Alexandria, VA—The American Geological Institute (AGI) is offering Earth Science Toolkits at a discounted price of $5.00 each until the end of May, 2011. Each year educators, scout leaders and community organizers use the Earth Science Week Toolkits to introduce students and the public to the wonders of earth science. AGI is selling these educational toolkits from several previous years at a substantial discount to encourage expanded instruction on key topics from energy and climate to outdoor learning and geoscience careers. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — Last fall, EARTH caught up with geochemistry grad student Jeremy Jacquot as he was about to embark on the first U.S.-led GEOTRACES cruise across the Atlantic, where he and 32 researchers were hoping to measure and track concentrations of various trace elements and isotopes. This month, in “Tracking Trace Elements and Isotopes in the Oceans”, we follow up with Jacquot as he details the highs, lows and initial findings from the cruise, which was unfortunately cut short due to a ship malfunction. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA – The geoscience profession is facing critical human resource issues as a result of its aging workforce and low number of new graduates entering core geoscience occupations. Since the mid-1990’s the geoscience degree completion rates have hovered near 12 percent for undergraduates and 20 percent for graduate students. Furthermore, data from the National Science Foundation’s 2006 statistical databases indicates that only 30 percent of geoscience graduates work in core geoscience occupations. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — ExxonMobil Corporation will receive the American Geological Institute (AGI) 2011 Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Public Understanding of the Geosciences. The award will be presented at the AGI Past Presidents Dinner during the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention in Houston on April 10. “This award recognizes efforts to create greater public appreciation and knowledge of the role the geosciences play in our society,” said Dr. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The YES Network and the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) will host a townhall meeting at the 2011 European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna, Austria from 19:00-20:00 on April 5. This event will address some of the key factors in aligning graduate aspirations with employer needs. Event speakers will include representatives from geoscience early-career networks, geoscience employers, recent geoscience graduates, and current geoscience students. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — If you ask someone involved in community remote sensing to define the emerging field, the most likely response will be a chuckle followed by “That’s a hard question to answer…” At its core, the movement is about remote sensing — collecting data from afar. Remote sensing has revolutionized science and Earth monitoring, but it fails to collect data at the hyper-local level. And that’s where the community comes in. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — Black carbon — fine particles of soot in the atmosphere produced from the burning of fossil fuels or biomass — has been known to be a health hazard for decades. But over the last decade, scientists have been examining in increasing detail the various ways in which these particles contribute to another hazard: heating up the planet. Black carbon’s impact on climate is not cut-and-dried, however, as EARTH explores in “Still in a Haze: What We Don’t Know About Black Carbon” in the April issue. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — In 1993, “Jurassic Park” thrilled the world with the idea that dinosaurs could be resurrected from bits of DNA preserved in mosquitoes trapped in ancient amber. In the 18 years since the movie came out, scientists have been finding that parts of this scenario are closer to reality than anyone ever imagined: Researchers have found microbes living for tens of thousands — and maybe millions — of years inside salt crystals. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — In the back alleys of the world’s capitals and the ballrooms of presidential palaces exists a black market that preys on the imagination of some and the greed of others. These black-market items are not of this world: They are moon rocks, collected decades ago by six Apollo missions and three unmanned Soviet missions to the moon. For the past decade, former NASA investigator Joseph Gutheinz Jr. has been tracking this lunar larceny — with a good bit of success. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geological Institute (AGI) is pleased to welcome its 49th Member Society, the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA). IMGA was established in 2006 and has nearly 500 members representing 73 countries. This multi-national organization facilitates interactions between geoscientists and biomedical and public health researchers to address human and animal health problems created by geologic materials and processes. Dr. P. Patrick Leahy, AGI Executive Director, says of IMGA’s addition to the AGI federation, “IMGA is an association that truly matches with AGI’s mission to increase the awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society. [Read More]