Geology – Page 16

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Mars Water Evidence Evaporates

December 23, 2005

The strongest evidence for water from the Mars rovers has been called into question. Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder believe that the observations of sulfates and concretions are better explained by fumaroles in volcanic ash deposits (see also EurekAlert). Their paper in Nature1 explains that the model means high temperatures: “Consequently, the […]

Bible and Theology

Instant Geology and Undersea Activity

December 9, 2005

We’re accustomed to thinking of geological processes as slow and gradual, except for volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides, but some recent stories are surprising for the speed and extent of active processes. Run: The Earth Is Splitting Apart: Geologists were amazed to find a rift in the Afar desert east of Ethiopia opening up 8 meters […]

Solar System

Enceladus Eruptions Caught on Camera

November 28, 2005

Enceladus, one of the small icy moons of Saturn, is undergoing eruptive activity right now. Evidence from previous flybys has now been corroborated visually in stunning images that made the lead stories on NASA, JPL and Cassini. Amateur enthusiasts were already expressing excitement at the images before the announcement (see Unmanned Spaceflight). The complete set […]

Media

ICR Challenges Validity of Radiometric Dating

November 5, 2005

acked out the facilities of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California Saturday. Their frequent applause was not for contemporary musicians or a preacher, but for scientists. Ten miles from their headquarters, the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) had rented the large auditorium for the formal presentation of the results of its eight-year research […]

Media

Make Your Own Privileged Planet

October 6, 2005

NASA-Ames Research Center has produced an online simulation game called AstroVenture that allows kids to try to design a habitable planet. After they pick half a dozen parameters, the game tells them whether humans could live there or not. This is a cute feature that, with caveats, could be useful for parents and teachers. The […]

Bible and Theology

Creation-Evolution Contest in Grand Canyon: New York Times Prints Eyewitness Report

October 6, 2005

New York Times reporter Jodi Wilgoren explored “parallel universes” along the Colorado River this summer (here for multimedia version). She rode a raft with a creationist group led by Tom Vail for several days, then rode with another party led by evolutionist Eugenie Scott. Her experiences with these two groups illustrated the stark contrast between […]

Uncategorized

Grand Canyon Still an Unsolved Puzzle

September 16, 2005

Arguably the best-known geological landmark on the planet, Grand Canyon has been scrutinized and “geologized” for well over a century, yet remains an enigma, according to the title of a new book by James Lawrence Powell, Grand Canyon: Solving Earth’s Grandest Puzzle (Pi Press, 2005). The book was reviewed by John C. Schmidt (Utah State) […]

Uncategorized

Mars Joins Active Volcano Club

September 6, 2005

Mars may join Earth and Jupiter’s moon Io in having active hot-lava volcanos, says a report on BBC News. A field of smooth volcanic cones near the north pole show no sign of impact craters or wind-blown features, suggesting they could have erupted recently. If so, Mars could still be geologically active. At half the […]

Uncategorized

Do Fossil Counts Match Sediment Counts?

August 25, 2005

If evolution is true, the number of species coming and going should track the number of rock layers in which they are fossilized, at least roughly. The more sediments per unit time, the more new genera should arise within them. Shanan E. Peters (U of Michigan) decided to test this “novel” approach with marine fossils […]

Dinosaurs

Dinolava Theory Back in Eruption

August 12, 2005

Meteor impact or volcanic eruption? Science Now reports that the volcano theory of dinosaur extinction has rejuvenated, challenging the long popularity of the Chicxulub impact hypothesis. Notwithstanding all the dramatic animations on science documentaries of a cataclysmic meteor wiping out the dinosaurs, the article by Carolyn Gramling states that “Scientists have long wrangled […]

Uncategorized

Mountain-Building Time Cut by Two Thirds

July 13, 2005

How long does it take to build mountains? The conventional wisdom is that mountain building (orogeny) is a slow, gradual process that takes many millions of years. A story on Live Science doesn’t deny some millions, but reduces the estimated age of a range in Norway from 40 million to 13 million, and claims the […]

Uncategorized

Rock Formation Built in Millions of Years, Lost in Seconds?

July 5, 2005

To the surprise of tourists, one of Australia’s seacoast rock formations called the “Twelve Apostles” collapsed into a pile of rubble before their eyes, reported CNN, ABC and other news sources. The fall of the 150-foot high sedimentary formation was caught in before-and-after snapshots by a teenager. Even though standard geology claims the rocks began […]

Uncategorized

Did Old Metamorphic Rocks Form in Just 10 Years?

June 30, 2005

A discovery in Norway may collapse a geological process by five or six orders of magnitude. A paper by Camacho et al. announced in Nature,1 yielded this comment by Simon Kelley (Open University, UK) in the same issue,2 “Conventional wisdom says that changes to crustal rocks pushed down deep when continents collide develop over millions […]

Uncategorized

Ice Volcano Seen on Titan

June 9, 2005

Planetary scientists are reporting the possible discovery of an ice volcano on Saturn’s large moon Titan. A large circular feature, 18 miles across, appears to have a caldera at the top, is surrounded by stress fractures, and appears warmer than the surroundings (warmer, relatively speaking: the mean surface temperature is -290° F). The infrared pictures […]

Uncategorized

Mars Dry Areas More Extensive than Thought

June 1, 2005

If Mars had oceans or lakes, it wasn’t for long, at least in the Syrtis Major region. Results of observations of the thermal emission imaging system (THEMIS) aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey reveal about four times as much olivine as previously recognized in the Nili Fossae adjacent to the Syrtis volcanic shield. Olivine quickly degrades […]

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