Alexandria, VA - Global seismic hazard maps exist to help societies and decision-makers anticipate and prepare for earthquakes. These maps are supposed to depict the maximum level of ground shaking likely to be produced by an earthquake in a given area. In the past decade, however, ground motions and death tolls in areas struck by earthquakes have far exceeded these maps’ projections. Thus, scientists are calling into question the standard methods used to estimate seismic risk, and accepted assumptions and calculations have come under fire. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The Geoscience Academic Provenance research series conducted by Houlton presents quantitative data in Geoscience Currents 59. Participants were asked to rate their feelings toward geoscience on a scale from 1 to 7 through a Likert-based survey. The aggregated responses illuminated the changes over time in students’ attitudes toward pursuing geoscience. A copy of Geoscience Currents 59 can be found online and downloaded here. Geoscience Currents are quick snapshots of data released by AGI on the status of the geoscience workforce, representing data collaborations with other societies, employers, and professionals. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute has released Geoscience Currents 60, which examines female enrollments and degrees in the geosciences over time. In 2011, the Current concludes, female participation in U.S. geoscience degree programs remained generally steady. After decades of steady growth in the rate of female participation, there has been little change since 2005. Several interesting trends are also noted, including declines in doctorates awarded following economic downturns, and that women appear to have slightly higher degree completion rates than men at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels. [Read More]

In 2010, the world reached a milestone: The number of people living in urban areas reached 50 percent. This monumental shift from rural to urban living comes with consequences. Growing urban populations will have to learn to efficiently deal with increased demands for energy, transportation, sanitation, food and water while balancing the environmental impacts of such densely populated regions. Currently, 75 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels come from cities, which cover just 3 percent of Earth’s land surface. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has started a free GeoWord of the Day service. In celebration of the release of the revised 5th edition Glossary of Geology for the Kindle and Nook platforms, this new initiative aims to provide a fun and convenient way to learn a new geoscience term every day. Starting May 9, 2012 (US ET), the service will highlight a new word or term featured in the Glossary of Geology, an authoritative source for geoscience terms and definitions. [Read More]

Volcanism is often implicated in periods of abrupt cooling. After the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, for instance, global temperatures dropped by half a degree Celsius due to air-borne particulate matter blocking solar radiation. However, these effects don’t normally last more than a few years. Yet, a recent study blames volcanism for a 500-year cold period referred to as the Little Ice Age. Beginning around the end of the Middle Ages and lasting into the early 19th century, unusually cold conditions blanketed much of the Northern Hemisphere. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) conducted a follow-up study to research conducted by Houlton in the Geoscience Currents series that examines the various pathways taken by undergraduate geoscience majors when deciding to concentrate in the Earth sciences. Conducted in late 2011, the new follow-up study featured in Geoscience Currents 57 utilizes data from 13 of the original 17 participants and discusses the similarities and differences between population groups in the context of their changing pathways. [Read More]

The revised 5th edition of the Glossary of Geology, published by the American Geoscience Institute, is now available as an e-book for the Kindle and the Nook. The e-book version provides users with the full layout and text of the Glossary for half the price and none of the pounds of the print edition. The Glossary is an indispensable reference tool. It contains nearly 40,000 entries, including 3,600 new terms and approximately 13,000 entries with revised definitions from the previous edition. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The North Star, the Pole Star, the Guiding Star, Polaris: Its many names reflect the many centuries humans have gazed northward to it for guidance. However, recent studies have shown that the North Star is losing mass at a significant rate. Will Polaris, steadfast beacon for early sailors and adventurers alike, vanish from the night sky? Hilding Neilson of the Argelander Institute of Astronomy at the University of Bonn in Germany thinks that he and his colleagues have unlocked the answer to the North Star’s decreasing mass. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — Enrollments and degrees in the geosciences in the United States dipped during the 2010-2011 academic year as detailed in the latest Geoscience Currents published by the American Geosciences Institute. After peaking the year before, enrollments slipped back to 2008-2009 levels with undergraduate geoscience enrollments dropping about 8 percent and graduate enrollments falling approximately 3 percent. Degrees similarly declined, with Bachelor’s degrees dropping 9 percent, Master’s dropping 6 percent, and Doctorates dropping 4 percent. [Read More]