Geobulletin alpha

When Environmental Oversight Takes a Back Seat 

The government of Peru faces significant pressure to encourage growth and investment in the mining sector, but this has also put pressure on the government’s ability to properly assess environmental

In Death Valley: What a Difference a Year Makes, What a Difference a Decade Makes 

February 13, 2016 This spring is shaping up to be an extraordinary year for wildflowers at Death Valley National Park. There have been a series of wet storms (by Death Valley standards) and they have been spaced in such a way as to provide the best possible conditions for germination and growth of plants. Those who have visited Death Valley under "normal" conditions will have memories

Questions to ask about soil 

We continue this series with 'Questions for any rock face 3: soil; what questions about soil might be asked at any soil exposure?' Soil is the mixture of material at the Earth’s surface that can support the growth of plants. It has four key components: rock fragments (from the rock beneath or brought into the area), decaying plant material and other soil organisms, water and air. It often has

Moretrench President Arthur B. Corwin, P.E. to Receive Moles Member Award 

Moretrench is very pleased to announce that company President and CEO Arthur B. Corwin, P.E. has been recognized by his fellow Moles with the 2016 Member Award for Outstanding Achievement in Construction, the organization’s top honor. The presentation will take place at the annual awards dinner to be held on January 27, 2016 at the New York Hilton. Mr. Corwin joined specialty geotechnical contractor Moretrench in 1978 and has dedicated his entire career to the growth of the company, [...]

The story behind "Last Call" 

The documentary film "Last Call" depicts the making of the book Limits to Growth in the early 1970's, its subsequent vilification throughout the 1980's and 90's, and then finally the

Understanding Global Warming- Consensus Via Committees 

This is an important summary by Spencer Weart, historian emeritus at the American Institute of Physics, Maryland, on the growth of our understand of the risks posed by global warming. He does not point to any particular scientist or specific scientific papers that provided "breakthroughs" in our understanding of climate change and global warming. Instead, he says that the real actors

Favosites sphaericus 

According to Hall's "Paleontology of New York", Volume 6, pg. 9, pl. VII, fig. 1-12, the specimen below may be Favosites sphaericus. It has very small cells, similar to a bryozoan, but forms hemispherical mound shape and has an epitheca. Here is Hall's original description:Corallum massive, variable in form. Cell tubes polygonal, generally hexagonal;length from 2 to 13 mm. or more; diameter from .25 to .35 mm. On the surface are frequent maculae .5 mm. in diameter, where the cells are larger [...]

Protoleptostrophia and Uncinulus? from the Mahantango formation of Pennsylvania 

Up today are a couple of Brachiopod specimens that I collected recently from the Mahantango formation in central Pennsylvania. The first specimen is a mold of a flat valve with many thin, narrow radial ribs covering the surface. To me this looks like a specimen of Protoleptostrophia perplana because it is similar to specimens I have from the Silica Shale, and the Windom Shale which are both contemporaneous with the Mahantango formation (Devonian, Givetian stage). This specimen came from the [...]

Geo-Institute Launches New Website 

From the G-I eUpdate Newsletter: The Geo-Institute is proud to announce the launch of its new website! With the same URL as before, www.geoinstitute.org, the website strives to support and communicate the value and dynamism of the geoprofession, preserve its integrity, and foster its growth. Our easy-to-use website features efficient navigation and search, making our most popular and newest content easy to find. The appealing, new design allows GEOSTRATA articles to be easily accessed and [...]

Earth Institute Annual Fund Update 

To date, we have seen an increase in donations of over 100% from the entirety of 2013. These gifts have come in from all over the world, spanning 32 countries and representing interest in diverse areas of research. Our donors have shown their passion for and dedication to the work we do here at EI. We are very grateful and can't wait to continue this

Born This Day: D'Arcy Thompson 

From cscs.umich.edu: D'Arcy Thompson (May 2, 1860 – June 21, 1948) was a British biologist whose masterwork, On Growth and Form, is a profound consideration of the shapes of living things, starting from the simple premise that "everything is the way it is because it got that way." Hence one must study not only finished forms, but also the forces that moulded them: "the form of an object is a

The Growth Of Theoretical Paleontology 

In 2012, David Sepkoski published a book entitled “Rereading the Fossil Record”. One of the chapters, entitled “The Growth of Theoretical Paleontology”, goes in depth about how theoretical paleontology has evolved over the years. Scientists are viewing dinosaurs in many ways that we’ve never viewed them before. Several theories about dinosaurs, such as those pertaining

National Academies Press' guide to the State of the Union Address 

Each year the National Academies Press (NAP) publishes a full transcript of the President's State of the Union Address,  interspersed with links to relevant NAP publications.  While browsing through the transcript of President Obama's speech you can click on the linked titles to learn more about the issues and the science behind them. The 2015 edition highlights publications on topics ranging from climate change science to cybersecurity and America's criminal justice system, including the [...]

Horizontal Drilling in the Permian Basin 

“Just as the Permian Basin is leading in the growth of oil production and the creation of jobs, the region is now leading the nation in the growth of horizontal drilling activity.” Quote from the Midland Reporter-Telegram. Related: What is Horizontal

Crystal Palace, part II 

I feel it incumbent upon me to open this appendix to Marc's Crystal Palace Park report by explaining to our readers that being referred to as an 'adorable mammal' is perhaps one of the highest compliments one could earn from him (grumpy misanthrope that he is)*.With that in mind, here are a few more adorable mammals and other miscellaneous tidbits from the park which didn't quite make it into Marc's post.Grouped closely together as one enters the Cenozoic in the Dinosaur Park trail are a family [...]

Born This Day: Sir D'Arcy Thompson 

From cscs.umich.edu: D'Arcy Thompson (May 2, 1860 – June 21, 1948) was a British biologist whose masterwork, On Growth and Form, is a profound consideration of the shapes of living things, starting from the simple premise that "everything is the way it is because it got that way." Hence one must study not only finished forms, but also the forces that moulded them: "the form of an object is a

LNG as a Railroad Fuel? 

Continued growth in domestic natural gas production, along with substantially lower natural gas spot prices compared to crude oil, is reshaping the U.S. energy economy and attracting considerable interest in the potential for fueling freight locomotives with liquefied natural gas. Related: What is

Washington County faces tough balance of growth, geologic hazards 

sltrib.com With geologic hazards along State Road 9 clearly mapped in a new report and a population expanding sixfold in the corridor by 2035, community leaders face tough decisions about development in their scenic, but often dangerous, landscape. READ

Madeira Island 

It's raining today on Madeira Island but we set out anyway to explore some of the things to see here. Plus, it seems that my laptop computer has finally died and the procedure I normally use to upload photos is not available to me. So I figured out a way to take photos with an iPad and then upload them directly to Blogger. So just a few photos today as I figure out how this all works. I first visited this island in 1990 while working for Lindblad and we arrived by ship. The change in those [...]

AVO Upgrades Cleveland Alert To Orange 

Alaska's notorious Cleveland Volcano has been upgraded from yellow alert status to orange amid recent explosions from the summit crater. The volcano has been in a state of unrest for several years and has had periods of summit crater dome growth, followed by explosions that destroy the dome, only to restart the process. Typically (during this particular unrest period), Cleveland will have a brief explosion that 'unplugs' the summit, ejecting hot ash and blocky lava, and then change to a period [...]