New evidence for recent earthquakes on Mars
Scientists have found new evidence for recent earthquakes on Mars.
Scientists have found new evidence for recent earthquakes on Mars.
Tag: geology
New evidence for recent earthquakes on Mars
Making buildings invisible to earthquakes
Making buildings invisible to earthquakes.
Making buildings invisible to earthquakes.
The manslaughter trial of six scientists and one government official continued yesterday in Italy over their reassurances to the public prior to a deadly earthquake in 2009.
The manslaughter trial of six scientists and one government official continued yesterday in Italy over their reassurances to the public prior to a deadly earthquake in 2009.
Guido Bertolaso, former head of the Department of Civil Protection and De Bernardinis’s direct superior, had not been indicted and was originally expected to appear as a witness. But a few weeks ago a wiretap revealed that he had apparently set up the meeting to convey a reassuring message, regardless of the scientists’ opinion. He also seemed to be the source of the “discharge of energy” statement. He thus found himself under investigation and, at the beginning of the hearing, he was officially notified that he too may soon be formally indicted for manslaughter.
Bertolaso was asked by the prosecutor to explain that telephone conversation. He defended himself by saying that by defining the meeting as a “media move”, he was not trying to downplay risks but rather to put some order into the contradictory information that was reaching the citizens in those days. In particular, he referred to Giampaolo Giuliani — a laboratory technician and amateur seismologist who was alarming the population with claims that a major shock was coming — and to a newspaper article that had misquoted some Civil Protection experts and stated that the shocks would soon be over. The meeting, he said, was meant to make clear that both were wrong and that no deterministic prediction could be made. [emphasis mine]
This increasingly appears to be another case of science being corrupted by politics.
The manslaughter trial of six scientists and one government official continued yesterday in Italy over their reassurances to the public prior to a deadly earthquake in 2009.
Guido Bertolaso, former head of the Department of Civil Protection and De Bernardinis’s direct superior, had not been indicted and was originally expected to appear as a witness. But a few weeks ago a wiretap revealed that he had apparently set up the meeting to convey a reassuring message, regardless of the scientists’ opinion. He also seemed to be the source of the “discharge of energy” statement. He thus found himself under investigation and, at the beginning of the hearing, he was officially notified that he too may soon be formally indicted for manslaughter.
Bertolaso was asked by the prosecutor to explain that telephone conversation. He defended himself by saying that by defining the meeting as a “media move”, he was not trying to downplay risks but rather to put some order into the contradictory information that was reaching the citizens in those days. In particular, he referred to Giampaolo Giuliani — a laboratory technician and amateur seismologist who was alarming the population with claims that a major shock was coming — and to a newspaper article that had misquoted some Civil Protection experts and stated that the shocks would soon be over. The meeting, he said, was meant to make clear that both were wrong and that no deterministic prediction could be made. [emphasis mine]
This increasingly appears to be another case of science being corrupted by politics.
Eleven months after the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, a collection of amazing and inspiring before and after pictures.
Eleven months after the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, a collection of incredible and inspiring before and after pictures.
Eleven months after the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, a collection of incredible and inspiring before and after pictures.
The Martian meteorite that was recovered in Morocco in July is now thought to contain pockets of trapped Martian atmosphere.
The Martian meteorite that was recovered in Morocco in July is now thought to contain pockets of trapped Martian atmosphere.
Or at least, the geology says the meteorite should have these pockets. The actual analysis has not yet happened.
The Martian meteorite that was recovered in Morocco in July is now thought to contain pockets of trapped Martian atmosphere.
Or at least, the geology says the meteorite should have these pockets. The actual analysis has not yet happened.
Based on computer models a team of scientists have concluded that the world’s continents are slowly forming the next supercontinent, which will coalesce over the North Pole in 50 to 200 million years
Based on computer models a team of scientists have concluded that the world’s continents are slowly forming the next supercontinent, which will coalesce over the North Pole in 50 to 200 million years.
Based on computer models a team of scientists have concluded that the world’s continents are slowly forming the next supercontinent, which will coalesce over the North Pole in 50 to 200 million years.
New eruptions from Mount Etna in Italy
A new eruption from Mount Etna in Italy.
A new eruption from Mount Etna in Italy.
Underground again today
Posting will be light today, as I am joining University of Arizona PhD student Sarah Trube and several other Arizona cavers on a cave trip to collect water samples in a southern Arizona cave. This is in connection with research Sarah is doing to analyze the chemistry of cave dripwater and how it leads to the formation of cave speleothems. Moreover, she is tracking water flow and attempting to link it to climate and weather variations over time.
I noticed Sarah’s water collection equipment on my first Tucson-area cave trip back last January. In one case she had attached a tube to the bottom of a stalactite which fed the dripwater into a bottle. In another case she placed glass plates on top of stalagmites to allow the dripwater to drip onto the plate and then evaporate. Last month I joined her on one of her collection trips, where she gathered glass plates for later analysis in the lab. Though the plates had not been in cave more than a few months, you could easily see a thin layer of calcite deposit on their surface.
Below the fold is an image of Sarah gathering dripwater during an earlier trip.
» Read more
What is this stuff?
The uncertainty of science: In this week’s release of images from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the science team posted the image on the right and asked, “What is this stuff?”
Here’s a hypothetical geologic history that might explain this scene: layered sediments were deposited by water or airfall (including volcanic pyroclastics). A crudely polygonal patterned ground was created by stresses in the sediments, and groundwater followed the fractures and deposited minerals that cemented the sediments. This was followed by perhaps billions of years of erosion by the wind, leaving the cemented fractures as high-standing ridges.
Of course, this story is almost certainly incomplete if not totally wrong.
Click here to see the close-up subimage from which I cropped the image on the right.
The quasicrystal from outer space
The second Grail space probe has entered lunar orbit
The second Grail space probe has entered lunar orbit.
The second Grail space probe has entered lunar orbit.
An eruption today of the very remote Cleveland volcano in the Aleutian Islands has caused an air traffic alert.
More volcano news: An eruption today of the very remote Cleveland volcano in the Aleutian Islands has caused an air traffic alert.
More volcano news: An eruption today of the very remote Cleveland volcano in the Aleutian Islands has caused an air traffic alert.
Volcanic activity in the Red Sea is producing a new island
Volcanic activity in the Red Sea is producing a brand new island.
Volcanic activity in the Red Sea is producing a brand new island.
The terraced slopes of Aristarchus
The science team of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter released a spectacular image of the lunar crater Aristarchus on Christmas Day, looking sideways at the crater’s west wall. The image was taken from only 16 miles above the Moon’s surface. You can see the full image here.
Two things to note from this image:
» Read more
A new kind of metal in the deep Earth
The first debris from the March 11 Japanese earthquake/tsunami has reached the shores of the northwest U.S.
The first debris from the March 11 Japanese earthquake/tsunami has reached the shores of the northwest U.S..
The first debris from the March 11 Japanese earthquake/tsunami has reached the shores of the northwest U.S..
A big sideways slip on Mars
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter today released an image of a really spectacular transform fault on Mars, a spot where the ground cracked and two sections moved sideways to each other. In this case, the sideways movement was about 300 feet. The image is posted below the fold.
Compare that with the Japanese magnitude 9 earthquake on March 11, which only shifted the seabed sideways 165 feet while raising it 33 feet. The quake that moved these two pieces of Martian bedrock sideways must have been quite a ride.
» Read more
Panning for gold on the streets of New York
Hole for rent
The trial of seven Italian earthquake experts facing manslaughter charges for not correctly predicting an earthquake continued this week.
The trial of seven Italian earthquake experts facing manslaughter charges for not correctly predicting a deadly earthquake continued this week.
The prosecution’s argument that the experts had underplayed the possible occurrence of a major quake was bolstered by testimony from Daniela Stati, the former civil protection officer for Abruzzo, who took an active role in the March 31 meeting. Stati confirmed what she had previously told prosecutors in 2010, that one of the indicted said during the meeting that the continuing tremors represented a “favorable signal” because there was a continuous discharge of energy that made stronger tremors less likely. In fact, scientific evidence suggests that groups of small earthquakes tend instead to increase the chances of a major earthquake nearby, even though the absolute probability of such a quake remains low. Stati said that nobody within the commission objected to this statement. She also underlined that the “reassuring message” given to the press by her, L’Aquila Mayor Massimo Cialente, and two of the indicted, Franco Barberi and Bernardo De Bernardinis, was based on comments made at the meeting.
The trial of seven Italian earthquake experts facing manslaughter charges for not correctly predicting a deadly earthquake continued this week.
The prosecution’s argument that the experts had underplayed the possible occurrence of a major quake was bolstered by testimony from Daniela Stati, the former civil protection officer for Abruzzo, who took an active role in the March 31 meeting. Stati confirmed what she had previously told prosecutors in 2010, that one of the indicted said during the meeting that the continuing tremors represented a “favorable signal” because there was a continuous discharge of energy that made stronger tremors less likely. In fact, scientific evidence suggests that groups of small earthquakes tend instead to increase the chances of a major earthquake nearby, even though the absolute probability of such a quake remains low. Stati said that nobody within the commission objected to this statement. She also underlined that the “reassuring message” given to the press by her, L’Aquila Mayor Massimo Cialente, and two of the indicted, Franco Barberi and Bernardo De Bernardinis, was based on comments made at the meeting.
On the way to its winter haven, Opportunity found more evidence of water on Mars
On the way to its winter haven, Opportunity found more evidence of liquid water that once flowed on Mars, specifically a geological vein that they think might be gypsum.
The vein examined most closely by Opportunity is about the width of a human thumb (0.4 to 0.8 inch, or 1 to 2 centimeters), 16 to 20 inches (40 to 50 centimeters) long, and protrudes slightly higher than the bedrock on either side of it. Observations by the durable rover reveal this vein and others like it within an apron surrounding a segment of the rim of Endeavour Crater. None like it were seen in the 20 miles (33 kilometers) of crater-pocked plains that Opportunity explored for 90 months before it reached Endeavour, nor in the higher ground of the rim.
According to what project scientist Steve Squyres said at a press conference today at the AGU meeting, “This is the single most significant piece of evidence that liquid water once flowed on Mars.”
On the way to its winter haven, Opportunity found more evidence of liquid water that once flowed on Mars, specifically a geological vein that they think might be gypsum.
The vein examined most closely by Opportunity is about the width of a human thumb (0.4 to 0.8 inch, or 1 to 2 centimeters), 16 to 20 inches (40 to 50 centimeters) long, and protrudes slightly higher than the bedrock on either side of it. Observations by the durable rover reveal this vein and others like it within an apron surrounding a segment of the rim of Endeavour Crater. None like it were seen in the 20 miles (33 kilometers) of crater-pocked plains that Opportunity explored for 90 months before it reached Endeavour, nor in the higher ground of the rim.
According to what project scientist Steve Squyres said at a press conference today at the AGU meeting, “This is the single most significant piece of evidence that liquid water once flowed on Mars.”
The explosive Kilauea volcano
At a press conference just completed at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, geologist Don Swanson of the U.S. Geological Hawaiian Volcano Observatory revealed that the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii has been in an explosive mode about sixty percent of the time in the past 2500 years. “Kilauea is not the gentle volcano that most people assume,” noted Swanson.
» Read more
Colorful Vesta
Tonight’s press conference at the American Geophysical Union conference focused on the latest results from Dawn, orbiting the giant asteroid Vesta. Or to put it as scientist Vishnu Reddy put it, “Vesta is the most colorful asteroid in the solar system.”
At least, in geological terms. To our human eye the asteroid wouldn’t be so spectacular. However, the false color images released by the scientists show the global geological diversity of Vesta. From the press release:
» Read more
The March 11 earthquake off the coast of Japan shifted the seabed 165 feet and raised it 33 feet, the largest shift ever recorded
The March 11 earthquake off the coast of Japan shifted the seabed as much 165 feet and raised it as much as 33 feet, the largest such change ever recorded.
The March 11 earthquake off the coast of Japan shifted the seabed as much 165 feet and raised it as much as 33 feet, the largest such change ever recorded.
Mountains and buried ice on Mars
Mountains and buried ice on Mars.
New images from the high-resolution stereo camera on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter allow a closer inspection [of the Phlegra Montes mountain range] and show that almost every mountain is surrounded by ‘lobate debris aprons’ – curved features typically observed around plateaus and mountains at these latitudes. Previous studies have shown that this material appears to have moved down the mountain slopes over time, and looks similar to the debris found covering glaciers here on Earth.
Mountains and buried ice on Mars.
New images from the high-resolution stereo camera on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter allow a closer inspection [of the Phlegra Montes mountain range] and show that almost every mountain is surrounded by ‘lobate debris aprons’ – curved features typically observed around plateaus and mountains at these latitudes. Previous studies have shown that this material appears to have moved down the mountain slopes over time, and looks similar to the debris found covering glaciers here on Earth.
The New Madrid fault might be turning off
According to GPS data gathered over the past two decades, it appears that the New Madrid fault in Missouri might be shutting down.
According to GPS data gathered over the past two decades, it appears that the New Madrid fault in Missouri might be shutting down.
Chile’s powerful Cerro Hudson volcano is threatening to erupt
Chile’s powerful Cerro Hudson volcano has come back to life and is threatening a major eruption.
Patagonians are worried. Many remember Mount Hudson’s catastrophic eruptions of 1971 and 1991. The latter eruption was one of the most violent registered eruptions in Chile, and lasted for five months. At its peak it turned day into night, making the banks of nearby Huemules, Cupquelan and Ibáñez Rivers collapse with ash. Many areas in the region are still covered with ash, pumice and other volcanic rocks. “These are the characteristics of this highly explosive volcano,” said Juan Cayupi, a volcanologist at the National Emergency Office.
Chile’s powerful Cerro Hudson volcano has come back to life and is threatening a major eruption.
Patagonians are worried. Many remember Mount Hudson’s catastrophic eruptions of 1971 and 1991. The latter eruption was one of the most violent registered eruptions in Chile, and lasted for five months. At its peak it turned day into night, making the banks of nearby Huemules, Cupquelan and Ibáñez Rivers collapse with ash. Many areas in the region are still covered with ash, pumice and other volcanic rocks. “These are the characteristics of this highly explosive volcano,” said Juan Cayupi, a volcanologist at the National Emergency Office.
Catching an avalanche on Mars, as it happens
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team today released this really cool image from Mars, showing an avalanche near the North Pole, in progress. The image looks directly down the cliff face from above. At the base of the cliff we can see the dust cloud from the crash of material billowing out away from the scarp.
What impresses me most about this image is that it was taken by an orbiting spacecraft approximately 200 miles above the planet’s surface, moving at thousands of miles an hour. Yet, the camera not only had the resolution to see the cloud of dust, it could snap the image fast enough to capture the actual fall of material (the white wisps down the side of the cliff that are reminiscent of a waterfall).
Also intriguing is the visible steep face of the cliff face itself. I know a lot of rock climbers who would love to literally get their hands (and chocks) on that rock face. And in Mars’s one-third gravity, rock climbing would surely be different.
North Cliffs collapse in Cornwall
An evening pause: The collapse of a entire cliff side in Cornwall. You can see the aftermath two weeks later here.
Twenty-three Indian Ocean nations test their own tsumani warning system
Twenty-three Indian Ocean nations successful tested their own tsumani warning system on Wednesday.
Twenty-three Indian Ocean nations successful tested their own tsumani warning system on Wednesday.