Alexandria, VA — We have entered an era of stark realization. Although Earth’s resources once seemed abundant and resilient, we have come to understand the limitations of a planet as small and crowded as our own. In Dawn of the Anthropocene: Humanity’s Defining Moment, author George A. Seielstad explores the challenges associated with building a sustainable future in a world struggling to meet society’s needs. The technology and innovation that have allowed humanity to manipulate the planet on a massive scale have also been accompanied by repercussions. [Read More]

Considered individually, 2012’s record high temperatures, droughts, wildfires, storms, and diminished snowpack are not necessarily alarming. But combined, the fact that the first seven months of 2012 were hotter than the hottest on record, more than half of the U.S. counties were declared disaster areas due to drought, and the snowpacks were at all-time lows, these indicators are much more significant from a climate standpoint. Two questions then remain: Will we see the same thing in 2013? [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — Big science often requires big tools. Until recently, earth scientists have been using relatively small-scale instruments to unlock some of our planet’s biggest mysteries. Now, geoscientists across the country are teaming up to use an “Earth Telescope” capable of peering deep into the planet with unprecedented resolution. This new technology called USArray is helping us learn more about how the deep Earth works. Part of the NSF-funded EarthScope project, USArray consists of an expansive grid of individual seismometers moving across the entire United States. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is accepting applications for the new Harriet Evelyn Wallace Scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year. The scholarship will be awarded to a thesis-based, full time female student pursuing either a Master’s or a Doctoral degree in the geosciences, and must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The Harriet Evelyn Wallace Scholarship is merit-based, and applicants will be evaluated on the probability of successfully completing their geoscience graduate program and transitioning into the geoscience workforce following graduation. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) welcomes three new Executive Committee members: Berry H. (Nick) Tew, Jr., President-Elect; Dorian Kuper, Secretary; and Jacqueline Huntoon, Member-At-Large. The new members of the AGI Executive Committee will be installed at the Friends of AGI Reception during the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Berry H. (Nick) Tew, Jr. is the State Geologist of Alabama and Director of the Geological Survey of Alabama. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geosciences Institute’s (AGI) Geoscience Policy program has launched a new webpage detailing the estimated impacts of the impending sequestration on federal geoscience funding. The sequestration, set to take effect on January 2, 2013 unless Congress agrees on a path to avoid it, could severely impact geoscience research and development (R&D) across the board. The new Geoscience Policy page outlines data acquired from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) R&D Budget and Policy Program brief, “Federal R&D and Sequestration in the First Five Years. [Read More]

On October 22, 2012, in L’Aquila, Italy, six seismologists and one Italian government official were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison. The seismologists and official had been on trial for not adequately warning the public about the danger of a potential earthquake prior to the L’Aquila earthquake in April 2009 that killed 309 people. Central to the question of manslaughter was whether there was a direct link between the reassuring statements of the commission on which the defendants served and the deaths from the earthquake. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Dennis Trombatore, long-time member and Chair of the GeoRef Advisory Committee, has been named the 2012 winner of the William B. Heroy Award for Distinguished Service to the American Geosciences Institute. Trombatore will be honored for his illustrious service at the AGI Past President’s Dinner held during the Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 4, 2012. Mr. Trombatore received his B.A. and MLS from Louisiana State University in 1975 and 1977, respectively. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce Dr. Sharon Mosher as its 2013 President. She will be inducted at the Friends of AGI Reception held during the Geological Society of America’s Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 5, 2012. Mosher is currently Dean and the William Stamps Farish Chair at the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She received degrees in Geology from the University of Illinois at Urbana (B. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The U.S. Geological Survey’s website states it in no uncertain terms: “There is no such thing as ’earthquake weather.” Yet, from at least the time of Aristotle, some people have professed links between atmospheric conditions and seismic shaking. For the most part, these hypotheses have not held up under scientific scrutiny and earthquake researchers have set them aside as intriguing but unfounded ideas. However, in the last decade new efforts to identify effects of weather-related, or in some cases climate-related, processes on seismicity have drawn new interest. [Read More]