GEOLOGY WITH JEFF SIMPSON
  • Home
  • GLG101IN
  • GLG110IN
  • GLG280/281
  • GEONEWS
  • JEFF
  • Sustainable Building Project
  • UDP

Stronger Evidence of Slowing Atlantic Circulation - Climate ‘Achilles’ Heel’

2/27/2021

 
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

River Colors are Changing

2/27/2021

 
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
Picture

How a 1960s Discovery in Yellowstone Made Possible COVID-19 PCR Tests

2/23/2021

 
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
Picture

Ancient Trees Show When The Earth's Magnetic Field Last Flipped Out

2/23/2021

 
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
Picture
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.

One-Third of Farmland in the U.S. Corn Belt Has Lost Its Topsoil

2/21/2021

 
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
Picture
Soil erosion in corn field in Nebraska. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

Texas Blackouts Fuel False Claims About Renewable Energy

2/17/2021

 
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. 
Picture
Picture

The Plastic Industry Is Growing During COVID. Recycling? Not So Much

2/17/2021

 
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
Picture

Greener Pastures: Shell Plans Steady Drop in Oil Business

2/11/2021

 
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

Historical Trends in Global Monthly Surface Temperatures (1851-2020)

2/11/2021

 
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

Picture

Ancient Eruption May Change Our Understanding of Modern Volcanoes

2/10/2021

 
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
Picture

A Drop in CFC Emissions Puts the Hole in Ozone Layer Back on Track to Closing

2/10/2021

 
Emissions of trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, were supposed to taper off after the Montreal Protocol banned CFC-11 production in 2010. But 2014 to 2017 saw an unexpected bump. About half of that illegal pollution was pegged to eastern China.. Now, atmospheric data show that global CFC-11 emissions in 2019 were back down to the average levels seen from 2008 to 2012, and about 60 percent of that decline was due to reduced emissions in eastern China. These findings suggest that the hole in Earth’s ozone layer is still on track to close up within the next 50 years — rather than being delayed, as it would have been if CFC-11 emissions had remained at the levels seen from 2014 to 2017. - Science News
Picture

A Drop in CFC Emissions Puts the Hole in the Ozone Layer Back on Track to  Closing

2/10/2021

 
Emissions of trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, were supposed to taper off after the Montreal Protocol banned CFC-11 production in 2010. But 2014 to 2017 saw an unexpected bump. About half of that illegal pollution was pegged to eastern China. Now, atmospheric data show that global CFC-11 emissions in 2019 were back down to the average levels seen from 2008 to 2012, and about 60 percent of that decline was due to reduced emissions in eastern China.  The hole in Earth’s ozone layer is still on track to close up within the next 50 years — rather than being delayed, as it would have been if CFC-11 emissions had remained at the levels seen from 2014 to 2017. - Science News
Picture

Fossil Fuel Pollution Causes 1 in 5 Premature Deaths Globally

2/9/2021

 
Pollution from fossil fuels causes one in five premature deaths globally, suggesting the health impacts of burning coal, oil and natural gas may be far higher than previously thought,  Parts of China, India, Europe and the northeastern United States are among the hardest-hit areas, suffering a disproportionately high share of 8.7 million annual deaths attributed to fossil fuels, the study published in the journal Environmental Research found.  The new research gives the most detailed assessment of premature deaths due to fossil-fuel air pollution to date. Another study in 2017 had put the annual number of deaths from all outdoor airborne particulate matter — including dust and smoke from agricultural burns and wildfires — at 4.2 million. - Reuters

Methane Leakage - Energy Transition Show Podcast #140

2/8/2021

 
Editor's Note - I am including links to significant podcasts related to geology, energy, and the environment.  The Energy Transition Show by Chris Nelder, is an excellent source of information from experts related to..well... energy transition.

Methane (natural gas) is a greenhouse gas with a much more powerful warming effect than carbon dioxide, so finding and eliminating gas leaks is an important part of addressing the climate challenge. But until now, we’ve had poor information about gas leakage within cities, as well as how to correctly attribute the leakage all along the chain from well to consumer.

We discuss a study, The Gas Index, with two of its authors. It is the first study that has provided granular estimates for life cycle methane leakage for a large number of cities, and the first to draw together recent assessments of leakage within cities, including leakage that occurs within buildings. It shows that cities’ gas systems are leaking about 72% more than had been previously estimated by the EPA. We also consider the role of natural gas in the energy transition, and some of the tradeoffs we will have to consider as we deal with the problem of methane leakage. - Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

Low Energy: Estimating EV Electricity Use - Working Paper vs Peer Review

2/8/2021

 
We provide the first at-scale estimate of electric vehicle (EV) home charging. Previous estimates are either based on surveys that reach conflicting conclusions, or are extrapolated from a small, unrepresentative sample of households with dedicated EV meters. We combine billions of hourly electricity meter measurements with address-level EV registration records from California households. The average EV increases overall household load by 2.9 kilowatt-hours per day, less than half the amount assumed by state regulators. Our results imply that EVs travel 5,300 miles per year, under half of the US fleet average. This raises questions about transportation electrification for climate policy.  - National Bureau of Economic Research

Editor's Note: ​This is a excellent example of why a working paper is NOT a peer-reviewed paper.  The researchers did not measure vehicle miles traveled.  They did not determine if the sample population was installing solar at the same time.  They did not account for charging away from home.  They did not determine if there were energy use changes in the home.  

Yet, the authors drew conclusions.  This probably won't make it past peer-review without heavy editing.... which will destroy most of the conclusions.

Geology Humor of the Week

2/8/2021

 
Picture

Forever Chemicals Are Widespread in U.S. Drinking Water

2/7/2021

 
Many Americans fill up a glass of water from their faucet without worrying whether it might be dangerous. But the crisis of lead-tainted water in Flint, Mich., showed that safe, potable tap water is not a given in this country. Now a study from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit advocacy organization, reveals a widespread problem: the drinking water of a majority of Americans likely contains “forever chemicals.” These compounds may take hundreds, or even thousands, of years to break down in the environment. They can also persist in the human body, potentially causing health problems.  A handful of states have set about trying to address these contaminants, which are scientifically known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). But no federal limits have been set on the concentration of the chemicals in water, as they have for other pollutants such as benzene, uranium and arsenic. With a new presidential administration coming into office this week, experts say the federal government finally needs to remedy that oversight. “The PFAS pollution crisis is a public health emergency,” wrote Scott Faber, EWG’s senior vice president for government affairs, in a recent public statement. - Scientific American

Mountaintop Removal Threatens Traditional Blackfoot Territory

2/7/2021

 
The Rocky Mountains that lie within Blackfoot traditional territory are threatened with mountaintop removal. The Grassy Mountain coal project in Alberta, Canada, is slated to begin coal extraction in fall 2021. It is expected to be profitable for only 25 years. However, by then the almost 4,000-acre project will have blasted the terrain with explosives, separating the substrata from the coal and creating a new rock-scape the size of almost 3,000 American football fields.  Places where mountaintop coal removal occurs are never the same; just look at West Virginia, where mountain areas once rich with biodiverse forests have been reduced to barren desolation. And, as my grandmother taught me, disturbed areas are not places to practice Blackfoot traditional knowledge. - - High Country News Perspective
Picture
Mountaintop removal mining in British Columbia’s Rocky Mountains.
BC Mining Information

Scores Are Feared Dead In India After Himalayan Glacier Breaks Away

2/7/2021

 
A massive search-and-rescue operation was underway Sunday in northern India for at least 140 people missing after part of a Himalayan glacier broke off, triggering an avalanche of rock, mud, water and debris that swept away a hydroelectric dam. Video showed a torrent of water and debris breaking through a dam that's part of the Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project, more than 300 miles north of New Delhi.  "It came very fast. There was no time to alert anyone. I felt that even we would be swept away." Many of those missing are believed to be workers at the dam. Police say that nine bodies have been recovered so far and that at least 140 people are missing. The chief minister of India's Uttarakhand state, Trivendra Singh Rawat, told reporters that the figure could rise. - NPR
Picture
Related video from Sky.

Apply for J. David Lowell Field Camp Scholarships

2/5/2021

 
Field camp is an important component in achieving a well-rounded education in geology. Open to undergraduate students, these scholarships award up to $2,000 for attending the geology field camp of your choice.  Deadline: March 19th. - GSA Application
Picture

Coal’s Big Breakdown

2/3/2021

 
For a half-century, coal plants in the US west churned, pumping electricity onto the grid, cash into state and tribal coffers, and pollution into the water, land and air, unruffled by recessions or environmental protests and lawsuits, impervious to the booms and busts that plagued oil, gas and hardrock mining. Just as the coal leviathan maintained a steady stream of “baseload” power to the grid, so too did it provide an economic foundation for coal-dependent communities, together with a baseload level of smog.  Now that foundation is crumbling.  - High Country News
Picture

The Impact Of Abandoned Oil Wells On The Environment

2/3/2021

 
Picture
Canada has underestimated its methane emissions from abandoned wells by 150 percent, and the USA by around 20%. While methane emissions from abandoned wells were reported to the United Nations as part of the U.S. and Canada’s greenhouse gas inventories, experts worry that there could be as many as 500,000 undocumented wells in the USA and 60,000 in Canada contributing to these emissions.  In 2018, in the USA alone, 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells emitted 281 kilotons of methane, equivalent in terms of climate change to consuming 16 million barrels of crude oil. - OilPrice.com

    GeoNews

    This is a way to share science-based info from reliable sources. Click the source link after text to read more. Use this Google Doc or this Google Slides template to summarize an article. An occasional podcast featuring news and topic experts will be included.
    ​
    Contact Prof Jeff to share items.

    Categories

    All
    Agriculture
    Air Pollution
    Animals
    Arizona
    Beaches
    Biosphere (Plants / Animals)
    Climate Change
    Earthquakes
    Earth's Interior
    Economics
    Energy
    Erosion
    Fire
    Food
    Forests
    Fossil Fuels
    Geologic History
    Geophysics
    Glaciers
    Groundwater
    Health
    Humor
    Indigenous Peoples
    Magnetic
    Mass Wasting
    Meteorites
    Minerals
    Mining
    Nuclear Power
    Oceans
    Ozone
    Plate Tectonics / EQs
    Pollution
    Population
    Recycling
    Renewable Energy
    Rivers
    Soil
    Space Science
    Sustainability
    Transportation
    Tsunami
    Volcanoes
    Waste
    Water


    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020



    RSS Feed

Site powered by Weebly. Managed by MacHighway
  • Home
  • GLG101IN
  • GLG110IN
  • GLG280/281
  • GEONEWS
  • JEFF
  • Sustainable Building Project
  • UDP