tagged w/ Geology
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Scientists have observed a distinctly Earth-like process on one of Saturn's moons.
The surface of Enceladus, a ghostly ice-world orbiting the giant planet, appears to be spreading apart, just as the Earth's surface does at mid-ocean ridges, although in a significantly different way to that observed on Enceladus.
This observation adds to the evidence that liquid water exists beneath the icy surface of Enceladus, making the moon a very attractive target for future space missions.Scientists have observed a distinctly Earth-like process on one of Saturn's... more
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rwylie
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added this
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3 years ago
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Coming after tantalising evidence for the presence of liquid water on Enceladus (http://current.com/items/89627929/more_evidence_of_liquid_water_on_saturn_s_moon.htm), scientists have presented evidence of 'Ice volcanoes' on another of Saturn's moons, Titan, which are thought to erupt a 'slurry' "made of water ice, ammonia and methane'.
To observe and document earth like processes (lava flows, spreading) on other worlds in our solar system is a fantastic achievement for our scientists.Coming after tantalising evidence for the presence of liquid water on Enceladus... more
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rwylie
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added this
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3 years ago
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NEW GLOBAL WARMING THEORY POSITS THAT OIL INSIDE OF THE EARTH ACTS AS AN INSULATION LAYER BETWEEN THE RADIATING HEAT OF THE CORE AND THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET.
Removing this oil is thereby depleting the natural built up insulation the Earth has so built up for itself and stabilized since the dawn of the compression of fossil fuels deep within.
Now, the heat from the core transfers to the crust more unfortunately efficiently than if the Earth's 'fat' had not been suctioned away.
So now we have a system that in addition to atmospheric top-down situations there are underground factors that contribute to the accumulated global warming effect.
The oil itself could also be seen as a cushion between levels of tectonic plates!
The removal would also cause more earthquakes and geothermic instability.
I am no scientist - I just use logic & science principles to achieve understanding and posit interesting debatable topics. I came up with this while working in my car engine and had a 'moment' where I thought about the origins of oil and how - since we use oil to absorb heat and stop the melting metal gears - that this principle could be based on an actual universal planet protocol for gradually building layers that would support higher forms of life.
THIS EFFECT IS TO BE KNOWN AS:
"THE ENERGON FACTOR"
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This theory was initially created by me, Alan Karalian, back before 2005 and is continually being reconsidered and added to (amended above November 29,2008). Please think, respond, reply, forward, talk, debate and move this to the forefront of new theoretical debates about our CURRENT state of the World.NEW GLOBAL WARMING THEORY POSITS THAT OIL INSIDE OF THE EARTH ACTS AS AN INSULATION... more
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One of the most interesting mysteries of Death Valley National Park is the sliding rocks at Racetrack Playa (a playa is a dry lake bed). These rocks can be found on the floor of the playa with long trails behind them. Somehow these rocks slide across the playa, cutting a furrow in the sediment as they move.
Vote if you like it.One of the most interesting mysteries of Death Valley National Park is the sliding... more
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A pensioner who built his own coastal defences in order to prevent his clifftop home, as well as those of his neighbours, falling into the sea has been told by the local council and Natural England that he must let his house fall naturally into the sea, as the cliffs are sites of 'Special Scientific Interest', containing fossils and other important geological information that can be studied through cliff erosion.
The 77-year-old is currently arguing at London's High Court that Natural England has acted beyond its powers and has no legal right to prevent him from defending his home.
Seems harsh to stop anyone, let along a 77 year old pensioner from preventing the loss of their homes from natural erosion solely for the purposes of seemingly non-vital scientific research. It would be different if it were an environmental or safety matter, but this doesn't seem to be the case. What does everyone else think? Should science really be allowed to take precidence here?
(image from BBC)A pensioner who built his own coastal defences in order to prevent his clifftop home,... more
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"Nothing compares with the giants found in Cueva de los Cristales, or Cave of Crystals. The limestone cavern and its glittering beams were discovered in 2000 by a pair of brothers drilling nearly a thousand feet below ground in the Naica mine, one of Mexico's most productive, yielding tons of lead and silver each year. The brothers were astonished by their find, but it was not without precedent. The geologic processes that create lead and silver also provide raw materials for crystals, and at Naica, miners had hammered into chambers of impressive, though much smaller, crystals before. But as news spread of the massive crystals' discovery, the question confronting scientists became: How did they grow so big?
It takes 20 minutes to get to the cave entrance by van through a winding mine shaft. A screen drops from the van's ceiling and Michael Jackson videos play, a feature designed to entertain visitors as they descend into darkness and heat. In many caves and mines the temperature remains constant and cool, but the Naica mine gets hotter with depth because it lies above an intrusion of magma about a mile below the surface. Within the cave itself, the temperature leaps to 112 degrees Fahrenheit with 90 to 100 percent humidity—hot enough that each visit carries the risk of heatstroke. By the time we reach the entrance, everyone glistens with sweat.""Nothing compares with the giants found in Cueva de los Cristales, or Cave of... more
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While earth gets hot on top, it's cooling in the middle.
Scientists have discovered new evidence that the temperature of the interior of the Earth has dropped considerably over the last three billion years.
The findings, published in Nature, call in to question whether continental drift and plate tectonics were active in the very early stages of earth's formation.
The international research team studied the chemical composition of komatiites – ancient volcanic rocks thrown up from the planet’s mantle.
“There are tiny drops of ancient magma trapped inside crystals in the komatiites that are protected from alteration, and by studying these we’ve been able to get a sense of what was going on inside the planet in its infancy,” explains Dr Hugh O’Neill from the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University.
The results showed that the Earth's mantle must have been much hotter billions of years ago than it is today, leading the researchers to conclude that the planet has cooled markedly.
Hit the link for more details.While earth gets hot on top, it's cooling in the middle.
Scientists have... more
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Two men from canton Uri discovered a giant crystal in the Plaggenstock mountain in Switzerland. It is bigger and more beautiful than the one discovered in 2005 on the same mountain, which was then called the discovery of the century.
The crystal-hunter Franz von Arx confirmed the discovery which was announced by several news media. The size, colours, purity and beauty of this crystal are amazing. It was found in a heretofore unexplored crevice.
Franz von Arx and his colleague Elio Müller found the giant crystal on September 19. It will be exposed in Flüelen, canton Uri, among other crystals.
In 2005, Franz von Arx had already discovered a giant crystal on that same mountain, at an altitude of 2,600 meters and at a depth of 32 meters. The size and purity of the smoked quartz crystal were then qualified as exceptional.Two men from canton Uri discovered a giant crystal in the Plaggenstock mountain in... more
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Scientists have found the oldest known rocks on Earth. They are 4.28 billion years old, making them 250 million years more ancient than any previously discovered rocks.
In 2001, geologists found an expanse of bedrock, known as the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt, exposed on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in northern Quebec.
Suspecting that the rocks there could be from one of the earliest periods of Earth's history, geologists took samples to try and determine their age. They measured tiny variations in the isotopes (or species of an element that have different numbers of neutrons) of the rare earth elements neodymium and samarium in the rocks and determined that the samples were from 3.8 to 4.28 billion years old.
The oldest dates, which came from rocks that geologists call "faux amphibolite," are thought to be ancient volcanic deposits. They beat the previously oldest known rocks, which are 4.03 billion years old and come from a formation called the Acasta Gneiss in Canada's Northwest Territories.
The only dates of crustal material older than the newly-dated Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt are from isolated mineral grains called zircons that are highly resistant to weathering and geologic processes. The oldest zircons, from grains in Western Australia, are about 4.36 billion years old.
Examining such ancient rocks "gives us an unprecedented glimpse of the processes that formed the early crust," Carlson said.
Scientists have found the oldest known rocks on Earth. They are 4.28 billion years... more
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Initial reports of Medvedev's address to Russia's national security council suggested he was advocating unilateral action to secure Arctic territory at a time when the five polar nations -- including Canada -- are collecting geological data for planned sea floor territorial claims under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Initial reports of Medvedev's address to Russia's national security council... more
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A Welsh hill has been reclassified a mountain after a survey by three walkers found measurements on official maps were two feet (60cms) out.
Mynydd Graig Goch in Snowdonia had originally been measured at 1,998ft (609m), just short of the magic 2,000ft (609.6m) that qualifies as a mountain.
Using "state-of-the art" equipment supplied by Swiss firm Leica Geosystems, the trio used satellite positioning to gauge the height of the hills in Snowdonia.
Their survey confirmed that Craig Fach was a hill, standing at 1.997ft (608.75m), but further research showed Mynydd Graig Goch, at 609.75m, was slightly above the 2,000ft minimum for a mountain.
It would appear that size really does matter - how many more hillsides might this satelite survey technology reclassify?
A Welsh hill has been reclassified a mountain after a survey by three walkers found... more
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Spectacular fossil forests have been found in the coal mines of Illinois by a US-UK team of researchers.
"These are the largest fossil forests found anywhere in the world at any point in geological time," he told reporters. "It is quite extraordinary to find a fossil landscape preserved over such a vast area; and we are talking about an area the size of (the British city of) Bristol."
The forests grew just a few million years apart some 300 million years ago; and are now stacked one on top of another. It appears the ancient land experienced repeated periods of subsidence and flooding which buried the forests in a vertical sequence.
Audio interview at the link above and these is more at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7604721.stm
Spectacular fossil forests have been found in the coal mines of Illinois by a US-UK... more
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A striking report from the front lines of science suggests we're officially entering a period in which humanity may simply outrun history itself.
Way too long to post here...Click the link to readA striking report from the front lines of science suggests we're officially... more
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Located some 3 kilometers underneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean,, scientists have discovered the hottest water ever found on Earth emanating from two black smokers called Two Boats and Sisters Peak. So hot, in fact, that the fluid has moved from being a fluid, to being a supercritical fluid.
A black smoker is a type of hydrothermal vent, a fissure in the planet’s surface, from which water heated by the geothermal heat from beneath issues in to the surrounding water. Geochemist Andrea Koschinsky, from Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, and her team have been visiting these vents for several years, lowering thermometers in to them to gauge their temperature.
"It's water, but not as we know it," Koschinsky said of her discovery, referring to the fact that the fluid has gone supercritical.
When the temperature and pressures rise in a liquid, evaporation and/or boiling will occur. However, if both temperature and pressure is pushed to a critical point, the gas and the liquid will merge in to what is called a supercritical fluid. This has been done in laboratory and industrial settings, but never before has it been witnessed occurring naturally before.
And Koschinsky believes that this discovery could give us an idea how our oceans end up with traces of gold, copper and iron mixed in.Located some 3 kilometers underneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean,, scientists... more
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A lost world has been found in Antarctica, preserved just the way it was when it was frozen in time some 14 million years ago.A lost world has been found in Antarctica, preserved just the way it was when it was... more
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Striking images of ‘naked earth’ are revealed for the first time as part of OneGeology, an ambitious plan to produce the first digital geological map of the world.
It is intended to do the same thing for rocks as Google did for maps - stripping away the outer layer and zooming in on the previously invisible structure that lies beneath.
Little more than a year after its inception, 79 nations have come together and pooled data to produce a comprehensive online geological map.
They have each provided a piece of a global jigsaw which put together provides almost a complete picture of what the earth is made of.
Striking images of ‘naked earth’ are revealed for the first time as part... more
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It's a landscape no human has even seen. And those who live right beside it had no idea it even existed.
Deep below the sea, off the north coast of Northern Ireland, a dramatic geological mystery has been discovered.
Huge cliffs, vast basins and plateaus, a lake and even rivers have been found. But so far no-one is certain what caused them to end up like this deep under the sea.
The discovery was made when the seabed was being surveyed to update old Admiralty charts, drawn up in the mid-1800s.
Funded by the European Union and backed by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency, a survey vessel has been scanning the seabed along most of the north coast of Ireland, including the seabed north of Rathlin Island. It's a landscape no human has even seen. And those who live right beside it had... more
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At least 30 hungry bears have trapped a group of geologists at their remote survey site in Russia's far east after killing two of their co-workers last week.
The team of geologists on Russia's seismically active Kamchatka peninsula refused to leave their camp after the bears showed up, a spokesman for the region's emergency services ministry said.
He said: "In the interests of safety they didn't come out to work - the people are scared by the invasion of bears."
A bear killed two geologists at the worksite on July 18, officials said.
Authorities on Kamchatka, nine time zones east of Moscow on the Pacific Ocean, said this year was remarkable for either too many bears or not enough fish.
"Either way there is not enough food," the spokesman said.
Rampant fish poaching in the empty tundra of Russia's farthest reaches sends hungry bear populations into populated centres every year, attracted to the food-rich garbage humans leave behind.
Officials said a helicopter ferrying officials and hunters could not fly in bad weather, but an all-terrain vehicle was on its way to the camp.
It would then await government approval to shoot the bears.
The spokesman added: "It looks like a shoot by the hunters won't take place today as there is still no permission.
"As soon as we get the document from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky the hunters can get to work."
As many as 16,000 native brown bears, cousins of the American Grizzly, live on Kamchatka, an area twice the size of Britain.
An adult male can weigh 1,500 lbs (700kg) and stand 10ft (three metres) tall.At least 30 hungry bears have trapped a group of geologists at their remote survey... more
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Earthquakes are caused by the shifting of tectonic plates on the earth's surface. When these plates shift, the ground can move violently. Earthquakes have changed the terrain of our planet since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, there has been a high human cost to this major force of nature.Earthquakes are caused by the shifting of tectonic plates on the earth's surface.... more
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"A volcano has erupted with little warning on an island in Alaska, sending an ash cloud at least 30,000 feet high. The Okmok Caldera erupted late Saturday morning. Seismologists at the Alaska Volcano Center detected a series of small tremors hours before.
Okmok is located on one of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, 60 miles west of the busy fishing port of Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. Jerry Lucas, a spokesman for PenAir, the primary airliner serving the area, says two planned flights from Unalaska were canceled in response to the eruption.
Geophysicist Steve McNutt says the 3,500-foot volcano last erupted in 1997. He says the volcano has shown signs of increased activity during the last few months.""A volcano has erupted with little warning on an island in Alaska, sending an ash... more
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