As EARTH Magazine reports, three projects may be responsible for a 20 percent error reduction in hurricane track and intensity forecasts. The Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program, NASA’s 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Project Field Experiment, and the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel Project have contributed to these improvements. The addition of unmanned aircraft, called Global Hawks, allows scientists to better observe hurricane evolution using a variety of sensors. For the 2013 hurricane season, scientists hope to corroborate Global Hawk data with Doppler data obtained in NOAA’s manned “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft. [Read More]

Recently, 14 earth scientists from the U.S.-based Association for Women Geoscientists travelled to Cuba to explore its geology and culture. The expedition is chronicled in the August issue of EARTH Magazine. While there, the scientists studied rocks that captured the extra-terrestrial impact attributed to the demise of the dinosaurs — including shocked quartz and tsunami deposits. They learned about how local limestone was used to build forts intended to protect Cuba’s harbors from pirate attacks. [Read More]

The Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkit is now available for advance order! The toolkit includes: The traditional program poster and school-year activity calendar Resources from distinguished program partners such as NASA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, Esri, ExxonMobil, and professional geoscientific societies This year’s Toolkit provides students with the opportunity to learn about the many exciting uses of maps and mapping technologies in the geosciences. About Earth Science Week Earth Science Week is an annual event led by AGI along with its sponsors and the greater geoscience community. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - In a field like earth science, adventures in the outdoors are commonplace. As this summer’s field season comes to a close and the lanterns are extinguished one last time, EARTH Magazine explores the ritual of field camp as geoscientists’ rite of passage from classroom learner to a workforce-ready scientist. Earth science is just that, the study of the Earth. Thorough understanding of the surface expression of textbook concepts helps geoscientists provide protection and valuable resources to society. [Read More]

The competition is open to all students at any level of their academic career (B.S., M.S., or Ph.D.) who have created a geologic map through recent field work. Winning students will receive field tools such as a Brunton Compass or rock hammer, and will be given the opportunity to publish their map in the Student Edition of the Journal of Maps. Each map should stand on its own without explanation by the student author, and the competition website defines the specific judging criteria for the Best Student Geologic Map Competition. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — One of the greatest controversies in science is what’s underneath the Yellowstone supervolcano. The controversy surrounds a unique relationship between a mantle plume (like the one that powers Hawaiian volcanoes) and the subduction zone off the Washington-Oregon coast. Cutting-edge research using a model created with corn syrup, fiberglass and a series of hydraulic pistons reveals a plume sliced in half by the subducting plate. Before this research, different scientific teams had only investigated the subducting tectonic plate or the mantle plume, but not both at the same time. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Scientists have recently confirmed the existence of an impact crater buried below the town of Decorah, Iowa. Scientists first discovered what they thought resembled a crater in 2008, but now it has been corroborated by an airborne geophysical survey. Scientists estimate the diameter of the crater at 5.5 kilometers wide, nearly five times the size of the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona. Based on the crater’s size, scientists calculate that the region was likely hit by a meteorite roughly 250 meters in diameter about 500 million years ago, and could be related to other Midwestern impact craters. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is sponsoring three national contests honoring this year’s theme “Mapping Our World.” This year’s competitions will feature a photography contest, a visual arts contest, and an essay contest. Photography Contest: Mapping My Community Students, geologists, and the general public are invited to participate in this year’s photography contest, “Mapping My Community.” Entries must be composed of original, unpublished material, and show how maps are used in your community. [Read More]

Of all the water on Earth, less than 3 percent is available for human use, and as climates change and populations boom, the strategies used to extract it will become increasingly complex. With increasing demand, policymakers, scientists and leaders must recognize the energy-water nexus. The energy-water nexus describes an interdependent relationship that exists between availability of water resources and the energy required to obtain, distribute and utilize them. The way we manage the delicate relationship between energy and water will have major implications for the future of both critical resources, as EARTH explores in the July issue. [Read More]

Community colleges provide a strong foundation for the nation’s graduating STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) workforce. In its latest Geoscience Currents, the American Geosciences Institute documents the flow of geoscience students from 2-year to 4-year institutions in Texas, adding to an earlier report on similar data from California released in 2012. In 2012, 70 percent of geoscience students in Texas public universities had transferred from Community Colleges. In particular, Texas A&M University admitted students from 32 community colleges statewide, followed closely by Texas Tech which admitted students from 25 2-year institutions. [Read More]