The Daily Galaxy: News from Planet Earth & Beyond

What Lies Beneath -The 1st Interactive Map of the Planet's Interior

Where Google Earth and Sky and Microsoft Virtual Earth and WorldWideTelescope, have shown us what the surface of our planet looks like from above and what the heavens hold, a new project led by the British Geological Survey pulls geological data from researchers around the world into a single, easily-usable interactive map.

Unveiled as part of the celebration of the International Year of Planet Earth, the project has four main objectives. First, the project seeks to create "dynamic digital geological map data for the world." The map has a target scale of 1:1,000,000, which means that one centimeter on the map will be the equivalent of 10 km on the planet.

Journey to the Center of the Earth -New Discoveries Revise Theories of the Planet

The Earth is alone among the planets of our solar system in having plate tectonics. Venus, a near twin of our planet in size and density, has no tectonic activity. According to Harvard scientists, habitable worlds are most likely found on large, rocky planets that have plate tectonics.

"It would be hard to believe," physicist James Trefil wrote, "that the continuous movement of plate tectonics has no effect on the development of life on Earth."

Massive Fault Line in New Zealand's 'Alps' May be the Secret to Future Earthquakes

There is something intrinsically frightening about earthquakes. I remember watching the 1936 movie San Francisco, starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy. A wonderful movie which won an Oscar and was nominated for 5 others, all I can remember is the earthquake scenes, depicting the massive 1906 earthquake. Horses were squealing, houses were falling, and I was not very old. Needless to say, it left a memory.

Now, in an attempt to understand more about earthquakes, and in particular the big ones, an international group of scientists are hoping that New Zealand may offer up some secrets.

Were Antarctica and North America Once Connected? A Single Boulder Says "Yes"

The continual shifting of continents has led to the theories that, as in the cases of Pangaea and Rodinia, many, if not all of our continents, were at one time or another connected. One particular theory evolving from this is the SWEAT theory, standing for southwestern United States and East Antarctica, which theorizes that the southwestern United States was at one time connected to East Antarctica.

Bio-Earth: Are Planets Living Super-Organisms?

Japan's Maruyama Shigenori, one of the world's leading geophysicists, is working on a global formula for a vast new field of study that would include dozens of disciplines collaborating to produce an overall picture of the Earth.

“Groundbreaking” Revelations Reshaping Himalayan Geological History

Mount Everest stretches some 8,848 meters up from the ground, making it the highest peak on Earth (though not the tallest mountain…). Together with its Himalayan Range compatriots, they make up some of the most striking vistas and dangerous locations on the planet. However, according to new research out of Florida State University, they may also be reshaping some geographical history.

 

Antarctica: Giant River of Ice Triggers Massive Sesmic Signals

The earthquake problems afflicting places like California and Japan are nothing in comparison to those experienced daily in Antarctica. A seismologist at Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University and Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, have discovered that twice a day, a magnitude seven earthquake emanates from a giant river of ice in the southern land of ice.

 

Asteroid Earth-Impact Data Center

If the past is prelude, there's bound to be a massive collision event from a rogue asteroid at some point in the near future unless we successfully intervene.The map above shows impact craters in North America that have been identified since 1950. At last count, there were more than 170 known impact craters on our planet, according to the Earth Impact Database maintained by the University of New Brunswick in Canada. These impact wounds are littered over every continent, as well as the seafloor.

"If there was no erosion or tectonic activity, we would look like the moon," said Lucy Thompson, a geologist at the University of New Brunswick.

Grand Canyon Much Older than Originally Thought

One of the most remarkable landscapes in the world, the Grand Canyon, has long been the focus of tourists the world over. The prevailing theory for the creation of the Grand Canyon is that the Colorado River carved its way through some six million years ago.

However new research by researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the California Institute of Technology has added some 40 to 50 million years to the Grand Canyon’s age.

Scientists Can Now Estimate Size & Frequency of Major Meteorite Impacts

The meteorite linked to mass extinction 65 million years ago was four to six kilometers in diameter. If past geological history is prelude, we better figure out a good future impact prevention program, and fast.
Scientists have developed a new way of determining the size and frequency of meteorites that have collided with Earth.

New Theories on the Ancient Supercontinent of Gondwana

The history of Earth’s supercontinents is one constant change and new theories to match. A theorized cyclical phenomenon, supercontinents are thought to form roughly every 250 million years. In fact, we currently have a supercontinent of our own today: Eurasia.

The 1,700-foot Tall Tsunami that Struck Alaska -Can It Happen Again Elsewhere?

On the night of July 7th, 1958 the world’s largest Tsunami engorged Alaska's Lituya bay, located about 250 miles west of Juneau. It was 1,700 feet or 520 meters, almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower.

The Tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake caused an enormous landslide along the Fairweather Fault. The resulting crash of rock into water, caused the largest wall of water in human history. The deadly wave hurtled at jet speeds and wiped out everything within a four mile radius.

Rim of Fire: Megaquakes Predicted

As the years go by, you can become more and more certain that no matter what natural phenomenon is thrown our way, someone, somewhere, has run a simulation on how to deal with it. A team of researchers from San Diego State University (SDSU) have done just that, looking at what a 9.0 scale earthquake would do to the Northwest of America.

World's Most Spectacular Volcanos

Karymsky, the most active volcano in the  eastern volcanic zone Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East. The Kamchatka River and the surrounding Central Valley are flanked by large volcanic belts, containing around 160 volcanoes, 29 of them still active. The peninsula has the highest density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena in the world, with 19 active volcanoes being included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Underwater Volcano Discovered in Pacific

One of those fantastic trivia questions that I love to tote around with me is asking people what is the tallest peak on the planet Earth. It is theoretically a simple question, but isn’t it; the answer is Mt. Everest. Some of you may know the answer to that question is actually not Mt. Everest, but in fact Mauna Kea, which is the tallest mountain when measured from base to summit.

Tsunami-like Waves May Trigger Next Massive Yellowstone Explosion

"You would not want to be here when this occurred."

Lisa Morgan, U.S. Geological Survey.

One of the USA’s greatest tourist destinations, Yellowstone National Park is more than just the home of Old Faithful. Yellowstone lies atop the world's largest volcano, the massive Yellowstone Caldera (a volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption) which measures in at 55 kilometers by 72 kilometers.

The 'Myth' of Fossil Fuels -The Deep, Hot

"No scientific subject holds more surprises for us than biology."

Freeman Dyson -Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton

Cornell University Professor Emeritus Thomas Gold, who for 20 years directed the Cornell Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, proposes the striking and controversial theory that "a full functioning... , feeding on hydrocarbons, exists deep within the earth, and that a primordial source of hydrocarbons lies even deeper."

Global Earthquake Early-Warning System Lay Hidden for 40 Years

Mother Nature has often wrought havoc on our planet, alerting or reminding us to her presence. One of her most dangerous and violent heralds are the earthquake, often the predecessor of worse: the tsunami. So it is no wonder that scientists across the planet are attempting to determine an effective means of detecting earthquakes before they strike.

Lesson of an Ice-Age Flood & Today's Gulf Stream

In another case of our pre-history helping us make sense of our future, researchers have definitively confirmed what shut down the Gulf Stream some 10,000 years ago. In a tale that reads like something out of Lord of the Rings, this catastrophe might have lessons for our future.

Massive New Ocean Discovered Deep Inside Earth's Interior

Scientists using 3-D scanning of the deep interior of Earth have found evidence of a vast water reservoir beneath eastern Asia that is at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean -the first time such a large body of water has found in the planet’s deep mantle.

Antarctica's "Relic Landscape" Preserved for Milllions of Years Yields Secrets of Earth's Interior

Antarctica's Dry Valley is an ideal place for scientists to study how the Earth's plumbing was formed; its current landscape was eroded in to existence millions of years ago, and has undergone very little subsequent erosion since. Researchers have labeled the Dry Valleys region a “relic landscape” as it is the only known location on Earth which is the same now as it was millions of years ago.

Spaceship Earth in 50 Million Years

In 50 million years tectonic plate motions will widen the Atlantic, Africa will collide with Europe eliminating the Mediterranean, Australia will collide with Southeast Asia, and California will slide northward up the coast to Alaska.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

Link:

http://amazing-nature.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-will-earth-look-250-million-years.html

Deconstructing Pangea -Map of Ancient Earth Not Matching Up

Everyone loves a good mystery. There’s nothing quite as good as sitting down, and trying to work out whether it actually was the butler, or if poor Jeeves was simply framed. But mysteries come in all shapes and sizes, as can be attested to by researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The Yellowstone Supervolcano Rising

Is it time to sell that condo in Jackson Hole?

Whenever a scientist comes out and says “The bottom line is…” and warns off the likelihood of a cataclysmic event of some sort, you better believe there is a good story somewhere behind that dismissal.

The same can be said for the story that  focuses on a report from scientists at the University of Utah, who have shown that the “supervolcano” underneath Yellowstone has risen at a record rate since mid 2004. Apparently, a “pancake-shaped blob” of molten rock he size of Los Angeles was pressed in to the slumbering volcano, some six miles down.

Ice Age Extinction -Caused by Extraterrestrial Impact?

An international research team, including two Northern Arizona University geologists, reports evidence that a comet or low-density object barreling toward Earth exploded in the upper atmosphere and triggered a devastating swath of destruction that wiped out most of the large animals, their habitat and the decline of Stone Age people about 13,000 years ago rather than the commonly held theories of overhunting by Paleo-Indians, climate change or disease.

Pangea Ultima: Will This be the Earth in 250 Million Years?

Life from the Center of the Earth - The Shadow World of Our Hidden

Jules Verne's classic science-fiction tale, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, where the zealous Professor Von Hardwigg finds a riddle in Icelandic parchment that leads to worlds miles beneath our planet's surface, is fast becoming science fact. Leading scientists are searching deep within the planet to find new life forms in a shadow world of a hidden --and to find clues to what possible life might exist on others within and beyond our Solar System.

 

The Volcanic Epicenter of the Universe -Jupiter's Io

Boston University researchers published the first clear evidence of how gases from Jupiter’s tiny moon Io’s volcanoes can lead to the largest visible gas cloud in the solar system. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a moon named Io that is just 100 km larger in radius than Earth’s Moon,  with over 100 active volcanic sites on Io making it the most active place for volcanic activity known anywhere.

Ice Age & The English Channel –How Britain became the "Blessed Isle"

It was once the center of one of the world’s most powerful monarchy’s, but is now home to the greatest source of royal gossip the world has to offer. Nevertheless, the British Isles have long been the center of a geographical debate that has failed to be settled. That is, until now; possibly.

In an article in the most recent edition of the journal Nature, scientists from the Imperial College London have concluded that the channel separating England from mainland Europe was formed by a sudden and catastrophic flood that likely occurred 450,000 to 200,000 years ago when the Rhine and Thames rivers fed a large lake in the area now known as the southern North Sea and may have lasted several months.

The Toba Eruption Not as Deadly as First Thought

It was 71,500 years ago, give or take a rough 4,000 years, that what is now Lake Toba in in the middle of the Indonesia island of Sumatra, erupted in what is described as the most powerful volcanic eruption within the last 2 million years.

Bill Rose and Craig Chesner of Michigan Technological University have deduced that approximately 2800 cubic kilometers of material erupted in the explosion that deposited ash as far west as India.

The Theia Hypothesis: New Evidence Emerges that Earth and Moon Were Once the Same

According to the giant impact hypothesis, there was once a Mars-sized body referred to as Theia orbiting in our solar system. The planet was named after the Greek Titan who gave birth to the Moon goddess Selene—a fitting name considering that the planet Theia is thought to be responsible for the birth of our moon.

What Lies Beneath -A Mystery at the Earth's Center

Surprisingly, we know very little about what lies beneath the Earth's surface. The scientific community is in generaly agreement that the world beneath our feet is made up of four layers: a rocky outer crust, a mantle of hot viscous rock, a liquid outer core, the seat of magnetism, and a solid, spinning inner core.

The liquid core, creates the Earth's magnetic field in concert with the spinning solid core, which acts like an electrical motor, reverses itself about 200 times in the last 100 million years. But we don't have the slightest idea why; it's one of the great unsolved mysteries of science.

NASA's 'Journey' to the Center of Earth

Knowing the location of the Earth's center of mass provides the frame through which NASA's scientists determine the relative motions of positions on Earth's surface, in its atmosphere, and in space.

This information is vital to the study of global sea-level change, earthquakes, volcanoes, and Earth's response to the retreat of ice sheets after the last ice age.

In 1864 Jules Verne published his classic Journey to the Center of the Earth. The novel tells the story of a professor who leads his nephew and hired guide down a volcano in Iceland to the "center of the Earth". En route they encounter prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again.

Mount Thor -The Greatest Vertical Drop on Earth

Mount Thor is a mountain in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, this is the greatest vertical drop on the earth, with a sheer 3,300 foot drop! Rappel, anyone?

Cosmic Q & A: The BIG Ones

In case you missed it, check out Wired's Wiki feature on science's 42 Very Big Questions of science with answers from several of the world's leading authorities...it's great! They include: What's at the Earth's core; is time an illusion; How does a fertilized egg become human; why do we sleep, what is the universe made of; what causes ice ages? Why do placebos work; where did life come from...

Wired Wiki Link

What Lies Beneath -The 1st Interactive Map of the Planet's Interior

Where Google Earth and Sky and Microsoft Virtual Earth and WorldWideTelescope, have shown us what the surface of our planet looks like from above and what the heavens hold, a new project led by the British Geological Survey pulls geological data from researchers around the world into a single, easily-usable interactive map.

Unveiled as part of the celebration of the International Year of Planet Earth, the project has four main objectives. First, the project seeks to create "dynamic digital geological map data for the world." The map has a target scale of 1:1,000,000, which means that one centimeter on the map will be the equivalent of 10 km on the planet.

Journey to the Center of the Earth -New Discoveries Revise Theories of the Planet

The Earth is alone among the planets of our solar system in having plate tectonics. Venus, a near twin of our planet in size and density, has no tectonic activity. According to Harvard scientists, habitable worlds are most likely found on large, rocky planets that have plate tectonics.

"It would be hard to believe," physicist James Trefil wrote, "that the continuous movement of plate tectonics has no effect on the development of life on Earth."

Massive Fault Line in New Zealand's 'Alps' May be the Secret to Future Earthquakes

There is something intrinsically frightening about earthquakes. I remember watching the 1936 movie San Francisco, starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy. A wonderful movie which won an Oscar and was nominated for 5 others, all I can remember is the earthquake scenes, depicting the massive 1906 earthquake. Horses were squealing, houses were falling, and I was not very old. Needless to say, it left a memory.

Now, in an attempt to understand more about earthquakes, and in particular the big ones, an international group of scientists are hoping that New Zealand may offer up some secrets.

Were Antarctica and North America Once Connected? A Single Boulder Says "Yes"

The continual shifting of continents has led to the theories that, as in the cases of Pangaea and Rodinia, many, if not all of our continents, were at one time or another connected. One particular theory evolving from this is the SWEAT theory, standing for southwestern United States and East Antarctica, which theorizes that the southwestern United States was at one time connected to East Antarctica.

Bio-Earth: Are Planets Living Super-Organisms?

Japan's Maruyama Shigenori, one of the world's leading geophysicists, is working on a global formula for a vast new field of study that would include dozens of disciplines collaborating to produce an overall picture of the Earth.

“Groundbreaking” Revelations Reshaping Himalayan Geological History

Mount Everest stretches some 8,848 meters up from the ground, making it the highest peak on Earth (though not the tallest mountain…). Together with its Himalayan Range compatriots, they make up some of the most striking vistas and dangerous locations on the planet. However, according to new research out of Florida State University, they may also be reshaping some geographical history.