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Lucky strike in search for Earth's most common mineral
New Scientist
Earth's lower mantle is largely composed of magnesium iron silicate, in the form of a mineral with a perovskite crystal structure. Given that the lower mantle is about 2,000 kilometers thick, this mineral makes up 38 percent of Earth's entire volume, so it is easily our planet's most common mineral. It is surprisingly rare at Earth's surface, though. So rare, in fact, that geologists have struggled to find a natural sample. And the rulebook is strict: a mineral can't be formally named with no natural sample to describe it. Now, researchers have finally discovered a sample that meets the criteria.
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Asteroid impact 3.3 billion years ago 'dwarfed the dinosaur-extinction event'
The Daily Galaxy
A massive asteroid almost as wide as Rhode Island and about three to five times larger than the impact thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs slammed into Earth 3.3 billion years ago. "We knew it was big, but we didn't know how big," said Donald Lowe, a geologist at Stanford University. A 2014 study revealed the power and scale of a cataclysmic event that is thought to have created geological features found in a South African region known as the Barberton Greenstone Belt. It contains some of the oldest rocks on the planet.
Geologists discover widespread seismic activity in Indiana
Lexington Herald-Leader
Using a 140-station seismic network, geologists with Indiana University have discovered widespread seismic activity along the Ste. Genevieve Seismic Zone, suggesting a greater possibility of earthquakes in the Tri-State. In addition to being near populated areas, the Ste. Genevieve Seismic Zone is an area of geological interest. The area underlies the Ste. Genevieve fault zone, near the divide between the billion-year-old Ozark Dome and the younger sedimentary rock of the Illinois basin.
AIPG 2015 Membership Dues — Now available to pay online
AIPG
Annual membership dues are due and payable Jan. 1, 2015, in accordance with the bylaws. You are encouraged to log in to the AIPG Member portion of the website to pay your dues for 2015. Paying online helps save on printing and postage costs. A few straightforward instructions and the link follow for paying online. Credit card payments can be taken over the phone 303-412-6205 or fax your dues statement with credit card information to 303-253-9220, or mailing address is below. Call if you have any questions 303-412-6205.
Click on "Member Login" to pay dues, make a donation and purchase insignia items. Your login is your email and the system has you setup your password if you haven't already. You must login to pay dues, search the directory or make changes to your record.
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The Foundation of the American Institute of Professional Geologists
AIPG
The Foundation of the American Institute of Professional Geologists has been established to: make educational grants to support individual scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in the geosciences; prepare literature with educational content about the role of geosciences as a critical component of the sciences and of the national economy and public health and safety; make grants to classroom geoscience teachers for classroom teaching aids; support development of education programs for the science and engineering community; support geoscience internships in the nation's capital; support geological field trips for K-12; and support educational outreach programs to the public on the state and local level.
Donate online.
AIPG Section Newsletters now available online
AIPG
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ME | PhD | Certificate
Designed for geologists
and engineers working in the geotechnical industry.
Live Stream Video, Collaborative Software, Archived Classes
gtech.mst.edu
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AIPG Journal — The Professional Geologist (TPG)
AIPG
The AIPG quarterly journal, The Professional Geologist, October/November/December 2014 issue is now available online.
AIPG's GeoCare Benefits
AIPG
AIPG's GeoCare Benefits Members' Private Medical Insurance Exchange is now accepting applications for health insurance effective on Jan. 1, 2015, without exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
The Members' Private Medical Insurance Exchange is a web-based marketplace in which you can choose from the multiple insurance companies’ plan designs, benefit options, and premium rates available in your state.
To view the Exchange, visit www.geocarebenefits.com and click on the Open Enrollment banner. You may also reach the Exchange by phone at 877-739-7845.
AIPG Directory of Geoscience Products & Services
AIPG
AIPG is excited to announce the recent launch of the latest edition of our new online buyer's guide, the Directory of Geoscience Products & Services.
This industry-specific search engine efficiently connects your company with geoscience professionals.
Please be aware that you may be contacted by our publishing partner, MultiView, during the coming weeks in order to verify the information currently displayed in your organization's listing. If you have any questions about this program, please don't hesitate to reach out.
You may also contact MultiView directly at 800-816-6710 or by email at aipg@multiview.com.
Request for award nominations
AIPG
Nominations for awards, accompanied by a supporting statement should be sent via mail (to AIPG, 12000 Washington Street, Thornton, Colorado 80241-3134), fax (303-253-9220) or email by Jan. 15 to the AIPG National Headquarters. National awards include the Ben H. Parker Memorial Medal, the Martin Van Couvering Memorial Award, the John T. Galey, Sr. Memorial Public Service Award, Honorary Membership and the Outstanding Achievement Award. (Click on each link to go to the award's description.) Click here for AIPG National Awards Nomination Form in pdf.
AIPG hooded pullover sweatshirt
AIPG
 This pullover hooded sweatshirt is 7.8-ounce, 50/50 cotton/poly PrintPro® XP low pill, air jet spun yarn, with high-stitch density fleece, two-ply hood with grommets and dyed-to-match draw-cord, set-in sleeves, front pouch pocket and embroidered AIPG logo with pick and gavel. Available colors: Ash, Black, Deep Forest, Deep Red, Deep Royal, Gold, Kelly Green, Light Blue, Light Steel, Maroon, Navy, Orange, Pale Pink, Purple, Smoke Grey, White. Available sizes: Small-3XL.
| Date |
Event |
More Information |
| Dec. 15-19 |
2014 AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco |
AGU |
| Jan. 1, 2015 |
Deadline for AIPG membership dues |
Pay Online |
| Jan. 16, 2015 |
Call for Abstracts due for the 5th Annual AIPG Michigan Section
Technical Workshop: Site Characterization |
AIPG Michigan Section |
| Feb. 13, 2015 |
AIPG National Executive Committee Meeting |
Tucson, Arizona |
| March 2015 |
AIPG/AGWT Shale-Gas Development and Water Issues Conference |
Houston |
| April 2015 |
AIPG Hydraulic Fracturing Conference |
TBD |
| June 24-25, 2015 |
2015 Energy Exposition with Technical Sessions Presented by AIPG |
Billings, Montana |
| Sept. 19-22, 2015 |
AIPG 2015 National Conference, Anchorage, Alaska |
Hosted by AIPG National and co-hosted by AIPG Alaska Section |
Breakup of ancient supercontinent Pangea hints at future fate of Atlantic Ocean
University of Alberta via Phys.org
Pangea, the supercontinent that contained most of the Earth's landmass until about 180 million years ago, endured an apocalyptic undoing during the Jurassic period, when the Atlantic Ocean opened up. This is well understood. But what is less clear is how Pangea came into being in the first place. According to researchers, the answers may be found in the best known of the ancient oceans, Iapetus, which lay between the ancient core of North America and parts of what are now Europe, Africa and South America.
Scientists may be cracking mystery of big 1872 earthquake
The Seattle Times
Geologists may be close to cracking one of the biggest seismological mysteries in the Pacific Northwest: the origin of a powerful earthquake that rattled seven states and provinces when Ulysses S. Grant was president. Preliminary evidence points to a newly discovered fault near the town of Entiat in Chelan County, Washington. The find adds to a growing body of evidence that Central and Eastern Washington are more quake-prone than previously thought.
Scientists produce new map of ocean currents
Sci-News.com
The GOCE satellite is the first space mission to employ "gradiometry," the measurement of gravitational differences between an ensemble of test masses inside the satellite. Although its flight is over, the wealth of data continues to be exploited to improve our understanding of ocean circulation, sea level, ice dynamics and Earth's interior. Using GOCE and ground data, researchers have produced the most comprehensive map of ocean currents to date.
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The 'Potsdam Gravity Potato' shows variations in Earth's gravity
Universe Today
People tend to think of gravity here on Earth as a uniform and consistent thing. Stand anywhere on the globe, at any time of year, and you'll feel the same downward pull of a single G. But in fact, Earth's gravitational field is subject to variations that occur over time. This is due to a combination of factors, such as the uneven distributions of mass in the oceans, continents, and deep interior, as well as climate-related variables like the water balance of continents, and the melting or growing of glaciers. And now, for the first time ever, these variations have been captured in the image known as the "Potsdam Gravity Potato."
University of Delaware professor co-authors Nature Geoscience paper on technique to date groundwater
UDaily
Neil Sturchio, chair of the Department of Geological Sciences at University of Delaware, is co-author of a Nature Geoscience paper detailing a pioneering new technique to date groundwater. Knowing the age of the groundwater provides important clues about the sustainability of water resources, information that is particularly important in dry or arid climates. The technique involves measuring Krypton-81, a rare isotope produced by cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere.
'Man-eating sand dune' stumps experts
Perth Now
Geologists are trying to work out how a six-year-old boy was buried alive in a sand dune, in an event they say defies the laws of physics. ScienceAlert.com reports that the boy was playing on the Mount Baldy sand dune in Lake Michigan. At 37 meters, it is the tallest sand dune on the southern shore of the lake and is believed to be 4,500 years old. Scientists say a wild storm meant the dune was able to shift its mass in ways they don't yet understand.
Library of rocks a hidden gem in the Midlands
The State
Like the library in most any community, the one off Broad River Road has plenty of information in the rows of shelves lining the building's interior. But there are no books. This library is filled with rocks, dirt and minerals. Slices of the Earth's crust, unearthed by geologists through the years, are kept in the 160-foot-long metal warehouse behind a small government office in northwest Columbia, South Carolina. Known as cores, these tubular slivers provide insight into South Carolina's varied and sometimes complex geology.
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