Alexandria, Va. — If Earth breathes, Santiaguito Volcano in the Western Highlands of Guatemala could be its mouth. Roughly every half hour, like volcanic clockwork, Santiaguito’s active Caliente lava dome expands, filling with gas from depressurizing magma below. Then it exhales, often explosively, and deflates. Over the course of a day, you could almost keep time by it. In 2012, a scientific team led by volcanologist Jeffrey Johnson of Boise State University set up a base camp to conduct two field studies of Santiaguito’s rhythm, part of an ongoing interdisciplinary study. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Join leading geoscience organizations in promoting awareness of the importance of geologic mapping to society on October 17, as part of the Earth Science Week 2014 activities. Geologic maps are vital to education, science, business, and public policy concerns. Geologic Map Day will focus the attention of students, teachers, and the public on the study, uses, and significance of these tools, by engaging audiences through educational activities, print materials, online resources, and public outreach. [Read More]

“Virtual water” was coined in 1993 to help explain why long-predicted water wars driven by water and food security had not occurred among the arid nations of the Middle East and North Africa. The virtual water notion refers basically to the total amount of freshwater, either from rainfall or irrigation, used in the production of food commodities, including crops and fodder-fed livestock, or other goods and services — agricultural, industrial or otherwise. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Join the Earth Science Week team in encouraging everyone to explore geoscience careers on “Geoscience for Everyone Day” Thursday, October 16, 2014. If you’re an educator, invite a geoscientist to speak in your classroom. If you’re a geoscientist, visit a school or volunteer at a science center. Organize a scout event, lead a field trip, or hold a special “Take Your Child to Work Day.” You can make a real difference during Earth Science Week 2014 by opening a young person’s eyes to the world of Earth science. [Read More]

Alexandria, Va. — Most people are familiar with the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and are aware of the earthquake risk posed to the Bay Area — and much of California — by the San Andreas Fault. However, a cluster of large earthquakes struck the San Andreas and nearby faults in the 17th and 18th centuries, releasing about the same amount of energy throughout the Bay Area as the 1906 quake. [Read More]

Valley Fever — a sometimes-fatal infection with no known cure and no vaccine — is caused by a soilborne fungus that thrives in the hot, dry soils of the southwestern U.S., Mexico and Central and South America. However, recent reports of infections far outside the endemic area indicate the fungus is either spreading or becoming active in new areas. The disease is contracted through inhalation of fungal spores, which can be aerosolized by soil disturbances from construction, excavation, gardening and landscaping, as well as natural events like dust storms, earthquakes, landslides and wildfires. [Read More]

Is a natural gas-dominant economy achievable in North America? Would it be desirable? These are the questions that the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) aims to address in its inaugural Critical Issues Forum: “America’s Increasing Reliance on Natural Gas: Benefits and Risks of a Methane Economy.” The event will take place in Fort Worth, Texas from November 19-20, 2014. Registration is now open and can be found here. To encourage participation from experts at AGI Member organizations, a $25 registration discount will be applied to members of the organizations that make up the AGI federation. [Read More]

Although Mauna Loa often takes a back seat to the more famous Kilauea, which has been erupting nearly continuously since 1983, history warns us that Mauna Loa’s current silence is anomalous. Meanwhile, more people and more buildings pack into potentially hazardous areas: locations where Mauna Loa’s lava has reached in the past and likely will reach again. Read more about the steps geologists are already taking — such as upgrading their monitoring tools and talking with the public — to prepare for another eruption of Mauna Loa in the September issue of EARTH Magazine. [Read More]

Alexandria, Va. — The rapid proliferation of 3-D printing technology in the early 2000s sent ripples of excitement through the tech world and beyond, but the high price of printers put them out of reach for most academic researchers and hobbyists. Now, more affordable printers have broken this barrier, and geoscientists have started testing the waters. From the delicate geometry of a crystal lattice to the sweeping strata of an anticline, geology is an inherently 3-D discipline. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce two city-specific celebrations of its annual geoscience awareness campaign, Earth Science Week, taking place October 12-18, 2014. Earth Science Week Houston and Earth Science Week Denver will serve as major centers of public awareness activities. In both Houston and Denver, AGI is collaborating with geoscience organizations to extend and deepen the reach of the successful Earth Science Week campaign with special events, educational materials, online resources, and activities in schools and other settings. [Read More]