GEOLOGY WITH JEFF SIMPSON
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Stronger Evidence of Slowing Atlantic Circulation - Climate ‘Achilles’ Heel’

2/27/2021

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A growing body of evidence suggests that a massive change is underway in the sensitive circulation system of the Atlantic Ocean, a group of scientists said Thursday. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), a system of currents that includes the Florida Current and the Gulf Stream, is now “in its weakest state in over a millennium,” these experts say. This has implications for everything from the climate of Europe to the rates of sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast. Although evidence of the system’s weakening has been published before, the new research cites 11 sources of “proxy” evidence of the circulation’s strength, including clues hidden in seafloor mud as well as patterns of ocean temperatures. The enormous flow has been directly measured only since 2004, too short a period to definitively establish a trend, which makes these indirect measures critical for understanding its behavior. - Washington Post
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River Colors are Changing

2/27/2021

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Much like the sky, rivers are rarely painted one color. Across the world, they appear in shades of yellow, green, blue, and brown. Subtle changes in the environment can alter the color of rivers, though, shifting them away from their typical hues. New research shows the dominant color has changed in about one-third of large rivers in the continental United States over the past 35 years  “Changes in river color serve as a first pass that tell us something is going on nearby,” said John Gardner, the study’s lead author and a hydrologist at the University of Pittsburgh. “There are a lot of details to parse out on what is causing those changes, though.” - NASA Earth Observatory
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How a 1960s Discovery in Yellowstone Made Possible COVID-19 PCR Tests

2/23/2021

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Like so many great scientific discoveries, Tom Brocks  research would revolutionize the field of biology — and pave the road to the development of the gold-standard COVID-19 tests used to fight a pandemic — with a question.  In 1964, the microbiologist was driving out West when he stopped to visit Yellowstone National Park. It was the first time he saw the park's picturesque hot springs. - USA Today or Apple News
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Ancient Trees Show When The Earth's Magnetic Field Last Flipped Out

2/23/2021

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An ancient, well-preserved tree that was alive the last time the Earth's magnetic poles flipped has helped scientists pin down more precise timing of that event, which occurred about 42,000 years ago.  This new information has led them to link the flipping of the poles to key moments in the prehistoric record, like the sudden appearance of cave art and the mysterious extinction of large mammals and the Neanderthals. They argue that the weakening of the Earth's magnetic field would have briefly transformed the world by altering its climate and allowing far more ultraviolet light to pour in.  Until now, scientists have mostly assumed that magnetic field reversals didn't matter much for life on Earth, although some geologists have noted that die-offs of large mammals seemed to occur in periods when the Earth's magnetic field was weak. - NPR / Science
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A giant kauri tree grows in Waipoua Forest in Northland, New Zealand. Trees like this one that fell long ago and were preserved for thousands of years are helping researchers discern fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic poles.
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One-Third of Farmland in the U.S. Corn Belt Has Lost Its Topsoil

2/21/2021

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More than a third of farmland in the U.S. Corn Belt, nearly 100 million acres, has completely lost its carbon-rich topsoil due to erosion, according to a new study published in the journal PNAS.  The loss of topsoil has reduced corn and soybean yields in the Midwest by 6 percent, resulting in a loss of nearly $3 billion a year for farmers, and increased runoff of sediment and nutrients into nearby waterways, worsening water quality.  The study found that the greatest loss of carbon-rich topsoil was on hilltops and ridge lines indicating that tillage, or the repeated plowing of fields, was largely to blame as loosened soils moved downslope. The research also found that this erosion has removed nearly 1.5 petagrams of carbon from hills in the Corn Belt. Restoring the topsoil, the study’s authors argued, could help productivity and potentially turn agricultural fields into carbon sinks. - YaleEnvironment360
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Soil erosion in corn field in Nebraska. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
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Texas Blackouts Fuel False Claims About Renewable Energy

2/17/2021

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With millions of Texas residents still without power amid frigid temperatures, conservative commentators have falsely claimed that wind turbines and solar energy were primarily to blame.  “We should never build another wind turbine in Texas,” read a Tuesday Facebook ost from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. “The experiment failed big time.”  “This is a perfect example of the need for reliable energy sources like natural gas & coal,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, on Tuesday. In reality, failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as frozen wind turbines and solar panels, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, said in a press conference Tuesday.  Still a variety of misleading claims spread on social media around renewable energy, with wind turbines and the Green New Deal getting much of the attention.  A viral photo of a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine was shared with claims it showed a “chemical” solution being applied to one of the massive wind generators in Texas. The only problem? The photo was taken in Sweden years ago, not in the U.S. in 2021. The helicopter sprayed hot water onto the wind turbine, not chemicals. - ABC News

"Most of the generation lost has been from coal and gas, according to ERCOT, with only 13% attributable to wind. 'By some estimates,' The Texas Tribune reported Tuesday, 'nearly half of the state's natural gas production has screeched to a halt. Gathering lines freeze, and the wells get so cold that they can't produce,' Parker Fawcett, a natural gas analyst at S&P Global Platts, told the Tribune. 'And, pumps use electricity, so they're not even able to lift that gas and liquid, because there's no power to produce.'"

While ice has forced some turbines to shut down just as a brutal cold wave drives record electrify demand, that's been the least significant factor in the blackouts, according to Dan Woodfin, a senior director for ERCOT which operates the Texas grid.  The main factors?  Frozen instruments at natural gas, coal and even nuclear facilities as well as limited supplies of natural gas, he said.  "Natural gas pressure" in particular is one reason power is coming back slower than expected Tuesday, added Woodfin. 
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The Plastic Industry Is Growing During COVID. Recycling? Not So Much

2/17/2021

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Unlike most industries during COVID-19, plastic manufacturers are seeing production increase in the midst of a global economic downturn.  That growth also means more plastic in landfills — a problem, according to environmental advocates, who say that corporate efforts to curb waste, including a stated goal of recycling all plastic packaging by 2040, are insufficient. “Pour money into it; build it; it’ll all get recycled — that’s the myth they’re promoting,” Ivy Schlegel, a plastics researcher with the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace, told FRONTLINE.  Production of plastic resins, the building blocks of all plastic products, increased 0.9 percent in the U.S. in 2020, compared to 1.2 percent in 2019. Despite smaller growth than the previous year, plastic was the only segment of the U.S. chemistry industry, which includes everything from fertilizer to synthetic rubber, to expand last year, according to a year-end report by the American Chemistry Council. The report projects that plastics will be the fastest-growing part of the industry through 2030, factoring in economic recovery, the anticipated end of the pandemic and other variables. - Frontline
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Greener Pastures: Shell Plans Steady Drop in Oil Business

2/11/2021

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Royal Dutch Shell, one of the multinationals that defined the oil industry, is slowly turning away from the fossil fuel that made its fortune over the decades but also worsened a global climate crisis. The company said Thursday that its production of oil peaked before the coronavirus pandemic and will fall steadily as it attempts an ambitious pivot toward less polluting forms of energy. It's a milestone for the company and reflects the urgency facing governments and companies to reduce climate-warming emissions.  Shell unveiled new plans for reaching its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050 that include a 1% to 2% drop annually in oil output. It will eliminate seven of its 13 refineries and aims to cut production of gasoline and diesel fuel by 55% over the next decade. The plan is part of a wider push, particularly among European oil companies, to overhaul their operations to reduce carbon emissions blamed for global warming while still making money. BP said last year that it wants to eliminate or offset all carbon emissions from its operations and the oil and gas it sells to customers by 2050. - ABC News
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Historical Trends in Global Monthly Surface Temperatures (1851-2020)

2/11/2021

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Since 1880, the Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by 0.07°C (0.13°F) every decade. That number alone may seem negligible, but over time, it adds up.  In addition, the rate of temperature change has grown significantly more dramatic over time—more than doubling to 0.18°C (0.32°F) since 1981. As a result of this global warming process, environmental crises have become the most prominent risks of our time.  In this global temperature graph, climate data scientist Neil R. Kaye breaks down how monthly average temperatures have changed over nearly 170 years. Temperature values have been benchmarked against pre-industrial averages (1850–1900). - Visual Capitalist

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Ancient Eruption May Change Our Understanding of Modern Volcanoes

2/10/2021

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Since volcanoes like Sunset Crater, called basaltic scoria cones, usually erupt only once, they don’t receive much of the attention their more active counterparts see. But the new research showed this eruption liberated disproportionally high amounts of carbon dioxide and sulfur for the volume of material released, suggesting these scoria cones might be more impactful than previously thought. “What we’re finding here is that some of these volcanoes may actually be able to erupt in a similar manner to something like Mount St. Helens,” said Chelsea Allison, lead author on the new paper. “It’s really important that we can understand how that’s happening…so that in the future, if such an event were to occur, we’d be prepared for what might happen.” - EOS
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    Geo News

    I started a CGCC Facebook page in May of '20 to share geo-environmental news but had concerns about FB's issues with accuracy.  This page, GeoNews, is a response and partial solution, sharing a few items from reliable sources each week.  

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