A SCIENTIST’S GUIDE RISING SEAS WILL SUN CYCLE TO SOCIAL MEDIA SWAMP THE INTERNET SPARKS LIGHTNING EARTH
OLD MINES NEW LABS Underground Research Digs Deep
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FEATURES EARTH 28 | GOING SUBTERRANEAN: Repurposed Mines Become Innovative Labs Around the world, old mines are finding new life as underground research facilities, offering scientists unique ways to answer some of science’s biggest questions — from investigations of natural resources, seismic activity and carbon sequestration, to less obvious topics like biofuel development and how life began on Earth — and, maybe, on other planets as well. | Josh Knackert 28 38 | TRAVELS IN GEOLOGY: Jewel of the Apennines: Italy’s Monti Sibillini National Park The landscape of the central Apennines is a manifestation of the geological processes that have acted on this region for more than 200 million years. It is a place where human history is closely tied to the terrain: a relationship that has produced terrific rewards of agriculture and art, as well as great catastrophes from earthquakes and landslides. | Callan Bentley and 38 Alan Pitts
VOICES
8 COMMENT: 64 GEOLOGIC COLUMN: MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA WORK FOR SCIENTISTS A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT “SLEEPING” NATURAL HAZARDS Social media platforms offer scientists simple and inexpensive ways to communicate with the The author ruminates on the sometimes public. Here’s how to start sharing your science underappreciated risks of natural hazards and online. | Amelie Meyer and Alexey Pavlov recalls a trip to a remote Hawaiian campsite where a 1975 magnitude-7.7 quake later proved fatal. | Wendell Duffield
ON THE COVER: Around the world, old mines are being repurposed as research facilities. Credit: K. Cantner, AGI NEWS
12 UNDERWATER WIFI? RISING SEA LEVELS THREATEN PHYSICAL INTERNET
13 GLOBE-TROTTING KELP SET NEW WORLD RECORD
13 SAHARAN DUST A STORM KILLER 19
19 GULF STREAM EDDIES TRANSPORT IRON TO NORTH ATLANTIC SUBTROPICAL GYRE
20 SCIENTISTS 14 DISCOVER GRANITE CRYSTALLIZES 14 ALGAE ATE THEMSELVES TO DEATH AND AT LOWER CAUSED A GLOBAL EXTINCTION TEMPERATURES
15 TURNING MODERN “EYES” ON ANCIENT SITES 22 “EASY BAKE” FOSSILS RESEMBLE REAL DEAL
23 SPIKY NEW AMERICAN ANKYLOSAURID ORIGINATED IN ASIA 20
23 MERCURY ON THE 16 ROOF OF THE WORLD
16 JAPANESE DIARIES SHOW SUN’S CYCLE SPARKS 24 CONGRESS, STATES LIGHTNING ON EARTH LOOK TO ADDRESS IMPACTS OF OCEAN 17 MARINE ANIMALS HAVE BEEN MIGRATING FOR ACIDIFICATION MILLIONS OF YEARS 25 TITAN’S DUNES FORM 18 WINTER PRECIPITATION IN SOUTHWESTERN U.S. THE SAME WAY TIED TO KIWI COAST AS EARTH’S 22
DEPARTMENTS
4 FROM THE EDITOR 54 DOWN TO EARTH: With Geologist Robert Brinkmann 50 GEOMEDIA: BOOKS: “This Gulf of Fire” Recounts 57 BENCHMARKS: the 1755 Lisbon Disaster NOVEMBER 16, 1990: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 52 WHERE ON EARTH? Is Established
53 CROSS-SECTION: A Puzzle 60 CLASSIFIEDS: Career Opportunities
ON THE WEB AT www.earthmagazine.org From the Editor
eventy years ago, the National Academy of Sciences encouraged the major geology societies in the U.S. to form the American Geological Institute (AGI) to provide a federation to unify and serve the geological sciences. Like all things that thrive, AGI has evolved substantially since its founding EARTH Sin 1948. AGI now has 52 member societies — compared to 11 when the organization 4220 King Street began — and represents the entire range of earth science. This wider scope led to Alexandria, VA 22302-1507, USA Phone: (703)379-2480 Fax: (703)379-7563 AGI’s renaming as the American Geosciences Institute in 2011, but the mission has www.earthmagazine.org remained the same: to serve the interests of the broader geoscience community. The [email protected] ways in which that mission is fulfilled have changed, however, with commitments PUBLISHER to education, public outreach, communications and policy growing stronger over Allyson K. Anderson Book the years. Of course, we still serve the needs of the geoscience profession through EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christopher M. Keane technical products and services. EDITOR AGI’s longest-standing product has been its magazine, first published in 1956 Megan Sever
as Geotimes, which has also evolved over the years from an industry newsletter SENIOR EDITOR to a popular magazine. In 2008, the magazine was rebranded as EARTH, and its Sara E. Pratt coverage was broadened to serve anyone interested in earth sciences, as well as NEWS EDITOR space science. For the public, EARTH offers an accessible way to learn about our Timothy Oleson ROVING CORRESPONDENTS planet; for professional geoscientists, it offers a great way to stay abreast of trends Terri Cook and hot topics in our science; and for AGI’s member societies, the magazine offers Mary Caperton Morton exposure for research and initiatives in which the societies are involved. But this DESIGNERS Nicole Schmidgall broad coverage would not be possible without the geoscience community itself, Brenna Tobler with individuals acting as contributing authors, researchers willing to discuss their ILLUSTRATOR findings, and sources and commenters offering expert opinions about the impact Kathleen Cantner and opportunities that new findings provide. MARKETING/ADVERTISING To celebrate this collaborative effort with the community, and to make EARTH John P. Rasanen central to the same geoscientists who help make it possible, AGI will now provide CONTRIBUTORS Bethany Augliere complimentary subscriptions to the digital edition of EARTH to all members of its Callan Bentley member societies as well as to the faculty, students and staff of geoscience-related Rachel Crowell Sarah Derouin programs in higher education around the world. And our digital readers are of Jennifer Georgek course invited to subscribe to the bimonthly print edition, which has all the same Mara Johnson-Groh Josh Knackert content as the digital edition, but with an added measure of tactile enjoyment and Chris Micucci analog portability. Lauren Milideo Joellen Talbot EARTH is a celebration of geoscience and the community of people who help EDITORIAL EXTERNS us learn more about the planet every day. We want you to share in this celebration. Madeline Bender Elizabeth Dengler Emily Nolan
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Christopher M. Keane, Ph.D. Callan Bentley EARTH Executive Editor (Northern Virginia Community College) Scott Burns EARTH is published monthly in digital formats (ISSN 2373-1559) for a base subscription rate of (Portland State University) $20.00 a year. EARTH is also published in print bi-monthly (ISSN 1943-345X) for $45.00 a year by the Jacob Haqq-Misra American Geosciences Institute. To purchase single issues, please inquire at [email protected]. (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) ©2018 American Geosciences Institute. Standard mail, nonprofit postage paid at Denver, Colo., and at Geoff Plumlee other mailing offices. Claims for missing issues will be honored only up to six months. Issues undelivered (U.S. Geological Survey) through failure to notify EARTH of address change will not be replaced. Scott Sampson Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement Number 40065056; Canadian return address: DP Global (Science World British Columbia) Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. Michael E. Webber (University of Texas at Austin) Editorial Matter: We encourage readers to alert us to news and photos for possible publication. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of AGI, its staff, its member EARTH is printed by American Web, based societies, or its advertisers. The presence of an advertisement in this magazine does not constitute in Denver, Colo. EARTH is printed on 20% EARTH endorsement of the product. recycled (10% post-consumer waste) paper. All inks used contain a percentage of soy Reproduction: More than one photocopy of an item from EARTH may be made provided that fees are base. Our printer meets or exceeds all federal paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Phone: Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) (978)750-8400. Fax: (978)646-8600. Any other form of reproduction requires special permission from Standards. and is subject to fees by EARTH.
page 4 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org American Geosciences Institute
The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in our profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public aware-
Member Societies ness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, AASP-The Palynological Society (AASP) resilience to natural hazards, and the health of the environment. American Association of Geographers (AAG) American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) American Geophysical Union (AGU) Executive Committee American Institute of Hydrology (AIH) American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) President Rodney C. Ewing, Stanford University American Meteorological Society (AMS) President-Elect Carolyn G. Olson, U.S. Geological Survey American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Secretary Anna Shaughnessy, retired Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) Treasurer Heidi L. Hoffower, Chevron Corporation Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Association of Earth Science Editors (AESE) Member at Large Jonathan D. Arthur, Florida Geological Survey Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) Member at Large Susan Sullivan, CIRES Diversity and Inclusion Clay Minerals Society (CMS) Member at Large Paul Weimer, University of Colorado - Boulder Council on Undergraduate Research, Geosciences Division (CUR) Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS) Past President Eve S. Sprunt, Eve Sprunt & Associates Friends of Mineralogy (FOM) Chair of AGI Foundation Daniel D. Domeracki, Schlumberger The Geochemical Society (GS) Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (GI) Executive Director Allyson K. Anderson Book Geological Association of Canada (GAC) American Geosciences Institute Geological Society of America (GSA) The Geological Society of London (GSL) Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) History of Earth Sciences Society (HESS) International Association of Hydrogeologists/U.S. National Chapter (IAH) International Medical Geology Association (IMGA) Karst Waters Institute (KWI) Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (MSGBI) National Association of Black Geoscientists (NABG) National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) National Ground Water Association (NGWA) National Speleological Society (NSS) North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature (NACSN) Paleobotanical Section of the Botanical Society of America (PSBSA) Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) Paleontological Society (PS) Petroleum History Institute (PHI) Seismological Society of America (SSA) SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) (SEPM) Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME) The Society for Organic Petrology (TSOP) Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists (SIPES) Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP) Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) United States Permafrost Association (USPA)
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page 5 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org AGI GeoRef www.GeoRef.org Providing fast, easy access to the geoscience literature of the world
Search 4 Million References • Access GeoRef online, on the Worldwide Web or on CD-ROM
• Current, worldwide coverage includes the Geology of North America from 1666 and the rest of the world since 1933
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• For information on the content of GeoRef, licensing the database, and on methods of access, contact Monika Long at AGI headquarters, [email protected].
page 6 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org • GeoRef Preview Database Want to check on new references even before they’re available in GeoRef? Check out the GeoRef Preview Database at no charge at: GEOREF www.americangeosciences.org/georef/georef-preview-database This database, updated weekly, contains unedited references that have not yet SERVICES been completed. Get a sample of the types of publications included in the GeoRef database or keep up with new publications!
• Other GeoRef Databases CanGeoRef CanGeoRef is a bibliographic geoscience database that covers the Canadian geoscience literature since the early 1800’s. It is a product of a cooperative Antarctic Bibliography, arrangement between the American Geosciences Institute and the Canadian 1950-2011 Federation of Earth Sciences. CanGeoRef provides an affordable alternative The Antarctic Bibliography covers to the GeoRef database for small organizations, companies and individuals all scientific disciplines related to the working in the Canadian region. region. The Antarctic Bibliography was For further information visit: produced with support from the National www.americangeosciences.org/georef/cangeoref-database Science Foundation with contributions from the Scott Polar Research Institute, AusGeoRef University of Cambridge. This bibliographic database, produced in cooperation with Geoscience Australia and drawn from GeoRef, contains information on Australian Bibliography on Cold Regions geoscience publications, both published in Australia or about Australia. Science and Technology, 1951-2011 AusGeoRef includes over 202,000 bibliographic references on The Bibliography on Cold Regions Science geology in Australia back to 1840, drawn from journal literature, and Technology includes references to meeting proceedings and abstracts, books, reports and maps. scientific and engineering research related For further information visit: www.americangeosciences.org/ to material and operations in a winter georef/ausgeoref-database battlefield, the nature and impact of cold on facilities and activities, cold-related Groundwater and Soil Contamination Database environmental problems, and the impact of This highly specialized database provides coverage of literature on human activity on cold environments. The the contamination of groundwater and soil. It includes over 157,000 Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and bibliographic references to the worldwide literature on this subject. Technology was funded in part by the National Documents cited in the database are primarily related to Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Cold geology, hydrology, and the environment. Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. For further information visit: www.americangeosciences.org/ For further information on the Antarctic georef/groundwater-and-soil-contamination-database and Cold Regions Bigliographies visit: www.coldregions.org/vufind/resources/about WWW.GEOREF.ORG
page 7 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Comment Making Social Media Work for Scientists
Amelie Meyer and Alexey Pavlov
hether true or not, sci- entists are famous for not being great public communicators, yet Wcommunication is a key aspect of our work. Traditional science communication involves sharing findings with colleagues through published articles in peer-re- viewed journals and presenting work at conferences. Scientists are encouraged to communicate using this well-defined framework and are rewarded for doing so; in fact, our career progress is often assessed using such publication records. Meanwhile, communication with wider audiences might entail visits with school- children or perhaps talking to journalists for stories in a magazine like this one. But sharing findings with and promot- ing science to the public is a less-defined task, and often one with few incentives and little support. That communicating with wider audiences isn’t encouraged is unfortunate considering many of us are funded by the public to research and answer questions relevant to society. We should clearly communicate our findings to the public, especially regarding com- plex topics such as climate change. Scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) in Norway run a science outreach ini- But we can take matters into our own tiative using the handle @oceanseaicenpi. These photos were used in posts from their hands: The internet, and social media plat- Instagram (www.instagram.com/oceanseaicenpi), Twitter (twitter.com/oceanseaicenpi) forms in particular, have opened simple and Facebook (www.facebook.com/oceanseaicenpi) platforms. and inexpensive avenues to communicate Credit: clockwise from top left: Elina Nystedt (NPI), Paul A. Dodd (NPI), Jon Aars (NPI), Sebastian Gerland with the public. Science communication (NPI), Anja Rösel (NPI), CopernicusEU/Mikhail Itkin (NPI), Peter Leopold (NPI), Nick Cobbing (National Geographic), Amelie Meyer (NPI) using social media not only has the poten- tial to reach the public, but it also benefits So far, our combined audience our peer-reviewed science papers scientists in many ways. across these three platforms has grown through the @oceanseaicenpi channels In early 2014, our team, the Oceans and to more than 7,000 followers in more has increased alternative metrics (alt- Sea Ice research group at the Norwegian than 100 countries. With each post, we metrics) scores that reflect the online Polar Institute in Tromsø, Norway, created reach many more people across a much impact of these papers, often beyond the the @oceanseaicenpi handle on Instagram broader area than we would by more scientific community. Highlighted papers (www.instagram.com/oceanseaicenpi), conventional means. Our experience has also get more reads and more citations. Twitter (twitter.com/oceanseaicenpi) been very positive: Using social media Our use of social media channels has and Facebook (www.facebook.com/ has increased our connection to the also facilitated networking opportuni- oceanseaicenpi) to communicate our public, helped us become better com- ties with other scientists, as well as with science to the public and develop net- municators, grown our networks, and communities that are usually harder to works within the professional polar significantly increased the visibility of connect with, such as artists, journalists science community. our research. Additionally, highlighting and policymakers.
page 8 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Comment
An example of an educational post from the @oceanseaicenpi Instagram account. Credit: Meyer et al., Oceanography, June 2018
Creating and maintaining social media channels takes planning and effort, but the benefits of greater public outreach are worth it. To set up these channels, it’s advisable to first get official approval and support from the leadership of your institution: Having a mission statement describing your goal and tools will help. Plan how tasks will be distributed within the team. Next, decide what platforms (Twit- ter, Instagram, Facebook and/or others) you want to use and how you want We at @oceanseaicenpi decided to such as ocean optics; project updates to use them. Each platform attracts a classify our posts into seven categories — talk about ongoing projects and planned different audience, and each allows a fieldwork, educational, project updates, experiments; historical posts can be about different type of communication. For historical, portraits of team members, famous scientists, historical expeditions brief announcements and posting links publication highlights, and conference or old maps, for example; team member to papers, for example, you might use and meetings updates. Fieldwork posts portraits highlight individual scientists in Twitter. For lengthier discussion posts, talk about expeditions, instruments and our group; publication highlights present maybe use Facebook. For more visual field techniques; educational posts explain recently published papers by the team posts, use Instagram. a scientific concept or introduce a topic and collaborators; and finally, conference and meetings updates men- tion workshop attendance or advertise talks about to take place at a conference. In terms of what we post to which platform, we have realized that certain types of
Popularity of each type of post based on likes on Ins- tagram (red), retweets on Twitter (blue), and likes on Facebook (green), where the number of likes or retweets has been normalized by the number of followers at the time of the post. Small dots represent individual posts, while large squares are the mean for each type of post. Note that the x-axis has been truncated for clarity and that some posts reached values close to 1. Credit: from left to right: Henrik Blessing, Tor Ivan Karlsen, Tor Ivan Karlsen, Amelie Meyer, and Sebastian Sikora (NPI), from Pavlov et al., BAMS, June 2018
page 9 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Comment
Example of a publication highlight post on the @oceanseaicenpi Twitter channel. Credit: Fernandez-Mendez et al., Frontiers in Marine Science, March 2018
accompanied by an engaging the numbers of scientists and research photograph or illustration. groups on social media are still low. Be accurate and check your Running social media channels can facts. And use tags and be time-consuming, especially if you’re hashtags — like #SciComm doing it on your own, and it requires or #polarfox, matching adept coordination if it’s a team effort. It the theme of the post — to might seem easier to work on overdue increase your reach. manuscripts than to invest time in new Get to know your audi- outreach tools. Nonetheless, scientists ence and post when your should be taking advantage of these tools followers are most respon- to better communicate our science. sive. You can work this posts are more popular than others and out using the built-in analytics for each Meyer, formerly at NPI, is now a research that followers on different social media platform, which provide basic statistics: associate at the ARC Center of Excellence channels have different preferences. We information such as who and where your for Climate Extremes at IMAS at the Uni- figured this out by keeping track of the followers are, when they are online, how versity of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia. number of likes and shares of each type much they clicked or shared a post, and She specializes in polar oceanography of post. For our channels, fieldwork and what their interests are. Analytics can also and advocates for science communica- educational posts are most popular on help you assess the impact of your social tion and outreach. Instagram, publication highlights on media outreach. Pavlov (@mvpgeo), Twitter, and team portraits on Facebook. More and more individual research- also formerly at NPI, Finally, start posting! Each post should ers are using social media platforms is an interdisciplinary have one key message, ideally explained (especially Twitter) for professional net- Arctic researcher and in less than 150 words and, vitally, working and science communication. But science communi- Credit: Allison Bailey cator who currently (NPI) works for Akvaplan- niva and the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. They’ve presented about the potential of social Credit: Anna media for science Raczkowska, Institute communication at of Oceanology of the several conferences Polish Academy of Sciences as well as in recent papers in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (Pavlov et al., June 2018) and Oceanog- raphy (Meyer et al., June 2018). They can be reached through their social media accounts at: twitter.com/OceanSeaIceNPI, Example of an @oceanseaicenpi post on Instagram showing a researcher standing in www.facebook.com/oceanseaicenpi and a melt pond atop Arctic sea ice, which is about 1 meter thick. www.instagram.com/oceanseaicenpi/. The Credit: Alexey Pavlov (NPI) views expressed are their own.
page 10 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Membership The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the country’s premier professional and scientific organization for the weather, water and climate community. Join now as an AMS Member and enjoy opportunities to:
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page 11 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Underwater WiFi? Rising sea levels threaten physical internet
t seems like you can find wireless On this map of Miami, blue areas internet almost anywhere now, are projected to be underwater by but the backbone of the internet 2118, according to NOAA. Under- is wired: Infrastructure such as sea, long-haul and local metro Ifiber optic cables, data centers, traffic fiber cables are shown, respec- exchanges and hubs keeps us connected. tively, in red, green and black. In many coastal cities, however, these Credit: Paul Barford, UW-Madison critical communication pieces are facing increasing risk from rising seas. A new expectation was that we’d have study shows that thousands of kilometers 50 years to plan for this, but we of cables and hundreds of internet traffic don’t have 50 years.” hubs will be inundated by rising sea levels Some parts of the physical in the next 15 years, putting coastal cities internet are designed to function like New York, Miami and Seattle at risk underwater, specifically the transoce- and Infrastructure Sciences Division at for widespread disruptions. anic cables that run along the seafloor to Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, Much of the cable that makes up the connect continents. “Submarine cables who was not involved in the new research. physical internet is buried, following are superbly engineered for the marine “But there are key hubs, links and nodes in existing rights of way such as highways environment,” Barford says. “They’re also the system that can cause widespread dis- and railroads built along coastlines. incredibly expensive to make, deploy and ruptions, perhaps even globally, if they are “When these networks were first installed maintain.” In contrast, the fiber optic compromised. This study is an important around 25 years ago, little thought was cables that carry communication signals first step in identifying the most vulnera- given to the impact that climate change over land typically run through PVC ble components,” he says. It also highlights and rising sea levels might have on pipes that are merely weather resistant. the rapid onset of the problem. “Sea levels these components,” says Paul Barford, “Rainwater and groundwater typically are rising and becoming an issue much a computer scientist at the University of don’t penetrate the pipes unless there’s a faster than anybody thought.” Wisconsin-Madison and senior author breach,” he says. But “they aren’t designed The next step will be to model the of the new study, which was presented to function fully submerged in water.” dynamic flow of data through the phys- in July at the annual Applied Networking The points of the physical internet ical internet to identify which of the Research Workshop in Montreal. at greatest risk to seawater inundation vulnerable regions are most crucial for For the past seven years, Barford are landing points where marine cables maintaining connectivity. “The clusters of and his colleagues have been mapping connect to standard fiber optic cables, risk that this team has identified should be the physical components of the inter- Barford says. “Most landing points are the starting points for further modeling,” net installed and owned by more than very close to coastlines. Given the pro- Verner says. “It’s important to identify 1,500 service providers for a project jections of seawater inundation, those which ones are truly key and focus miti- known as the Internet Atlas. “We now landing points are likely to be surrounded gation efforts at those connections.” have the largest repository of maps of by [water] or underwater in the very near Mitigating the effects of sea-level rise physical internet infrastructure in the future,” he says. will take unprecedented cooperation from world, which gives us a unique perspective Coastal flooding and storm surges government agencies, internet providers, and a unique capacity to study different associated with hurricanes, like Katrina, and major cities and municipalities. “The aspects of the internet’s vulnerabilities,” Sandy and Harvey, offer glimpses of how internet is a unique animal. It’s not run Barford says. By overlapping their Inter- rising sea levels may impact internet by any one entity, and no one entity is net Atlas with sea-level rise projections connectivity, Barford says. “Katrina and responsible for maintaining it in the face from NOAA, the team identified 6,545 Sandy were disasters of epic proportions. of climate change,” Barford says. The kilometers of fiber optic conduit and It took years to restore service to some best strategies for coping with rising seas 1,101 nodes that will be underwater in of those areas.” have yet to be identified, but Barford pre- the next 100 years. “The most surprising The internet was designed to be dicts that solutions will combine various finding in our analysis is that most of the resilient, with many redundancies built means of infrastructure hardening, such infrastructure at risk will be underwater into the system, says Duane Verner, as building sea walls, waterproofing hub in the next 15 years,” Barford says. “The an urban planner with the Decision buildings, fortifying cables and relocating
page 12 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News some networks farther inland, with efforts to streamline existing networks. “The STEVE not an aurora after all Internet Atlas shows that there’s a huge Earlier this year, scientists published a paper identifying some auroral spec- amount of cable infrastructure in the U.S. tra that had previously been called “Steve” by amateur auroral enthusiasts One of the things we can do is use existing as a particular type of auroral event known as a Strong Thermal Emission infrastructure in other areas to reroute the Velocity Enhancement, or STEVE. However, using a network of ground- communication traffic,” he says. based imagers combined with energetic particle detectors aboard NOAA’s “We hope that this study will serve as Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites, scientists have now determined that a call to action on this issue,” he says. “As STEVE is, in fact, not an aurora. They are unsure, though, what causes the we see it, we only have about 15 years to sky glow, and suspect it may be caused by an as yet unknown mechanism. make these changes.” Gallardo-Lacourt et al., Geophysical Research Letters, August 2018 Mary Caperton Morton
Globe-trotting kelp set new world record hen marine biologist 20,000 kilometers, in the longest-known Fraser and colleagues demonstrated how Erasmo Macaya, from marine rafting event ever recorded. the kelp could have reached Antarctica University of Concep- Previously, scientists had thought that from the Kerguelen Islands in the south- ción in Chile, found Antarctica’s flora and fauna were effectively ern Indian Ocean. Another scrap of kelp Wa piece of kelp washed up on a beach isolated from the rest of the world due to was traced to South Georgia Island in the in Antarctica, he suspected the scrap of its remote location, but the new study sug- South Atlantic. seaweed had come a long way. gests that influxes of new biota are limited “Our findings also indicate that plants “Kelp does not grow in Antarctica, but more by the icy continent’s environmental and animals living on Antarctica could be we know it can float and can act as a raft, extremes than by geographic isolation. more vulnerable to climate change than carrying many other intertidal plants and “This is an unequivocal demonstration we had suspected,” Fraser said, as living animals with it across oceans,” he said in that marine species from the north can conditions become milder, allowing more a statement released with a new study reach Antarctica,” said lead author Cerid- invasive species to gain a foothold on the in Nature Climate Change. DNA testing wen Fraser of the Australian National extreme landscape. revealed the kelp had traveled more than University in Canberra. Modeling by Mary Caperton Morton
Saharan dust a storm killer ach year between 900 million and 4 billion metric tons of dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa is swept into the atmo- Esphere and blown around the world. In places like Texas, the dust often leads to poor air quality. A new study suggests NASA satellite imagery shows Saharan dust crossing the Atlantic Ocean into the Gulf that desert dust may also suppress the for- of Mexico, where the dust may suppress developing storm systems. mation of severe storms and hurricanes Credit: NASA/Texas A&M University in the southern United States. Bowen Pan, a graduate student at that dust-laden air creates temperature cooler sea-surface temperatures and Texas A&M University, and colleagues inversions that tend to prevent cloud land-surface temperatures,” Pan said in used atmospheric computer models to and storm formation while also reduc- a statement. The colder surface tempera- study how Saharan dust moving across ing the amount of sunlight reaching tures in turn provide less kinetic energy the Gulf of Mexico into southern Texas Earth’s surface. to fuel the storm systems, dampening might affect storms generated in the Gulf. “If we have more frequent and severe their severity. They reported in the Journal of Climate dust storms, it’s likely that we will have Mary Caperton Morton
page 13 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Algae ate themselves to death and caused a global extinction rrant asteroids and toxic emis- The team found that algae sions from volcanic eruptions living just before the Hir- are the usual suspects in mass nantian were plentiful — and extinctions. But during the big. “Our new data specifi- EOrdovician, it was a million-year stretch cally point to an expansion A new study suggests that enhanced burial of carbon of cooling ushered in by proliferating algae of eukaryotic algal cells rel- from eukaryotic algae drew down atmospheric carbon that triggered a worldwide glaciation and ative to cyanobacterial cells,” dioxide levels during the Ordovician, resulting in a dimin- extinction event, according to a new study. Pearson says. Eukaryotes are ished greenhouse effect that triggered an ice age and a The Hirnantian mass extinction larger than cyanobacteria, mass extinction. occurred during the Late Ordovician and they sink faster through Credit: Callan Bentley, 2018 about 445 million years ago and was the water column — con- the first major extinction event of the sistent with the idea that biomass and The work highlights the important Phanerozoic. The extinction hit shal- carbon burial would have increased as interactions between biological activity low-water marine creatures especially populations of eukaryotic algae grew. “The and physical processes like changes in hard, with 26 percent of families and faster an algal cell reaches the sediment, sea level and sedimentation, Pearson 49 percent of genera disappearing. the higher the percentage of its carbon says. “Changing biology on its own was Previous research has suggested that that will ultimately be buried rather than insufficient to trigger this climate event,” changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide quickly recycled back to [the atmosphere Pearson says. “But similarly, the geo- levels — brought on by changes in the as] carbon dioxide,” Pearson says. logical processes by themselves cannot carbon cycle, increased volcanic activity As more carbon was sequestered from create enough of a perturbation in the or increased weathering of land as ter- the atmosphere and buried, the planet carbon cycle.” Instead, it took a combi- restrial plants developed — triggered the cooled. And the porphyrins preserved nation of factors to send the planet into Hirnantian extinction and an ensuing ice in Vinini Creek rocks are the proof of a glaciation. age. These processes would have driven this process. The team’s approach is a great exam- more nutrients into the sea, increasing It’s “quite exciting” to see a study ple of how multiple proxies can be used the productivity of marine algae, says Ann detailing porphyrins found in ancient together to recreate past environments, Pearson, a biogeochemist at Harvard and rocks, says Amber Jarrett, a geochemist Jarrett says. “They’ve taken the inorganic co-author of the new study in Nature Geo- with Geoscience Australia who was not chemistry, the isotopes, the porphyrins, science. But these scenarios don’t fully involved with the study. Porphyrins are and used the biomarker work that’s been explain the global changes that occurred at big molecules that easily break down done [before] — all of these things stack the time, she adds. The challenge, she says, over geologic time into smaller molecules up and tell the same story” of a draw- was connecting the algae to carbon storage, called lipids. When looking at rocks from down of atmospheric carbon — and especially over a million years or more. deep time, she says, “it’s rare to find such consequently a cool down — during the Previous studies looked at lipid bio- well-preserved molecules.” Late Ordovician. markers in, and the inorganic chemistry Explosive growth of ancient algae, Jarrett says studies like this can help of, Ordovician rocks. Pearson and her like that documented by Pearson and scientists understand future as well as past colleagues used similar approaches her co-authors, is not unheard of. Jar- climate change, and that there are also but also found residues of both bulk rett points out that after the near-global industrial applications of reconstruct- organic matter and molecules called glaciations of the Proterozoic called ing past algal blooms, which degrade porphyrins — leftover chemical prod- “Snowball Earth” events, there was so over time to produce petroleum deposits. ucts of photosynthesis — preserved in much phosphorus (from glacial erosion In this case, a massive algal bloom was rock from the Ordovician Vinini Creek of continents) and food in the water followed by a global glaciation. “These section in Nevada. Together with car- column that algae gorged themselves, glacial units [like those found in the Hir- bon and nitrogen isotopic data also leading to large-scale burials of carbon. nantian glaciation] are really thick and gleaned from the rock, the porphyrins But the Ordovician is different. “In this really identifiable,” Jarrett says, explaining the researchers detected allowed them case, it’s like [algae] had this huge party that finding glacial markers may allow to estimate how both algae and marine and then caused their own glaciation,” identification of potential basins for cyanobacteria were faring just before the she says. “Basically, they ate themselves future petroleum exploration. Hirnantian extinction. to their own demise.” Sarah Derouin
page 14 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Turning modern “eyes” on ancient sites eople have inhabited Jerash, confidently compare the same locations Jordan, since the Neolithic. at different times. After comparing the But much of its history has historical images, the team used GIS soft- been buried by subsequent ware to analyze the lidar image, revealing Poccupation, including over the last two subtle topographic changes that poten- centuries. Archaeologists have exca- tially indicated archaeological remains, vated Jerash with trowels and screens to he says. uncover its long history, but now, with The researchers then created maps the help of lidar and old photographs, a showing possible locations of former team of researchers is discovering more roads, walls and other infrastructure, about Jerash’s past by gazing down on the including those that had disappeared city from the sky. at some point. These maps provided a Previous studies focused on monu- means to observe the city’s changing land- Researchers used different datasets to ments rather than sites associated with scape over the past century, particularly uncover Jerash’s past, because each everyday life, so “we know nothing about where archaeological remains had been dataset showed something different. what went on in the part of the city lost to recent development. 1) High-resolution photography revealed where people actually lived,” says Rubina “In a place like Jerash, if we only use a stone wall not visible in other datasets. Raja, a classical archaeologist at Aarhus modern data, there’s a lot of stuff we 2) Lidar clearly revealed another wall that University in Denmark and a co-author don’t see,” Stott says. It’s important to was poorly defined in aerial photography. of the new study in Proceedings of the see features in their original context, 3) Clearing up distortions in this 1953 photo National Academy of Sciences. The team especially large features like aqueducts revealed a possible structure defined by wanted to study the unknown areas using and roads, he says. “We still have bits of highlight and shadow that was obscured by approaches less intrusive than excava- [these large features] left in the present. a modern road in 2015 and by vegetation tion, says lead author David Stott, also But without being able to see the whole in 1939. 4) This wall from the 1939 aerial an archaeologist at Aarhus. [urban] system, they don’t mean very photo was not visible in other datasets. The team collected a series of 10 his- much, and that’s really what the archival Credit: Danish-German North-West Quarter Project torical aerial photographs over Jerash imagery and the deep-time perspective from 1917 to 1953 from various sources, add to this work.” code to the resilience threshold for urban and a 2015 lidar image of the city from Combining remote-sensing data with societies over time.” the Royal Jordanian Geographic Cen- old aerial photos is a key contribution This has modern implications, Raja ter. The photographs were processed to of this work, says John Weishampel, an notes. “When are you overexploiting remove geographical distortions typical environmental scientist at the Univer- your resources, and when does the bal- in old aerial photographs taken from var- sity of Central Florida who specializes ance tip so that urban societies disappear? ious angles, Stott says, so the team could in remote sensing but was not involved Looking at that in a historical perspective in the study. “Those older datasets allow might give us some new thoughts on you to have a more complete picture of what we can do for modern situations.” the entire city area” and the activities Next, the team plans to investigate the occurring in and around the urban center, area around Jerash and keep probing the Weishampel says. city’s ancient water management, Stott Some features identified in the work, says. Many previous excavation reports like cisterns and channels, were known, remain unpublished, so the researchers but the researchers also documented pre- want to explore excavated areas they viously undiscovered elements of the identified on their maps. Indeed, the need city’s ancient water management system, for careful documentation and sharing of such as a potential aqueduct and potential archaeological data is another important reservoirs. “Water management, in antiq- lesson of this study, Raja says. uity, and even today, in these semi-arid The research may also prove useful for areas … means everything for survival,” identifying where archaeological remains The ancient city of Jerash is juxtaposed Raja says. “If we can get to the heart of in other areas are threatened by modern with the modern one. how water was managed over centuries development or conflict, Weishampel says. Credit: Danish-German North-West Quarter Project or millennia, we might actually crack the Lauren Milideo
page 15 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Japanese diaries show sun’s cycle sparks lightning on Earth he effects of solar cycles on “Diary of the Ishikawa Family,” recording Scott says. “The more cycles you have, the Earth’s climate over time- agricultural milestones such as plantings better, statistically speaking,” for docu- frames of thousands of years and harvests, natural disasters like fires menting such phenomena, he says. are well documented, but the and floods, and daily weather reports. The next step should be to use the Tshorter-term effects on weather are less The second diary, “Diary of Hirosaki Japanese diaries to assess whether they understood. A new study using ancient Clan Government Office,” was kept by document weather patterns influenced by Japanese diaries to track storms in the civil servants in Edo, in what is now the sun’s 11-year sunspot cycle, Scott says. 18th and 19th centuries suggests that one central Tokyo. And, he notes, “we know from looking of the sun’s shortest cycles — the 27-day “The advantage of using these diaries at ice-core and tree-ring data that the rotational period — may play a role in is that we can study the characteristics of sun has even longer cycles that occur stimulating lightning on Earth. meteorological phenomena for a more over hundreds of years. Anything we Every 27 Earth days, the sun completes than 200-year period,” Miyahara says, can use to tease out those relationships a full rotation about its axis. As the sun “including periods when solar activity is really helpful.” turns, sunspots, solar flares and coronal was much [stronger] or weaker than Improving our understanding of the mass ejections can come into alignment today.” The team looked for references mechanisms behind the sun’s influence with Earth, sometimes subjecting our to thunder and lightning between the on Earth’s weather is important, Scott planet to spikes in ultraviolet radiation months of May and September and found says. “Solar winds don’t directly create and solar winds that can lead to increased peaks in activity every 24 to 31 days — the lightning, they just enhance it. You still storm activity on Earth. “The exact mech- window for increased sunspot exposure need the right storm conditions, such as anisms that cause these changes [in during the solar rotation. convective instability and ice particles Earth’s atmosphere] remain unknown, “It’s pretty amazing that even using rubbing against one another, to gener- but we propose that the electrical proper- somewhat crude records such as cen- ate lightning.” ties of the air are somehow altered as the turies-old diaries, they can still see this The research may prove useful for incoming charged particles collide with 27-day signal,” says Chris Scott, an weather forecasting, Miyahara says. the atmosphere,” says Hiroko Miyahara, a ionospheric physicist at the University “Solar wind streams rotate with the sun, physicist at Musashino Art University in of Reading in England, who was not sweeping past Earth at regular intervals, Tokyo and lead author of the new study, involved in the new study. The study [sometimes enhancing the atmospheric published in Annales Geophysicae. complements other published studies that conditions needed to generate lightning Miyahara and his colleagues turned have detected the 27-day solar rotational storms]. As these streams can be tracked to two diaries kept in Japan for a period cycle in modern lightning records. Those by spacecraft, this offers the potential spanning more than 200 years. A farm- records typically span less than a decade, for predicting the severity of hazardous ing family in Hachioji, in what is now however, while the new study is the first weather events many weeks in advance.” in the western part of Tokyo, kept the to offer a long-term look at these cycles, Mary Caperton Morton
New research links lightning to the 27-day solar rotational cycle. Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/mdesigner125
page 16 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Marine animals have been migrating for millions of years cientists have suspected that found for all specimens of a given genus, ancient animals migrated in as well as the average of all fossils found. response to changing global The difference in those two numbers is temperatures, but until now, the latitude the scientists used to analyze Sthere was no documentation of this migration over time. They tracked only across extensive time periods. In a new genera that survived across time steps, study, researchers found that, for millions only from well-fossilized groups such Marine organisms like corals, sponges of years, marine organisms like corals, as clams, only at geographic grid cells and snails have been migrating for mil- sponges and snails, have shifted their that were sampled across time steps, and lions of years, mostly driven by tempera- ranges in response to climate change. focused on the best sampled hemisphere. ture changes. “Life always tracks its preferred tem- Once the scientists had the corrected Credit: Carl Reddin perature as climate changes,” says Carl latitude coordinates for the fossils, they Reddin, a paleobiologist at the University could find the change in a genus’ location “I’m excited by this paper,” Powell says. of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany and over time. Then they modeled how plate “This study enables us to use the fossil lead author of the new study, published tectonics impacted the animals’ move- record to start answering some questions in the journal Global Ecology and Bioge- ments and compared the results to the about how organisms have responded to ography. By analyzing North American locations of the animals’ current habitats. climate change in the past.” Powell says he and European fossils, Reddin and his col- Reddin and his team found that organ- hopes more studies like this will follow. In leagues uncovered migration patterns of isms had shifted their ranges in response the fossil record, “we have not really been ancient marine organisms over the last to climate change over the post-Cambrian able to explore changes in geographic half billion years. The team used a global Phanerozoic Eon. The genera studied ranges of taxa,” he says. “It’s really only paleobiological database to analyze the moved an average of about 30 centimeters been treated at the global scale.” occurrence of hundreds of thousands of per decade. Bethany Augliere fossils. Based on age estimates, fossils were Climate change explained 31.4 percent grouped into one of 94 geological ages, of the migration. This number is higher Record Atlantic which averaged 6.12 million years. than what’s been observed in recent Then, the team filtered the data. For studies of marine life range shifts, Red- hurricane season instance, one requirement for their data din says. Other explanations for shifting unlikely to be topped collection was that the organisms did ranges could involve changes in habitat The 2005 Atlantic hurricane sea- not go extinct during the time period availability, he adds. son set a historical record with the study was investigating. Additionally, The researchers found that the shifts 15 hurricanes — Katrina, Rita they identified and grouped animals at were stronger among tropical organisms, and Wilma among them — plus the genus level, rather than as individ- and weaker among high-latitude organ- 13 other named tropical storms. ual species. “The main reason we use isms, which was surprising because they New research based on millen- genera instead of species is because that’s thought polar organisms would move nia-long climate simulations the level of confidence most fossils can toward the equator seeking more suitable suggests that, under existing be identified to,” Reddin says. Overall, habitat during cooling episodes. “In some climate conditions, the odds the scientists analyzed 458,000 fossils in ways we were expecting high-latitude of another season producing 76,000 fossil collections. organisms to show this pattern a bit more as many or more named trop- Reddin and his team also had to cor- strongly,” Reddin says. ical storms are between about rect for sampling biases. They wanted to Looking at the past can help scientists 1 and 9 percent. Even when the analyze where the organisms lived, not understand the future. Current studies number of storms in a simulated where they were found. “Most fossils show that marine organisms today are year surpassed 28, it was not by are found where paleontologists [spend already shifting their ranges based on much. Thus, researchers wrote, the most time searching], and that has changing temperatures. What that means the 2005 season can serve as a historically meant North America and for future ecosystems and the potential “risk management benchmark for Europe,” says Matthew Powell, a geolo- risks to humans is unknown, Reddin the maximum possible number of gist at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, says. “That was the overall motivation tropical cyclones in the Atlantic.” who was not involved in the study. for looking at this question, given the Lavender et al., Science Advances, To correct for that bias, the scientists climate warming we are experiencing at August 2018 averaged the latitude at which fossils were the moment,” he says.
page 17 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Winter precipitation in southwestern U.S. tied to Kiwi Coast
ater supplies in the Cool New Zealand Index Warm New Zealand Index southwestern United States largely depend on winter precipita- Air-sea L Air-sea H couplings couplings Wtion. Predicting seasonal rain and snowfall WET DRY is becoming more difficult, however, Jet Stream Jet Stream as climate change causes precipitation Atmospheric Atmospheric patterns to vary. A new study provides bridge bridge evidence of a strong correlation between late-summer to fall sea-surface tempera- New Zealand Index New Zealand Index tures off the coast of New Zealand and winter precipitation in the southwestern Local air-sea couplings Atmospheric bridge U.S. — a correlation that could help pro- Jet Stream deflection vide earlier and more reliable forecasts May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. for the southwestern U.S., and improve water resource and ecosystem manage- New research suggests a strong negative correlation between fall sea-surface tempera- ment in the region. tures off the north coast of New Zealand and winter precipitation in the southwestern The predictability of the effects of the U.S. If, for example, there are lower-than-normal sea-surface temperatures north of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) — New Zealand, there is a much higher chance for a wet winter in Southern California and other established teleconnections such and the southwestern U.S. as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Credit: K. Cantner, AGI, after Mamalakis et al., Nature Communications, June 2018 the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and global,” Mamalakis says. The team eval- correlated with higher odds of dry winters atmospheric high-pressure ridges over uated relationships from 1950 to 2015 in the southwestern U.S., Mamalakis says. the Gulf of Alaska — on seasonal precipi- between winter (November – March) That is “the same strong correlation we tation in the southwestern U.S. is limited. precipitation amounts in Arizona, Cali- found using GPH, which provided confi- “In much of the southwestern U.S., there fornia, Nevada and Utah and both global dence in our findings,” he adds. Mamalakis are major important variations in pre- monthly sea-surface temperature data and colleagues refer to this teleconnection cipitation which have previously been and geopotential height (GPH) reanalysis as the New Zealand Index (NZI). loosely associated with El Niño events,” data for late summer (July – September) The team suggests that above, or below, says Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist and fall (September – November). “GPH average sea-surface temperatures near at the National Center for Atmospheric represents the height from Earth’s surface New Zealand can weaken, or strengthen, Research in Boulder, Colo., who was not to reach a specific value, or level, of atmo- the Hadley cell (a large-scale atmospheric involved in the study. “Previous studies spheric pressure,” Mamalakis says. They circulation pattern that circulates air from have indeed found that this New Zealand looked at GPH data because “sea-surface the tropics to mid-latitudes). This intro- region is unique and plays a very strong temperature correlates positively with duces anomalous temperatures in the role in the evolution of ENSO and the GPH … GPH is lower over colder water, northern and central Pacific, which can PDO,” he says, but “this [study] is import- and higher over warmer water,” he says. then reposition storm tracks controlling ant in highlighting some long-distance The team found a strong negative the amount of precipitation received in teleconnections that have not been well correlation between fall sea-surface tem- the southwestern U.S. explored previously.” peratures off the north coast of New However, Trenberth says, the GPH In the new research, published in Zealand and winter precipitation in reanalysis data used in the study are Nature Communications, Antonios the southwestern U.S. — a correlation questionable because the reanalysis was Mamalakis, a doctoral candidate at the that was shown to be strongest over the constructed only from surface data — it University of California, Irvine, and past 40 years. “This means that in years doesn’t include information about winds, colleagues explored whether undiscov- we had lower-than-normal sea-surface or upper atmospheric conditions from ered teleconnections could influence temperatures in New Zealand, we had a radiosonde data, balloon sounding data, southwestern U.S. precipitation. “We much higher chance to have wet winters or satellite data. “There are much more did not restrict ourselves [to] looking in Southern California and the south- detailed and more credible reconstructions only [at] tropical Pacific sea-surface tem- western U.S.,” while warmer-than-normal of what has happened in the atmosphere peratures; our diagnostic analysis was sea-surface temperatures off New Zealand … but it’s difficult to go back before about
page 18 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News
1979.” So he says he understands why the “This [study] sort of demands a better guidance as to what’s happening researchers used these data. “But in terms follow-up to explore how and why in California and a little farther to the of reconstructing important ingredients this [teleconnection] is happening,” east. That information could be very that go into this [atmospheric record], Trenberth says, “and how this rela- valuable to a lot of people.” they might be missing a little bit,” he adds. tionship might be exploited to give Jennifer Georgek
New research shows that coun- Gulf Stream eddies terclockwise-rotating cold eddies are transporting iron transport iron to from the Gulf Stream into the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. North Atlantic Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight subtropical gyre Center Scientific Visualization Studio ust from the Sahara Desert which is mapping the oceans for trace to the area as atmospheric Saharan dust is a major supplier of iron to elements,” notes Timothy Conway, a does, but the actual amount of iron deliv- the North Atlantic subtropi- chemical oceanographer at the Univer- ered by the rings “could be much higher cal gyre — the huge circular sity of South Florida and lead author of (or as low as a few percent),” Palter notes. Docean current stretching between North the study. To calculate the amount of iron delivered America and the west coasts of Africa and The team found evidence of a “cold by the rings, the team first estimated the Europe — where cyanobacteria use the core ring” — a type of “mesoscale” eddy total iron flux to the gyre, based on the scarce nutrient to fuel nitrogen fixation, that typically is less than 100 kilometers average number of rings, their average which then fertilizes other organisms at in diameter and rotates counterclockwise, surface area and other considerations. the base of the marine food chain. Now, forming a low-pressure system in the “Then we accounted for rings that get researchers have discovered that eddies atmosphere above it that’s sustained over re-absorbed by the Gulf Stream before spinning off the Gulf Stream also transport the several-year life cycle of the eddy. sharing the iron with the gyre. Finally, iron to the northwestern edge of the gyre. Within the otherwise iron-poor subtrop- we compared the result of this calcula- Iron content can be challenging to ical gyre, this ring contained iron-rich tion against a compilation of atmospheric measure because samples are easily water originating from above the North fluxes,” Palter says. contaminated with metal from instru- American continental slope. Although it appears for now that the mentation and other sources, says Jaime The team analyzed satellite altimetry eddies deliver less iron than dust does, she Palter, a physical oceanographer at the data from 1993 to 2014. “Altimetry gives notes that there are still unanswered ques- University of Rhode Island and co-author a measure of sea-surface height — and tions about the dust-delivered iron, such of a new study in Nature Geoscience. With deformations of the sea surface are a very as how much of it dissolves in seawater few experts available who are trained in clear indicator of the presence of eddies,” and becomes bioavailable for phyto- clean iron sampling techniques, “every Palter says. Their analysis revealed that plankton to use. Eddy-delivered iron, measurement [of oceanic iron content] is approximately seven to eight cold core meanwhile, is readily bioaccessible. Fur- considered very valuable,” she notes. rings potentially capable of delivering iron ther study, she says, may reveal whether Scientists already knew that eddies to the subtropical gyre broke off the Gulf these eddies contribute an almost equal swirling off the Gulf Stream transport Stream each year. The finding, the team share, just a small fraction of the usable phosphorus to the subtropical gyre. The wrote, suggested that such rings could iron, or some amount in between. discovery that such eddies also trans- represent a significant source of iron to the Ocean eddies can carry iron and other port iron happened serendipitously North American subtropical gyre. materials over long distances and are when researchers examined previously From there, the team looked at how known to be “leaky,” but the extent of published dissolved iron concentration the amount of iron transported to the this leakiness through an eddy’s lifetime data collected during a November 2011 subtropical gyre by cold core rings com- is unknown, says Ivy Frenger, a biogeo- oceanic research expedition from North pares to that delivered via iron-rich dust chemist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Center America to Bermuda. from the Sahara, which was thought to for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany, “The data was collected as part of a be the leading source of iron for this area, who wasn’t involved in the new study. U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Palter says. Follow-up work is needed to determine GEOTRACES expedition — an interna- The team estimated that the rings if standard biogeochemical models of tional program involving 35 countries, deliver about 15 percent as much iron ocean mixing can adequately represent
page 19 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News these transport processes or if updated models are needed, Frenger says. Amazon River is capturing the Orinoco “This is a very interesting study that In Venezuela, thousands of kilometers from its mouth, the Rio Orinoco highlights very well the importance of bifurcates, sending about 25 percent of its water into the Rio Casiquiare, mesoscale ocean circulation — more which leads to the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon. While the con- specifically [cold core] rings — on pri- nection has existed for centuries and has previously been suggested to mary productivity in the ocean,” says be an instance of river capture — a widely inferred, but rarely observed Carolina Dufour, a physical oceanogra- phenomenon in which a river starts draining down a nearby riverbed instead pher at McGill University in Montreal of its own — new sedimentary analysis confirms the steeper Rio Casiqui- who was not involved with this study. are is actively capturing 40,000 square kilometers of the Upper Orinoco “Because iron is key to primary pro- drainage basin. The finding shows how the Amazon may have grown to ductivity, better understanding of the become the largest river basin in the world. “The Rio Casiquiare appears sources of iron to the ocean” could help to be the most recent in a series of similar captures by the Amazon River researchers better predict the impacts that have substantially influenced the landscape of South America,” the of oceanic processes on Earth’s climate, researchers wrote. Dufour says. Stokes et al., Geophysical Research Letters, May 2018 Rachel Crowell Scientists discover granite crystallizes at lower temperatures nvestigating the properties of gran- notes. Although these early results have ite has given researchers insight been repeated, they may not accurately into how gold and other economi- represent the temperatures at which cally important ores are produced, granite solidifies in nature, he says. Ithe thermal properties of Earth’s crust, His team combined two independent the state of magma in active volcanic techniques — titanium-in-quartz ther- regions, and how Earth’s continents mobarometry and diffusion modeling formed. “The temperature of granite crys- of titanium in quartz — to evaluate the Under an electron microprobe, areas in this tallization underpins our thinking about crystallization temperatures of rocks from quartz crystal that are bluer indicate higher many of these phenomena,” researchers the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite (TIS), a concentrations of titanium and higher crys- note in a new study in Nature. “But evi- collection of granites found in the Sierra tallization temperatures. dence is emerging that this temperature Nevada of Yosemite National Park. They Credit: Michael Ackerson may not be well constrained,” added the chose to study quartz because it’s “one of study authors, who found that certain the most abundant minerals in granitic For the thermobarometry technique, the granites crystallize at temperatures as rocks, which means our approach could researchers used an electron microscope much as 200 degrees Celsius lower than potentially be applied to granites across to quantify the amount of titanium in each previously thought. the globe,” Ackerson says. sample, which depends on the temperature The conventionally accepted wet The TIS, which includes the Cathe- and pressure at which they crystallized, solidus for granite — “the temperature dral Peak granite and the Half Dome Ackerson says. Higher titanium concen- below which a water-saturated granitic granodiorite, is the youngest intrusive trations indicate higher temperatures or melt completely solidifies” — is between formation among the seven found in pressures at the time of crystallization. 650 and 700 degrees Celsius and was Yosemite. It is also the most extensive After assuming that the rims of established based on roughly 60-year- bedrock formation in Yosemite, covering these quartz crystals “represent late- old laboratory experiments, says Michael about one-third of the park’s area. Sam- stage, near-solidus crystallization,” the Ackerson, a petrologist at Rensselaer ples from the TIS were chosen because researchers linked the granodiorite wet Polytechnic Institute in New York, they are easy to access, relatively fresh solidus with a model for titanium concen- and lead author of the study. In those and pristine, Ackerson says. tration in quartz. That model describes experiments, researchers heated granite He and his colleagues found that the titanium concentration in quartz as a powders until they melted, and these their quartz samples crystallized at function that varies with different values melting temperatures were then used to temperatures ranging from 474 to for temperature, pressure, and titanium determine the granite solidus, Ackerson 561 degrees Celsius. concentration relative to saturation of
page 20 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News
Matterhorn Peak in the Cathedral Peak Granodiorite is part of the Tuolumne Intru- sive Suite, a collection of granites from the Sierra Nevada. Researchers studied quartz in this granite to determine granite crystallization temperatures. Credit: Dug Ross, CC BY-N.C 2.0 rutile — the most common natural min- more blurring of these growth rings” if the occur in making granitic intrusions — and eral composed primarily of titanium quartz was exposed to higher temperatures thus even in making continental crust,” dioxide — in the melt. for long periods of time, as would have Lundstrom says. The researchers found that if crystal- happened if this granite crystallized at 650 The results of the study have diverse lization occurred at pressures between to 700 degrees Celsius, he says. Instead, implications, Ackerson says. For instance, 1.6 x 108 pascals and 2.4 x 108 pascals — the there are regions with sharp distinctions while “certain deposits that form gold, range found roughly 6 kilometers below between adjacent rings, which show copper and molybdenum occur directly Earth’s surface — the crystals’ rims would “where there was an abrupt change in how above granites — hence their location is have titanium contents ranging from 132 that quartz was crystallizing.” This pattern already known — there is some debate to 219 parts per million (ppm), Ackerson “can only happen if [granite] crystallizes at about how these types of important notes. Those pressures are required for really low temperatures,” he adds. ore deposits form,” he says. “Part of the the quartz to crystallize at the wet soli- Lundstrom co-authored a 2009 study conundrum,” he adds, is “in understand- dus of granite. However, the researchers describing laboratory experiments that ing the compositions and temperatures of observed titanium concentrations of showed that “a granite could form at the fluids that generate the ore deposits. 20 ppm to 40 ppm, suggesting that the 400 degrees [Celsius] when intermedi- For example, are the fluids that crystal- quartz crystallized at lower pressures. ate-composition hydrous magma was lize these ore deposits derived from the Thus, “the main volume of quartz within placed into a temperature gradient for granites, or do the granites merely supply these granitic rocks crystallized below the two months,” Lundstrom notes. “A heat to the overlying rock to form the ore expected wet solidus temperatures,” Ack- 2-centimeter-long capsule with andes- deposits?” And “if granites crystallize at erson and the other researchers wrote. ite and 4 percent water was placed into lower temperatures, does this also mean “The arguments in this paper are very a temperature gradient that spanned that these ore deposits can form at lower sound,” says Craig Lundstrom, a petrolo- 950 degrees Celsius down to 350 degrees temperatures as well?” gist and geochemist at the University of Celsius. Over the two months, there was Moreover, lower granite crystalliza- Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was a continuous reaction and diffusive trans- tion temperatures may impact researchers’ not involved with the study but has exten- port that resulted in a gabbro forming at a understanding of how Earth’s continents, sively studied granite formation. “There higher temperature and granite at a lower formed primarily of granite, took shape, is controversy surrounding the use of the temperature,” he says. Ackerson notes. “If we didn’t have gran- titanium-in-quartz thermometer, and The work of Ackerson’s team “per- ites, we wouldn’t have continents like we some might question the conclusions haps provides evidence that processes know them today.” based on that alone,” he adds, but “what like those in the laboratory may actually Rachel Crowell makes the work powerful is that the authors use a second method involving modeling of diffusion profiles that gives Biologic origin of Archean microfossils supported the same low-temperature requirement Tiny bits of organic matter found in 3.4-billion-year-old cherts from the that the thermometer does.” Strelley Pool Formation in Western Australia are indeed the remains of To model titanium diffusion, the team ancient microorganisms, now among the oldest-known life on the planet, used an electron microprobe to map according to new research. Although scientists have speculated that the titanium concentrations across cross sec- Strelley Pool specimens — and others in even older rocks — came from tions of quartz crystals from the TIS, and early microorganisms, there’s been little unequivocal evidence to date. then compared those maps to computer Now, elemental and molecular analyses of the microfossils have revealed models of how titanium concentrations compounds whose molecular precursors are similar to molecules present evolve in growing crystals. The micro- in younger microfossils and in modern bacteria. probe images look something like cross Alleon et al., Geochemical Perspectives Letters, August 2018; Goldschmidt Conference sections of trees with numerous growth Press Release, August 2018 rings, Ackerson says. “We should see a lot
page 21 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News “Easy bake” fossils resemble real deal ost fossils are millions A new method to simulate fossilization of years in the making, can be used on much larger samples but a new technique is than previous methods, including whole allowing scientists to lizard heads and feet (foot shown below) Msimulate the process of fossilization in as well as feathers (right). about 24 hours. The laboratory-based Credit: both: The Field Museum method, described in a study published in the journal Palaeontology, sheds light on how exceptionally preserved fossils the process,” Saitta form generally over geologic time and says. To more closely may provide custom samples for research mimic these condi- projects investigating specific conditions tions, Saitta and under which certain fossils formed. colleagues first packed Fossil simulation is “not making or samples of lizard heads replicating fossils. [It is] experimen- and feet, bird feathers, maturation techniques are tally degrading modern tissues,” says leaves, and arthropod cuticles applied to samples around 5 milli- Maria McNamara, a paleobiologist at into clay tablets using a hydraulic meters. By using bigger chunks of tissue, the University College Cork in Ireland, press. They then heated the tablets inside it may be easier to conduct some kinds of who was not involved in the new study sealed metal tubes to 210 degrees Celsius experiments [on the simulated fossils].” but has separately investigated how to at a pressure of about 24 megapascals The fossils are also “easily manipulated simulate fossilization. “But in terms of (roughly 240 times atmospheric pres- and very stable. You can treat and store their morphological and chemical fea- sure at sea level). The sealed chambers them in the same way that you treat and tures, simulated fossils are very similar were equipped with air lines, which the store [real] fossils,” Saitta says. The method to actual fossils.” researchers used to change the pressure. is not yet perfect, however, he notes. The Scientists have been attempting to “When we cracked open the tablets, team is currently tinkering with improve- simulate fossilization in lab settings for we were absolutely thrilled,” Saitta says. ments, such as adding unidirectional the last 30 years, usually by subjecting The specimens “looked very much like compaction during the pressure-cooking samples to high temperature and pressure real fossils at the macroscopic level, phase to more closely mimic true fossil- in a process known as maturation. Results consisting of darkened, browned bones ization conditions in which pressure is have been mixed, however. Maturation surrounded by a dark halo left by the mainly applied from above by overlying experiments are typically conducted by degraded soft tissues. The feathers we rock and sediments. “We’d also like to placing a sample inside a small sealed tested closely resembled exception- incorporate flowing water to the process container, which traps biomolecules that ally preserved fossil feathers found in at some point. Water flows through sed- would normally be lost in the fossilization China.” The true-to-form appearance of iments underground, which can lead to a process. “When you open the capsules the feathers also held up under a scan- loss of unstable biomolecules and greater used in traditional maturation, this really ning electron microscope, which clearly cementation of sediments.” stinky goo spills out, which is essentially showed melanosomes — the organelles Real fossils will always be the bread broken down, degraded proteins,” says responsible for pigmentation of feathers and butter of paleontology, but simulated Evan Saitta, a paleontologist at the Field that are used in paleo-color reconstruc- fossils have their place, Saitta says. “Pale- Museum of Natural History in Chicago tions — resting on the surface of the ontology cannot divorce itself from actual and lead author of the new study. “Since sediment. “The melanosomes appear fossils — they are the true recordkeepers we don’t see gooey fossils [in nature], very much the same as we see in fossil of evolution — but if we find a fossil in the that’s a sign that those simulations are feathers,” Saitta says, suggesting the new future with a unique form of preserva- not getting it quite right.” method offers “a fairly true simulation.” tion, then we can go to our experimental During true fossilization, most speci- “This is an interesting study, and the platform and begin to play around with it mens are encased in sediment that holds [researchers’] method has potential in to see if we can mimic those conditions,” the fossil in place, while pore spaces allow the realm of experimental paleontol- he says. “There’s a lot of potential with mobilized fluids and gases to leach away ogy,” McNamara says. One advance it these samples. It’ll be interesting to see from the sample. “Fossilization often represents is in the size of the samples all the ways that [other researchers] can occurs in a fairly open system, where being used, she says. “Their samples are devise to experiment with them.” materials can come and go throughout up to 19 millimeters across, whereas most Mary Caperton Morton
page 22 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Spiky new American ankylosaurid originated in Asia new genus and species of An artist’s vision of the newly ankylosaurid discovered in discovered Akainacepha- Grand Staircase-Escalante lus johnsoni. The unusually National Monument in spiky armored head points Asouthern Utah reveal new information to an Asian origin for this new about the spread of armored dinosaurs genus and species. into North America. Most North Amer- Credit: ©Andrey Atuchin/DMNS ican ankylosaurids are known for their smooth skulls, but the new specimen In a new study published in PeerJ, Study authors Jelle Wiersma, now at more closely resembles spiky-skulled researchers assert that Akainacephalus James Cook University in Queensland, Asian ankylosaurids. and Nodocephalosaurus are more closely Australia, and Randall Irmis, at the Nat- The new specimen, dubbed Akainaceph- related to Asian ankylosaurid genera, such ural History Museum of Utah in Salt alus johnsoni, was named for the Greek as Saichania and Tarchia, than to other Lake City, suggest that the spiky skulled words “akaina,” meaning “thorn” or “spike,” Late Cretaceous North American anky- ankylosaurids may have crossed over and “cephalus,” meaning “head,” as well as losaurids, including Ankylosaurus and the Beringian land bridge between Asia for dedicated museum volunteer Randy Euoplocephalus, which sport flattened skull and North America, resulting in two Johnson, who helped prepare the dinosaur armor. The new specimen of Akainaceph- distinct populations. Ankylosaurids for display at the Natural History Museum alus, which dates to 76 million years ago, are thought to have originated in Asia of Utah in Salt Lake City. The formidable is also one of the most complete North between 125 million and 100 million arrangement of cone- and pyramid-shaped American ankylosaurids found to date, years ago, and appear in the North Amer- bony armor on Akainacephalus’ snout and including an intact skull, most of the ver- ican fossil record about 77 million years head point to a close relationship with the tebral column, the tail club, parts of the ago, 11 million years before the end of similarly prickly New Mexican ankylosau- fore and hind limbs, and some body armor, the Cretaceous. rid Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis. including distinctively spiked armor plates. Mary Caperton Morton
Mercury on the roof of the world raditional Tibetan Medicines Contact with even small amounts of Beijing, and colleagues also tested municipal (TTM) are dispensed in pill mercury can lead to a host of neurological sewage plants in Tibet for mercury content. form by pharmacists who mix problems and organ system failures, and They estimated that in one year, 3,600 kilo- minerals and herbs together exposure to methylmercury — an even grams of mercury — nearly the weight of an Tin centuries-old recipes. But some of the more potent form of the heavy metal — can adult elephant — were deposited into sew- ingredients may be doing more harm lead to paralysis, coma and death. What’s age treatment plants and the environment than good. Previous studies have found more: Mercury doesn’t stay in the body; it as a result of TTM use, making it “a major that mercury and methylmercury, both is readily excreted into the environment. contributor of [environmental] mercury in highly toxic to humans, are sometimes Lead author Maodian Liu, of the University Tibet,” the team wrote. intentionally used in the medications. In of Connecticut and Peking University in Mary Caperton Morton a new study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers ana- lyzed total mercury and methylmercury New galaxy found concentrations in seven common TTM In 2017, Chris Carr, an undergraduate astronomy major at Case Western remedies and found concentrations as Reserve University in Cleveland, was reviewing images from the university’s high as 12,000 micrograms per gram and telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona when he found a averaging 5,600 micrograms per gram. tiny yet distinctive smudge. Upon further analysis, the smudge turned out They found that daily mercury intake by to be a new galaxy 37 million light-years from Earth in the Leo I galaxy Tibetans who practice traditional medi- group. The object is the “lowest surface brightness object ever detected cine was as much as 3,000 times higher via integrated light,” the researchers wrote in a study describing the finding. than exposure rates in the general pop- Mihos et al., The Astrophysical Journal Letters, August 2018 ulations in Japan, Norway and the U.S.
page 23 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News Congress, states look to address impacts of ocean acidification lobal ocean chemistry is to the ocean surface, driving down the changing at a historically pH. This compounded input of carbon unprecedented rate, with dioxide through upwelling events and rising ocean acidity threat- increased absorption from the atmo- Gening populations of shellfish and other sphere has already impacted shellfish marine species worldwide. Recent farms on the coasts of Oregon and observed changes in ocean chemistry off Washington, where in the past decade, U.S. coasts, particularly along the shores there have been some near-total failures of Alaska, California, Oregon and Wash- of hatcheries. Since 2007, the Whiskey Shellfish such as oysters are a big business ington, where fisheries are already being Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Netarts Bay, in the Pacific Northwest, but some places affected, have scientists studying the Ore., for example, has undergone mass have seen mass mortalities of larvae in potential impacts, fishermen worrying mortalities of oyster larvae each year. In recent years due to acidic oceans. about their livelihoods, and politicians an area where shellfish is a $111 million Credit: Rick Obst, CC BY 2.0 pushing for action. industry and supplies thousands of jobs, Ocean acidification occurs when carbon business owners are growing more con- which was co-sponsored by Reps. Don dioxide dissolves in ocean water, pro- cerned. In response, federal and state Young, R-Alaska, and Bill Posey, R-Fla. ducing carbonic acid and lowering the politicians have sought to address this The COAST Research Act would amend pH of the water. Approximately 25 to issue by pushing for legislation to better the FOARAM Act to add an ocean acid- 30 percent of the carbon dioxide absorbed understand the problem. ification advisory board, composed of by oceans comes from the atmosphere; the In 2009, the Federal Ocean Acidi- members from the seafood industry, aca- rest comes from other sources, including fication Research and Monitoring demia, and regional ocean and coastal runoff, hydrothermal vents, submarine (FOARAM) Act was signed into law, acidification networks. These partici- volcanism and the decay of organic mate- establishing the NOAA Ocean Acidifi- pants would provide advice regarding rial. Since the beginning of the industrial cation Program, which established an federal activities related to ocean acidifi- revolution, the rise in carbon dioxide lev- intricate network of monitoring buoys cation and recommend the best paths for els in the atmosphere — from 280 parts and wave gliders that report ocean chem- research and monitoring in the future. per million (ppm) to more than 400 ppm istry data in real time, allowing scientists In addition, the COAST Research Act currently — has led to an increase in car- to study short- and long-term trends. The would establish an ocean acidification bon dioxide absorbed by the ocean, and a program also provides financial support data archive and provide grants for educa- 30 percent increase in ocean acidity: The for research studying the impacts of ocean tion and outreach activities. The bill now average pH over the global oceans during acidification on economically and ecolog- awaits consideration by the House Com- that period has dropped from 8.16 to 8.07. ically important species, like shellfish and mittee on Science, Space and Technology. And it is projected to drop to 7.67 by 2100 plankton; and there’s a strong education In January 2018, the Senate passed a if carbon dioxide emissions continue at and outreach component to communicate bill introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker, the same pace. with the public about scientific findings R-Miss., called the Coordinated Ocean Decreased pH causes carbonate, an and the potential impacts of ocean acid- Monitoring and Research Act, that also essential building block in the shells and ification on society. addresses an array of NOAA ocean mon- skeletons of calcifying marine species The FOARAM Act was written to itoring and research initiatives. Among like oysters, clams and corals, to become be a living document, changing as our other things, the Senate bill would require relatively less abundant in ocean water, scientific capabilities change. Recently, an interagency committee, originally cre- thus posing a serious threat to the health members of Congress introduced legis- ated by the FOARAM Act for oversight and survival of such animals. lation to update the act to accommodate and development of federal ocean acidifi- The Pacific Northwest is particularly new scientific innovations. Building off cation research, to produce an economic susceptible to negative impacts of ocean of previous legislation championed by vulnerability assessment to identify gaps acidification because seasonal upwelling former U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., on in ocean acidification research and moni- events occur along the coast, forming June 28, 2018, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, toring and improve our understanding of the basis of many fisheries. Upwelling D-Ore., introduced the Coastal and how acidification is impacting econom- events occur naturally, involving cool, Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats ically important species. That bill also carbon dioxide-rich water ascending Research Act, or COAST Research Act, currently awaits action from the House.
page 24 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org News
While these bills would update federal created the Washington State Blue Ribbon acidification through the development of research initiatives, state and local gov- Panel on Ocean Acidification to maintain new water treatment methods and aqua- ernments have been developing their own public and private partnerships to expand culture designs. Similar efforts are being programs as well. Washington’s monitoring network and pursued in Alaska by the Alaska Ocean In February 2012, for example, then- research the local impacts of acidification. Acidification Network established in 2016. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire It also seeks to remediate the impacts of Chris Micucci
Titan’s dunes form the same way as Earth’s he mountains of East Xanadu molecules formed by irradiation of cos- rise high above the wind- mically abundant gases or ices. (Tholins swept plains and dunes of were discovered and named in 1979 Shangri-La. This fantastical by Carl Sagan and Bishun Khare, who Tlandscape isn’t found in a scene from a Hol- suggested the sticky solids could also lywood movie, or even a desert on Earth, aptly be named “star-tar.”) As the liquid but on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. New hydrocarbon rain erodes mountaintops research looking at the surface topography and craters, forming canyons and chan- of Titan — more than a billion kilometers nels, the runoff carries pieces of ice and New research reveals that Titan has dunes from Earth — reveals it has a lot in com- tholins. Over time, winds sweep away that form much like those on Earth. mon with our planet. The work, published the smaller grains, which eventually Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Université in the Journal of Geophysical Research: form the dunes that cover 18.6 percent Paris-Diderot Planets, shows that the dunes likely formed of Titan’s surface. This process is similar in a process that’s analogous to how dunes to how dunes are created on Earth, with The dry, desert-like dune landscapes form on Earth — through weathering, the exception that the particles on Titan studied in this work are in Titan’s equa- erosion and deposition. are initially formed in the atmosphere torial region. Eventually, Brossier says, From 2004 to 2017, NASA’s Cassini rather than on the ground. “The tholins future studies using similar techniques spacecraft studied Saturn and its satel- composing the dunes … are themselves could help scientists understand Titan’s lites, sending back countless images of formed through photochemical reactions polar regions, where most of the moon’s Titan taken with visible, infrared and involving hydrocarbon gases and dinitro- methane rainfall occurs, providing a fuller radar cameras. Jeremy Brossier, a doctoral gen,” Brossier says. “By knowing how the picture of the planet’s hydrocarbon cycle. student at the German Aerospace Center, dunes are formed, we understand part of Mara Johnson-Groh and his colleagues used this imagery to [the hydrocarbon] cycle on Titan, at least map Titan’s equatorial regions, finding the interactions between the atmosphere Ship exhaust increases that the moon’s dunes are formidable and surface of the moon.” and range across millions of kilometers Titan’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere might Arctic melt more than previously thought. They also be hospitable to life, so understanding the The type of ships that currently studied transition regions on the surface moon’s geological processes may help sci- operate in the Arctic, and will where dunes border mountains or cra- entists in their search for extraterrestrial do so more as marine traffic ters, using radar to infer and distinguish life. The researchers also suggested their increases in the region, often burn different landscape features — mountains, results offer evidence of water ice in some heavy oil. Burning heavy oil emits craters, dunes and ice beds, for example. areas, an observation that has been largely significantly more particulates, Additionally, infrared imagery helped speculative based on previous work. especially light-absorbing organic the scientists determine grain sizes and However, “this is not the first time molecules called brown carbon, compositions of particles at each location, a plausible sign of water ice has been than lighter oils, according to new essential for teasing out the geologic pro- seen in [the Visual and Infrared Mapping research quantifying the radiative cesses that formed them. Spectrometer, or VIMS] data,” says Juan forcing of fuels on snow in the The researchers found that the Lora, a planetary climatologist at UCLA Arctic. Such emissions need to dune-forming process begins high above who was not involved in the study. “The be included in climate models, Titan’s surface in its dense atmosphere of combination of VIMS’ low resolution and the researchers noted. gaseous methane and nitrogen. When Titan’s obscuring atmosphere means that Corbin et al., Journal of Geophysical methane rains fall, they bring with them definitive spectral detections of the sur- Research: Atmospheres, May 2018 a fine coat of tholins — complex organic face are just not possible with these data.”
page 25 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org PHOTOS: WASHINGTON.ORG JOIN US IN WASHINGTON DC AAG ANNUAL MEETING • APRIL 3–7, 2019
Paper & Panel Sessions Jobs & Careers Center Travel Grants and Awards Sessions will be organized across the full range The Jobs & Careers Center provides a The AAG has a number of grant and award of geographical research, including, among central location for job seekers, students, and options for students looking to attend the others, topics such as: professionals to interact with one another and conference. For more information, visit • Cultural Geographies to learn more about careers and professional annualmeeting.aag.org/grants_awards. • Climate Change development for geographers. Membership Benefits • Migration and Immigration • Panel discussions and paper sessions covering a variety of career related topics Take advantage of your membership benefit • Geography Education • Workshops on professional networking, to receive a reduced rate on the meeting, and • Human Geography and GIScience career planning, and more interact with thousands of other members at the Annual Meeting. • Physical Geography • Career mentoring with experienced • Geographies of Health geographers GISCI Certification • International Developments • The latest job postings You can earn GISP credits by participating in • Geography and Human Rights the AAG Annual Meeting. Attendance provides • And much more! Volunteer Opportunities several ways to earn the necessary points for the Get involved by donating some of your time to “Contributions to the Profession” and “Education” Interactive Topical Poster Sessions stuff tote bags, monitor sessions, or process components of becoming a GISP. registration check-ins during the conference. Get the most out of your poster presentation with Student members are encouraged to apply a longer poster session and dedicated viewing for this unique opportunity to help offset their times. meeting registration costs. Conference volunteers will receive $14.50 per hour worked towards a refund of their conference registration fees.
@theAAG https://annualmeeting.aag.org [email protected] In November 1948, the American Geological Institute (AGI) was born. Founded by the National Academy of Sciences, AGI has spent the past seven decades providing vital information and a collective voice in strengthening geoscience education, increasing public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in our society, and the health of our planet. In 2011, AGI became the American Geosciences Institute, representing the breadth of the geoscientific disciplines and bringing the geosciences to new generations for decades to come.
Image credits: Image in top graphic: Pexels.com/Min An; bottom images from left to right: Unsplash.com/Jack Levick; Un- splash.com/Casey Horner; Unsplash.com/Wang Xi; Unsplash.com/Leon Liu; Unsplash.com/Ian Stauffer Feature
A technician works inside a roughly 500-cubic-meter neutrino detector during its construction in April — one of two liquid argon detectors being built at the European Organization for Nuclear Research’s (CERN) facility near Geneva, Switzerland. Known together as ProtoDUNE, the detectors at CERN are prototypes of four larger versions to be built at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) — housed in the former Homestake Gold Mine near Lead, S.D. — as part of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). Credit: CERN GOING SUBTERRANEAN Repurposed Mines Become Innovative Labs
Josh Knackert
t about 5 a.m. on a frigid, icy Febru- head lamps for a pitch-black, claustrophobia-in- ary day in northern Minnesota — the ducing three-minute descent into the mine aboard kind of day when it feels like your eye- a loud, clanging elevator cage — the original mine balls might freeze — a group of about elevator built around 1900. This was followed by a A10 undergraduates in a geobiology course at the kilometer-plus-long ride aboard the original mine University of Minnesota-Duluth jumped onto a railway to the deepest part of the mine, and then a bus, headed for a destination far more temperate guided tour. and out of the elements — or, rather, deep below the The mine and its history are fascinating, as is elements. Joined by their professors, microbiologist the buried ore exposed on the walls of the mine — Cody Sheik and geologist Latisha Brengman, as well a banded iron formation featuring thinly layered as a few others (including yours truly), the students swirls of black and red rock shot through with veins arrived, two hours later and still before daybreak of white quartz. But on this day, the students and in the Minnesota Northwoods, at the visitor center their instructors weren’t touring the mine simply and museum for the historic Soudan Iron Mine. to admire some striking Precambrian geology, or to The mine began operations in 1882 as an open pit get in out of the cold. There was science to be done. mine, but moved underground about 20 years later Sheik and his collaborators have traveled to and ceased mining in 1962. Soudan several times as part of their microbiology After hustling into the (mercifully warm) visitor research, and as the sampling techniques they employ center to watch a video about the former mining are straightforward, Sheik and Brengman saw this operations 800 meters belowground at Soudan, trip as a perfect learning opportunity for their stu- everyone in the group suited up with hard hats and dents. The group spent the day collecting samples
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seismic activity and carbon sequestration, to less obvious topics like biofuel development and how life began on Earth — and, maybe, on other planets as well. These modern research efforts have their roots in mining: As centuries of ingenuity took us deeper into Earth, scientists realized that subterranean depths and isolation offered conditions and phe- nomena not available on the surface, either naturally or artificially in laboratories. This holds true today, with established underground research facilities offering scientists from numerous fields unique ways to answer some of science’s biggest questions.
Capitalizing on the Quiet Worldwide, there are about 20 deep, under- ground laboratories — including 10 in Europe and four in the U.S. — buried at depths varying from a few hundred to several thousand meters. Most are former mines, though some have been excavated The headframe of the historic Soudan Iron Mine on a frigid day in for the sole purpose of research. One such lab is northern Minnesota. The mine, which ceased operations in 1962, the European Organization for Nuclear Research’s is now operated as a state park and also hosts scientific research. Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, Credit: Josh Knackert likely the most renowned subterranean lab facility, which is buried at a relatively shallow depth of from a rivulet of water running along one side of about 100 meters. For roughly the last 60 years, the mine tunnel. The water was stained bright red, as was pretty much every other surface in sight. The coloration was from iron that had oxidized when exposed to air in the tunnel, essentially rusting the entire mine. Trickles of groundwater running down the tunnel walls concentrated this oxidized iron in the small stream, making the reds extra sharp. Meanwhile, the streambed also displayed a stringy mix of oranges, yellows and browns, almost as if someone had smeared oil paints along its length. These bright, mottled streaks — formed by mats of microorganisms — were what most interested Sheik and Brengman. The group sampled the stream and its populations — filtering suspended microbes out of the water and scraping up portions of the slimy biofilms and mineralized solids in the microbial mats — to take back to their university lab. The sampling was part of a larger effort not only to study the collection of microorganisms inhabiting the mine’s deep tunnels today, but also to address longstanding questions about the origins of life on Earth. Beyond Soudan, a surprising variety of ground- Students from the University of Minnesota-Duluth collect samples breaking — and often otherwise impossible from a rivulet of water in an underground tunnel in the former — research is being conducted underground all over Soudan Iron Mine. the world, from investigations of natural resources, Credit: K. Cantner
page 29 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Feature Selected Underground Research Facilities
1 Sanford 4 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 5 Driefontein Original use: Gold mine Original use: Radioactive Original use: Gold mine Active mining: No waste disposal Active mining: Yes Research began: 1960s Active mining: No Research began: ≤1990s Research depth: 1,500 meters (m) Research began: 1999 Mine depth: 3,300 m Research depth: 655 m 2 Soudan 6 Kloof Original use: Gold mine Original use: Iron mine 1 2 Active mining: No Active mining: Yes Research began: 1981 Research began: ≤1980s Research depth: 713 m Mine depth: 3,347 m 3 5, 6 3 Kimballton 7 Beatrix Original use: Limestone mine 7 Original use: Gold mine Active mining: Yes 4 Active mining: Yes Research began: 2007 Research began: ≤1980s Research depth: 518 m Mine depth: 2,155 m
Credit: K. Cantner, AGI
researchers from different fields have been drawn to Researching the Origins of Life underground facilities for many of the same reasons. Limitations on oxygen, organic carbon and sun- One benefit of underground mines, particularly light deep underground offer conditions thought to for physics research, is that thick layers of soil and be similar to those when life began on early Earth. rock provide what can be referred to as statistical Subterranean environments also offer analogs for quiet, blocking or attenuating background signals conditions under which life may have begun on present at Earth’s surface, such as solar radiation, other planets, like Mars. Along with high pressure, that often drown out or otherwise interfere with the and sometimes very acidic or dry conditions, these target signal. A kilometer and a half worth of ground factors create environments that typically make it cover can reduce the noise from cosmic rays by a difficult for anything to survive, much less thrive. factor of roughly 10 million, for example. Physicists Yet even in such places, bacteria and archaea known often shield their underground experiments further, as extremophiles do thrive; and these microbes may blocking trace radiation emanating from rocks and be the closest living relatives to those that first pop- even from the human body by encasing detectors in ulated the planet. water, lead or other protective materials. At Soudan, Sheik and his team find surprisingly Another benefit is that underground environ- complex microbial communities given the lim- ments like mines typically remain unchanged for itations of the mine environment. The inherent longer periods of time than surface environments. resilience of these organisms is what interests the In some deep mines, like the gold mines of South researchers most. “We look at what biology can do Africa, the same groundwater can remain trapped in today [in these extreme environments] and apply a small area for millions of years; and temperatures that to what we know about Earth 4 billion years remain remarkably consistent as well, always staying ago,” Sheik says. After collecting microbial samples above freezing. (Tour guides at the Soudan Mine from the mine, they characterize them in the lab highlight this as a year-round draw for tourists — using various growth conditions and by sequencing with temperatures hovering around a comfortable their DNA. The goal is to better understand the 10.5 degrees Celsius, it’s cooler than muggy Minne- mechanisms and key genes that allow the bacteria to sota summers and much warmer than the biting chill grow and replicate in natural environments where of winter.) Furthermore, some mines are located resources are sparse. in areas where seismic activity is minimal, reduc- The slow rate of change and movement in deep ing their vulnerability to ground shaking. These subterranean environments may also affect microbial relatively stable conditions mean that subterranean evolution. It’s common for deep-living extrem- research facilities can last a long time. ophiles to not encounter other living species for
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hundreds or even thousands of years. This means there are low rates of predation, symbiosis and gene transfer in these communities. Survival in low-resource environments can also mean slow replication or even long stretches of senescence, conditions that likely affect how genes in these extremophiles activate and change over time. “We don’t fully know how [these microorganisms] eat, reproduce or evolve,” Sheik says. “Advanced genomic tools are helping us understand evolution and the Soudan has hosted several large physics experiments, flow of energy through these complex communities.” including the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search Tullis Onstott, a geomicrobiologist at Princeton, (MINOS) project. MINOS ended in 2016, and the large studies life in environments even deeper than Sou- neutrino detector housed in this excavated hall in the dan, collecting microorganisms in active gold mines former mine has since been dismantled. in South Africa. The cluster of four active gold mines Credit: Josh Knackert where he works — the East and West Driefontein mines and the Kloof Mine near Carletonville, plus says. Single-celled life living several kilometers down the Beatrix Mine near Welkom — are some of the once seemed unlikely enough, but in 2011, Onstott deepest excavations in the world, reaching down and his collaborators discovered microscopic worms as far as 3.4 kilometers below the surface. These called nematodes living in the extreme conditions depths offer even more challenging living con- of the Beatrix Mine. “We were startled to find ditions, including elevated temperatures due to multicellular organisms,” he says. “They’re feeding increased geothermal activity. And the pressure is off the bacteria,” and the worms may also have so great at these depths that boreholes drilled by the bacterial symbionts, which altogether suggests a mining company close in a matter of months; most more complex food web in the subterranean than significant cracks or fissures formed by gradual rock was previously assumed. His team has also found a movement and seismic activity meet similar fates. surprising diversity of viruses underground, increas- Despite the harsh conditions, “we find very active ing the complexity of potential flows of genes and communities adapted to their environment,” Onstott nutrients among organisms.
Microbial colonies form a stringy mix of orange, yellow and brown hues in a small stream running through a tunnel at the former Soudan Iron Mine. Researchers have found surprisingly complex communities of micro- organisms here, considering the limitations of the deep mine environment. Credit: Josh Knackert
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The Davis experiment, housed in the former Homestake Gold Mine (now SURF) in South Dakota, was one of the earliest large-scale underground physics experiments. Making use of a 380-cubic-meter tank filled with perchloroethylene, the experiment successfully confirmed the existence of solar neutrinos and offered evidence that neutrinos come in three “flavors” — results that later garnered project leader Ray Davis a Nobel Prize. Credit: Anna Davis, Sanford Underground Research Facility, ©South Dakota Science and Technology Authority
The unexpected level of diversity and complexity unaffected by magnetism due to their lack of charge, in life deep underground is offering researchers an and because they typically pass unimpeded through array of opportunities to ask key questions about the matter, they travel, essentially unchanged and along origins of life on this planet and others, like how the straight trajectories, through the universe at near the genetic building blocks common to all life came into speed of light. In the rare instances, however, when being and how cells gained the ability to produce neutrinos collide with atomic nuclei, the collisions energy through respiration. Researchers are also produce quick flashes of light that can be picked up looking into whether multiple forms of life might by detectors. Physicists thus consider neutrinos as have evolved in parallel here on Earth — and, thus, messenger particles coming directly from whatever if one early form of genes outcompeted others — as high-energy event created them and use the particles well as what life on Mars might have looked like if to learn more about those sources and other aspects it did evolve. of the universe that we know little about, like the balance between matter and antimatter and the origin of the universe. From the Origins of Life to the Neutrino research is one of the primary objec- Origins of the Universe tives of the Sanford Underground Research Facility While biologists are exploring the origins of life, (SURF) in Lead, S.D., the deepest research facility in physicists are using underground research facilities to the U.S. at about 1.5 kilometers depth. The lab is in ask questions about the origins of the universe. They the former Homestake Gold Mine, where gold was were drawn underground by the radioactive quiet mined from 1876 to 2002, after which it was con- after finding that a thick layer of rock blocks the vast verted into a dedicated research facility. However, majority of cosmic radiation that continually falls on the mine has a long history of physics experiments, Earth from the sun and other celestial sources. beginning with the Davis experiment in the mid- This radioactive quiet allows incredibly sensitive 1960s. Led by Brookhaven National Laboratory detectors to record the trajectories of subatomic physicist Ray Davis, who was awarded a Nobel Prize particles called neutrinos, which are produced by in 2002 for the work, researchers looked to confirm the decay of radioactive elements in the sun and in that the sun emits neutrinos. The instrument built distant, high-energy events like supernovae, black by Davis’ team at SURF did indeed detect solar neu- holes and gamma ray bursts. Because the particles are trinos, but, oddly, only at one-third of the predicted
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Historic core samples and cataloging of information at the old Homestake Gold Mine have helped engineers and scientists at SURF better understand physical features of the local rock, which saves time and money when it comes to contemporary excavation efforts there. The headframe of the Yates Shaft (seen here), which opened in 1938, serves as the main access for people and equipment to get deep underground. Credit: Matthew Kapust, Sanford Underground Research Facility, ©South Dakota Science and Technology Authority
rate. As subsequent experiments would confirm, detector at SURF, the largest of its kind, “can see this wasn’t a case of an inaccurate detector, but neutrino interaction events in three dimensions rather one of the first signs that neutrinos come in with unprecedented resolution,” Paley says. This three types, or flavors: electron neutrinos, the type level of detail will help the DUNE collaboration observed by the SURF detector, as well as muon elicit as much information as possible from these and tau neutrinos. messenger particles, including their energy, fla- Construction of a next-generation detector broke vor and even potentially their incoming direction, ground in 2017 at SURF. The new detector will take among other features. The more researchers can a decade to build and is part of a massive, interna- determine about the features of a given neutrino, tional research collaboration known as the Deep the better they can understand where it came from Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which and the intense physical events that created it. The brings together roughly 1,000 scientists from more neutrino researchers involved with DUNE hope to than 160 laboratories in 30 countries. In addition to answer outstanding questions about the universe the detector at SURF, the other main piece of DUNE regarding the balance between matter and antimat- is the source of neutrinos, which is a particle accel- ter, the stability of matter and what happens inside erator at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory supernovae, as well as to expand our understanding (Fermilab) in Batavia, Ill. The accelerator will send of fundamental physics in our universe and reveal a concentrated beam of neutrinos through Earth to processes we haven’t yet observed. the detector at SURF, about 1,300 kilometers away, where only a small fraction of the original neutrinos is expected to be detected. Researchers are interested Excavations and Records in how these neutrinos scatter and change after Mining operations have proved, on the whole, to interacting with other subatomic particles during be a major blessing for underground research efforts. their underground trip. The detector at SURF will In his research studying deep-dwelling microbes, also be able to observe high-energy neutrinos passing Onstott says he appreciates having access to unsullied through Earth from cosmic sources like supernovae. portions of rock as mining operations continually “DUNE is designed to be maximally sensitive expose fresh surfaces through drilling and blast- based on current limitations,” says Jonathan Paley, an ing. Fresh exposures sometimes provide access to associate scientist at Fermilab. The high-resolution organisms only recently exposed to oxygen and that
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The DUNE project, construction of which is underway, involves four massive detectors 1.5 kilometers below the surface at SURF that will study neutrinos produced by an accelerator roughly 1,300 kilometers away at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. The current timeline calls for two of the detectors to be online by 2026. Credit: Fermilab
may have been undisturbed for tens of thousands and geothermal development, as well as in develop- of years. However, for scientists working in active ing new materials. Conducting this type of research mines, ongoing operations can be a nuisance as well. on deep natural rock formations is typically very When and where research can be conducted is up to difficult to justify economically. But at SURF, he the discretion of mine owners; and the same blasting “can get up close and personal with the rock mass that exposes fresh rock also limits the amount of time I want to investigate in a cost-effective manner,” researchers can spend in the mine. “Everything has Roggenthen says. to be planned in advance and we’re running a lot Sometimes, though, further excavation is neces- of the time. We want to get in as much [sampling sary once a mine is turned into a research facility. At and placement of collection equipment] as possible SURF, for example, engineers must still excavate a before the mine is cleared for blasting at the end of volume of rock the size of a small warehouse more the day,” Onstott says. than a kilometer underground to house the massive That’s not an issue at decommissioned mines, detectors required for DUNE. To accomplish such though. At the Homestake Mine, which houses feats, underground research facilities bring in civil SURF, “there are no competing interests, and engineers, including many who typically cut tunnels research is what it’s all about,” says Constance Wal- for roads and subways. ter, communications director at SURF. “Typical mining excavation values the volume of Past mining efforts can tell researchers a lot rock moved and doesn’t care much about the quality about the physical features of rock surrounding a of the walls or long-term stabilization of large cav- mine, as well as about how the rock formed, past erns,” says David Vardiman, a geotechnical engineer seismicity in the area and other useful information. who is in charge of the SURF excavation. Every step “The Homestake Mining Company did a tremendous of the process for creating these research facilities job of cataloging the rock,” Walter says. “We’re requires more precision, especially in the blasting lucky to still have their historic core samples.” And patterns. Rock walls are meticulously smoothed and researchers working at Soudan have benefitted in stabilized with cable and concrete. The final prod- the same way, with historical core samples inherited uct looks more like an airplane hangar than a cave. after the mine was taken over by the state. Being While the construction deviates from typical mining able to use these past records offers essential time protocols, knowledge of a mine’s history is vital. The and financial savings compared to drilling new holes 140-year history of excavation at the Homestake or excavating from scratch. William Roggenthen, Mine provides “a better understanding of how the a geological engineer at the South Dakota School rock mass will react to excavation,” Vardiman says. of Mines and Technology, studies the mechanical The historical drilling cores also helped engineers properties and behavior of soil and rock as part of select the region of the old Homestake Mine that the SURF collaboration. Such work is relevant in was most amenable to a large-scale excavation. Such understanding expected behaviors of materials in engineering and attention to detail lead to huge applications related to construction, mining, dams underground spaces that can last several decades.
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Before the DUNE detectors can be built at SURF, roughly 875,000 tons of rock must be removed, requiring detailed planning, test excavations, as seen here, and careful execution. Credit: Sanford Underground Research Facility, ©South Dakota Science and Technology Authority
An Uncertain Future as far away as the Indian Ocean; and microbiol- Many subterranean experiments generate a lot ogists have isolated bacteria from rotting mine of buzz given their unorthodox settings and their timbers that could help produce more efficient engagement in answering fundamental science ques- tions. This attention offers a certain amount of staying power for these projects, with many of the larger ones slated to run for several decades. “DUNE is a very exciting program,” Paley says. “It offers a broad research program, touching on a number of key topics, that will keep us busy for a long time to come.” In addition to those studying the origins of life and particle physics, researchers in many fields are capitalizing on the accessibility of unique underground environments to undertake a variety of investigations. Computer hardware companies have placed hard drives underground to eval- uate whether cosmic rays damage data storage; seismologists have installed geophysical arrays The Neutrino-sensing DUNE detectors will each hold sensitive enough to detect ripples from tsunami 70,000 tons of liquid argon. waves reaching the West Coast of the U.S. from Credit: Fermilab
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Maintaining public support for underground research facilities, most of which are supported at least in part by public funding, is vital for labs’ survival, so outreach and education efforts are typically a high priority. SURF is home to a visitor center full of exhibits (above) and hosts occasional public outreach events such as an annual “Neu- trino Day” (top right). At Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park (right), visitors can take guided tours of the historic mine operations and ride the original mine railway. Credit: clockwise from top left: Matthew Kapust, Sanford Underground Research Facility, ©South Dakota Science and Technology Authority; Laura Howard, Sanford Underground Research Facility, ©South Dakota Science and Technology Authority; Josh Knackert
biofuels. The isolation that draws researchers Combined with other bare necessities, like underground also offers an appealing trap for circulating fresh air, performing regular safety things that need to stay put for a long time, like checks and operating mine cages, costs can easily radioactive waste or carbon captured from power reach hundreds of thousands of dollars per year plants or the atmosphere. for individual mines. “The South Africa mines Despite the wealth of potential from underground are beginning to shut down [due to decreasing research, there are persistent challenges for facilities profitability], meaning we will eventually lose our hosting such work. As with virtually all research, access,” Onstott notes. funding is the big unknown. Researchers working Soudan and SURF each depend on a mix of public in active mines are often dependent on a mine’s and private funding, but those sources are also finite profitability. Maintenance of deep excavations is and prone to fluctuation. Soudan relies heavily on incredibly costly. If a pumping system isn’t main- state funding as a state park, meaning budget cuts tained, mines slowly fill up with groundwater. For or low tourist attendance could close the mine and example, between the time the Homestake Mine was spell the end of research there. SURF was established fully decommissioned in 2003 and when it became a with a private $70 million donation from T. Denny full-time research facility in 2007, the mine slowly Sanford combined with $40 million from the state of filled with water. Before construction could begin South Dakota, but it continues to get grants from the on the research spaces, the mine had to be pumped National Science Foundation and the Department out and refurbished. of Energy as well.
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Underground research facilities house scientific investigations beyond just particle physics and microbiological experiments. At SURF, for example, researchers have begun studying rock mechanics and geothermal systems as part of the Stimulation Investiga- tions for Geothermal Modeling and Analysis project. The project involves drilling several boreholes for injection and production of geothermally heated water, as well as for monitoring. Credit: Sanford Underground Research Facility, ©South Dakota Science and Technology Authority
Fostering collaboration and highlighting return At Soudan, Sheik, Brengman and the retired on investment are keys in maintaining public sup- miners who still work at the site, giving tours and port for these facilities, a point often reiterated by running the museum, all hope that enough tour- the people involved in their operation. As part of ists visit the mine to keep it going, perhaps lured his donation, Sanford required that SURF promote by curiosity about the captivating iron-rich rocks education and outreach. That directive is fulfilled 800 meters below the surface or the chance to eat with a visitor center offering detailed information lunch in a historic mining operation while sitting to guests, as well as with internships, fellowships, on boxes labeled “TNT/explosives.” They also hope activities for student groups, and collaborations with that more researchers realize the upside of working several nearby universities that support a variety of underground — where the potential science to be local jobs. A dedicated education and outreach staff done is as exciting as the subterranean environ- has also developed curriculum kits that are sent to ment itself. classrooms in South Dakota and beyond. These kits “These are such unique environments to ask import- “are especially popular as they give teachers … the ant questions,” Onstott says. “It’s the lack of access that opportunity to incorporate hands-on, inquiry-based always kills us,” never a lack of new questions. science units into their classrooms,” Walter says, noting that other national and international labora- Knackert is a science communicator at the University tories have contacted SURF for help in developing of Wisconsin-Madison and a freelance science writer their own educational lesson plans. who enjoys writing about geoscience.
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Monte Vettore, the highest peak in the Sibillini Mountains at 2,476 meters elevation, rises above the Piano Grande, or “Great Plain,” at left. The summit is reachable by several hiking paths, the most popular of which traverses 5 kilometers from the roadside Forca di Presta trailhead (foreground) to the peak, crossing fault scarps formed in the past two years during large, damaging earthquakes. Credit: Alan Pitts
Travels in Geology JEWEL OF THE APENNINES Italy’s Monti Sibillini National Park
Callan Bentley and Alan Pitts
he Apennine Mountains form the the west and Marche to the east. The park offers exposed, rocky backbone of Italy. In exemplary views into the formation of Italy’s lime- northwestern Italy, the mountains stone spine, as well as several chilling lessons about are linked to the Maritime Alps; from the relationship between humans and the unstable Tthere, they wind sinuously southward in the form land on which we live. of several arcuate chains all the way to the south- The landscape of the central Apennines is a man- ern terminus of the Italian Peninsula, where they ifestation of the geological processes that have acted disappear under the Gulf of Taranto before reap- on this region for more than 200 million years. It is a pearing on Sicily as part of the Calabrian Arc. In place where human history is closely tied to the ter- the central Apennines, roughly three hours from rain: a relationship that has produced terrific rewards Rome by car, Monti Sibillini National Park strad- of agriculture and art, as well as great catastrophes dles the border between the regions of Umbria to from earthquakes and landslides.
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AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND HUNGARY Thrust fault Normal fault
Southern Alps SLOVENIA Monti Sibillini CROATIA National Park Gubbio ITALY
BOSNIA AND No rth HERZEGOVINA Camerino Caldarola er n A pe Assisi San Lorenzo al Lago nn in e Ussita s Visso Adriatic Preci Monti Sibillini Monte Vettore Sea CentralNational Park Castelluccio Apennines Forca di Presta Corsica Adriatic Rome Sea
Southern Apennines Sardinia Tyrrhenian Sea Gulf of Taranto
Rome Outer compressional Inner belt Sicily extensional belt ALGERIA TUNISIA
The Apennine Mountains run the length of the Italian Peninsula. In the central Apennines, Monti Sibillini National Park straddles the border between the regions of Umbria and Marche. Two main stages of Cenozoic tectonism shaped the Apennines: Compression along thrust faults during the upper Eocene and Oligocene that contorted and uplifted rocks in the western portion of the range, followed by extension along normal faults in the Pliocene and Quaternary that has created high flat basins surrounded by steep mountain topography. Credit: both: K. Cantner, AGI, after Vezzani et al., GSA Special Paper, vol. 469, 2010
A Story Only a Sibylline Oracle — continental margin in the vicinity of modern Italy or a Geologist — Can Tell created conditions ripe for the deposition of ample The Sibillini Mountains, with their high pris- calcareous sediments, which piled up into a thick tine peaks and occasionally intense shaking, have carbonate platform — an environment closely resem- for centuries evoked a sense of enchantment, both bling the present-day Bahamas. Over time, the benevolent and sinister, in the minds of locals and calcite shells of deceased organisms — particularly visitors alike. The rugged terrain was named after microscopic foraminifera — contributed more and a legendary medieval oracle, a sibyl, who, like the more to these sediments, and thus to the eventual prophets of classical Greece, had the power to see the limestones that formed from them. future and the past. Stories tell of a particular oracle The Italian naming convention for many of who lived in this part of the Apennines, surrounded these limestones is straightforward. The Calcare by treasures, in an underground paradise that could Massiccio, for example, translates to “massive lime- be accessed only through a high cave entrance at the stone.” The “scaglia” units are named for the “scaly” or top of Monte Sibilla, one of the highest peaks in the flaky way that they weather, along with their color. range. As the legend goes, quite a few European The Scaglia Bianca is white, the Scaglia Rossa is red, explorers ventured in search of the cave, and many and the Scaglia Variegata is mixed in color. Once you never returned. learn this naming code, you’ll recognize these lime- The story of the rocks of Monti Sibillini National stones where they have been used in constructing Park begins in the Late Triassic with the opening buildings and towns of the central Apennines. For of the Tethys Ocean between the supercontinents instance, the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi has a of Gondwana and Laurasia. In the Early Jurassic, distinctive pink color because it was built from the warm and shallow Tethys waters along a passive Scaglia Rossa.
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West Southwest East Northeast Mt. Veletta Cima del Redentore Mt. Vettore Meters 2-meter-tall scarp Castelluccio 2000
1000
(Sea level) 0
Normal fault Recent surficial deposits Jurassic limestones Miocene turbidites
Thrust fault Jurassic to Cretaceous Triassic evaporites limestones and marls
A geological cross section through the central Apennines in the vicinity of Monte Vettore and the Piano Grande. Credit: K. Cantner, AGI, after Pierantoni et al., Italian Journal of Geosciences, vol. 132, 2013
Within the Scaglia Rossa is the Cretaceous-Paleo- A Tale of Two Tectonics gene boundary dating to 66 million years ago. The Two main stages of Cenozoic tectonism shaped sudden drop in the diversity, size and ornamentation the Apennines, partly overlapping in space and time. of foraminifera at the boundary tells of a cataclysmic Beginning roughly 35 million years ago in the upper global event that happened at the time: the end-Cre- Eocene and continuing into the Oligocene, the older taceous mass extinction. At Bottaccione Gorge limestones in the western portion of the Apen- near Gubbio, about 60 kilometers northwest of the nines were compressed and contorted into folds and national park, the famous outcrop where scientists uplifted above the surrounding topography along identified an iridium anomaly in the rock — which thrust faults. As this compressional belt propagated was later linked to the massive Chicxulub impact eastward, arriving in the interior portion of the implicated in the mass extinction — remains a pil- chain during the Miocene, thrust faulting generated grimage site for geologists. deep marine sedimentary basins that became the
The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, about 40 kilometers west of Monti Sibillini National Park, has a distinctive pink color because it was built from the Scaglia Rossa limestone. Credit: both: Callan Bentley
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Ascending a switchback into the Fiastrone River Valley, a 100-meter- tall outcrop of contorted rock displays striking zigzags, called chevron folds, in the thin layers of the Scaglia Rossa. The folds resulted from compression during the Miocene, which shoved the limestone layers over other rocks. Credit: Alan Pitts
likely due to the fact that Italian geology tends to be viewed from the perspective of Rome (which lies west of the mountains). The area around Lago di Fiastra, a reservoir in the far north of Monti Sibillini National Park, is a great place to examine the tectonic structures produced during the main compressive phase of Apennine mountain building, such as wonderful examples of folding and thrust faulting on both large and small scales. Closer to Rome is an extensional belt on the western flank of the chain, where the Apennines are being stretched. In this zone, Pliocene- to Qua- ternary-aged normal faults dissect the previously uplifted landscape, creating basins in the mountains Amid the Lame Rosse, hoodoos rise from eroded Holocene that make for high flat plains surrounded by steep sandstones and conglomerates. topography. Active movement on these faults con- Credit: Isabella Vitali, public domain tinues today, sometimes with catastrophic results. Every time a fresh earthquake creates offset along repository for sediment that cascaded down along the these faults, it increases the local relief. Some rocks ancient seafloor as turbidity currents, forming thick rise higher into the sky, while others sink lower. This packages of sandstone and shale. These Miocene encourages the breakdown of the mountains and turbidites are syntectonic, meaning they formed at the filling of the basins. The Piano Grande (“Great the same time that the compressional stresses were Plain”) of the Castelluccio Basin is a unique location deforming the limestones. to see the evidence of these active mountain-sculpt- The eastern portion of the Apennine chain, where ing processes, such as ground surface ruptures along this compressional activity is still occurring, is called the trace of long extensional faults and the vast, flat the outer compressional belt, a naming convention intermontane plain.
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Lago di Fiastra, nestled amid the peaks in the northern part of Monti Sibillini National Park, is a reservoir formed by the impound- ment of the Fiastrone River. Credit: Alan Pitts
Contemplating Compression marker-bed for geologists amid the contorted struc- Around Lago di Fiastra ture of the region, sliced and diced as it is. The level Approaching the northern part of Monti Sibil- marks the stratigraphic boundary 93.9 million years lini National Park from the northeast, you’ll climb ago between the Cenomanian and Turonian ages Strada Provinciale (“provincial road” or SP) 91 into of the Cretaceous. It can be seen in many locations the mountains. Ascending a switchback into the throughout the Apennines and Alps, although it’s an Fiastrone River Valley, a prominent 100-meter-tall expression of a global-scale oceanic anoxic event — contorted rock will catch your attention. The strik- a time when oxygen levels in the oceans dropped, ing zigzags in this rock are chevron folds in the thin allowing undecayed organic matter to build up on the limestone layers of the Scaglia Rossa. The strata date seafloor. The cause of the ocean anoxia — whether to the early Late Cretaceous, roughly 100 million tectonic or climatic in origin — is still disputed. The years ago, but the folding that overprints them only best place to view the Bonarelli Level in this area is occurred in the Miocene, about 15 million years ago from the roadside, about 10 kilometers down the or less. This is a fine place to contemplate the first road from the chevron folds viewpoint. stage in the tectonic evolution of the Apennines, Nearby, the sediments and formations of the when compressional stresses shoved older rocks Lame Rosse (“Red Blades”) badlands are another atop the Miocene turbidites. Also visible here, if you spectacular site. Looking more like southern Utah gaze across the valley, are several thrust faults and recumbent anticlines, as well as the tracks of recent debris flows and small landslides. If you’re interested in stratigraphy, you’ll want to check out the Bonarelli Level, a 3-meter-thick interval of organ- ic-rich black shales within the Scaglia Bianca. A dark sliver of rock within a stack of white limestone thousands of meters thick, the Bonarelli Level is a key
Lago di Fiastra’s emerald green to blue waters and the abundance of activities for visitors make the area a popular summer- time retreat for locals. Credit: Alan Pitts
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than central Italy, it’s a site that will impress even overtopping the dam. The low water levels can make nongeologists. Here, towering hoodoos rise from for a steep descent to the beach, which adds to the extremely young (Holocene) sandstones and con- surreal beauty of the location. glomerates — most tinted varying shades of orange Downstream of the reservoir, the Fiastrone — that don’t neatly fit into the overall story of the River scours through the Scaglia Rossa limestone, formation of the Apennines, but rather represent revealing several older stratigraphic units of the periods of intense erosion of previously unvegetated Apennines. Visitors can wade through the river rocky slopes. A scenic hiking trail from the Lago di in the Gole del Fiastrone (Fiastrone Gorge) in an Fiastra Dam will take you to the outcrops. experience reminiscent of the Narrows in Zion A gem of this part of Monti Sibillini National National Park or Arizona’s Antelope Canyon. How- Park, Lago di Fiastra is a reservoir on the impounded ever, thanks to the buffering of water flow provided Fiume Fiastrone (Fiastrone River) with milky, emer- by the dam at the northeast end of the lake, there is ald green to blue waters that is a classic summertime little risk of being swept away in a flash flood. retreat for locals. In addition to plenty of hiking and biking (both road and mountain), the village of San Lorenzo on the eastern shore of the lake hosts Hitting High Notes in Piano Grande several tourist facilities offering opportunities to About 25 kilometers south of Lago di Fiastra, boat, paddleboard, kayak, swim or just lounge on the Piano Grande is a high plain sitting about the beach with a gelato or drink in hand. After the 1,200 meters above sea level and surrounded by the recent earthquake sequence that hit the region in highest peaks in the central portion of the national 2016 and 2017, officials lowered the reservoir level park. Guarding the Piano Grande from above is the to reduce the risk of a landslide-induced tsunami village of Castelluccio, the highest in the region and
Hiking Trail Fault
Cima del Redentore Mt. Vettore
Castelluccio
Piano Grande Forca di Presta trailhead
Tectonic extension along normal faults that bound the Piano Grande on its eastern edge continues to drop the floor of the basin, and the town of Castelluccio, downward with respect to the mountains to the east, including Monte Vettore. Hiking along the trail that ascends to Vettore’s summit from the Forca di Presta trailhead takes you across fault scarps created during recent earthquakes, including a particularly impressive 2-meter-tall scarp. Credit: K. Cantner, AGI, based on an image from EMERGEO working group
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The Piano Grande is a high plain about 1,200 meters above sea level and surrounded by the highest peaks in the central portion of Monti Sibillini National Park. Credit: Alan Pitts
formerly home to some 130 people who have since difficulty, the most popular of which starts at the been relocated to newly built anti-seismic struc- Forca di Presta trailhead off SP477 and traverses tures until the town is reconstructed. This location 5 kilometers to the peak. The trail crosses new fault is famous for producing lentils and distinctively scarps formed in the past two years during large, cured salamis. damaging earthquakes. Hikers looking to extend Even higher above the Piano Grande sits Monte their trek for a more challenging climb can continue Vettore, which tops out at 2,476 meters. This sum- on the trail to see the crystal blue waters of the Lago mit is reachable by several hiking paths of varying di Pilato, one of the few natural lakes in the region. This lake, which sits at 1,941 meters elevation, rests in the trough of a broad, glacially carved valley, one of the most notable glacially derived landscapes on display in the Sibillini Mountains. Though the water may seem inviting after a long hike up the mountain, swimming is strictly prohibited, as Lago di Pilato hosts a rare species of freshwater crustacean that is found only in this tiny mountain lake. Hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding are popular activities for tourists in the Piano Grande. In late summer, the area hosts a vibrant mosaic of colors that burst from the lentil fields, a spectacle known as the Fioritura, or “flowering,” of Castelluccio that attracts visitors from all over Italy. The rich cultural and culinary traditions (see sidebar, page 47) born In late summer, a vibrant mosaic of colors arises from in this region are at risk of being lost, however. the lentil fields in the Piano Grande in a spectacle Due to heavy damage from the recent earthquakes, known as the Fioritura, or “flowering,” of Castelluccio. several of the towns and commercial enterprises, Credit: Stefano Avolio, CC BY-SA 2.0 once thriving, are now struggling to remain active.
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The village of Castelluccio, perched atop a hill overlooking the Piano Grande, was heavily damaged during a magnitude-6.6 earth- quake that occurred in October 2016 along a normal fault roughly 10 kilometers northwest of the town. Credit: Alan Pitts
Apennine Earthquakes Reshape the Landscape Aside from being one of the most picturesque locations in Monti Sibillini National Park, and a treasured recreational location, the Piano Grande is also an active extensional basin. The natural beauty of this landscape derives from a system of normal faults that bound the basin on its eastern edge and drop the floor of the Piano Grande downward with respect to Monte Vettore. But motion on faults in this region can have severe consequences. In October 2016, the magnitude-6.6 Norcia earthquake struck near here, damaging many nearby towns, including Castelluccio. Stone buildings partially collapsed and much of the town was reduced to rubble. That quake was just one in a string of earthquakes that struck central Italy in 2016 and 2017. This seismic sequence consisted of three large shocks each greater than magnitude 6.0, along with thousands of after- shocks, occurring between August 2016 and January 2017 along the central Apennine fault system. To this day, the central portion of Castelluccio is closed to traffic, with only residents allowed into the “red zone” for short periods of time. The towns of Ama- trice, Caldarola, Camerino, Ussita, Visso and many
Lago di Pilato, a natural high-elevation lake, sits at 1,941 meters elevation in the trough of a glacially carved valley between Monte Vettore and another peak, Cima del Redentore. Swimming is prohibited in the lake as it hosts a rare species of freshwater crustacean. Credit: Shutterstock.com/Stefano Buttafoco
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others also sustained substantial damage and now have similar exclusion zones where access is limited. The drive from Preci to Visso along the Strada Statale (“state highway” or SS) 209 (local signage denotes this area as “Valnerina”) in the western part of the park takes you through part of the Nera River Valley, offering views of a large landslide triggered by the Norcia earthquake; the slide dammed the Nera River and closed this road for almost a year. Mean- while, high above, freshly exposed limestone gleams white and a frighteningly large amount of rubble can be seen on both sides of the river on the valley floor. Though these earthquakes are destructive in the short term, they are also responsible for sculpt- ing the landscape of the central Apennines. The Many towns in the central Apennines were damaged during the mythological sibyls had the power to see into the 2016–2017 seismic sequence that hit the region. Here, rubble from future and the past, and the same could be said for a toppled building remains along a roadside in the town of Visso. geological travelers to this special place: The past is Credit: Callan Bentley revealed in outcrops and landscapes that tell a story of sedimentary deposition, compressional mountain building and tectonic extension.
Bentley teaches geology at Northern Virginia Commu- nity College and is a contributing editor to EARTH. He is a GSA Fellow and the president of the two-year-col- lege division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Pitts is a doctoral candidate at the University of Camerino in Italy, where he conducts research on the evolution of the Apennines. He is a former student of Bentley’s and has lived in Italy since 2012. He is the Coordinator of the George Mason University/University of Camerino Field Camp in the central Apennines.
A large landslide triggered by the October 2016 Norcia earthquake dammed the Nera River in the western part of the park and closed state highway 209 for almost a year. Gleaming white limestone, freshly exposed by the landslide, can be seen high above the road. Credit: both: Callan Bentley
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Getting There & Getting Around
or those traveling internationally Fby air to Italy to visit Monti Sibil- lini National Park, flying into Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO) is likely the best option. Flor- ence is another option, but Rome is closer and hosts more flights. There are several routes into the park from different directions; all the entrance points on the western side of the park are a two-and-a-half- to three-hour drive east of Rome. Bus tour services run out of Rome, but the best way to reach the park is via rental car. Rental cars are plentiful, and the good news is that, unlike driving in some parts of Italy such as around Naples or in Sicily (which is not for the faint of heart), driving in the Apennines is much more like driving in the U.S. In this part of Italy, drivers are more courteous and generally adhere to road signage and lane guidelines. Views of hillside orchards and the nearby Sibillini Mountains await visitors to the All countries have driving norms Al Respiro nel Bosco bed-and-breakfast in the foothills just outside the northern that are not immediately clear to boundary of Monti Sibillini National Park. foreign drivers, however. In Italy, to Credit: Callan Bentley avoid scorn from your fellow drivers, it’s important to remember to never experience in the Apennines. For a famous for its cured pork products, so pass another car on the right. Italians quiet and family-friendly stay in the you won’t go wrong with any salami, consider it a severe breach of driv- foothills just outside the northern prosciutto, lonza or other such prod- ing etiquette. boundary of the park, we recommend ucts you find. Another local specialty On your flight to Italy, consider Al Respiro nel Bosco bed-and- not to be missed is the cold-smoked reading Walter Alvarez’s 2009 book breakfast. The English-speaking salami, ciauscolo (also spelled cia- “The Mountains of St. Francis,” which owners, Luca and Matilde, will likely vuscolo), a soft, spreadable treasure covers the geologic evolution of cen- offer guests a glass of their home- unique to the mountains of Umbria tral Italy in the context of a memoir of made Verdicchio wine. And Luca and Marche and generally unknown his own career studying these rocks. operates a tour-guide service for throughout the rest of Italy. Order a Alvarez, together with his father, Luis, those interested in an expert tour of panino (sandwich) with ciauscolo and and other colleagues, were the first the many different sights within the pecorino cheese (made from sheep to detect the iridium anomaly at the national park. milk) and you’ll instantly impress the famous end-Cretaceous boundary While visiting the Piano Grande/ local shop owners. outcrop near Gubbio. Castelluccio area, be sure to try the Although this region is best known A wide variety of lodging is avail- lenticchie e salsiccia. This very pop- for its pork products, the area is also able in the vicinity of Monti Sibillini ular regional dish features locally a mecca for black truffles. A delec- National Park. Luxury travelers can grown lentils cooked together with table dish you’ll find at any osteria or stay at the Palazzo Seneca in Nor- local sausage and is an example of ristorante is Tagliatelle al Tartufo — cia. There are also plenty of smaller the simple, rustic culinary traditions normally handmade fresh pasta with cabins, hostels and bed-and-break- that make this region so special. This black truffles and olive oil. fasts that provide a more authentic corner of Umbria and Marche is also CB & AP
page 47 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org GALÁPAGOS The best time you can have on Earth
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Whether you like your wildlife calm and largely indi erent, or curious and playful, you’ll fi nd the encounters here Edenic. And whether you like your volcanoes active or extinct, your eruptions Strombolian or Plinian, your islands millions of years old or merely thousands, you’ll fi nd this archipelago fascinating.
Join us on an authentic expedition ship, the 24-cabin National Geographic Islander or the 52-cabin National Geographic Endeavour II, equipped with Zodiacs, kayaks, paddleboards, snorkel gear for all, including shorty wetsuits, a video microscope, and a glass-bottom boat (Endeavour II) for active exploring. Hike or walk. Make images with your Lindblad-National Geographic certifi ed photo instructor. And share the adventure with our expert expedition team, committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure you extraordinary experiences. We look forward to welcoming you and yours aboard.
To learn about our Galápagos itineraries, please visit or call. EXPEDITIONS.COM | 1.800.EXPEDITION TM Geomedia Books: “This Gulf of Fire” Recounts the 1755 Lisbon Disaster
Callan Bentley
n the panoply of history-altering But if you skip over “This Gulf of Fire: The natural disasters, Lisbon’s destruc- many of those lists, you Destruction of Lis- tion on All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, will find a compelling bon, or Apocalypse 1755, stands out. You may have story, with perhaps the in the Age of Science Iheard of this Portuguese calamity in most interesting aspect and Reason,” by Mark the context of tsunami coverage, but it of the disaster being Molesky, Knopf, Hard- was a sequence of three disasters — an the influence it had on cover 2015, ISBN-13: earthquake, a tsunami and a fire — that the Enlightenment. 978-0307267627 combined to level much of the city and The destruction of claim tens of thousands of lives. Some Lisbon occurred in the document conditions scholars suggest a fourth calamity was middle of this period on the day of the the way the aftermath was handled, but of flowering of human earthquake, as well as author Mark Molesky seems more char- intellect in a very Cath- conditions preceding itably inclined on that front. In “This olic city that was one the disaster and during Gulf of Fire: The Destruction of Lisbon, of the last redoubts of the subsequent recon- or Apocalypse in the Age of Science and the Inquisition. It was struction. Molesky Reason,” Molesky, a historian at Seton a wealthy place, overflowing with riches estimates the quake’s magnitude to have Hall University in New Jersey, has written from Portugal’s colony in Brazil, and been “between 8.5 and perhaps 9.2” and the definitive scholarly account — if not attendant levels of indulgence. notes that “it was the largest earthquake to the most accessible one — of that fateful Molesky has ready foils to represent affect Europe in the last 10,000 years.” He day and its historical aftermath. both the church and secular forces: the offers interesting speculation on the source “This Gulf of Fire” is a comprehensive Jesuit priest Gabriel Malagrida and the fault for the earthquake and makes the case and impressively researched work with Marquis of Pombal, an advisor to the (for the first time) that the culminating hundreds of citations and 75 pages of foot- king. Like a modern televangelist, Mala- fire qualified as a “firestorm,” a fire so hot notes. Molesky seemingly leaves no stone grida blames the earthquake on God’s and intense that it produced its own wind unturned. However, in this attempt to be displeasure at the city’s sinful ways to gain system. The blaze lasted for weeks and exhaustive, the book becomes exhausting. followers. Pombal uses the destruction burned the city to its foundations. Molesky includes every detail, chaff along of Lisbon as an opportunity to diminish If you enjoy European history flavored with wheat, listing, for example, dozens the influence of the church and advance with tectonic drama, you will likely enjoy of estimates — ranging from 10,000 to the cause of secular government, as well “This Gulf of Fire.” And, if you can avoid 40,000 — of the death toll from a wealth as to settle some old scores. He’s a ruth- getting bogged down in the minutiae, of sources. In the discussion of death less ruler, and the book opens with him you’ll find it offers a rich retelling of an registers from the various churches in orchestrating the execution of Malagrida. event that could be an exemplar of how the city, there is list after list of names It reads like a scene straight out of “Game societies react to catastrophic natural and occupations of those who succumbed. of Thrones.” disasters — complete with lessons to bear Similarly, there are interminable lists of The tension between religion and in mind when the next great earthquake, buildings, streets and other sites that reason extended far beyond Portugal’s tsunami or hurricane strikes. experienced varying degrees of damage. borders: Across Europe, Lisbon’s apoca- This is doubtless useful material for the lypse was a vital prompt for discussion. Bentley, an EARTH contributing editor, is historian interested in plotting things An entire city had been destroyed by a an assistant professor of geology at North- out block by block. However, for the trio of violent events: What did it mean? ern Virginia Community College in Annan- nonspecialist reader, especially one who Kant, Rousseau, Leibniz and Voltaire dale, Va. He is the 2018 recipient of the hasn’t visited Lisbon, it is overwhelm- all chimed in. Molesky recounts their National Association of Geoscience Teach- ing. This list mania gets downright silly published discourse in context, and thus ers Shea Award for exceptional contribu- when Molesky enumerates all the things furnishes his reader with a sense of the tions in earth science writing for the public that burned in the fire: “trunks, dress- intellectual fallout of the event. and/or teachers. He blogs about geology ers, chairs ... barrels of fish, gunpowder, Another bright spot is the book’s at http://blogs.agu.org/mountainbeltway. butter ...” etc. (I’ll spare you the full list.) illustrations, including maps, that help The views expressed are his own.
page 50 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Call For Field Trip, Short Course, and Technical Session Proposals
It’s already time to plan for our 2019 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Help ensure that your area of research and expertise is represented at next year’s annual meeting. Any individual or geoscience organization is welcome to submit proposals. The proposal form is online at www.geosociety.org/amnext. Show the geology by leading a Scientific Field Trip. Field Trip proposal deadline: 3 Dec. 2018 Trips can be anywhere from a half day to five days long. Field trip proposals may be submitted by any member of GSA, it’s affiliated societies, or anyone else. Exchange the geology by organizing and chairing a Technical Session. Technical Session deadline: 1 Feb. 2019 Proposals are being taken for both Pardee Keynote and Topical Sessions. Share the geology as an instructor through a Short Course. Short Course proposal deadline: 1 Feb. 2019 Courses run the Friday and Saturday before the Annual Meeting and are typically a half day to two full days.
www.geosociety.org/meetings/
page 51 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Where on Earth?
WHERE ON EARTH?
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS! SEE DETAILS BELOW
♦♦ This formation, a triplet of sandstone pinnacles, can be seen from a cable car that offers expansive views of a national park and a 10,000-square-kilometer UNESCO World Heritage site. The park features a rare, endemic
CLUES species of pine tree that has existed since the time of Pangea and was thought extinct until living specimens were discovered here in 1994. August 2018 Answer: Located in a rift valley, Lake Baikal in Russia ♦♦ Deep valleys and steep cliffs up to 1,200 meters tall in holds more than 20 percent of the world’s sur- this area — which is about 100 kilometers inland from the face freshwater and has a maximum depth of largest city in this Southern Hemisphere country — are more than 1,600 meters. Photo by Dave Boden. remnants of a Paleozoic quartzite plateau that was uplifted and deeply incised. Spires like these three were further sculpted by wind and rain. August 2018 Winners: Jerilyn Bachowski (Lackawanna, N.Y.) ♦♦ The heritage site, national park and mountain range in Edward S. Grew (Orono, Maine) which the pinnacles lie all share a name that references John J. Hebberger Jr. (Jackson, Wyo.) the misty azure haze that usually blankets the region. Jim Hensel (Tonawanda, N.Y.) The haze is caused by airborne droplets of oil emitted by Stephen McKay (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada) eucalyptus trees.
NAME THE GEOLOGIC FEATURE, ITS HOST MOUNTAIN RANGE & COUNTRY.
Where on Earth was this picture taken? Use these clues to guess You can also submit entries to Where on Earth? EARTH, 4220 and send your answer via Web, mail or email by the last day of the King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302 (postmarked dates on letters month (November 30). Subscribers can also view contest photos will be used). EARTH also welcomes your photos to consider and clues in EARTH’s monthly digital editions. From those who for the contest. Find out more about submitting your photos at answer correctly, EARTH staff will randomly draw the names of www.earthmagazine.org/whereonearth/submit, and send them to five people who will win a prize from AGI. Enter the contest at [email protected]. If we print your photo in EARTH, you’ll
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page 52 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Cross-Section: A Puzzle
Across 67. Contradict 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1. Forbidden: Var. 68. Hearty laughs 5. Circa 69. Wood pegs for a 14 15 16 10. Top cover? brick wall 14. Biology lab supply 17 18 19 15. Grand ___ Down 16. “___ bitten, 1. Mountain pool 20 21 22 twice shy” 2. Chill 17. Bumpkin 3. Hindu Mr. 23 24 25 18. Reversal 4. Path from bladder of conviction 5. Ratify 26 27 28 29 20. Elementary particle 6. Jungled island 22. Pub order 7. Sundae topper, 30 31 32 33 34 35 23. “Catch!” perhaps 24. Craft 8. Arthur Godfrey 36 37 38 39 40 41 26. Deep critter? played it 30. Escalator feature 9. Cooking meas. 42 43 44 45 46 31. Coke’s partner 10. Princess gear? 32. ___ of 11. Provide, as with 47 48 49 50 the Unknowns a quality 36. “Wheels” 12. Desktop pictures 51 52 53 54 37. X-mas burner 13. Advances 41. Grassland 19. Seed cover 42. Mass number 21. High-pitched 55 56 57 58 59 44. Born 24. Saturday school? 45. Calculator, 25. Airport pickup 60 61 62 63 at times 26. Carve in stone 47. Asia expert of old? 27. Inside shot? 64 65 66 51. Bumblers 28. Course 54. Freudian topics 29. To groom feathers 67 68 69 55. Runner Jesse 33. Cutlass, e.g. 56. Door feature 34. Convene 60. Minnesota 35. Blocks Puzzle solution appears in the Classifieds section. resource 38. Condo, e.g. 63. Pudding fruit 39. Bottom of 48. Gift on 52. Cognizant 58. Air bag? 64. “Mi chiamano the barrel “The Bachelor” 53. Red Square 59. Flightless flock Mimi,” e.g. 40. Dance 49. Irritate figure 61. Apply gently 65. High up 43. Mid-day 50. Operatives 56. Faculty membr. 62. 1969 Peace 66. Hokkaido native 46. ___ hands 51. Rot 57. Assortment Prize grp.
Glossary of Geology Fifth Edition, Revised GEOWORD of the Day
A free service of the American Geosciences Institute. All of the terms and definitions are from the Glossary of Geology, 5th Edition Revised.
Klaus K.E. Neuendorf James P. Mehl Jr. SUBSCRIBE at: Julia A. Jackson A MERicAN G E osciENc E s iNstitutE www.americangeosciences.org/word
page 53 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Down to Earth With Geologist Robert Brinkmann
Bethany Augliere
s a child, Robert Brinkmann economic development. It’s a holistic was always curious about approach to sustainability. rocks. He wondered how So many fascinating sustainability they got where they were issues in the suburbs are emerging at Aand why they were different from each this moment. For example, suburbs are other. Brinkmann grew up in the farm facing serious water issues — whether country of southeastern Wisconsin, as related to quality or quantity — all over well as in the woods in the northern part the United States. In my own area of of the state. After one of his first geology Long Island [New York], we have dozens classes in college, he went home and of suburban water districts in control of finally understood what he was looking a single source aquifer that has serious at. “It was such an eye-opening experi- regional pollution issues. ence to be able to read the landscape,” Geologist Robert Brinkmann is vice provost Brinkmann says. BA: As a geologist interested in human for scholarship and research and dean of Brinkmann received his bachelor’s impacts, what do you think are some graduate studies at Hofstra University in degree in geology from the University of the biggest issues we need to be New York. of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before earning concerned with in the future? Credit: Robert Brinkmann both a master’s in geology and a doctor- RB: There is no doubt that climate ate in geography from the University of change is the most existential issue we to a professor by the name of Robert Wisconsin-Milwaukee, studying human are facing right now. Of course, the broad Eidt, who was a physical geographer impacts on the environment and lead cause of this issue is anthropogenic pol- trained in Germany. He was studying pollution in soils. Now, as vice provost lution. But climate change is not the only human-altered soils through time, and he for scholarship and research and dean of serious pollution problem confronting us. had developed some chemical techniques graduate studies at Hofstra University in We also have issues with plastics, nutrients to measure human impacts of abandoned New York, Brinkmann pursues science and pharmaceutical pollutants as well. We settlements. So, he totally understood communication to reach broader audi- are just now starting to understand how what I was interested in. That was my ences beyond his students and colleagues. these pollutants impact earth systems. big “aha” moment that defined my career He has authored several books, including and steered me a little bit away from “Sinkholes of Florida: Science and Policy,” BA: How did you first become inter- traditional geology. and the textbook “Introduction to Sus- ested in this field? I started to work with Eidt, and that’s tainability.” For nearly a decade, he’s also RB: When I was a graduate student in how I began researching lead pollution maintained a blog called “On the Brink,” geology, I worked for a mineral explo- for my doctorate. I ended up manag- in which he writes about topics related ration firm that sent me out to collect ing a state soils lab at the University of to the environment, sustainability and samples in streams to look for heavy Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which was one higher education. minerals. The areas they sent me to were of the first of its kind. That led me to Brinkmann recently sat down with very heavily altered landscapes, with, for thinking about cities and human impacts EARTH to discuss his work in sustain- example, sediment coming into a stream on cities. Eventually, I moved to Florida ability, the geology and sinkholes of from a railroad bridge or roadway. So, for a faculty position and to research Florida, and how he became interested what I was collecting was not really a true Florida geology and sinkholes. Florida is in science communication. representation of what would’ve been full of sinkholes. there naturally. BA: How would you describe your I became curious and started reading BA: What’s interesting about Florida research interests? more about human impacts. This was geology and sinkholes? RB: They involve human modifica- back in the 1980s when very few people RB: When I first moved to Florida, tion of Earth, and the measurable ways were writing about human impacts in people would tell me: “Oh, there’s no we can make a difference. So, I do a lot the field of geology. I started talking to geology here, it’s just a flat featureless of work on a variety of issues related my professors too, who told me they plane.” Many rough and tumble geol- to sustainability, from water issues to didn’t do that kind of work. Then I talked ogists who feel the mountains call to
page 54 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Down to Earth them often avoid spending time getting As far as sinkholes, Florida is lucky Also, holes in the ground are often to know the geology of flat places like because of the early aviation history of the called sinkholes even if they aren’t [techni- Florida. However, if one takes a closer state. There are great aerial photos that cally] geologic sinkholes. It’s a challenging look, they will find that Florida holds go back to the 1920s, and you can see fan- terminology issue because, to the public, a clues to understanding the geologic and tastic evidence of these very complicated sinkhole is any hole in the ground that just environmental history of the Cenozoic. sinkhole features. Today, many of these suddenly forms. For example, newspapers There is a nearly continuous fossil record [sinkhole-prone] places are covered with in New York will report that a sinkhole in the state, and the rocks contain assem- houses, so it’s not really a surprise that formed due to a water main break or blages of a fascinating array of plants and there is regular property damage in some something. And I’ll get all these calls from animals. It’s incredible what you can learn of these areas because these sinkholes are people asking what I can tell them about by studying the geology of Florida. still forming. the sinkhole; but it’s not a geologic sink- In many parts of the country, in the hole, just a collapse in the ground. 19th century and earlier, geologists spent BA: What’s a common misconception a considerable amount of time puzzling about sinkholes? BA: Has your research brought you to out the lithology, mineralogy, structural RB: Well, a sinkhole is a depression other interesting field sites? geology, geomorphology and other issues. on the surface that forms as a result of RB: I think the most exotic place I ever Many regions were described in tremen- dissolution of the bedrock beneath the did fieldwork was in Yemen. When I was dous detail: Geologic maps were created, surface. Florida has so many sinkholes working on my doctorate, my advisor, and articles and books were written about because conditions are perfect for their who researched human impacts on soil local geologic conditions. This didn’t hap- development. What I mean by that is chemistry, got a call from the Ameri- pen in Florida. While there were some that Florida is underlain by soluble lime- can Foundation for the Study of Man, early writers, the geologic literature on stone; it is in a wet, warm environment, which does work in Yemen, [inviting him Florida prior to the 1950s is relatively and there is an abundance of plant life along] to go into the field. He didn’t want slim. My research in Florida focused on to produce the needed chemistry that to go and asked if I did. I said, “Sure!” It puzzling out the complex geologic history aids in dissolution. Often, people think was the first time I was ever out of the of the state through the study of karst of sinkhole formation as occurring in a country aside from visiting parts of Can- landforms. I’m very proud of that work single event. But they can take hundreds ada. It was such a great trip, and I ended because it was some of the first research of years to form because of the nature of up going for two full field seasons. on Florida geology. the karst geology. We were in remote parts of Yemen, which is such a beautiful country. There’s so much history that we don’t really know about. Yemen was part of the camel car- avan for the Queen of Sheba during that era [roughly the fifth century B.C.], and there were all these settlements along the edge of the desert, along the edge of the mountains, and the pre-Islamic people built dams and huge agricultural fields. These soils are now topographic highs, because people essentially created these elevated deltas. The silt would blow from the desert into the mountains, mountain streams would carry the silt downstream, and it would become captured behind the dams. The dams brought silt-laden water to the fields, and the fields got higher and higher over time. Now, these fields have this tremendous prehistoric record of the region. I was doing a lot of descriptive work, and a lot of lab work afterward in basic soil chemistry and sediment analy- Brinkmann poses with students studying sustainability at Hofstra University. sis. It was some of the first description of Credit: Robert Brinkmann those agricultural fields.
page 55 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Down to Earth
Brinkmann, in 1989, doing fieldwork in Yemen, where he studied the soils of ancient agricultural fields and dam sites built by pre-Islamic settlements. Credit: Robert Brinkmann
writing techniques that help people like me — people who never really considered themselves writers — turn their ideas into something bigger and more substantial. I started thinking I could write articles that can impact my discipline. Then, I realized that my interests were more interdisci- plinary, and I could reach more people by writing more comprehensive books, and that’s what I decided to do.
Augliere (www.bethanyaugliere.com) is a BA: You now do less research and seminar with him. I didn’t want to go, freelance writer and photographer and a more writing. How did that happen? but that seminar changed how I wrote. former editorial intern with EARTH. She is RB: I always liked writing. But I hadn’t The seminar was with Julia Cameron, a graduate of the science communication thought much about it until I was in who wrote “The Artist’s Way: The Spir- program at the University of California, Santa Miami in the mid- to late ‘90s visiting a itual Path to Higher Creativity.” She Cruz, and holds a master’s degree in marine friend, and he dragged me to a writing provides a number of really interesting biology from Florida Atlantic University.
page 56 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Benchmarks November 16, 1990: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Is Established
Bethany Augliere
ff the tip of the Florida ALABAMA GEORGIA Peninsula lies the world’s third-largest living coral Miami reef, the Great Florida Reef. OThe only barrier reef system in North FLORIDA America, it is composed of a system of Homestead individual reefs that together extend 270 kilometers south of Miami through the Florida Keys, a crescent-shaped chain of more than 1,500 islands, about 30 of Key Largo which are inhabited. This ecological trea- sure is home to more than 6,000 species Islamorada of marine life, including colorful fish and Florida Keys Marathon Key West endangered sea turtles, as well as exten- National Big Pine Key sive seagrass beds, mangrove islands and Marine Sanctuary about 1,000 shipwrecks. On Nov. 16, 1990, amid mounting human-caused threats to the reef’s well- Designated in November 1990, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects being, President George H.W. Bush nearly 10,000 square kilometers of ocean surrounding the islands, including North officially recognized the reef’s value to America’s only barrier reef. Florida’s marine ecosystem — and to the Credit: K. Cantner, AGI state’s economy — establishing the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The Underwater Firsts marine sanctuary — the country’s second, In 1872, the U.S. established its first and one of 15 marine protected areas in national park: roughly 9,000-square- the National Marine Sanctuary System kilometer Yellowstone. The first marine — protects nearly 10,000 square kilo- equivalent wasn’t established for more meters of waters surrounding the Keys, than another century, following a series including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, of environmental protections put in mangroves, sand flats and “hardbottom” place during the early 1970s, including seafloor habitats. the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. The first national marine sanctuary, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of North Carolina, was The reefs of the Florida Keys face several established in 1975, after researchers threats, including pollution and warming discovered the wreckage of the USS water temperatures, which can make cor- Monitor, the United States’ first iron- als, like this diseased brain coral, suscep- clad warship, built during the Civil War. tible to bleaching events. The Monitor’s discovery prompted North Credit: Bethany Augliere The crescent-shaped island chain of the Carolina Gov. James E. Holshouser Jr. to Florida Keys (western end shown here) nominate the final resting place of the Since then, the national marine sanc- extends south of Miami to Key West, span- war vessel for national marine sanctu- tuary system has grown considerably. ning 240 kilometers. ary status, recognizing its importance in It now includes 13 marine sanctuaries Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and maritime history and the need to protect and two national monuments, totaling U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team it from further damage. 1.5 million square kilometers of marine
page 57 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Benchmarks
In the 1950s, growing threats to the and Protection Act. And, on Nov. 16, Florida Keys reef’s health, such as overfish- 1990, President Bush formally established ing and seagrass die-offs, began alarming the sanctuary, which incorporated both scientists and conservationists. This led the Key Largo and Looe Key sanctuaries. to legislative action at the state level, Within the boundaries of the sanctu- including the creation of America’s first ary, visitors can fish, snorkel and scuba underwater park, John Pennekamp Coral dive. However, there are rules and reg- Reef State Park in Key Largo. Later, in ulations to protect the reef and other 1975 and 1981, two small national marine marine life. For instance, in all areas sanctuaries were designated, Key Largo of the sanctuary, visitors cannot move, National Marine Sanctuary and Looe Key remove, injure, break or possess coral National Marine Sanctuary, respectively. or live rock. Boaters are not allowed to Despite designating these protected anchor on the coral reefs in less than On Aug. 4, 1984, the M/V Wellwood, a cargo areas, the reef still faced trouble. In 1983, 12 meters of water, and public mooring ship carrying chicken feed, ran aground for example, periods of weak winds and balls anchored to the seafloor that boaters on the reef near Key Largo, damaging high air temperatures caused ocean can tie up to are in place at certain sites to 75,000 square meters of reef habitat and warming and widespread coral bleach- reduce anchor damage. Furthermore, no 5,800 square meters of living coral. Also ing on the reef along the southernmost dredging or drilling is allowed. To regu- visible in this photo is the classic “spur and islands of the Florida Keys. Bleaching late fishing, the sanctuary uses a strategy groove” reef formation, with high ridges of events along with seagrass die-offs con- of marine zoning in which no fishing coral separated by sand channels. tinued into the late 1980s. In 1987, amid is allowed in parts of the area, while Credit: NOAA/Florida Keys National the ongoing decline in reef health, the size and catch limits, established by the Marine Sanctuary Department of the Interior approved oil Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and gas development off the Florida coast, Commission, are in place in other areas. and Great Lakes waters, ranging from which began in late 1988. the Florida Keys to American Samoa. Also, in the late 1980s, three large In 2015, President Barack Obama added merchant vessels ran aground on the reef, The Rocks and Reefs two new marine sanctuaries, one off the damaging the sensitive coral. One ship, The Florida Keys island chain is geolog- coast of Maryland and the other in Lake the M/V Wellwood, a cargo ship carry- ically young and predominantly made of Michigan, which were the first pro- ing chicken feed, damaged 75,000 square limestone. About 125,000 years ago, water tected marine areas designated by the meters of reef habitat and 5,800 square levels were roughly 30 meters higher. The federal government in 15 years. Sanc- meters of living coral off Key Largo. Upper Keys, from Bahia Honda Key north, tuaries require protective measures that Restoration of that area continues today. are remnants of an ancient reef that existed place limits on human activity, including Eventually, the combined threats during this time, while the Lower Keys commercial fishing, shipping traffic and prompted Congress to act, passing the formed later from old sandbars. recreational use. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
The economy of the Keys is driven by tourism. Recreational activities, like boating, fishing and diving, are allowed within the sanctuary with certain restrictions. Credit: both: Bethany Augliere
page 58 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Benchmarks
During the last ice age, starting about 100,000 years ago, sea levels dropped, exposing the reef and sandbars, which lithified into the rock that makes up the islands today. The rock underlying the Upper Keys is mainly Pleistocene-aged Key Largo Limestone. This white and light gray limestone is characterized by coral heads in a calcarenitic matrix — lime- stone composed of more than 50 percent detrital, sand-sized carbonate grains. The A Spanish hogfish swims near a reef in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. formation is very porous and permeable, Credit: NOAA/Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and as such, is part of the Biscayne Aqui- fer, a shallow aquifer that provides South Fueled by Tourism Reef off Central and South America, cli- Florida with much of its freshwater. The turquoise waters and vibrant mate change is considered the greatest In the Lower Keys, the exposed bedrock reefs of the Florida Keys bring in about threat to coral reef health. Increasing is the Miami Limestone, also Pleisto- $2.7 billion a year, from snorkelers, div- temperatures lead to coral bleaching and cene-aged but younger than the Key Largo ers, fishermen, boaters and other tourists. disease outbreaks. Stronger and more Limestone. Additionally, rather than being And 3.5 million people visit the area frequent storms destroy reef structure composed of lithified corals, this limestone each year, supporting 54 percent of all while ocean acidification due to increas- is mainly made of ooids — spherical, milli- jobs there, according to Monroe County, ing atmospheric and oceanic carbon meter-scale grains that form as carbonate which includes the Keys. Nearly every- dioxide levels makes it difficult for young minerals precipitate around existing shell thing in the Florida Keys is linked to coral polyps, as well as other vital reef fragments or sand grains — along with the health of the reef — and the reef organisms that make shells, like snails some quartz and mollusk fossils. is struggling. and crabs, to build their calcium carbon- The current living barrier reef is about Decades of overfishing, disease, pol- ate skeletons. 5,000 to 7,000 years old and lies about lution and coastal development, as well The dour trends in the health of reefs 9.5 kilometers seaward of the Florida Keys as introductions of invasive species, have worldwide, including the Great Florida in waters ranging from 4 to 9 meters deep. caused a prolonged decline in reef health. Reef, bode ill for both marine ecology and The reef exhibits what’s known as a “spur In the last 240 years, reef coverage on local and regional economies. But there and groove” formation, with coralline the seafloor has declined by 54 percent, is hope. As vulnerable as reef systems are ridges and channels perpendicular to the according to a 2017 study that used his- to climate change impacts, they are also shoreline, shaped, in part, by wave energy. torical nautical maps to determine the dynamic and sometimes resilient ecosys- There are about 50 types of coral that make changes. Nearshore reefs — those at the tems. In some places around the world, up the reef — such as sea fans, brain coral, 4-meter depth contour — experienced the new coral growth has been observed in as star coral and the critically endangered largest decline, with a loss of 87.5 percent little as two years after bleaching events. staghorn coral — which together represent of reef coverage. And scientists, nonprofit organizations about 80 percent of all coral reef species in In 2014 and 2015, the Great Flor- like the Coral Restoration Foundation, the Tropical Western Atlantic. ida Reef experienced back-to-back and others are also working to restore Scientists have also documented more major bleaching events because of reefs in the Florida Keys and elsewhere than 500 species of fish that call the Great warmer-than-average sea-surface tem- by growing coral in captivity and rein- Florida Reef home. One common fish peratures, triggered by a strong El Niño. troducing it in the wild. Whether these family along the reef is parrotfish, which Then, in 2015 and 2016, the corals expe- efforts will be enough to reinvigorate the are characterized by bright colors and a rienced back-to-back disease outbreaks. reef system remains to be seen. bird-like beak that helps the fish scrape Additionally, a disease known as “white algae, their food source, off coral. In plague,” first discovered in 2014 off the Augliere (www.bethanyaugliere.com) is doing so, parrotfish also contribute sand port of Miami, has spread north and a freelance writer and photographer and to the beaches of the Florida Keys. As the south, including into the Florida Keys. a former editorial intern with EARTH. She fish scrape algae from the coral, they also Overall, it has impacted half of the Great is a graduate of the science communi- ingest bits of the coral’s calcium carbonate Florida Reef, as of a 2017 assessment. cation program at the University of Cal- skeleton, which they later expel undi- Around the world, from the Great ifornia, Santa Cruz, and holds a master’s gested. One large parrotfish can release Barrier Reef off the coast of northeastern degree in marine biology from Florida up to a ton of sand each year. Australia to the Mesoamerican Barrier Atlantic University.
page 59 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Classifieds: Career Opportunities Please visit our website, www.earthmagazine.org/classifieds, for these and many other current career opportunities.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES the Mace Brown Museum of Natural in their field, and a contributor to a History at the College of Charleston by vibrant, student-centered curriculum COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON demonstrating evidence of past cura- in the Department and the University. The College of Charleston Depart- tion, collections management, using Evidence of effective and inclusive ment of Geology and Environmental collection specimens in their research, pedagogy is essential. Geosciences is accepting applications and/or museum experience. A Ph.D. is Ideal candidates will have the desire for a tenure-track faculty position at required at the time of employment. and the ability to teach courses at the Assistant, Associate, or Full Pro- For those attending, we can arrange all levels of the curriculum, including fessor rank to begin in August 2019. to meet with interested applicants first-year seminars, and to provide The successful candidate will hold a at the 2018 GSA Annual Meeting in a balance of classroom, laboratory, Ph.D. in Geosciences or closely-related Indianapolis and the 2018 AGU Fall field and research experiences for field with teaching experience and Meeting in Washington, D.C. Contact our students. Candidates should have research activity in paleobiology that Tim Callahan ([email protected]) for broad interests beyond their specialty. complement our existing strengths. information about this position. We are especially seeking a person The candidate must be able to teach who can develop and teach environ- introductory geology courses, especially TWO-YEAR TEACHING POST- mentally-themed courses for both Earth History, develop and teach one DOCTORAL POSITION majors and non-majors. The teaching or more courses in their field of spe- MINERALOGY/PETROLOGY assignment for this position is two cialty, and mentor student research. DEPAUW UNIVERSITY lab courses and one non-lab course The candidate is expected to develop DePauw University invites applications per year. Candidates are encouraged his/her own research program and to for a two-year teaching post-doctoral to maintain a productive research seek external funds to support their position in the Department of Geosci- program that involves undergradu- research activities, with relevant fields ences beginning August 2019. We are ate students. being vertebrate or invertebrate pale- seeking a broadly-trained geoscientist The successful candidate will have obiology, microevolutionary and/or with specialties in Mineralogy and/or access to the full range of available macroevolutionary patterns, response of Petrology to complement our existing faculty development opportunities organisms to global climate variability strengths in sedimentology/stratigra- including teaching, writing, speaking through time, and/or taphonomy. The phy, structural geology/tectonics, and and critical thinking workshops, funding candidate will be expected to mentor environmental geoscience. Candidates for research and travel to professional students and direct student-driven should demonstrate the potential to conferences, mentoring by current research projects. The candidate must be an outstanding teacher in the lib- faculty members, and summer stipends also be able to serve as curator of eral arts context, an active scholar for course development or research MSI_EARTH_ad_RENTALS.qxp_Layout 1 6/16/16 7:21 AM Page 1
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page 60 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Classifieds: Career Opportunities Please visit our website, www.earthmagazine.org/classifieds, for these and many other current career opportunities.
with students. Department funds are Preference will be given to applicants available to support course-related who have submitted all required mate- field trips during the academic year rials listed below by that date. (The new home of Palouse Petro Pro d u c t s . ) and field-based courses during our Application Process: Interested Preparation of thin sections for all methods of analysis. January and May terms. applicants should submit a letter of Petropoxy 154 Thin Section Epoxy Candidates should submit the interest, current vita, contact informa- Petrographic Slide Boxes following material through Interfolio tion for three professional references, (http://apply.interfolio.com/54222): and statements of teaching philosophy www.burnhampetrographics.com a cover letter, curriculum vitae, one- and research interests online at http:// [email protected] page teaching philosophy, one-page shsu.peopleadmin.com/postings/20523. summary of research interests, grad- Questions regarding the position (800) 772-3975 uate transcripts, and three letters of may be directed to: Dr. Joseph Hill, (208) 687-5951 recommendation. In their application Search Chair (email: [email protected]; Fax (208) 687-0232 materials, candidates should demon- 936-294-1560), Department of Geog- strate a commitment to fostering an raphy and Geology, Box 2148, Sam 5029 W. Lodestar Ave., Rathdrum, ID 83858 USA engagement with a diversity of ideas Houston State University, Huntsville, and experiences both in the classroom TX 77341-2148. and at the University. Review of appli- Applicants selected for the on-cam- geology is a plus but is not required. cations will begin on October 22, 2018 pus interview process will be asked to The successful candidate must have and will continue until the position supply transcripts showing appropriate a Ph.D. in geology or a closely relat- is filled. We will meet with selected conferred degrees. Official transcripts ed field at the time of appointment. candidates, if attending, at the 2018 will be required for appointment. Responsibilities will include: 1) designing GSA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, About SHSU: Sam Houston State and teaching introductory-level Earth November 5-7, 2018. Questions may University was founded in 1879 and science courses using various delivery be directed to the search committee named after Texas’ greatest hero, methods (i.e., face-to-face, flipped, chair, Dr. Frederick M. Soster, at General Sam Houston. With a total hybrid, and online courses); 2) assist- [email protected]. enrollment of approximately 21,000 ing other faculty in designing courses DePauw University is an equal students, SHSU is classified as a Doc- and in developing learning activities opportunity/affirmative action employer; toral Research Institution by the Carn- that follow sound pedagogical princi- women, members of underrepresented egie Commission on Higher Education ples; 3) supervision of undergraduate groups, and persons with disabilities and offers 79 undergraduate degree research (in science education and/or are encouraged to apply. programs, 54 masters programs, and a geological discipline); and 4) ser- five doctoral programs. The depart- vice to the institution. Other possible SAM HOUSTON STATE ment has approximately 70 geology responsibilities may include participation The Department of Geography and majors and offers degrees in geology in our multi-instructor summer field Geology at Sam Houston State Uni- and geoscience. More information is geology capstone course, development versity invites applications for a full- available on the department’s website of new upper division course(s) in the time, nine-month, tenure-track faculty at www.shsu.edu/~gel_geo. successful applicant’s area of expertise, position in groundwater hydrogeology Sam Houston State University is an and coordination of curricula design beginning August of 2019. A Ph.D. Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action among full-time faculty and adjunct degree in Geology or related Earth Plan Employer and Smoke/Drug-Free instructors. A strong commitment to Sciences is required. The appointment Workplace. All qualified applicants an evidence-based approach to teach- will be at the Assistant Professor level. will receive consideration for employ- ing and to undergraduate research More experienced candidates may be ment without regard to race, creed, are necessary. considered at the Associate Professor ancestry, marital status, citizenship, UVU, located in Orem, Utah, is a level. The position will teach a standard color, religion, sex, national origin, fast-growing comprehensive state insti- 3-3 load consisting of two sections age, veteran status, disability status, tution of higher education with over of an introductory, general education sexual orientation, or gender identity. 36,000 students and strong support for course and an upper-division specialty Sam Houston State University is an engaged learning. The main campus or elective course per semester. “at will” employer. Security sensitive sits at the western front of the Wasatch The ideal candidates will have the positions at SHSU require background Mountains, with superb opportunities interest and ability to teach Hydro- checks in accordance with Education for field-based teaching and research. geology, Environmental Geology, Code 51.215. The Department of Earth Science has and serve in a leadership role in the a 14-member faculty with a strong nascent, interdisciplinary Environmen- ASSISTANT PROFESSOR record of mentoring undergraduate tal Sciences degree. The successful OF GEOLOGY research and offers B.S. programs candidate would ideally serve as UTAH VALLEY STATE in Geology, Earth Science Education, the primary advisor/coordinator for The Department of Earth Science at Geography, and Environmental Science the Environmental Sciences degree Utah Valley University (UVU) invites & Management. It has excellent facili- and must have a commitment to a applications for a tenure-track assis- ties, including a GEODE seismograph, high-quality undergraduate teach- tant professor position in geology, pXRF, ICP-OES, SEM (EDX, EBSD, and ing program that values both field to begin August 2019. In our broad CL-capable), petrographic teaching and laboratory instruction, involve search of talented candidates, we seek microscopes, electrical resistivity and undergraduate students in research, a committed educator with expertise magnetometer instruments, as well as and the ability to work with a diverse in geoscience education, a proven a range of other geochemical, remote student body. record of effective pedagogy, and a sensing, surveying, and computing Review of complete applications passion for teaching lower-division resources. The department also has will begin December 1, 2018 and will Earth science courses. Expertise in strong ties to the University of Utah, continue until the position is filled. applied geophysics and/or engineering Brigham Young University, Utah State
page 61 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Classifieds: Career Opportunities Please visit our website, www.earthmagazine.org/classifieds, for these and many other current career opportunities.
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TABU ABOUT CEIL AGAR FORKS ONCE RUBE FREEPARDON NEUTRINO ROUND HERE SLYNESS EXTREMOPHILE TREAD RUM TOMB CAR YULELOG LEA HYMN NEE ADDER ORIENTALISTS GALOOTS EGOS OWENS PEEPHOLE BANDEDIRON PLUM ARIA ALOFT AINU DENY BOFFS NOGS
page 62 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org The AGI Foundation’s (AGIF) programs impact young peo- The Center has two distinct, but coordinated efforts: ple, educators, researchers, the public, and policymakers 1 The Critical Issues Program (CIP) provides deci- who together comprise the geoscientists and informed sion makers, educators, industry professionals, citizens of tomorrow. AGIF’s most recognized programs and the general public with scientifically-based focus on geoscience STEM educational excellence, work- information to understand important contem- force development, public awareness, and government porary issues that involve the geosciences. affairs. Widely acclaimed examples include the prestigious 2 The Education Resources Network (ERN) pro- endowed Fisher Congressional Fellowship, development vides resources that help teachers and informal of inquiry-based geoscience curricula for elementary and educators build geoscience awareness across secondary schools, conducting teacher academies to kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) popula- improve instruction of the geosciences, and the collec- tions — the people who will make decisions at tion and analysis of geoscience workforce data. personal, societal, and global levels in the future.
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page 63 • November 2018 • EARTH • www.earthmagazine.org Geologic Column A Cautionary Tale About “Sleeping” Natural Hazards
Wendell Duffield
espite its lugubrious climate, Pacific Northwest appear to be taking by younger lava flows that spilled over the rugged, verdant land- steps in the right direction, by retrofitting them — cumulative evidence of multiple scape of the greater Seattle/ bridges for instance and building rooftop landslide events as Kilauea has grown into Puget Sound area, to which evacuation sites atop schools, but there’s the volcano it is today. DI moved five years ago, is a natural still a long way to go. My wife and I keep In 1972, my wife and I and two friends attraction for humans and their many a multiweek supply of food and water on camped for a long weekend along the activities. The forested chain of Cas- hand, and we feel as prepared as possible south coast of Kilauea at a primitive cade volcanoes provides recreation and for a Cascadia “sleeper.” national park campground called Halape. business opportunities. The Salish Sea, It’s not the first time we’ve lived with In the typically humid tropical weather, with its many islands and ready access risk from natural hazards. From 1969 to we sweated profusely carrying heavy to the Pacific Ocean, invites tourism and 1972, we lived on the Big Island of Hawaii backpacks on the hike to the site, tra- marine industries. when I worked at the U.S. Geological versing 800 meters down the landslide But powerful geologic forces have Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. staircase. As the only people at the camp, shaped this part of North America in Earlier this year, the eruption activity we enjoyed the privacy and cool breezes multiple earth-shaking events — and they along the East Rift Zone of Kilauea, which of a small beach, which lay adjacent to a will do so again. Not far offshore, the Juan destroyed hundreds of homes and forced grove of coconut palm trees at the base de Fuca tectonic plate pushes beneath the evacuations, brought to mind an expe- of an ominously tall landslide headwall. western margin of the North American rience we had with another “sleeping” Three years later, on Nov. 29, 1975, Plate, building up stress on this massive natural hazard — one that still exists but a Boy Scout troop and counselors were fault that is released in earthquakes. And seems absent from current public reports camped at Halape when a shallow mag- as portions of the descending plate heat about Kilauea’s restlessness: local earth- nitude-7.7 earthquake shook Kilauea. up and melt in the subduction zone, the quake-generated tsunamis and landslides. Some of the landslide staircase blocks buoyant magma that results rises and Kilauea is built against the south-slop- moved tens of meters downward and feeds eruptions of Cascade volcanoes, ing flank of its older and much larger seaward, triggering a local tsunami that several of which are still active on geo- volcanic neighbor, Mauna Loa, whose washed across the campsite and through logic and human timescales. mass buttresses and stabilizes the north the coconut grove. Two of the campers As a career geologist, I came to my side of Kilauea. As magma rises into died and 28 more were injured. Several new home with an understanding of its the reservoir beneath Kilauea’s sum- of their pack horses were also killed. geological history and the future natural mit caldera, it lifts the ground surface When the waters calmed, the campsite events that may further shape it. The and shoulders the south side of Kilauea was about a meter below sea level, where most recent powerful Cascadia quake, toward the ocean. This process trig- it remains today. about a magnitude-9 event, occurred gers a constant background of relatively Events of this sort are an integral part on Jan. 26, 1700 — a fact we know from small-magnitude earthquakes, as well of the life of the volcano. Though rare, the testimony of drowned forests and as occasional larger ones. At the onset they are unpredictable, and like the his- tsunami deposits in the region, and of this year’s East Rift eruption, a mag- tory of major Cascadia events, should from historical records documenting the nitude-6.9 earthquake shook the area, never be forgotten during long-range arrival of tsunami waves across the Pacific moving land seaward of the lower East planning of how and where to live safely in Japan. If today’s infrastructure and Rift Zone to the south by about a meter. on active landscapes. population had existed then, the physical Over time, large pieces of the damage and death toll would have been south flank become unstable After completing his doctorate in catastrophic. Another event as power- and fall toward the sea, result- geology at Stanford University in ful as that will undoubtedly shake the ing in the shape of Kilauea’s 1967, Duffield studied volcanoes Pacific Northwest again, but predicting south flank, from sea level to at the U.S. Geological Survey for exactly when is impossible. Considering near the summit caldera, being 30 years. In retirement, he has such uncertainty, wisdom dictates that a giant staircase of landslide authored several books on vol- we practice the Boy Scout motto and headwalls. Some of these “ris- canoes, including “Chasing Lava,” be prepared, both as a community and ers” are hundreds of meters about his time at Kilauea. The personally. Government agencies in the tall and are partially draped Credit: Anne Knowles views expressed are his own.
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