Tag archives for geology
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When an endangered species begins to thrive in a certain area, that should be the cause of celebration. But in Kings Bay, Florida, the celebration is becoming problematic for the local manatee populations, that use the warm waters to survive the winters. The waters are becoming crowded with tourists who flock to the region to swim and kayak among the slow-moving marine mammals.
Rediscovering Ross Island 2012: Penguins in the Wind
Posted by Kenneth W W Sims of Dept of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming in Explorers Journal on November 19, 2012 
Written by Glenn Gaetani. We (Ken, Phil, Paul, Erin, Dan, and I) left McMurdo Station to spend four days at Cape Bird sampling lavas erupted from Mount Bird, a 5900 foot shield volcano that makes up the northern part of Ross Island (see blog 1 for a map). The flight from McMurdo to Cape Bird…
In the Field with Plane Table and Horse…
Posted by Cathy Hunter on November 2, 2012 
National Geographic founder Willard Drake Johnson learned from the best, assisting the famous geologist Grove Karl Gilbert on his Lake Bonneville research when only 19 years old. Johnson was so enthralled by drama of the natural world that he once wrote fan mail to John Muir, telling him that if he (Muir) were to write a popular physical geography book it would “usurp the place of the novel in the public library.”
Grove Karl Gilbert, “A Captain Bold”
Posted by Cathy Hunter on September 14, 2012 
Grove Karl Gilbert was considered by his own and future generations to be the greatest of all American geologists, and “a captain bold,” according to Australian geologist E.C. Andrews. But his contributions went beyond field geology. He was the first scientist to hypothesize that the moon’s craters were caused by meteor strikes. (History proved him right.) And in 1888, he helped found the National Geographic Society…
Clarence Dutton: Poet of the Grand Canyon
Posted by Cathy Hunter on September 6, 2012 
Clarence Dutton was chairman of the now-historic meeting on January 13, 1888, when 33 men agreed to found a geographical society. He was also chairman the following week, when an even larger crowd voted to formalize it as the National Geographic Society. But as the years have passed, Captain Clarence Dutton has slipped from memory. He deserves better. Dutton was a complex mixture — a soldier, geologist, and poet — and his mind and character reflects the judgment he himself passed on the Grand Canyon: that it “first bewilders, and at length overpowers.”
Alaska Commemorates Centennial Anniversary of Novarupta Volcano Eruption
Posted by Nicole Glass on June 6, 2012 
This month marks the centennial anniversary of the eruption of the Novarupta Volcano in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska — the largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century. On June 6, 1912, the giant eruption blackened the skies with smoke. With an eruption ten times the force of Mount Saint Helens in 1980, mountains collapsed…
Posted by An International Congress in Portugal tries to resolve confusion about a key approach to the way destinations welcome travelers by determining what exactly is “geotourism”?
Posted by It’s tiny, it’s pockmarked, and it’s got almost no atmosphere. So it’s probably small wonder that we cared so little for poor Mercury that we couldn’t be bothered to check out a whole half of the planet until 2008. —Image courtesy NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Arizona State University/Carnegie Institute of Washington But when we…
Is it mold on a bathroom wall? A close-up of a Dalmatian? The results of a tragic toner-cartridge accident? —Image courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Arizona In fact, it’s a Martian volcano in the process of defrosting. The ancient cauldron is part of a group of volcanoes that rings the Hellas impact basin on the red planet’s…
In the animal world, the fight-or-flight instinct is a pretty common response to danger. But when you’re a multimillion-dollar spacecraft, caution is usually the only response you get preprogrammed with. Adding to poor beleaguered NASA’s spate of recent glitches, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter went into safe mode on Monday after suffering what appears to have…
Surprise! This is Victoria again… Many thanks to Stephen for diving right into the blogosphere with us—his debut here is a totally rad behind-the-scenes look at National Geographic‘s space special issue, which blows me right out of the digital water. Not to interrupt his groove, but I do have one more thing to share before…
