Geobulletin alpha

Oklahoma Congressman’s Idea to Privatize NWS Forecasts Gets Icy Reception among Broadcast Meteorologists. 

I’m hearing a lot of talk among my fellow forecasters today about legislation (introduced by an Oklahoma congressman) that would privatize many forecast functions of the NWS. You might think that private sector meteorologists would support this, but almost every broadcast metr. I know has panned the idea. The quality of public weather forecasts is due to the cooperation between the public and private sector, and a survey of comments by

A History of the World in Six Glasses, by Tom Standage 

This week’s book was a survey of human history, from the dawn of civilization to the Cold War, of the various ways that societal, health, political, technological, and economic factors drove the adoption of various beverages, and how the presence of those beverages in human society generated ripples of cause and effect, propelling advances and turns of history that led us to the world we live in. It’s a prime

August 24, 2015 

New Topographic and Orthoimage Maps for Wyoming – Free Downloads from USGSUnited States Geological Survey How Life and Luck Changed Earth’s MineralsWired Science Washington, D.C., Sinking Fast, Adding to Threat of Sea-Level RiseThe University of Vermont Antarctic Detector Confirms Observation of Cosmic NeutrinosNational Science Foundation Susquehanna River Basin Commission Finds No Impacts on Streams from

Okeanos Round up! Last week in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument! 

the red stalked crinoid  Proisocrinus ruberrimus So, sadly, the Okeanos Explorer's first leg has come to a close as it has concluded its survey of the  Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the ship has gone into port at Pearl Harbor to prepare for the third leg of the research expedition starting August 28th, surveying the main Hawaiian Islands and Geologists Seamount!!

August 10, 2015 

Simulations of New Madrid Earthquakes Show Strong Ground Shaking in Memphis and Little RockUnited States Geological Survey What Will Kickstart The Northwest’s Earthquake Preparations?Emergency Management How Pipelines Saved America’s Biggest Oil Basin From Shale BustBloomberg Business Explorers In Need of Cash Are Selling Oil FieldsBloomberg Business Crude at $50: Oil Firms Fear Deeper Crisis Than

July 28, 2015 

Climate Change Reduces Coral Reefs’ Ability to Protect CoastsUnited States Geological Survey A Rare Breakthrough in Groundwater ModelingUniversity of Wyoming Federal Funding for Science and Engineering Drops 6% ($2B)National Science Foundation Ground Water Pumping is Ruining California BridgesABC News Teachers: Earth Science Week Toolkits Are Ready !Earth Science Week Kepler Finds Earth’s Cousin – 1400

July 27, 2015 

Predicting the Shape of River DeltasMIT News The Selenga River Delta of Lake BaikalGeology.com A Challenge to the New York Fracking Ban ?Poughkeepsie Journal Measuring the Height of Mount McKinleyUnited States Geological Survey Cavers Enter Devil’s Well For the First Time in 30 YearsThe Salem News Online There’s a Volcano Called “Kick ’em Jenny”, and

July 23, 2015 

Large Collection of Historic Mining Documents, Maps and Photos ReleasedArizona Geological Survey Business Risks Facing Mining and Metals ProjectsErnst & Young Only Permanent Supply Cuts Can Lift Metal PricesMining.com Hydrothermal Vents: Where Iron and Water MixWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution Earth Science Week Update July 2015Earth Science Week OPEC, Get Ready for the Second U.S. Oil

July 9, 2015 

Water Used for Hydraulic Fracturing Varies Across the United StatesUnited States Geological Survey What is Hydraulic Fracturing?Geology.com Ice Cave Collapse Kills 1, Injures 5 Near SeattleSeattleTimes.com Sirius Will Build the UK’s Largest Potash MineMining.com US Crude Production at 9.7 MBPD – Highest Since May 1971Reuters The Economic Effects of Permitting Delays on the U.S. Mining

Most Visited Stories: April 2015 

USGS: M7.9 Earthquake 50 Miles NW of Kathmandu, NepalUnited States Geological Survey The Antarctic Volcano that Doesn’t Make SensePhys.org 200th Anniversary: The Eruption of TamboraUC Berkeley Blue Holes: Descend into the World’s Hidden WatersAtlas Obscura A New View of the Moon’s FormationAstronomy Magazine Satellite Images of the Active Holuhraun Lava FieldNASA Earth Observatory Thousands of

April 24, 2015 

Update to the White-Nose Syndrome MapCavingNews.com Monitoring Arctic Permafrost LossEarth Magazine USGS: New Insights on Man-Made EarthquakesUnited States Geological Survey The “Bat Man” of Borneo’s Gomantong CavesNational Geographic Neanderthal Remains Discovered in Kurdistan CaveCavingNews.com Landslide on the Delaware River Threatens HomesNJ.com “The Big One” Could Trigger a Series of Large EarthquakesLos Angeles Times Video: Artificial

Geologic mapping projects funded 

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) has  awarded the AZGS $170,940 to support geologic mapping near Oatman in Mohave County, Quartzsite in La Paz County, and northwest of Safford in Graham County. Geologic mapping is one of the primary functions of the AZGS.  For the past 23 years, we have been aggressive participants in the

The van that goes looking for potholes 

A team from Northeastern University has a very interesting van used for quantitatively assessing pavement condition using a variety of sensors. They use cameras, laser profilers, accelerometers on axles, pressure sensors in the tires, microphones, and even ground penetrating radar. The researchers reportedly characterized pavement condition of 150 miles of road in 4 days in Beverly, Massachussets, a task that took public employees about 1 year the last time it was performed, in 2010. The [...]

Seattle Map 13 – Sandblasted in concrete 

Although sandblasted into concrete, the version of this map that interests me has a Brigadoon-like nature, or at least it is not always visible. The map shows what is known as the Puget Sound Guide Meridian and is the first map to include Seattle in the great General Land Office (GLO) survey of the United … Continue reading Seattle Map 13 – Sandblasted in

April 7, 2015 

Why California Is Restricting WaterTime Map: United States Drought ConditionsUnited States Drought Monitor Groundwater Crisis Beneath California CropsThe New York Times US Topo Maps for California Now Feature Selected TrailsUnited States Geological Survey Curiosity Rover Investigates History of Martian AtmosphereNASA Dry Wells and Water Restrictions in California ?CNN Visit the Lab that Dated “Little Foot,”

April 6, 2015 

Blue Holes: A Descent into the World’s Hidden WatersAtlas Obscura The Great Blue Hole of BelizeUnited States Geological Survey New Tool Enables Citizens to Examine Asteroid VestaNASA Inventor of the “Pet Rock” Dies at 78New York Times Using Stalagmites to Reveal Past Tropical Cyclone ActivityCavingNews.com Interesting: Azurite Granite from PakistanGeology.com KickStarter Project: Rechargable Glowing Crystal

Two centuries of map-making – from William Smith’s survey to satellites 

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January 8, 2015 

Geochemical and Mineralogical Maps for Soils of the United StatesUnited States Geological Survey Could An Exoplanet, Tilted on its Side Be Habitable ?MIT News Excelerate Energy Steps Back from New LNG PlantMIT News Did a Volcano Wipe Out the Neanderthals?Yahoo! News 2015 Worldwide Rock Tumbling ContestFeather River Lapidary and Mineral Society Bodyboarding on a Glacier

December 18, 2014 

The 2011 Virginia Earthquake was at a Fault JunctionUnited States Geological Survey Hydrocarbon Sand Dunes on Saturn’s Moon TitanThe Los Angeles Times Guatemala Raises Extraction Royalty from 1% to 10%Mining.com Changes in Natural Gas Reserves by StateEnergy Information Administration The New York City Water Supply System – HistoricalSlate An Inversion Fills the Grand Canyon with

October 24, 2014 

Three-Phase Inclusions in EmeraldGemological Institute of America What Are Emeralds?Geology.com Cat’s-Eye in Colombian EmeraldsGemological Institute of America Bahia Emerald Still Has No OwnerABC News Insights from Gemstone InclusionsGemological Institute of America The Dangers of Illegal Mining in Latin AmericaThe Economist Free PDFs: Revised Alabama Topo Maps Feature New Design United States Geological Survey For Sale: