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☆ Near collapse of Earth’s magnetic field 591 million years ago may have allowed complex life to thrive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Earth’s magnetic field plays a key role in making our planet habitable. However, Earth’s magnetic field almost collapsed 591 million years ago, and this change, paradoxically, may have played a pivotal role in the blossoming of complex life, new research has found. The discovery of the sustained weakening of Earth’s magnetic field also helped resolve an enduring geological mystery about when Earth’s solid inner core formed. Shuhai Xiao/Virginia TechUncovering the magnetic field’s near collapseThe intensity of Earth’s magnetic field is known to fluctuate over time, and crystals preserved in rock contain tiny magnetic particles that lock in a record of the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field. The research on the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field suggests that the age of Earth’s inner core is on the younger end of that timescale, solidifying after 565 million years ago and allowing Earth’s magnetic shield to bounce back.

Persons: “, ”, John Tarduno, Xiao, Tarduno, Shuhai Xiao, ” Tarduno, Peter Driscoll, wasn’t, ” Driscoll Organizations: CNN, University of Rochester, Environment, Virginia Tech, Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science Locations: New York, South Australia, Virginia, Quebec, Brazil, South Africa, Washington ,, Newfoundland, Canada

☆ Mt. Etna Puffs Perfect Smoke Rings Into Sicilian Sky
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, has been spewing circular, mostly white smoke rings into the skies over Sicily. The rings, known as volcanic vortex rings, appeared earlier this month after a small vent opened on the northwest border of the Southeast crater. In this case, the vent is perfectly circular, making for particularly perfect rings. “It is bellissimo,” said Simona Scollo, another volcanologist at the INGV Etna Observatory in Catania, using the Italian word for beautiful. Ms. Scollo copublished a study on the dynamics of volcanic vortex rings last year in the journal Scientific Reports.

Persons: It’s, it’s, Etna, Boris Behncke, ”, Simona Scollo, Scollo Organizations: National Institute of Geophysics, Volcanology Locations: Mt, Etna, Sicily, Catania

☆ The East Coast earthquake came from a fault that's been asleep for hundreds of millions of years but suddenly reactivated
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The 4.8-magnitude earthquake on the East Coast Friday came from ancient dormant faults. The East Coast, however, is located in the middle of a plate and doesn't experience much of that movement. NOAAInstead, East Coast quakes come from stress that builds up on those ancient fault lines. The glaciers heavily weighed down and compressed the northern part of the East Coast. Though that weight has been lifted for more than 10,000 years, the Earth's crust is still rising back to its former shape.

Persons: —, Jessica Jobe, Matt Rourke, Lingsen Meng, George Rose, Jobe, Ben Fernando, Johns Hopkins, Meng, Fernando, It's Organizations: East, Service, Geological Survey, UCLA Locations: East Coast, New Jersey, Mill, Lebanon , New Jersey, West, Hot Springs , North Carolina, West Coast, East, Johns, North America

☆ Polar ice is melting and changing Earth’s rotation. It’s messing with time itself
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Laura Paddison | Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself. The hours and minutes that dictate our days are determined by Earth’s rotation. But after a long trend of slowing, the Earth’s rotation is now speeding up. Melting polar ice is slowing the impact on Earth’s rotation and has delayed the date by three years, pushing it from 2026 to 2029, the report found. Changes in Earth’s rotation over the long term have been dominated by the friction of the tides on the ocean floor — which has slowed down its rotation.

Persons: Patrizia, ”, Duncan Agnew, Agnew, Ted Scambos, ” Agnew, “, Olivier Morin, Scambos Organizations: CNN, Time Department, International Bureau, University of California San, University of Colorado Boulder Locations: France, University of California San Diego, Scoresby Fjord, Greenland, AFP

☆ Mars could be driving ‘giant whirlpools’ in the Earth’s deep oceans, new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Mars may be around 140 million miles away from Earth, but the red planet is influencing our deep oceans by helping drive “giant whirlpools,” according to new research. The sediments revealed that deep-sea currents weakened and strengthened over 2.4 million-year climate cycles, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. For the Earth, this interaction with Mars translates to periods of increased solar energy — meaning a warmer climate — and these warmer cycles correlate with more vigorous ocean currents, the report found. The authors describe these currents, or eddies, as “giant whirlpools” that can reach the bottom of the deep ocean, eroding the seafloor and causing large accumulations of sediments, like snowdrifts. Deep-sea sediments build in continuous layers during calm conditions but strong ocean currents disrupt this, leaving a visible stamp of their existence.

Persons: Adriana Dutkiewicz, sedimentologist, ”, Dietmar Müller, Müller, “, ” Müller, Joel Hirschi Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, University of Sydney, Atlantic, National Oceanography

☆ Coastal land is sinking, doubling the potential damage from rising seas — here's why
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A new study shows that coastal communities may be more at risk from sea-level rise than previously thought. The sea level is rising as the earth heats and glaciers melt. They then built the first high-resolution maps of this, showing east coast land sinking anywhere from two millimeters to five millimeters per year—affecting more than 2 million people and 800,000 properties. In Baltimore, Maryland, so-called nuisance flooding is becoming more and more prevalent, due to sea-level rise and sinking land. Coastal Baltimore is sinking by more than two millimeters per year, according to the study.

Persons: Manoochehr Shirzaei, Shirzaei, it's, Grace Hansen, Hansen Organizations: Virginia Tech, U.S . Geological Survey, Geophysics, JFK, City Locations: U.S, United States, New, LaGuardia, Baltimore , Maryland, City of Baltimore, Baltimore

☆ Bay of Mecklenburg:Stone Age megastructure found submerged in the Baltic Sea wasn’t formed by nature, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A megastructure found in the Baltic Sea may represent one of the oldest known hunting structures used in the Stone Age — and could change what’s known about how hunter-gatherers lived around 11,000 years ago. The stones, which connected several large boulders, were almost perfectly aligned, making it seem unlikely that nature had shaped the structure. The team determined that the wall was likely built by Stone Age communities to hunt reindeer more than 10,000 years ago. Hunting sites around the worldThe discovery marks the first Stone Age hunting structure in the Baltic Sea region. The Lake Huron wall’s construction and location, which includes a lakeshore to one side, is most similar to the Baltic Sea wall’s, the study authors said.

Persons: ”, Jacob Geersen, Marcel Bradtmöller, . Hoy, J . Auer, LAKD, Bradtmöller, hasn’t, Geersen, it’s, ” Geersen, Jens Schneider von Deimling Organizations: CNN, Kiel University, Office for Culture, Stone, National Academy of Sciences, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, University of Rostock, ”, Marine Geophysics Locations: Baltic, Germany, Mecklenburg, Rerik, Vorpommern, Europe, United States, Greenland, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lake Huron, Michigan, The, Huron

☆ The moon is shrinking, and it could be a problem for astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On the lunar surface, however, it’s a different story. “We also knew that the largest of the shallow moonquakes detected by the Apollo seismometers was located near the south pole. As part of the mission, two astronauts will spend about a week living and working on the lunar surface. They can be an opportunity to better study the moon as we do on the Earth with earthquakes,” Husker said. Studying moonquakes at the south pole will tell us more about the Moon’s interior structure as well as its present-day activity.”

Persons: India’s, Russia’s Luna, Artemis, ”, Thomas R, Watters, ” Watters, LRO, “, Renee Weber, ” Weber, Weber, Yosio Nakamura, Nakamura, Allen Husker, Husker, Jeffrey Andrews, Hanna Organizations: CNN, NASA, National Air, Space Museum’s, for, Planetary Studies, Lunar, Science, Apollo, University of Texas, California Institute of Technology, University of Arizona Locations: China, Austin

☆ Iceland scientists want to drill a hole straight into a reservoir of molten magma about a mile underground. It could generate limitless energy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Scientists in Iceland want to drill straight into an underground magma chamber. AdvertisementScientists in Iceland want to drill a hole into a magma chamber about a mile underground in an attempt to generate limitless energy. KMTIngólfsson expects one well on a magma chamber could be as productive as 10 other wells elsewhere. I'm not sure how much more efficient systems would be if drilled into a magma chamber," he said. AdvertisementA short time to get a lot of moneyKMT hopes to break ground on the first hole into the magma chamber in 2026.

Persons: —, Ingólfsson, Mika Mika, Paolo Papale, Jon Gluyas, Iceland Layne Kennedy, Gluyas, Hafsteinn Karlsson, it's Organizations: Service, Scientists, Italy's National, of Geophysics, Volcanology, New, KMT, Durham University, Global Geothermal Energy Advancement Association, KMT Ingólfsson, Gluyas Locations: Iceland, Namafjall, Pisa, Northern Iceland, Landmannalaugar, Krafla, Mexico, Kenya, Ethiopia, Italy

☆ Modern US earthquakes could be century-old aftershocks, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Allison Chinchar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Earthquakes vs. aftershocksThe modern seismic activity the researchers studied is likely a mixture of aftershocks from the big quakes from the 1800s and background seismicity, Chen said. “Are small earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone aftershocks of 1811-1812 or not?” Hough said in an email. “The new study considers the question from a different angle, considering how tightly clustered earthquakes are, and concluding that some of the events are ongoing aftershocks,” Hough said. Aftershocks might still be continuing, but once the normal seismic rate for the area returns, she said, you can no longer identify them as aftershocks. “For this reason, we seismologists sometimes disagree about which earthquakes are foreshocks or aftershocks,” Ebel said, “and I think those disagreements are inherently unresolvable.”

Persons: —, ”, Yuxuan Chen, geoscientist, Chen, “, Susan Hough, Hough, ” Hough, “ We’ve, . Fuller, Morgan Page, John Ebel, Ebel, John Karl Hillers, ” Ebel Organizations: CNN, Missouri -, of Geophysical Research, Wuhan University, Earthquakes, US Geological Survey, Survey, . Geological, USGS Earthquake Science, Boston College, . Geological Survey, San Locations: States, Missouri, Missouri - Kentucky, Charleston , South Carolina, Madrid, Memphis, Mississippi, Charleston, North America, China, New Madrid, Chickasaw, Reelfoot Lake , Tennessee, Boston, California, Eastern North America, Southern California, Northern California, San Andreas, Central

☆ November’s full beaver moon will shine bright this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —November’s full moon, known as the beaver moon, will shine bright in the night sky starting Sunday, offering a dazzling sight to behold. “The upcoming full Moon (the Beaver Moon) will look like the familiar full Moon, however the specific features are always a little different from one Moon to the next,” said Dr. Noah Petro, chief of NASA’s planetary geology, geophysics and geochemistry lab, in an email. For optimal moon gazing, Petro recommends finding a space with a clear view of the sky — away from trees, buildings and bright lights. More on the beaver moonThe beaver moon’s name is believed to be a nod to this full moon’s appearance when the industrious animal retires to its lodge in anticipation of winter. Remaining celestial events for 2023The final full moon of the year is the cold moon on December 26, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.

Persons: CNN —, “, ”, Noah Petro, libration, Petro, ” Petro, it’s, Artemis, Ursids Organizations: CNN, NASA, Farmers, American Meteor Society Locations: Earth’s

☆ A volcano could erupt in Iceland within hours, but maybe don't cancel your international flights yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But that shouldn't affect your travel plans, though the Blue Lagoon may be off-limits, experts said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThere's no reason to cancel your travel plans to Iceland, despite the country warning of potentially dangerous volcanic activity happening within the next few hours or days, experts told Insider. Iceland declared a state of emergency after an unexpected acceleration of activity at Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano near the town of Grindavik. It is always difficult to know exactly how a volcanic eruption will develop, but the latest developments in the peninsula took volcanologists by surprise, McGarvie said. "It is not something that's ever been observed in Iceland, certainly monitored in Iceland, in the last few decades," he said.

Persons: —, Dave McGarvie, Raul Moreno, Andrew Hooper, Lionel Wilson, Hooper, McGarvie Organizations: Service, University of Lancaster, Emergency Management, —, Getty, Geophysics, Leeds, University of Leeds, Planetary Sciences, Lancaster University, UK's Science Media, Icelandic, Iceland Google Locations: Grindavik, Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull, Reykjavik, tktktk

☆ A volcano could erupt in Iceland within hours. Experts say you shouldn't cancel your flights — yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementThere's no reason to cancel your travel plans to Iceland, despite the country warning of potentially dangerous volcanic activity happening within the next few hours or days, experts told Insider. Iceland declared a state of emergency after an unexpected acceleration of activity at Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano near the town of Grindavik. It is always difficult to know exactly how a volcanic eruption will develop, but the latest developments in the peninsula took volcanologists by surprise, McGarvie said. While the Reykjanes peninsula was known to have volcanic activity, and its volcano had had fairly mild eruptions over the past decade, this activity accelerated drastically since mid-October. "It is not something that's ever been observed in Iceland, certainly monitored in Iceland, in the last few decades," he said.

☆ Campi Flegrei: Next door to Vesuvius, another Italian volcano is waking up
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Barbie Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The most dangerous volcanic threat in Italy right now is one you’ve probably never heard of: Campi Flegrei, or the Phlegraean Fields. The last major eruption of Campi Flegrei was in 1538, and it created a new mountain in the bay. So far in 2023 Campi Flegrei has recorded more than 3,450 earthquakes, 1,118 of which occurred in August alone. There are two hypotheses as to what could be causing the current increase in seismic activity at Campi Flegrei, according to De Natale. Vesuvius and the Campi Flegrei area.

Persons: Rome CNN —, Campi, Flegrei, Campi Flegrei, Carlo Doglioni, ”, ” Doglioni, What’s, Giuseppe De Natale, De Natale, ” De Natale, Ivan Romano, Benedetto De Vivo, ” De Vivo, Rosa Russo Iervolino, Luigi di Magistris, of Serapis, bradyseism, Christopher Kilburn, “, Stefano Carlino, ” Carlino, Salvatore Laporta, Natale, ” Natale Organizations: Rome CNN, National, of Geophysics, University of Naples, CNN, Geological Survey, Environment, volcanology, University College London Locations: Rome, Italy, Naples, Capri, Ischia, Pisciarelli, Vesuvius, Yellowstone, Long, California, Toba, Indonesia, Roman, Pozzuoli, Campi, L’Aquila, vulcanology

☆ Earth’s core may have been leaking helium for millions of years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They wanted to investigate the rocks that may contain insights about the contents locked within Earth’s core and mantle, the mostly solid layer of Earth’s interior located beneath its surface. Helium inherited from the solar nebula likely became locked in Earth’s core as the planet formed, making the core a reservoir of noble gases. “So, the helium we measured in these rocks would have escaped the core perhaps 100 million years ago or possibly much earlier.”Helium leaking from Earth’s core doesn’t affect our planet or have any negative implications, he said. If so, have fluxes of these elements from the core over (Earth’s) history influenced planetary evolution? I am excited to investigate links between helium and other light elements,” Horton said.

Persons: ”, Forrest Horton, ” Horton, It’s, Solveigh Lass, Evans, Finlay Stuart, Horton, “ Organizations: CNN —, Oceanographic, University of Edinburgh, Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Nunavut Research Institute, NASA Locations: Nunavut, Canada, Nature, Baffin, Greenland, North America

☆ Ancient landscape formed by rivers revealed deep under Antarctic ice
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers said on Tuesday they have detected buried under the continent's ice sheet a vast ancient landscape, replete with valleys and ridges, apparently shaped by rivers before being engulfed by glaciation long ago. Ancient palm tree pollen has been discovered from Antarctica, not far around the coast from our study site," Jamieson added. Some previous studies similarly have revealed ancient landscapes beneath Antarctica's ice including mountains and highlands, though the landscape discovered in the new study was the first of its type. Right before 34 million years ago, Antarctica's landscape and flora likely resembled today's cold temperate rainforests of Tasmania, New Zealand and South America's Patagonia region, Ross added. When that ice growth occurred, the conditions between the base of the ice and the landscape changed to become very cold - and in this way it was no longer able to erode our landscape.

Persons: Stewart Jamieson, Antarctica's, Jamieson, Neil Ross, Ross, Will Dunham, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Durham University, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, Antarctica, Nature Communications, Newcastle University, Thomson Locations: Belgium, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica, Antarctica, East Antarctica's Wilkes Land, ., Maryland, England, Patagonia, Greenland, Tasmania , New Zealand, South, Africa, South America, Australia

☆ Climate Change Is Keeping Therapists Up at Night
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Brooke Jarvis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

His clients didn’t just bring up the changing climate incidentally, or during disconcerting local reminders; rather, many were activists or scientists or people who specifically sought out Bryant because of their concerns about the climate crisis. According to a 2022 survey by Yale and George Mason University, a majority of Americans report that they spend time worrying about climate change. A poll by the American Psychiatric Association in the same year found that nearly half of Americans think climate change is already harming the nation’s mental health. Climate change, in other words, surrounds us with constant reminders of “ethical dilemmas and deep social criticism of modern society. In its essence, climate crisis questions the relationship of humans with nature and the meaning of being human in the Anthropocene.”

Persons: Bryant, Susan Clayton, Thomas J, Doherty, George Mason, ” Organizations: Climate Psychology Alliance North America, American Psychological Association, Yale, George, George Mason University, American Psychiatric Association, of Biology

Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia that strains relations with neighboring countries. In recent years, smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand. Hundreds of forest fires in South Kalimantan province in Borneo island made the smoke haze even more widespread, especially during the last week. The local government has also called the students to do online learning because the air quality is unhealthy. “We are still working to handle the forest and land fires in Borneo and Sumatra islands as well as possible.

Persons: Siti Nurbaya Bakar, shouldn't, Bakar Organizations: —, Indonesian, Forestry, Associated Press, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Agency Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, — Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesian, Malaysia’s, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, IQAir, Swiss, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan

In the latest of a long string of tremors, a 4.0-magnitude earthquake hit the region of Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) Monday. Experts at INGV have warned authorities and residents that tremors could intensify in the near future as seismic activity continues. However, they have clarified that the intensity of the tremors doesn’t imply an increased or imminent risk of a new eruption. The Campi Flegrei area extends west from the outskirts of Naples to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city of Naples is surrounded by volcanoes on both sides: Campi Flegrei to the west, and Mount Vesuvius to the east.

Persons: INGV, ”, De Astis, “, Flegrei, Giorgia Meloni, Nello Musumeci, ” De Astis Organizations: ROME, National Institute of Geophysics, INGV, Associated Press, National Research Council Locations: Italian, Naples, Campi, Flegri, Europe, Pozzuoli, Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Southern Campania, –

☆ Second earthquake in a week strikes south of Naples
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Barbie Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Rome CNN —A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck south of Naples, Italy, on Tuesday, just days after the volcanic region saw its strongest earthquake in 40 years, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Campi Flegrei, also known as the Phlegraean fields, is a volcanic area that encompasses multiple ancient volcanoes that date back 39,000 years. Campi Flegrei experiences a seismic phenomenon known as bradyseism, defined by cycles of uplift and gradual lowering of the ground. The last major eruption of Campi Flegrei was in 1538, which created a new mountain in the bay. So far in 2023, Campi Flegrei has logged 2,868 earthquakes — 1,118 in August alone.

Persons: Campi Flegrei, Flegrei, Campi, Carlo Doglioni, ”, INGV Organizations: Rome CNN, National, of Geophysics Locations: Rome, Naples, Italy, Ischia, Capri

☆ Earthquakes hit Italy super volcano, raising spectre of evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A leading volcanologist has warned that mass evacuations might be needed in a town close to Naples, which sits on a so-called Super Volcano that has been hit by hundreds of small earthquakes in recent weeks. Campi Flegrei sits across the bay of Naples from Pompeii, where thousands were incinerated by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. However, it is a much bigger volcano than Vesuvius and if it ever exploded at full force could kill millions. Speaking in a personal capacity, De Natale said the last time Campi Flegrei suffered a similar burst of earthquakes in the 1980s, some 40,000 people were temporarily evacuated from nearby Pozzuoli. The Campi Flegrei caldera has a diameter of about 12-15 km (7.5-9.3 miles) and last erupted in 1538.

Persons: Flegrei, Vesuvius, Giuseppe De Natale, De Natale, Campi Flegrei, Della Sera, Alvise Armellini, Crispian Balmer, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean Organizations: National Institute for Geophysics, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Naples, Pompeii, Pozzuoli, U.S ., Wyoming, Greenland, U.S

☆ Quake of 4.2 magnitude strikes volcanic fields near Italy's Naples
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck a volcanic field near Naples early on Wednesday, the biggest in nearly four decades, but Italian authorities said it appeared to have caused no damage. The earthquake, part of more than 60 seismic events registered since early Tuesday, took place at 3:35 a.m. (0135 GMT), the Italian Geophysics and Volcanology Institute (INGV) said. The temblor "was felt by the population but according to initial checks no damage has been reported so far," the Italian Civil Protection agency said in a statement. The Phlegraean Fields is an area of volcanic craters on the western outskirts of Naples that is under constant monitoring for the risk of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Lifting phases "are accompanied by intense local seismic activity", the civil protection said on its website.

Persons: Alvise Armellini, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Italian Geophysics, Volcanology Institute, Civil, Thomson Locations: Naples, Italian

☆ Geologist Marie Tharp mapped the ocean floor and helped solve one of science's biggest controversies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Back then, no one knew what the ocean floor looked like — until one woman used her many talents to find out. When she reflected on her life, geologist Marie Tharp recollected being able to fill in the blanks of the ocean floor, which she saw as a fascinating jigsaw puzzle. Their final project together was the World Ocean Floor Map. The Heezen-Tharp “World Ocean Floor” map painted by Heinrich Berann. Marie Tharp Maps, LLCAfter Heezen's death, organizations that had hired him and Tharp to work on projects reassigned them.

Persons: didn't, Marie Tharp, Marie Tharp recollected, Tharp, Columbia University's, Lamont, Alfred Wegener's, Wegener, he'd, Bailey Willis, Willis, Bettie Higgs, Maurice Ewing, Roberta Eike, Tharp didn't, they'd, Bruce Heezen, Frank Albert Charles Burke, Heezen, Howard Foster, she'd, Ewing, Jacques Cousteau, Cousteau, Marie Tharp's, Heinrich Berann, you'd, It's, Hali Felt, Higgs, Society's Hubbard, Mary, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, George Washington Organizations: Service, Columbia, Columbia University's Lamont Geological Laboratory, University of Michigan, Columbia University, Lamont, Fairfax Media, Getty, US Navy, Oceanographic Conference, ABC, Disney, Entertainment, National Geographic, Mary Sears Woman, Oceanography Locations: Wall, Silicon, German, American, Lamont, Massachusetts, Nova Scotia , Massachusetts, France, Gibraltar, United States

☆ No major damage reported from 4.8 magnitude earthquake near Florence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck early on Monday near Florence in central Italy, but regional authorities said it did not seem to have caused significant damage. The epicentre was just off Marradi, a town about 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) north-east of Florence, at a depth of 8.4 kilometres, the Italian Geophysics and Volcanology Institute (INGV) said. The quake hit at 0310 GMT and was followed by several aftershocks, INGV said. "At the moment there are no particularly critical situations following the earthquake with its epicentre in Marradi", Tuscany Governor Eugenio Giani wrote on Facebook, adding that checks on possible structural damages to buildings were ongoing. Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing Federico MaccioniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: INGV, Eugenio Giani, Alvise Armellini, Federico Maccioni Organizations: Italian Geophysics, Volcanology Institute, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Florence, Italy, Italian, Marradi, Tuscany

☆ Morocco earthquake lights: strange light phenomenon before some quakes is a long standing mystery
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Reports of “earthquake lights,” like the ones seen in videos captured before Friday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Morocco, go back centuries to ancient Greece. He has coauthored several scientific papers on earthquake lights, or EQL. To better understand earthquake lights, Derr and his colleagues gathered information on 65 American and European earthquakes associated with trustworthy reports of earthquake lights dating back to 1600. Other theories about what causes earthquake lights include static electricity produced by the fracturing of rock and radon emanation, among many others. At present there is no consensus among seismologists on the mechanism that causes earthquake lights, and scientists are still trying to unlock the mysteries of these outbursts.

Persons: there’s, ”, John Derr, Juan Antonio Lira Cacho, Derr, Antonio Lira, Freund, Derr’s, “ Organizations: CNN —, Friday’s, Geological Survey, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, CNN, Geophysics, San Jose University, NASA Ames Research Center Locations: Morocco, Greece, Pisco, Peru, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, China, Sichuan, Earthquakes, Guayaquil, Ecuador

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