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Mapping undersea dunes near San Francisco
Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 @ 12:40 am by Dave Schumaker
Using sonar devices and some high tech 3D gadgetry, researchers at the USGS mapped large undersea sand dunes that are present on the ocean floor near San Francisco. These sand dunes are up to 30 feet high and extend for upwards of 700 feet. They are located where the bay meets the Pacific Ocean, near the Golden Gate Bridge.
The purpose of the survey was to help researchers better understand coastal erosion, as well as characterize changes that have happened in the bay over the last 50 years.
Scientists previously mapped parts of the bay two years ago in order to look at the distribution of bed forms (dunes) within the bay itself, as well as image a waste disposal area south of Alcatraz that is used to dump sediment dredged up from the bottom of the bay.
Tutankhamun’s Pectoral and Meteors
Posted on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 @ 9:39 pm by Dave Schumaker
King Tutankhamun, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who died at a young age, has long been a thing of fascination for people of all ages and from all walks of life. Now geologists have a reason to be even more interested!
Recent studies carried out by an Italian mineralogist and an Egyptian geologist found that King Tut’s Pectoral (a part of his beautiful necklace), contains a piece of glass that is much older than the Egyptian civilization. This perplexed the scientists and they decided to look for an answer as to where this glass could have come from.
The hypothesis they came up with involves a meteor exploding in the atmosphere in a remote area of the Sahara Desert, (similar to the Tunguska Event in Siberia during 1908).
They based their hypothesis on observations made during World War II when the first atomic bomb was exploded above the desert floor in New Mexico. A thin layer of sand surrounding the area turned to glass.
M7.7 Hits Indonesia, Causes Tsunami
Posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 @ 10:50 am by Dave Schumaker
According to the USGS, a M7.7 earthquake hit off the coast of the Indonesian island of Java yesterday, creating a 6 foot tsunami that is reported to have traveled nearly 1km inland in some places.
At the time of this writing, 80 people are confirmed dead.
This earthquake is not related to the M9.3 earthquake that struck north of this area in December 26, 2004.