is that the rivers that flow south and north today may have been very different and that the rivers in Canada just stayed up there while also true of American rivers.

Wind Chisels

March 29, 2011

Cutting Away at Mountains

Science Daily - Wind Cuts

Stopping the evolution of mountains from growing is a simple yet powerful force. The wind blows right over the top of mountains causing a sand blasted effect. For centuries no one thought the wind could be this powerful, but its quite a competitor against rivers and glaciers when it comes to breaking down rock. The new study believes wind is nearly 10 to 100 times more effect then what was previously thought. The particular effect of what is created are call yardangs that takes place when wind chisels away at long gouges of bedrock, leaving only keel-shapped ridges. This was taking much more effect along time ago, but not so much anymore because of the different climate. There is also evidence because during glacial periods the winds shift towards the equator while during periods off the winds shift towards the poles.

Earthquakes In The United States

March 30, 2011


New Plan for Earthquake Damage Prevention

Science Daily - U.S. Earthquake

The National Research Council presents a 20 year plan for increasing resilience to earthquakes in the United States. The initial planning for this system started before the March 11 earthquake in Japan but its noted that event is a vivid reminder of what can happen.  Earthquakes in general are not strong in the United States, or they just strike rural areas causing little damage. This concern would lead many people to be lulled into a false sense of security if and when a earthquake causes major destruction. The scenario they created gave evidence that if a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Los Angeles, there would be severe damage and losses. The idea is that Hurricane Katrina caused much damage and there was little preparations for the event before or after. The total funding for this project estimated that over the next five yeas, it would cost $306 million annually over the first five years.

Evidence Of Fossils

April 10, 2011

Polar Ice Caps Melting

Science Daily - Ice Sheets

A recent discovery from a fossilized mollusks over 3.5 million year ago gave evidence to climate records that holds information about long term effects of Earth current levels. The ancient fossils harvested in the Arctic circle give some evidence that the they might have lived at a time during the summer months that the ice caps melted completely. These fossils were determined to be from the Pliocene epoch nearly 4 million years ago where the temperatures could have been up to 30 degrees warmer then current temperatures. The results of this study give support to climate modelers that the sea ice may be eliminated in the next 50 to 100 years. The poles exhibit the most warming of any place on Earth, and the most severe in he Arctic. When regions of the Earth react to climate change the poles are the first sign. The issues brought up are the ice sheets in in the polar regions melting allowing income solar radiation to be less deflected.

Electrical Imaging

April 11, 2011

Yellowstone's Plume Rediscovery

Science Daily - Electrical Yellowstone

Geophysicists at the University of Utah have made the first large scale picture of the electrical conductivity of Yellowstone's gigantic underground plume. They propose that the plume is bigger then they earlier though. The completely new technique is like comparing an MRI and an Ultrasound scan, they are different types of imaging systems. The particular imaging system uses seismic waves from earthquakes to produce a very detailed image.  Another part of observation is the electrical conductivity that used molten silicate rocks and hot briny water to also see down to 200 miles deep. This system is particular useful since the plume at Yellowstone is highly conductive compared to the rock around it. The lesser tilt of the geoelectric plume image raises the possibility that the seismically imaged plume, shaped somewhat like a tilted tornado, may be enveloped by a broader, underground sheath of partly molten rock and liquids.

Cracking Earth Crust

April 18, 2011

Studying Rapid Mid Ocean Ridges

Science Daily - Mid Ocean Ridges

An international team is setting off to the East Pacific Ocean for a drilling campaign off the coast of Costa Rica. The team is to drill next to a fast spreading mid-ocean ridge in attempts to reach the gabbro. This will further enable scientist to understand the structure of the crust, in addition to the role of seawaters effect on the evolution of the ocean crust. The reason for drilling in this area is because it is more uniform and homogeneous then the crust formed at slower speeds, giving insight to understand geochemical cycles on a planetary scale. The specific dig will take place into the crust of the Cocos plate that formed nearly 15 million years ago that was faster then any existing active ridge. The total outcome will allow scientist to to characterize cooling processes as wall as hydrothermial circulations. This knowledge is a key process in the dynamics of our planet.

Strong or Weak Crust?

April 11, 2011

Old Theories Proved Stronger

Science Daily - Stronger Crust

A new study shows that under Tibet is very strong lower crust that originated in India, rather then the very hot and weak lower crust that is strongly accepted now. These findings help better understand how the Himalaya Mountains were shaped in the most tectonically active continental area in the world. The underground plate collisions that cause earthquakes to drive up the Himalaya's are common and found only with that much power in this region. The theory proposes that the Indian crust alters the state of stress in the southern Tibetan crust. Performing many numerical experiments proved that the lower crust locks in with the upper crust proving that low viscosity magma oozes though weak zones are not correct. This information also gives new understandings of what controls the behavior earthquakes in large mountain ranges. This also increases motivation to test further "weak crust" hypothesis around the world.

NASA Using Aircraft Radar

April 4, 2011

Gulf-stream to Overview Kilauea's Caldera 

Science Daily - Airborne Radar

NASA has decided to to use the Kilauea volcano that just recently erupted on the Big island of Hawaii. An aircraft equipped with a synthetic aperture radar that used a technique called intefermetric to measure subtle deformations in Earth's surface caused by volcanoes, landslides, or earthquakes. As the aircraft flies over, it uses a radar 41,000 feet in the air to detect deflations in the caldera. This aircraft has collected many other readings from similar situations and is planned to be used again and again to collect future information. There goal is to be able to send up the aircraft on a much shorter notice to better undersatand and aid in responding to hazards from volcanoes in the pacific region.

Deep Sea Volcanoes

March 28, 2011

Explosive Under Sea Pressure

Daily Science - Deep Sea Volcanoes

A majority of all of earths volcanic activity takes place at deep sea in the middle of the ocean along ridges. These volcanoes produce lava flows rather then explosive eruptions because of the magmatic gas levels are usually a lot lower in pressure while also the surrounding water putting a lot of pressure on the volcano. Though after studying the sites over the last ten years, geologist have speculated that undersea volcanoes can be quite eruptive. Christoph Helo has discovered that in only droplets of magma there are extremely high concentrations of CO2 that are trapped within crystals. Though this discovery they are able to proove that it is possible for deep sea volcanic explosions. While this also leads into important implications for global carbon cycles as the largest volcanic systems are under water.

Coral Reef Prediction

March 21, 2011

Fault Finding Coral Reefs

Science Daily - Coral Reef Faults

To answer the question of where the next big earthquake will hit, geologist Prof, Zvi Ben-Avraham examines coral reefs to find and detect earthquake fault zones. His team is developing a new method in fault region zones to determine what regions are most at risk of future events. Using a marine vessel to study the geological phenomenon at the Red Sea for his survey, though the research could be done anywhere.  Creating the first underwater map of the Red Sea floor that identify deformations that would indicate fault line activity. These maps will help city engineers in Israel and Jordan prepare and build future buildings. They accomplish these predictions by studying fossil coral reefs and how they have split apart over time. Calling this Lateral slip across active faults, researchers are able to calculate total slip and slip rates and how active the fault has become.

Japans Quake Moved Earth's Axis

March 14, 2011

Slightly Shortened Days Because of Earthquake

Science Daily - Japan's Earthquake

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan is being hypothetically tested to determine if it could have slightly shortened the length of each earth day  by shifting earths axis. This particular earthquake is the fifth largest since the 1900's and used these earthquake numbers to to produce a complex model to determine how it has affected Earth's rotation. They have calculated that the earthquake that changed Earth's mass caused the shortening of an average day by about 1.8 microseconds. The changes could also include Earth's figure axis being shifted by about 17 centimeters. These changes are in reference to a year before a 8.8 earthquake in Chili that estimated the shortened of a day by 1.26 microseconds and shifting he axis by 8 centimeters. Another example is the 2004 9.1 earthquake in Sumatran that shortened the length of the day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted the axis by 7 centimeters. The theory is that anything that redistributes Earth's mass will change Earth's rotation as well. While also these changes would not effect people's daily lives and it is quite natural.

Hawaiian Volcano Eruption

March 7, 2011

Crater Floor Collapses

Science Daily - Hawaiian Volcano

On March 5th the crater Pu'u 'O'o collapsed and a fissure opened on Kilauea's east rift zone that caused lava to erupt. On the next day there was sporadic fissures and activity and lava spattering up to 80 feet high. The particular crater that was located in a remote region on the west-southwest of Hawaii causing the National Park to close. During the collapse the Pu'u 'O'o crater the floor dropped around 377 feet, only showing cascading rock fragments. Over the next couple of days the lava flows along the pali and coastal plain were sluggish but quite active, and expected to flow for the next couple of days. At the peek of Kilauea's summit the lava lake inside begun to recede deep within the vent on Halema'uma'u Crater. There are also earthquakes that have occurred in the Napau Crater area near the fissure eruption, though in the next couple of days these would also slowly deflate.

Oscillating of Magma Causes Tremors

February 28, 2011

Forcasting Volcanic Eruptions

Science Daily - Volcanic Tremors

New explanations for seismic tremors that accompany volcanic eruptions could help predict the explosive eruptions in the future. These volcanic eruptions are accompanied by tremors preceding and during for hours to weeks at length, while highly different frequencies have been observed all around the world. This information is being assessed to learn the underlying mechanism of the long lived volcanic earthquakes as it is currently impossible to determine during or after volcanic activity. The scientist so far have determined that all volcanoes feature a "viscous column of dense magma surrounded by a compressible and permeable sheath of magma that is mostly composed of stretched gas bubbles". This issue is also being pressed over the past decade because of the eruptions have been slowly becoming more problematic and even more dangerous to humans.

World's Oldest Water

February 21, 2011

Ancient Microbial Discovered

Science Daily - Oldest Water

Discovered in South Africa deep in the saline groundwater Witwatersrand Basin, scientist have unearthed water in three-kilometer deep crevices that has been isolated for thousands, and even millions of years. The water itself contained unique and usual properties different from almost anything seen before. The contents were not even similar to waters found higher up giving further evidence of the age of the water. The main evidence is the neon isotope signature that was trapped in the rock for at least 2 billion years was present in the water as well. This idea gives way to the concept of microbial that lives with out sunlight, but with chemical energy from the rock itself. The scientist believe that these microbial are not new origins of life but arrived millions of years ago as they share similar genetics to hydrothermal vents.

Deep Sea Volcano Vents

February 14, 2011

Deep-Sea Vents
 
Science Daily - Deep Sea Vents

Discovered by the Royal Research Ship James Cook, Scientist unearthed a new deep sea volcanic vents in the southern ocean. This unearthing brings the total number of vents up to four in the last three years, giving speculations that deep sea vents are more common in the ocean. Researchers first noticed this vent near the South Sandwich Islands at a depth of around 520 meters in a newly discovered mineral spires three meters tall in which shimmering hot water was gushing at their peaks.
The deep sea vents are on the sea floor that are essentially hot springs that release mineral rich water that supply animals and microbes. There have only been around 250 deep sea vents discovered worldwide since the first one found only three decades ago. Many are found in mid ocean ridges along chains of undersea volcanoes, but few are found in the Antarctic. The researches focus on studying these deep sea vents is to understand the evolution of life and distribution in the deep ocean, also the microbes that thrive in new conditions , and he chemistry that the vents provide to the ocean.