Alexandria, VA - Analyzing thousands of records, researchers have reinforced the claim that for marine life, bigger has been better for the last 542 million years. The study examined Cope’s rule - the idea, named for paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, that species evolve to larger sizes over time. With the help of undergraduate students and high-school interns, the researchers compiled information on five major marine phyla, including arthropods, brachiopods, chordates, echinoderms and mollusks. [Read More]

Humans depend on copper for everything from electrical wiring to water pipes. To meet demand, the metal has been largely mined from Porphyry Copper Deposits (PCDs). For decades, scientists generally agreed upon the geological processes behind PCD formation; now EARTH Magazine examines two new studies that suggest alternatives to these long-held understandings. From enriched pulses of magmatic fluids creating copper concentrations, to remelted crust allowing deeper PCDs to rise up to shallower depths, these conclusions may better inform geologists about where large new copper deposits may be located. [Read More]

Geoscience information can be used by federal, state, and local decision makers to assess the positive and negative impacts of onshore oil and gas energy resource development, and to inform policy to both facilitate U.S. energy production and minimize impacts on water and land resources. In this briefing, the speakers will address key questions that geosciences help to inform: How does onshore oil and gas development impact our water and land resources? [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - As this summer’s blockbuster movie season gets underway, EARTH Magazine asks an important question: In movies, “are geologists portrayed as heroes or villains?” The topic of how geologists are portrayed in film has been oft-debated around a campfire, or over a frosty beverage at the end of a day of fieldwork. Now, four scientists bring some serious analysis to the subject in the June issue feature, “Rock Stars - Geologists on the Silver Screen. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute is pleased to recognize Dr. Hiroo Kanamori with the Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal at the 2015 American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention and Exposition. Kanamori has been described as “a towering figure in seismology and geophysics.” His discoveries have allowed geoscientists to better understand large earthquakes, and determine how they may impact earthquake and tsunami-prone communities. A leader in understanding the physics of earthquakes and their tectonic environments, Kanamori has developed scaling relations between various earthquake parameters including the energy and moment, and created an energy-based magnitude scale (denoted as Mw), now in widespread use. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Emily Cross of Hammarskjold High School in Thunder Bay, Canada, won first place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) earlier this month for her project titled “Patination of Raw Lithic Materials for Analysis of Prehistoric Artifacts.” Second place went to Elena Jayne Mitchell of Walden School of Liberal Arts in Provo, Utah, for her project entitled “Analyzing the Surface of Mercury in Three-Dimensions.” Tsai-Ju Yu from the National Lo-Tung Senior High School in Chinese Taipei won third place for her project titled “Impact of Eyjafjallajokull Volcano Eruption on Atmospheric Temperature in 2010. [Read More]

Researchers from the University of South Carolina in Columbia used satellite imagery of fires in the 2000s and field measurements of radioisotope levels to model changes in the distribution of radiation over the region. The researchers found that fires likely spread radiation across much of Eastern Europe, with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia receiving the highest doses. Traces of radioactive cesium-137 may have even traveled to Turkey, Italy and Scandinavia. Previously, the same researchers had found that reduced microbial activity in the area leads to slower than expected rates of decomposition of dead plant matter, leading to a build-up of leaf litter and plant debris on the forest floor — providing more fuel for forest fires. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The Spring 2015 issue of Geospectrum has been published by the American Geoscience Institute. Geospectrum provides an inside look at the latest news from the geoscience community. Download the complete spring issue of Geospectrum for free at: http://www.americangeosciences.org/ In this issue This issue features stories on the celebration of the International Year of Soils, how one geologist saw more than met the eye in Prudhoe Bay, and a summary of the Oso Landslide. [Read More]

Scientists from the Oregon State University who studied a 100-million-year-old amber specimen from Myanmar believe they have identified “spikelet-grass in its flowering state - and a cluster of fossilized ergot, a major ingredient in LSD.” While their conclusions are intriguing and have implications for the plant and fungi evolutionary trees, some challenge the methods used. Since amber specimens can be unique, scientists use noninvasive methods, and some argue these tests result in less rigorous conclusions. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA – Each day during Earth Science Week 2015 (October 11-17), science teachers, students, and the public are invited to focus on a different area of Earth science. To view a new webcast about “Focus Days” of this year’s celebration, visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/webcasts/index.html. This free webcast, narrated by AGI Outreach Assistant Katelyn Murtha, provides an overview of opportunities, activities, and resources available. The roughly four-minute tutorial includes a wealth of online links, which viewers can click during the presentation to review available resources. [Read More]