Geoscience Currents transmit snapshots of the many facets of the geoscience profession, in-depth case studies of how geoscience is applied, factsheets that provide rigorous introductions to a range of geoscience topics, workforce trends, and career paths.
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Displaying 21 - 28 of a total of 28 items
June 01, 2018
Introduction
The U.S. has millions of miles of oil and gas pipelines, thousands of rail cars, vessels, and barges, and about 100,000 tanker trucks that move oil and gas from wells to processing facilities or refineries, and finally to consumers. The U.S. also imports and exports large volumes of...
June 01, 2018
Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Demand
Hydraulically fracturing a modern well can require millions of gallons of water for the initial fracturing process. This is a potential problem in arid regions with competing demands for fresh water (i.e. high water stress), such as Colorado and West Texas (...
June 01, 2018
Introduction
Naturally occurring crude oil comes in many forms. The most familiar to many people is light crude oil, which is less dense than water and flows easily at room temperature. Heavy oil and bitumen are forms of crude oil that are more viscous (thicker) and dense. The largest crude oil...
June 01, 2018
Introduction
The oil and gas industry consumes and produces water. Water is used to drill and hydraulically fracture (“frack”) wells, refine and process oil and gas, and produce electricity in some natural gas power plants. Water is also naturally present in the rocks that contain oil and gas and...
February 26, 2018
Earthquakes in the New Madrid Fault Zone
The New Madrid fault zone (NMFZ) is a long-established weakness in the Earth’s crust in the central and eastern US where earthquakes have occurred for hundreds of millions of years. In 1811-1812, three large earthquakes (up to magnitude 7.5) caused severe...
July 13, 2017
Background
In areas prone to winter precipitation, transportation infrastructure must be able to quickly respond to snow and ice on roadways. Ice removal is a vital service in these communities. Deicing chemicals melt ice by lowering the temperature at which it melts. They can also prevent new ice...
November 19, 2012
AGI’s National Geoscience Student Exit Survey measures the relevant experiences in school and the immediate career plans upon graduation of recent geoscience degree recipients. In April 2012, AGI conducted the second pilot test of this survey received responses from 46 different departments. This...
July 26, 2011
Houlton (2010) found that three geoscience student populations followed six distinct pathway steps in pursuing their career in the discipline (see Geoscience Currents #45-46). Within the students’ pathways, two steps specically identify Pre-College and College Critical Incidents: specic events,...
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