Geoscience Bulletin Board – 15 January 2024 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
M7.6 earthquake off Noto Peninsula in Japan caused up to 13 feet of tectonic uplift along coast
Caldera or crater – what’s the difference? All calderas are craters but not all craters are calderas
Texas RR Commission directs O&G companies to stop injecting production waters in Permian Basin following detection of seven small earthquakes
How magma & water shaped the Columbia River Gorge
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/how-magma-and-water-shaped-the-iconic-columbia-river-gorge/ar-AA1mDH8h
- Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj3357
Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) Project – exploring possibility of drilling into magma chamber
Hybrid wholphin is member of the dolphin family -Kekaimalu is fertile hybrid
SCOTUS brings the gavel down on proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/supreme-court-shuts-down-alaskan-pebble-mine-ambitions/ar-AA1mHkwW
Submergent east coast of the US continues to subside – facilitated by human activity
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-impacts-are-real-new-satellite-images-show-east-coast-sinking-faster-than-we-thought/ar-AA1mGquv
- Paper: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/1/pgad426/7504900
Oceanic cycling of nutrients
- https://eos.org/editor-highlights/how-nutrients-get-back-up-to-the-surface-ocean
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023AV000973
Some cratons may have soggy bottoms – cratonic Mantle metasomatism
- https://eos.org/editor-highlights/do-some-cratons-have-soggy-bottoms
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023AV001014
National Park Service proposes to rehabilitate Furnace Creek & Cow Creek watersheds in Death Valley – Draft EA
- https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2024/01/nps-proposing-rehabilitate-water-systems-death-valley-national-park
- Draft EA: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=297&projectID=104695&documentID=133873
December 1867 flood in Washington & Oregon
- https://phys.org/news/2024-01-washington-deluge-region-potential.html
- Paper: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000324
World to break the much-touted 1.5-degree Paris Accord goal – but the world will not melt or boil – geologist know “been there, done that” and the world and life went on
PFAS forever chemicals circulating in both the Atlantic & Arctic Oceans
The futility and potential adverse impacts of seeding the sky to geoengineer the climate
- https://phys.org/news/2024-01-uncertainty-abounds-seeding-sky-climate.html
- https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL105889
K-Feldspar dust particles act as nucleation particles for cloud formation
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240109121118.htm
- Paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03235
Fibonacci Spiral created in the ocean by humpback whales – bubble-net feeding - video
Credit for unearthing first dinosaur bones may really belong to Africans some 500 years before the Brits
Reports of declining phytoplankton in the North Atlantic may have been greatly exaggerated
Analysis of meteorite suggests planetesimals that accreted to form Earth contained water
Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupted in Indonesia – highest alert level
Challenging traditional theories of Archean Plate Tectonics
Avalanches at “Palisades Tahoe” (aka: Squaw Valley) ski resort
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/searches-underway-after-avalanche-at-california-ski-resort/ar-AA1mLJYy
- https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/second-avalanche-reported-at-palisades-tahoe-no-one-impacted/
Explaining the physics behind the Tahoe avalanche
Complex geologic history of Melanesian Border Plateau in the Pacific – active since Cretaceous
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/gigantic-superstructure-growing-since-the-age-of-dinosaurs-discovered-in-the-ocean/ar-AA1mOnL8
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X23005605
Giant ape species Gigantopithecus fossilized teeth carried into cave by rodents – postulated that they died out because failure to adapt to changing climate
- https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/10/world/largest-ape-gigantopithecus-blacki-extinction-scn/index.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06900-0
Lake Powell is only 43 feet higher than it was one year ago – one wet year did not end the drought
Partial dam failure causes flooding on Yantic River in Connecticut
Update on geological activity in Reykjanes, Iceland – magma accumulation, seismic activity, tectonic uplift
Legacy of the uranium mill that operated in Uravan, Colorado – a federal Superfund site that was part of the Manhattan Project
Timing of kimberlite eruptions following pulling apart of tectonic plates
- https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/geological-event-earth-crust-diamonds-2666920066
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06193-3
Deep Dust Project - Working to unrav3l climate history of Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1030771
- https://www.ou.edu/news/articles/2024/january/university-of-oklahoma-deep-dust-project-works-to-unravel-earths-climate-past-in-oklahomas-anadarko-basin
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Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 15 January 2024 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence of alien life – Fermi Paradox
- https://www.iflscience.com/zoo-hypothesis-or-nothing-new-unnerving-answer-to-the-fermi-paradox-72288
“Corrected” jobs growth data for US – that is not economic growth but is Big Government getting bigger
Trypillia culture raised cattle – not for food but for their manure to fertilize lentil & grain crops for humans
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/cattle-in-the-earliest-european-cities-weren-t-bred-as-food/ar-AA1mzJQo
- Paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2312962120
Pangolins – endangered species – estimated 1M+ giant ground pangolins poached over last 10 years
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/protecting-pangolins-farmers-set-aside-land-after-creature-comes-out-of-47-years-in-hiding/ar-AA1mAuqg
- Pangolin Project in Kenya: https://www.thepangolinproject.org/#whatwedo
Typical levels of radiation exposure during airplane flights even while flying to Chernobyl
Hoping Americans will change their diet and eat lots of silver carp (aka invasive Asian carp) – rebranding copi on menus – “Eat MO Carp”
It is “Black Snow” season in the Everglades as sugar cane fields are burned – employment & health risks
Lab leaks & accidents up 50 in Britain since covid emerged – “experts” call for tightened regulation – but what about the illegal Chinese lab set up in California?
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/lab-leaks-and-accidents-up-50pc-as-fears-grow-dangerous-viruses-and-bacteria-could-escape/ar-AA1myMIB
- https://scrippsnews.com/stories/shock-after-shock-a-visit-to-china-s-secret-biolab-in-california/
NIH enlisted Chinese scientist to “supercharge” coronaviruses before the covid-19 plandemic
What “free health care” for illegal aliens means in California with taxpayers footing the bill for $2.6B
50 counties in Texas have officially declared an invasion under Article IV Section 4 of the US Constitution and Article IV Section 7 of the Texas Constitution – follow disaster declarations
Avoid buying these fish for dinner
Green failure in Europe – warning for the US: de-legislate net zero & promote full transparency
- https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/01/07/new-report-highlights-green-failure-in-europe-and-warns-america/
- Report: https://assets.realclear.com/files/2023/12/2321_2320_realclear-report-rupert-darwall-v7_1.pdf
Influx of illegal aliens into Whitewater, Wisconsin, causing serious crime, sexual assaults, skyrocketing unlicensed drivers, over-occupied housing … all overwhelming law enforcement
Vaccine manufacturer facing federal civil rights complaint alleging racial & sex discrimination that includes specific hiring targets for minority employees – fostering culture of systemic racism
Perspective: woke madness may finally be peaking – “how dangerous identity politics could be”
Court challenge launched over governments plat to conduct environmental assessment of impacts of Highway 413 route on tiny western chorus frog in Canada – may change highway route in Ontario
DO NOT drink the bottled water – contains massive amounts of micro- and nano-plastics that can pose significant toxic health risks – small enough to invade human organs and cells
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/bottled-water-contains-thousands-of-nanoplastics-so-small-they-can-invade-the-body-s-cells-study-says/ar-AA1mER3i
- Paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2300582121
Countries with largest Gigawatt nuclear power plants: South Korea, Canada, China, Ukraine & France
Commonly prescribed asthma drug prescribed for children 6 to 14 years of age linked to mental side effects – drug carries FDA black box warning – aggression, agitation, suicidal thoughts
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/commonly-prescribed-asthma-drug-singulair-linked-to-mental-side-effects/ar-AA1mLz0C
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/despite-warnings-millions-still-use-asthma-meds-linked-to-suicides/ar-AA1mMjEP
“prioritizing large-scale societal change” – we have seen the results of such efforts over the past 3 years with disastrous consequences as they still push the “man-made global warming” mythology
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/scientists-outline-a-bold-solution-to-climate-change-biodiversity-loss-social-injustice/ar-AA1mH8DW
- Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad059e
- Paper: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biad108/7486329
Biden administration throwing nearly $1B at “green” bus program described as unfeasible
Rabies is an ancient, unpredictable and potentially fatal disease – be aware
Arizona Governor commits to updating laws to protect groundwater supplies in the state
Fauci holds true to form & flip flops yet again during Congressional testimony
Consecutive year of population decline in China
Slaughter & sale of dogs for meat in South Korea to become illegal in 2027 – but consumption of dog meat will not be illegal
California estimates about 4,500 mountain lions in first population census in 40 years – concerns for habitat loss & fragmentation leading to inbreeding, exposure to rat poison & being killed
The problems with palm oil
Double brood of cicadas coming in 2024
Visualizing your gut microbiome – without this microbiome you would die
2023 Billion-Dollar Disaster list – natural hazards are acts of God – disasters are act of man
- https://theconversation.com/2023s-billion-dollar-disasters-list-shattered-the-us-record-with-28-big-weather-and-climate-disasters-amid-earths-hottest-year-on-record-220634
- List: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/1980-2023
- Interactive: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/
CWD spreading in deer in Texas
World to break the much-touted 1.5-degree Paris Accord goal – but the world will not melt or boil – geologist know “been there, done that” and the world and life went on
Humans have caused extinction of 1,400 species of birds since Late Pleistocene
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/12/231219124404.htm
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43445-2
Tribal-led restoration initiatives of bison & grassland ecosystem will receive $1.5M
New model incorporates human reactions to flood risk assessment
- https://new.nsf.gov/news/new-model-adds-human-reactions-flood-risk
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46195-9
Humans disrupting natural salt cycle on global scale making air, soil & freshwater saltier
Death of hundreds of swans in nature reserve on Lake Karakol in Kazakhstan
More than 50% of WHO transgender health policy committee members have NO medical background but are well versed as activists
Reduction in GHG emissions by US has not resulted in any cooling of the climate
- https://apnews.com/article/greenhouse-gas-emissions-climate-biden-coal-oil-2184db68945d5b10864c2525b9204ef7
- Report: https://rhg.com/research/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2023/
Perspective: how to fight pseudoscience?
90% of chemicals identified as potential breast carcinogens found in everyday products in homes & workplaces – more than 900 chemicals
- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10012024/everday-chemicals-breast-cancer-risk/
- Paper: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp13233
New website gives “promise” of transparency as California spends $180B on infrastructure – but will it reveal actual spending – wasteful or not?
- https://statescoop.com/california-infrastructure-website-2024/
- Interactive Website: https://build.ca.gov/
Vaxxing & mandates do not prevent covid but do promote mutations of virus to be more infectious – “patients dying every week is unacceptable” but they need to remember death is inevitable
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/1-500-americans-dying-from-covid-each-week-despite-vaccines-treatments/ar-AA1mMW4B
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/nearly-10-000-died-from-covid-19-last-month-fueled-by-holiday-gatherings-and-new-variant-who-says/ar-AA1mLiC6
Getting reinfected with covid multiple times – isn’t that like some people getting frequent colds (which can turn into pneumonia) due to weaker immune systems?
Congenital syphilis crisis – cases up more than 1,000% since 2012 but not considered a “public health emergency” by federal government – little financial incentive to increase production of penicillin – increasing antibiotic resistance in syphilis
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/opinion-call-the-mother-child-syphilis-crisis-what-it-is-a-public-health-emergency/ar-AA1mLgl4
- https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/science-falls-behind-as-syphilis-stages-another-comeback-70967
- Paper on antibiotic resistance: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9785152/
- Paper: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(23)00219-7/fulltext
Brucellosis in humans spreading from dogs in UK after spreading from imported dogs to local canines
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/brucella-canis-spreads-to-humans-what-to-know/ar-AA1mMCDM
- Background: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/brucellosis-update-akc-canine-health-foundation/
Use of medical marijuana leads to abnormal heart rhythm
- https://talker.news/2024/01/11/study-unveils-potentially-dangerous-side-effect-of-medical-marijuana/
- Paper: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad834/7500071
Some water quality improvement in Upper Mississippi River Basin but threats of road salt & lead emerging
- https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/how-clean-is-the-upper-mississippi-river-new-report-finds-signs-of-improvement-and-emerging/article_93bd5482-1146-540d-b00d-04bbd133c832.html
- Report: https://umrba.org/sites/default/files/documents/UMRBA%20How%20Clean%20is%20the%20River%20Report%20December%202023.pdf
Big Pharma promises the “Golden Age of Vaccines” is here – but most do not prevent illness - you, too, can be a guinea pig – promise vaccines have fewer side effects than drugs? Are less profitable
Recycling metal after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century in Britain
Risks of taking ibuprofen (Advil or in other OTC products) – OTC or even it is prescribed
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/critical-insights-doctor-highlights-risks-of-using-ibuprofen/ar-AA1keVQ3
- Background: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682159.html
- NSAIDs: https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-the-difference-between-motrin-and-advil-770459
Toxic political battles around vaxxing do not necessarily apply to vaccinations for other diseases
Chinese gain-of-function research creates “pangolin coronavirus” 100% fatal to mice
EcoHealth Alliance – previously linked to Wuhan Lab – reports discovery of new infectious bat virus
What you eat may impact your lifespan - dietary restriction can delay aging and slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/scientists-identify-how-dietary-restriction-slows-brain-aging-and-increases-lifespan/ar-AA1mPkfQ
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44343-3
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Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board 15 January 2024 - compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
EPA & Alabama Power to begin settlement negotiations on 21M tons of toxic sludge in unlined pit near Mobile Bay that continues to pollute groundwater
- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06012024/epa-mobile-alabama-coal-ash-negotiations/
- Dismissed lawsuit: https://www.scribd.com/document/696893023/Dubose-Order
Legal battle on-going over proposed sea wall along coast in Half Moon Bay, California – residents still have not figured out that structural controls do not work to stop Nature
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-legal-battle-over-sea-wall-construction-could-reshape-state-s-coast-beaches/ar-AA1mBE6v
- https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2024/01/07/residents-concerned-storms-will-sink-coastal-homes/
Port of Virginia proclaims being powered by 100 “clean energy” aiming for “carbon-neutral” – completely ignoring the emissions from producing all the raw materials and construction of wind & solar
Predicting changing demographics of coastal populations
- https://phys.org/news/2024-01-coastal-populations-age-sharply-climate.html
- Paper: Climate migration amplifies demographic change and population aging | PNAS
Norway approves genetically modified rapeseed oil for use in fish feed for aquaculture – but doing aquaculture means introducing GMO feed into the ocean with unknown consequences
NCRB asking to increase insurance rates for coastal homes by average 42.4% -
- https://www.wect.com/2024/01/08/coastal-homeowners-could-see-up-994-insurance-rate-increase/
- Proposed increases: https://www.ncdoi.gov/2024-territories-ncrb-proposed-rates/open
Documenting distribution & threats to 2 otter species along fast-developing coastal area of Thailand
- https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/camera-traps-help-identify-conservation-needs-of-thailands-coastal-otters/
- Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003955
Paper: Coastal vulnerability assessment of West African coast to flooding & erosion
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-48612-5
- SEDAC Data sets: https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/wacvm
Port Aransas Ferry to Harbor Island upgrades expected to cost more than $63M (video)
Drone footage of hundreds of manatees in warm waters of Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River in SW Florida
Legal battles over “right to build” seawalls along California coast
Built in the 1970s “temporary nuclear coffin” on Runit Island is old and cracking – dome is only 1.5-feet thick with diameter of 377 feet built to “contain” nuclear waste & soil contaminated with plutonium
Contract signed for $135M rebuild of waterfront park & pier on Staten Island
Critically endangered North Atlantic right whale calf is likely to die – gashed with propeller wounds
10-foot tsunami recorded at Shaki nuclear power plant in Japan after M7.5 earthquake on New Years Day
Bypassing the Panama Canal
US shifted geographical control to extended continental shelf (ECS) along East & West Coasts, Mariana Islands and in Gulf of Mexico – increased area by roughly 386,000 square miles
"The wish to believe, even against evidence, fuels all the pseudosciences from astrology to creationism." - Issac Asimov
All articles listed relate to the respective discipline: Geoscience, Environmental Science, and Coastal Zone Management.
Articles are selected to help broaden one's thinking and awareness as a scientist to consider the full spectrum of perspectives on any given topic.
Popularity does not make the reigning idea correct. Just wait for the next paradigm shift.
Posted by: EJ Hanford | Sunday, 25 February 2024 at 08:37 AM
Hmm... some of this has absolutely nothing to do with geosciences. Elaine seems to be veering further and further into the right's culture war ridiculousness.
Posted by: Matt H | Wednesday, 17 January 2024 at 12:31 AM