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30 December 2016
Gas released from rocks can predict impending breakage
Small amounts of helium and argon gas released from rocks under stress could be used to predict rock breakage before it occurs, such as during an earthquake or in an underground mine, according to new research. This kind of early-warning signal could be useful for keeping people safe in situations where rock is under high stress, like mining or construction operations, according to the study’s authors.
21 December 2016
New study differentiates between Utah’s natural and induced earthquakes
Mining activity caused nearly half of all earthquakes in Utah over the past three decades, according to a new study. By studying the epicenters of 6,846 earthquakes occurring in the state between 1982 and 2016, scientists at the University of Utah determined 3,957 of them occurred naturally and 2,889 were caused by coal mining.
25 October 2016
Stone walls, railway lines and carbon fibers record Turkey’s westward drift
A new study finds movement of North Anatolian fault may provide clues to future earthquakes.
Wastewater disposal likely induced February 2016 magnitude 5.1 Oklahoma earthquake
Distant wastewater disposal wells likely induced the third largest earthquake in recent Oklahoma record, the February 13, 2016, magnitude 5.1 event roughly 32 kilometers (nearly 20 miles) northwest of Fairview, Oklahoma, according to a new study.
13 May 2016
New research estimates probability of mega-earthquake in the Aleutians
A new study estimates the probability of a Magnitude 9+ earthquake in the Aleutian Islands—an event with sufficient power to create a mega-tsunami especially threatening to Hawai‘i. In the next 50 years, there is a 9 percent chance of such an event, according to researchers from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
17 December 2015
Music of the Earth
Stanford University’s Miles Traer, once again, is cartooning from the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco.
3 September 2015
New research calls for rethinking of New Zealand’s Alpine Fault
New research could prompt a shift in thinking about New Zealand’s Alpine Fault.
27 August 2015
3-D maps illustrate formation of the Hangai Dome in central Mongolia
Researchers at Rice University, the University of Toronto, and Princeton University generated 3-D maps of the Earth under the Hangai Dome in central Mongolia from seismic data. The 3-D image below shows the earth under the dome. Colored yellow, warm rock rises up from the deep mantle toward the Earth’s surface. The pressure on the rock drops as it rises. When the rock reaches 150 kilometers (93 miles) below the surface, it starts to melt and form magma, illustrated in red. Heat released by the magma modifies the rigid outer layer of the Earth that becomes lighter and rises up, creating the Hangai Dome.
19 August 2015
New study shows significant tsunami strength for parts of Southern California
Tsunamis generated by earthquake faults off the Santa Barbara coast could pose a greater danger to the cites of Ventura and Oxnard than previously thought.
6 August 2015
16th century Italian earthquake changed river’s course
In 1570, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the northern Italian city of Ferrara, causing dozens of deaths, major damage to the city and thousands to flee. At the time, Pope Pius V said God sent the earthquake to punish the city’s duke who had given hospitality to Jews and Marranos who had escaped Spain.
Now, a new study finds that the 16th century earthquake and subsequent aftershocks were the last step in a tectonic process that occurred over thousands of years and changed the course of the Po River. The final rerouting of the river left Ferrara dry by the end of the 16th century, an event depicted in a painting that now hangs in the Vatican Museum.
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.