Geobulletin alpha

Horrific landslide slams industrial park in Shenzhen, China 

Building after hit by landslide, from CNN.com here        On Sunday, noon local time, a landslide (mudflow?) slammed into an industrial park burying, according to recent CNN reports, 22 buildings according to the CNN report, 33 buildings according to a NYTimes.com report. The site appears to be fairly close to Hong Kong on the north side, and in an area of steep hills. Accounts are obviously very preliminary at this time. Three buildings housed workers. [...]

Geosciences Column: Earthquakes and depleted gas reservoirs; what comes first? 

An ever growing population means the requirement for resources to fuel our modern lifestyles grows too. Be it in mining, oil/gas extraction or the improvement of renewable technologies, the boundaries of where and how we access resources are constantly being pushed. Previously inaccessible resources become viable prospects as demand increases and our technological know-how advances. Hand in hand with technological advances, comes an increased awareness of the environment and how it may be [...]

August 25, 2015 

NASA: California Drought Causing Valley Land to SinkNASA The Complexities of a Severance Tax on Natural Gas in PennsylvaniaForbes Portland’s 1800 Unreinforced Masonry Buildings and Earthquake RiskKGW.com Consequences of the Global Oil BustThe Washington Post Ecuador’s Cotopaxi Volcano Roars Back to LifeABC News (Australia) Teachers: Get the Earth Science Week ToolkitEarthScienceWeek.org First Offshore Wind Farm

August 14, 2015 

Photograph: The World’s Best OpalArtDaily.com Many Types of OpalGeology.com The New El Niño Might Be a Record Strong EventThe Washington Post El Niño Could Be Among Strongest on Record, Raising Risk of FloodsNBC News Farming On the Edge of a VolcanoThe Guardian Shale-Gas Webinar to Analyze the Volumes of Natural Gas in Shale FormationsPenn State

June 26, 2015 

Slightly Below Average Chesapeake Bay ’Dead Zone’ This SummerUnited States Geological Survey Great Photos: What Tanzanite Looks Like Before and After Heat TreatmentLapigems Iran Oil and Gas ReportEnergy Information Administration Large Pipelines to Transport Marcellus GasPittsburgh Post Gazette Enough Natural Gas is Leaking to Negate Climate BenefitsThe Guardian Oil Fields from Space at NightGeology.com Visit

April 21, 2015 

Lyme Disease and Ticks Geology.com Deadly Tickborne Powassan Virus Appearing in Northeast and Midwest AOL Lyme Disease Warnings in New York Covered Globe Coal is Getting Pummeled by Natural Gas The Columbus Dispatch Drinking Water Pipes Tapped for Electric Power PBS Links Between Radon and Hydraulic Fracturing ? EnergyInDepth.org Texas House Approves Gutting Municipal Fracking

March 27, 2015 

Where Do Bears Live in North America ?Geology.com Nearly 17% of US Coal Production is UneconomicMining.com NASA Detects Aurora and Mysterious Dust Cloud Around MarsNASA Fracking for Natural Gas Thousands of Feet Below the Ohio RiverThe Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register Some California Farmers Are Selling Water Back to the StateSan Francisco CBS Local One of

Solar and Wind Fill in for California’s Sagging Nuclear & Hydro 

“California has increasingly relied on natural gas and nonhydro renewables to meet growing demand and to compensate for recent losses in nuclear and hydropower.” Quote from the Energy Information

October 9, 2014 

No Keystone? Use the Arctic Gateway!Calgary Herald Moving Towards Record Oil ExportsBloomberg Businessweek Proposed Natural Gas to Fertilizer Plants ?Energy Information Administration Baker Hughes Publishes Chemicals Used on Every Frack JobThe Hill GoPro Videos of Bardabunga from a Drone (no audio)Wired Science Landslide Safety All Over The Map In WashingtonNorthwest Public Radio A New Iron

Marcellus and Utica Pipeline Development Projects 

Several new pipelines have been proposed or are under development to transport natural gas out of the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale production areas. The Energy Information Administration has brief descriptions for some of these projects in a new article on their

Photo Essay: Studying Fracking’s Effects, Up Close and Personal 

Ten years ago, hydraulic fracturing barely existed. Today 45,000 fracked wells produce natural gas, providing energy for millions of homes and businesses, and nearly a quarter of the nation’s electricity. But scientists are far behind in understanding how this boom affects people near wells. Geochemists Beizhan Yan and James Ross of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are trying to fill in this

August 27, 2014 

Drilling for Natural Gas Beneath the Pittsburgh Airport Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Women Working in the Oil and Gas Industry Pittsburgh

July 30, 2014 

Tanzania: Major Producer of Natural Gas? FuelFix US Astronauts Train in Underwater Lab Voice of America OPEC Revenues Fact Sheet Energy Information Administration Algeria Oil and Gas Report Energy Information Administration Poll: Americans Support Offshore Drilling FuelFix 4 Million BPD from Bakken, Permian, Eagle Ford CNBC Catastrophic Debris Avalanches — A Second Volcanic Hazard The

July 23, 2014 

Lake Mead Drops to Historic Low Levels Reuters How Bats Can Navigate in the Dark National Geographic Researchers Question Expansion of Antarctic Sea Ice Fringe New York Times Diesel from Coal, Natural Gas, and BioMaterials ? National Science Foundation Beyond Rocks for Jocks ? Earth Magazine Iran Oil and Gas Report Energy Information Administration Creationism

What is LNG? 

LNG or liquefied natural gas is natural gas that has been temporarily converted into a liquid. This is done to save space – 610 cubic feet of natural gas can be converted into a single cubic foot of LNG. Converting natural gas into LNG makes it easier to store and easier to transport where pipelines

Energy Flow Interruptions by Hurricanes 

Hurricanes often interrupt the production of oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. The Energy Information Administration published a graph of some outages on page 3 of their STEO 2014 Hurricane

Natural Gas by Rail ? 

“Buoyed by the unexpected success of crude by rail, companies are beginning to consider transporting natural gas as remote drilling frontiers emerge beyond the reach of pipelines.” Quoted from the Reuters

Russia Turns Off Gas to Ukraine 

On Monday, Russia cut of natural gas flowing into Ukraine. Russia claims that Ukraine owes $2 billion for gas that has already been

Natural Gas Storage Below Normal 

The amount of natural gas in storage is far below normal. This could have a significant impact upon winter electricity rates and the availability of natural gas during the winter heating

Hydraulic Fracturing in Germany ? 

“In a potential shift in German energy policy, the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel is preparing a framework that would let energy companies extract oil and natural gas by the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing.” Quoted from The New York