Geology
Category archives for Geology
Disaster! Earthquakes, Floods, Plagues, and Other Catastrophes
Posted by Greg Laden on December 5, 2012 
I’m reading Disaster!: A History of Earthquakes, Floods, Plagues, and Other Catastrophes by John Withington, who also wrote about other disastrous things such as disasters specific to London. It is a couple of years old (and thus does not include the recent Japan earthquake and tsunami). This is more of a reference book than a…
How old is the Earth?
Posted by Greg Laden on November 19, 2012 I can’t believe we still have to cover this. We know how old the Earth is. The science on this is pretty darn good. It is 4.54 billion years old plus or minus about 1%. Florida Senator Marco Rubio does not know how old the earth is. Here is what he says about it: I’m…
There has been a large earthquake in Mexico
Posted by Greg Laden on March 20, 2012 The 7.6 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck 120 miles east of Acapulco. There are no details yet. UPDATE: With a bit of time passing, it is starting to look like a lot of stuff got shook-up, but there was not a lot of significant damage anywhere.
A new island is about to be borned!
Posted by Greg Laden on November 13, 2011 There are thirteen canary islands. But there are about to be fourteen. Well, actually, there’s probably more than 13 as these island chains usually have a few extra rocks sticking up that people aren’t sure about including in the final count. The point is, there is a volcano erupting under the sea in the Canary…
A River Runs By It: Children growing up with science all around them
Posted by Greg Laden on October 6, 2011 Look at this map, of a small part of the state of Minnesota: See the wide channel that runs from left to right with the windy river in it? You are looking at one of the most amazing stories in geological history ever. I’d like to tell you about it.
Thrust Fault
Posted by Greg Laden on May 16, 2011 The law of superimposition says that stuff found on top is younger than stuff found lower down, in a geological or archaeological column. This is generally true, but there are exceptions, mostly trivial and easily understood. If a cave forms in a rock formation, the stuff that later ends up in that cave is younger…
Is the yellowstone caldera safe?
Posted by Greg Laden on February 26, 2011 Not long after Yellowstone Park was officially created, a small group of campers were killed by Nez Perce Indians on the run from US troops1. More recently, the last time I was in the area, a ranger was killed by a Grizzly Bear (so was his horse) on the edge of the park. A quick…
Ice Volcanoes of Titan
Posted by Greg Laden on December 14, 2010 NASA may have spotted evidence of ice volcanoes on Saturn’s moon.
How did the victims of the Plinean Eruption of Vesuvius die?
Posted by Greg Laden on June 27, 2010 Even at the most extreme edges of the flow of stuff out of the volcano Pompeii, at the far edge of the mud and ash that came from the volcano’s explosion, the heat was sufficient to instantly kill everyone, even those inside their homes. And that is how the people at Pompeii, who’s remains were…
The True Meaning of the Unpronounceable Volcano that Ate Europe
Posted by Greg Laden on April 17, 2010 Whitney Houston took a car ferry from Britain to Ireland to attend her concert, rather than flying. Barack Obama has canceled his trip to a state funeral in Poland. A very large magical snake protects a canyon in south Africa. These things are connected a lot more closely than you might think.
Keep track of the Earth’s seismic activity
Posted by Greg Laden on February 2, 2010 Seismic Monitor Earthquakes In The Last Week USGS
Yellowstone: She’s gonna blow!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on January 18, 2010 Well, not really. But, as noted in Eruptions, there is a new swarm of little earthquakes underneath the Yellowstone Caldera. You’ll remember we discussed this here last time that happened. Since that time, of course, we’ve gotten to see what it would actually look like if the world’s scariest caldera (maybe) actually went off:
Nyamulagira Volcano and Human Evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on January 4, 2010 I had mentioned earlier that the volcanoes of the Virugna region in the Western Rift Valley (as well as other highland spots) have often been islands of rain forest separated from each other by different habitats, including grasslands and wooded savannas. this has produced an island effect that has been a laboratory for evolution, and…
The Volcano Nyamuragira: Some Context
Posted by Greg Laden on January 3, 2010 Nyamuragira, just now erupting, is one of the numerous Virunga Volcanoes, which form a large cluster of volcanoes spanning the border of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, between Lake Ex-Edward (a.k.a. Lake Rutenzege) and Lake Kivu. The largest population center is Goma, on Lake Kivu, along the southern margin of the lava fields from these volcanoes,…
The Rundown on Mount Rainier
Posted by Greg Laden on September 25, 2009 Mount Rainier (14,410 ft) has lately attracted a small amount of attention because of what is considered by some an increase in seismic activity there, so I thought it might be nice to get a baseline description of this volcano for those of you interested in such things. For scientifically accurate information and interesting discussion…
Big Earthquake in Mexico, and a smaller one
Posted by Greg Laden on August 3, 2009 Updated” The USGS gives details of two earthquakes in the Baja region, Mexico. At UTC 18:33 a 5.0 quake seems to have occurred at 28.931°N, 113.022°W, which is in the Gulf of California (a.k.a. Sea of Cortez) near and south of the island Angel de la Guarda. The second and larger quake, a 6.0 (preliminary)…
NASA researching California fault system
Posted by Greg Laden on June 18, 2009 I just got this massive continental plate sized press release from JPL. Below the fold. – – – – – the fold – – – -
Photosynth Prototype
Posted by Greg Laden on April 12, 2009 While you are waiting for the easter bunny:
Earthquake Triggering of Mud Volcanoes
Posted by Greg Laden on February 10, 2009 A quick note for those of you interested in mud volcanoes (and I know there are many of you). From an article titled “Earthquake Triggering of Mud Volcanoes” by Magna et al we learn that … Mud volcanoes sometimes erupt within days after nearby earthquakes. The number of such nearly coincident events is larger than…
Yellowstone Earthquakes Return
Posted by Greg Laden on January 11, 2009 Just as unexpectedly as when the last swarm started, and just as unexpectedly as when the last swarm stopped, there is a new swarm. Verifying my initial statement: At least at some levels, the experts don’t have much of a clue about these things. Not their fault. It’s just that there is not that much…
Seismic Activity at Yellowstone
Posted by Greg Laden on January 1, 2009 You have already heard that there has been increased seismic activity at Yellowstone National Park over the last few days. Since December 26th, there have been several earthquakes a day, some jut over 3.0 magnitude, in the vicinity of the north side of Yellowstone’s lake. This is a seismically active region, but the level of…
7.8 Magnitude Earthquake In China: Thousands Dead
Posted by Greg Laden on May 12, 2008 It is estimated that between 3 and 5 thousand people have been killed by an earthquake in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province, China. That is about one in ten residence of this county. ADDED: This number is increasing quickly. In at least three cases, schools appear have collapsed trapping hundreds of students. About 900 students were…
, which is now available for the 
