During the 80's the explorationists had in their shelves the unique work of A.W. Bally, "The Seismic Expression of Structural Styles", published by AAPG ("AAPG Studies in Geology" series). This atlas presented and explained in several volumes different seismic lines of all around the world and touched all different types of deformation and deposition. But new times mean changes. Geology isn't an exception to this rule, and for a few years we have available online the Virtual Seismic Atlas.
The Virtual Seismic Atlas is an independent and free project based in contributions by public and private organisations and companies. It collects paradigmatic examples of seismic in differente regions, tectonic / sedimentary frameworks, deposition environments, etc. It is possible to browse it using different criteria (environment, types of structures, depositional environment and so).
http://www.seismicatlas.org/The Virtual Seismic Atlas is sponsored by BG Group, Shell, BHP Billiton, StatoilHydro,HESS, NERC and PESGB. It also counts with the collaboration of British Geological Survey, The Geological Society, CGG Veritas, Fugro, Badley Geoscience and Midland Valley. The project director is Rob Butler, and it is hosted in the servers of theUniversidad de Leeds.
ASU planetary scientist Steven Ruff is second author on a study to be published tomorrow in Science that concludes carbonates are more widespread than previously thought, lending credence to the theory that Mars had a warmer, wetter climate and CO2-rich atmosphere in it's early history. [right, "Comanche" outcrop on Mars. Credit, NASA/JPL/Cornell]
The abstract says:
Such an atmosphere should have led to the formation of outcrops rich in carbonate minerals, for which evidence has been sparse. Using the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit, we have now identified outcrops rich in Mg-Fe carbonate (16 to 34 wt.%) in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater. Its composition approximates the average composition of the carbonate globules in Martian meteorite ALH 84001. The Gusev carbonate probably precipitated from carbonate-bearing solutions under hydrothermal conditions at near-neutral pH in association with volcanic activity during the Noachian era
Grand Canyon Caverns has opened a hotel room in their cave, 220 feet below the surface that can also serve as a bomb shelter. The 28' x 16' 'room' sits on a platform with short walls, in a cavern area 125 feet wide by 300 feet long with a 70-foot ceiling. The caverns are located along Route 66 south of the national park.
The press release says the platform is a complete motel room with beds, sofas, dining area, mini kitchen, library, bathroom with shower (ceiling 50 feet above it) TV, phone, and entertainment center.
And while it might sound like the ultimate in privacy, the owners warn that tours of the facility begin at 9 am so guests should plan on checking out by then, or expect visitors.
Kudos to Mark Evans at the Tucson Citizen for spotting this.
Why can't scientists and engineers step in and stop the oil from leaking into the Gulf of Mexico? After all, we see resolution of similar challenges take place in minutes or at worst, overnight, on tv and in movies every day.
ASU professor Lawrence Krauss raises this point in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today. He notes that "Alas, in the real world it doesn't work that way. The progress of science more often occurs by baby steps than giant leaps. The road from basic knowledge to successful technology is a long and winding one, usually taking decades, not weeks or months."What seems increasingly clear is that while we have developed remarkable technology for drilling in ultradeep offshore environments, the safety technology has not been kept abreast. And surprisingly, the oil clean up techniques seem to be much more ad hoc and experimental than one would expect. [right, BP relief well diagram]
Lawrence writes, "This means recognizing in advance not only that the Gulf disaster was possible but that something like it was inevitable. Only with this mind-set can we be prepared to do the sensible thing: Conduct the necessary research on the physics and geology of deep ocean processes in advance so that engineers will not be flying blind if and when a disaster eventually occurs."
He concludes "The economic costs associated with the next Gulf disaster, or New Orleans flood, or nuclear terrorist event will far outweigh the investment that might be made in advance to learn how to minimize the risks and to quickly and appropriately respond to problems."
[disclosure: I worked for BP for a couple years in the mid-80s in Texas, as a result of SOHIO being taken over by them. ]
A new report by the USGS finds that "backwaters may represent a sink for organic matter that enters from the main channel and that stable discharge, by lengthening water turnover times, will likely increase organic matter retention." [right, cover photo from USGS report]
Ref: Behn, K.E., Kennedy, T.A., and Hall, R.O., Jr., 2010, Basal resources in backwaters of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam; effects of discharge regimes and comparison with mainstem depositional environments: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1075, 25 p.
A M2.0 earthquake was recorded Monday afternoon in northwest Arizona, near the Utah border. The quake is in an area of historical seismicity along the active Hurricane fault. [right, star shows quake epicenter and historical seismicity. Credit, USGS]
A Mars mapping project at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute concludes that the 2,000 km diameter and 8 km deep Hellas impact basin [right, credit NASA] contains sediments laid down by an ancient sea that filled the body.
Dr. Leslie Bleamaster published the 1:1 million scale map using data from an array NASA' Mars spacecraft according to a report on Mars Daily (who knew that there is a daily Mars newspaper?).
The lakes are dated at 3.5 to 4.5 billion years old.
So, who you gonna believe? My friend Tom, who follows the mining market pretty closely, forwarded links today to a couple of analysts reports. One noted that in May, commodities dropped the most since 2008 with copper falling 7.5%, with a warning that the 'peak in industrial growth is imminent' which seems to be fueling concerns of a double dip recession.
[right, plot of copper price vs the S&P 500 over the past year. Credit, Bloomberg]
Another argues the market is at one of its most oversold positions in decades and poised for a huge rally.
Me? If I had any money left in my retirement account, I'd invest it in oil dispersants.
A new study published by UA geologist Bill Dickenson and colleagues in Geology finds that detrital zircons in Michigan were "deposited by northern tributaries of a transcontinental Jurassic paleoriver system that transported detritus from headwaters in Atlantic rift highlands of the Appalachian region to floodplains and deltas in the present northern Rocky Mountains region. Previous detrital zircon studies have indicated that sedimented lowlands in that paleogeographic position were deflated by paleowinds to feed eolian sand southward (in present coordinates) into the Colorado Plateau ergs (sand seas)." [right, Navajo Sandstone. Credit, NPS]
The idea of an ancient river system comparable to the Amazon flowing west across the continent is catching the popular media. The story is being widely disseminated.
