Geobulletin alpha

From Cloud to GIS: Getting Weather Data. 

Introduction In this post we are going to look at how to get weather forecast data and display it as a layer in a desktop geographical information system (GIS). The tools that you need are: A desktop GIS. I am going to use QGIS (free software) but I have done this with ESRI ArcMap as well A spreadsheet application. I will be using MS Excel but I have also tried this with Softmaker Office and I am sure LibreOffice (free software) will work or indeed any other spreadsheet application The Natural [...]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Snow and ash in Iceland 

Featuring today on the blog is the land of ice and fire: Iceland. That title was never better suited to (and exemplified), than it is in this photograph taken by Daniel Garcia Castellanos in June 2013. Snow capped peaks are also sprinkled by a light dusting of volcanic ash. Dive into this post to find out the source of the ash and more detail about the striking peak. The picture is dominated by a snowed mountain in Southern Iceland, captured in June 2013, three years after the Eyjafjallajökull [...]

What’s in Mike’s freezer? 

What’s that in Mike’s freezer? Let’s take it out and have a look. Onto the table out in the garden … Unwrap another layer … Hang on! That looks like … It can’t be, can it? It is! It’s a buzzard! A buzzard with extremely serious claws! And a serious beak as well! Further bulletins down

A Netherworld Incompatible with the Existence of Life: The Mantle Exposed at Del Puerto 

Our journey into the interior of the Earth has reached a remarkable boundary, the base of the oceanic crust. Beyond the crust, underneath the Mohorovičić discontinuity, lies the mantle, a layer that extends halfway to the center of the Earth. We have been driving up Del Puerto Canyon, a scenic route that crosses the Diablo Range in the central part of California's Coast Ranges. The rocks at

Driving to the Center of the Earth in Del Puerto Canyon...Piercing the Ocean Crust 

Rugged terrain in the upper Del Puerto Canyon just beyond the Tesla-Ortigalita fault (on the right near the people) As in the last post, I'm exaggerating a little bit. We're not going to the center of the Earth, we are instead using California's unique geology to explore the mantle, the layer that extends from 20 miles to about 1,800 miles depth, about half way to the center. These rocks

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A striated brachiopod from the Silurian of New York 

Sometimes it is a Fossil of the Week simply because it is new to me. The brachiopods above are abundant in a thin layer of shells within the Lewiston Member of the Rochester Shale (Silurian, Wenlockian) in western New York State. They are well exposed in the magnificent Caleb’s Quarry a few colleagues and I

Imaggeo on Mondays: The Grand Canyon and celebrating Earth Science Week 

Today marks the start of Earth Science Week – a yearly international event which aims to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences. The event is promoted by the American Geosciences Institute and the Geological Society of London, amongst others, so be sure to head to their websites to find out more. Our Imaggeo on Monday’s image celebrates Earth Science Week too, as well as the General Assembly 2015 conference theme, A Voyage Through Scales! This [...]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Electron cloud gone wrong 

Deciphering the past history of rocks and what they might reveal about the Earth’s future is a key part of geology, and tools such as Ion Probes can be used by Earth Scientists to extract valuable information about a rock’s past. Today’s Imaggeo on Monday’s image was acquired by Sarah Glynn, a researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa, who was analysing a potential calcite reference material (a mineral homogeneous enough to be considered a benchmark for future [...]

Cloud iridescence in Central California 

I was out and about running errands in the late afternoon yesterday when I glanced at the sky, which was full of high-altitude clouds. The small opening in the clouds (just left of center) caught my eye because there were some colors visible. It appeared to be cloud iridescence, an optical phenomena caused by light diffracting through very small water or ice droplets in a thin layer of

Riprap Design for Rock Cover for Mine GeoWaste Facilities 

I am working on a new EduMine course on Cover.  It will probably be a year or so before it is available.  SO here is some interesting information I compiled yesterday. Undoubtedly the best way to control erosion on sideslope covers is to place a layer of durable rock. We perfected the design procedures on

Imaggeo on Mondays: A thermal inversion 

This week’s Imaggeo on Mondays image is brought to you by Cyril Mayaud, from the University of Graz (Austria), who writes about an impressive hike and layers of cold and warm air. Thermal inversion is a meteorological phenomenon which occurs when a layer of cold air is trapped near the Earth’s surface by an overlying layer of warmer air. This can happen frequently at the boundary between mountainous and lowland regions such as in Slovenia and last for weeks, obscuring the sun from view to [...]

Tornado outbreaks forecast for week of April 6; lunar eclipse 

Dr. Greg Forbes of the Weather Channelreviewing large tornado outbreaksJust because I moved out of the Midwest doesn't mean that I have lost my interest in tornadoes! So, to my friends in Illinois, I'm still thinking of you!! Forty one years ago there was a "super outbreak" of 147 tornadoes through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and surrounding states. All told, there were 147 tornadoes recorded on April 3-4, 1974. This was exceeded only on April 26-28, 2011 when 293 [...]

Engraved copper plates used to print topographic maps 

AZGS received dozens of engraved copper plates used to print topographic maps of Arizona. The plates are being surplussed to states and universities by the USGS which no longer uses them for producing maps.  After cleaning, we hope to put selected plates on display to demonstrate how maps used to be made, one layer (eg, topography, hydrography, streets) at a time.  They are also

Our newest little turtle: Jubal 

Apparently TPI is the new home for the small turtles of the Niobrara chalk. We've already prepared, molded and cast our tiny Chelosphargis advena, Prepared a new Prionochelys matutina, and show prepped a nice Toxochelys latiremis that we discovered this past spring, all with nice skulls.Our Prionochelys matutina specimen from MU5 (Coniacian)You'd think that we would be content with our fossil turtle stash, but no. You can never have enough of these little guys. This week we prepared from start [...]

Golden Triarthrus eatoni trilobite from the Whetstone Gulf formation 

A recent addition to my collection is this piece of black shale from the Whetstone Gulf formation, Ordovician (Sandbian stage) near Worth, NY. It's been prepped to expose some exquisitely preserved Triarthus eatoni trilobites cavorting on an algal frond. The fossils are preserved by pyrite and minute details of the trilobites are present such as their antennae and legs. Some specimens also have the gills and mouth parts preserved. This rock comes from a layer similar to the one exposed in [...]

Bundenbach fossil display 

The name Bundenbach is one which excites me because it is the name of a town that is near a layer of rock, called the Hunsruck Slate, that preserves some extraordinary fossils. It's what is called a Lagerstätte which are sedimentary rocks that have exceptional preservation of fossils, sometimes including soft parts which usually rot away before being fossilized. The Burgess Shale outcrop in Yoho National Park, BC, Canada is the perhaps the ultimate example of this type of fossil treasure trove [...]

Simple Tailings Cover is Too SImple 

A simple cover for a tailings facility may be no more than a layer of compacted tailings overlain by soil in which vegetation can grow. If control of infiltration is not required, this cover may be cost effective.   If the climate of the site is good, the layer of soil thick, and the vegetation abundant,

Have Humans Really Created a New Geologic Age? 

Here is a very interesting read for your afternoon. Have humans created the next chapter in Earth’s geologic history through our relationship and interactions with our environment? Check it out! smithsonianmag.com If you know how to read it, the face of a cliff can be as compelling as the latest bestselling novel. Each layer of

Large Quake Swarm at Long Valley Caldera, CA 

After a few months of relative quiet at California's Long Valley Caldera, East of Mammoth Mountain volcano, activity has intensified with hundreds of small and shallow quakes at depths of around 4.7 miles. Many small tremors are occurring below the surface about 1.5 miles north of Yosemite Mammoth Airport. These are small quakes, and likely not able to be felt by anyone not at the epicenters. These quakes are interesting mostly due to the sheer numbers, not the magnitude.More than likely these [...]

Humans caused nearly 90 percent of sea level rise from warming of upper ocean, study says 

Human-generated emissions are largely responsible for warming the top layer of the ocean over the past four decades, causing water to expand and sea level to rise, according to a new