Geological Sciences
Indiana Geological Survey scientists at Indiana University will participate in a new $67 million U.S. Department of Energy project to test the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide at underground sites in Ohio and Indiana. The evaluations are being carried out with the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, a research consortium of government, academy and industry researchers led by Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Laboratories.
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The asteroid presumed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the Earth with such force that carbon deep in the Earth's crust liquefied, rocketed skyward, and formed tiny airborne beads that blanketed the planet, say scientists from the U.S., U.K., Italy, and New Zealand in this month's Geology. If confirmed, the discovery suggests environmental circumstances accompanying the 65-million-year-old extinction event were slightly less dramatic than previously thought.
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In the wake of the earthquake that shook the Midwest early last Friday, there have been a series of aftershocks associated with the event. Much can be learned about the processes of seismically active zones in the Midwest by studying these aftershocks. Indiana University Professor of Geological Studies Michael Hamburger answers some commonly asked questions regarding the aftershocks, how they are being studied, what can be learned from them, and the area and event from which they originate.
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The Indiana University Department of Geological Sciences has quickly mobilized, sending two field teams to deploy instruments in the region of Friday morning's earthquakes. The seismographs and Global Positioning System (GPS) units being deployed will record aftershocks, half a dozen of which have already occurred.
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Geologists have long thought muds will only settle when waters are quiet, but new research by Indiana University Bloomington and Massachusetts Institute of Technology geologists shows muds will accumulate even when currents move swiftly. This may seem a trifling matter at first, but understanding the deposition of mud could significantly impact a number of public and private endeavors, from harbor and canal engineering to oil reservoir management and fossil fuel prospecting.
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The Geological Society of America gave its highest service award to Indiana University Bloomington Geological Sciences Department Chair Abhijit Basu at the professional society's annual meeting last week. The award specifically acknowledges Basu's expansion of the society's publications program. The number of books published by the GSA has doubled during Basu's 10-year editorial term. Basu has also been on GSA's publications committee for 10 years.
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