Geobulletin alpha

The Geological Society of America and its Founders – Charles Henry Hitchcock 

Charles Henry Hitchcock Member of initial Council and Active Founder (sources: Upham, 1919; Fairchild, 1932). Personal. Charles Henry Hitchcock was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on August 23, 1836, and died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 5, 1919.  He was the sixth child of Edward Hitchcock, then Professor of Chemistry and Natural History at Amherst College, and Orra

New Papers: BSSA Special Issue on the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan, March 2011 

The latest issue (May 2013) of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) is dedicated to the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of March 2011. The studies published therein deal with the source models of the megaquake and rupture … Continue reading

The Geological Society of America and its Founders – Henry Shaler Williams 

Henry Shaler Williams Initial Treasurer and Active Founder (sources: Cleland, 1919; Fairchild, 1932). Personal. Henry Shaler Williams was born on March 6, 1847, in Ithaca, New York, and died of pleurisy in Havana, Cuba, on July 30, 1918. Williams’s paternal ancestors first settled in Connecticut in 1640, and his maternal ancestors, the Hardys, arrived in America shortly before

Movie review: SWITCH 

This year, the Geological Society of America is rolling out their SWITCH Energy Awareness campaign . The centerpiece of the campaign is a documentary film, SWITCH, which purports to be about the need for a transformation in the world’s energy systems. Recently, I attended the Chicago premier of the film, presented as part of the

The Geological Society of America and its Founders – John James Stevenson 

John James Stevenson Initial Secretary and Active Founder (sources: White, 1925; Fairchild, 1932). Personal. John James Stevenson was born in New York City on October 10, 1841, and died of pneumonia in New York on August 10, 1924. His father, the Reverend Andrew Stevenson, emigrated from Ireland when he was 21 years old and settled in New

Was Ben Franklin Really the Father of Volcano-Climate Science? 

Most geologists know about a famous assertion that Benjamin Franklin made in 1784, later published in a paper titled "Meteorological Imaginations and Conjectures." He argued that the great 1783 eruption of Laki, in Iceland, caused the bitterly cold winter that followed in Europe and America. Today we know this as a truism, part of what students are taught in Climate Science 101. And plenty of evidence does show that large volcanic eruptions depress global temperatures for a year or more [...]

Kaolinite And Chinese-Mexican Pottery In 1600's Mexico 

 My Book Shelf # 25 As with a previous post which pointed to the role of silver as a catalyst for the movement of people across the oceans and a meeting of Asia with the America's in 1600's Mexico, geology in the form of clay deposits played a role in bringing full circle the story of Chinese (Ming) influence on Mexican ceramic art from the mid 1600's onwards. The district of Puebla in

Critical Mineral Resources Draft 

The Geological Society of America has published a Position Statement Draft on Critical Mineral Resources. From the draft… “This position statement (1) summarizes the consensus views of The Geological Society of America on critical minerals

The Geological Society of America and its Founders – James Dwight Dana 

James Dwight Dana Initial First Vice-President (sources: Le Conte, 1896; Hadley and others 1913; Fairchild, 1932). (from The Founding of the Geological Society of America: A Retrospect on Its Centennial Birthday 1888–1988, by Arthur Mirsky) Personal. James Dwight Dana was born in Utica, New York, on February 12, 1813, and died in New Haven Connecticut, on April

The EPA is destroying America 

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), defying a court order, mandated that petroleum companies must add 14 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol to gasoline, in spite of the fact that commercial quantities of cellulosic ethanol do not exist. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided in favor of the American

Paid Geoscientist Internships 

The GeoCorps™ America program offers paid short-term geoscience positions in some of the most beautiful natural areas in the

Arizona potash getting attention 

 Forbes magazine online ran a feature story entitled "How Arizona Is Helping America Reduce Dependence On Foreign Natural Resources."   The author concludes, "if you had to choose a location to build a mine, few spots seem any more hospitable than Arizona. Much of the drilling will occur on state lands which are actually owned by the “Arizona State Trust” (AST) and is regulated by the

Enhancing undergraduate research with social media: the last presentation by a Wooster Geologist at GSA 2012 

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA–Our very last presentation at the 2012 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America was by Professor Meagen Pollock. She is shown above in an iPhone photograph near the middle of her talk about the educational and research value of social media in a geology undergraduate setting. (You can read her abstract

GSA on the Italian Earthquake Convictions 

The Geological Society of America has issued a statement objecting to the conviction of six Italian earthquake scientists for not predicting the 2009 earthquake that struck

Wooster Geologists at the GSA President’s Student Breakfast 

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA–The Geological Society of America has a tradition of hosting a free breakfast for those students willing to come to the convention center at 7:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. The meal is hosted by the GSA President and sponsored by ExxonMobil Corporation. Secretaries of GSA sections and associated societies help serve the

USArray Update 

The massive research program EarthScope has been rolling along for the last eight years. Because its SAFOD component, which drilled a borehole across the San Andreas fault, was in my neighborhood I covered it here pretty thoroughly. Now an article in Earth magazine surveys the results of USArray, the project that has been assembling a detailed portrait of the U.S. portion of the North America plate using a "stethoscope" of hundreds of seismometers. It covers what we found when USArray examined [...]

National Mining Association Minerals Make America 

This week again in Santiago, Chile.: exhausting meetings; deep & intense deliberations; keeping up with mining geniuses; writing reports of profound importance; trying to expedite significant decisions; and trying to make mining happen in large projects.  The issues are lack of power and the cost of water ($2.50 per cubic meter.)  The challenges are multiple

Fall Colors Are Peaking 10 Days Later Than the early 1980′s 

The fall colors in America are peaking over 10 days later now than 30 years ago. How can you determine such a subjective thing as when fall colors are peaking? Well, that’s just as interesting as the results! Take a look at the graph below courtesy of Climate Central. The NDVI is the Normalized Difference Vegetative Index and in this case it was used to graph the times when the leaves were changing colors

Alaska Travel Opportunity with NAGT Geology Teachers! July 31-August 10, 2013 

Long-time members Wendy Van Norden and Greg Wheeler want to show you the HEART OF ALASKA on an 11 day van trip to some of the most beautiful, unusual, biologically, and geologically significant wilderness in the world. The trip begins in Anchorage Alaska and goes by van to the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness Area (the largest Wilderness Area in the United States). Participants will see the place which once made Kennecott Copper the largest copper mining company in the world, spend a day [...]

The Cantabrian Orocline 

The Geological Society of America has published “Buckling an orogen: The Cantabrian Orocline“. You can read it online as a .pdf