Tectonic blog

• May 3: The final exam is now available. Please follow instructions and submit your answers by the due date.

  Reminder: the Physical Sciences student awards picnic is tomorrow—see signs in Science Hall. All students are welcome!

• April 29: Our final review session of the semester will deal with tectonic hazards including earthquakes (johnston.pdf, stein.pdf & tect_figs12.pdf) and tsunamis (hyndman.pdf, geist.pdf & tect_figs12.pdf). As we approach the end of the semester, the blog will close for further student contributions.

  Note: the final exam is scheduled May 4-8. It may be put online early (May 3) to give students a head start.

• M.S. presentations: We have two graduate students completing their research projects and giving seminars this week! All students who attend will receive 2 bonus points (for each seminar) for class participation.
  • Gina Manders: An analysis of the Neosho River and Spring River basins for spatial and temporal variabilities and chemical trends in the Tri-state Mining District of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Monday at 2 o'clock, SH 131.

  • John Barker: Equus beds aquifer in Wichita. Tuesday at 1 o'clock. A working draft will be available in SH 119 for viewing.

• April 27: From Marco Allain: NASA is testing GPS technology to see if it can be used to monitor and measure large earthquakes in LiveScience report.

  From Molly Reardon: I stumbled upon this website while doing research. Living in eastern New Mexico, with relatively few tectonic and geologic features, this report was a welcome relief...highlighting the tectonics and geology of the Llano Estacado which spans eastern New Mexico and western Texas.

  From Alex Moser: The United Plates of America discusses the continental plate formation that makes up America. Really great site with good info, but clearly presented and pictures to accompany the text. Check it out.

  From Steve Pouech: My blog submission this week is an article about the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the location of three of the most powerful earthquakes in the recorded history of North America.

• April 25: From Nicolle Scott: I thought I could share on the blog that this week is National Parks Week, and Discovery's Planet Green channel is having specials all week on different national parks in the United States. Last night they showed some great video of the Grand Canyon. Their website has some really good pictures and information about some amazing geological structures in America.

  Reminder: No on-campus review session today.

• April 23: Our subject this week is earthquakes in continental crust; see johnston.pdf and stein.pdf as well as USGS plate tectonics & people and tect_figs12.pdf. Summary III is due this week. Several graduate webpage reports are now available—see global tectonics (2012).

  Reminder: Your instructor will be out of town this week on Wednesday, so there will be no on-campus review session. Students should continue with reading assignments and the article summary.

  Two positions are available at the Kansas Geological Survey Well Sample Library for Temporary Geology Assistants. The position deadline is Sunday, April 29th. See position description and application.

• April 19: From Steve Pouech: The article “Terranes” by David G. Howell got me thinking about my own back yard here in Connecticut, and what the terrane geology might be like. This site explains which terranes make up Connecticut. Related links to Connecticut geology and rifting.

  From your instructor: Here's a new site with summary information about many aspects of tectonics; go to Volcanic and Geological Resources.

• April 18: From Alex Moser: I found this article about potential life forms on Mars. The class tie-in is that scientists are speculating an asteroid collision could have fostered life deep below the surface on Mars. Interesting connection as the first Simpson paper was about beginning continent formation from comet impacts. Thought others might find it as intriguing as me.

• April 17: From Lindsey Gerber: I found this article that The Geological Society of America posted from Wired Science Blogs that had updates of eruptions for Costa Rica, Mexico, Italy, Alaska and Iceland. It has some pictures of the eruptions also.

• April 16: Wichita, Kansas was hit hard by a tornado over this past weekend of wild weather. That same tornado followed the Kansas Turnpike toward the northeast to near Cassoday, but it lifted and dissipated before reaching Emporia. Our normal tornado season here is May and early June.

  We finish up continental tectonics this week with articles on continental drift and evolution (kurten.pdf) and the mid-Cretaceous superplume episode (larson.pdf). See also tect_figs11.pdf as well as a special presentation on Eifel volcanism, Germany (tect_figs13.pdf).

  The third summary is due next week on a Scientific American article from part III of the schedule. Students may submit preview summaries this week. Also graduate web presentations are due this week.

  Note: Your instructor will be out of town next week on Wednesday, so there will not be an on-campus review session. Students should continue with reading assignments and the article summary as usual.

• April 13 pm: From Alex Moser: I was looking into large subduction zone earthquakes after the recent string of Sumatra quakes. I came across this article which shows just how powerful some of these subduction processes can be! Go to Chile earthquake. This isn't even the most recent one! How much shorter will our days get?!

• April 13 am: From Brenda Tozer: Living on the east coast brought me to this article that explains the marginal structure of the east coast. I was not aware of all of the information on the webpage.

• April 12: From Cheyenne Acree: Stop-and-go plate tectonics from ScienceNews.

  From Nicolle Scott: I read this article on CNN today and thought it might be interesting for the blog, regarding a tsunami watch due to earthquakes in the Pacific. Go to tsunami watch lifted.

• April 11 pm: From Lindsey Gerber: I found this article about the earthquakes that hit northern Sumatra today.

• April 11 am: Two major earthquakes (>8 magnitude) took place today in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. They were accompanied by many lesser quakes. See USGS map and zoom in on Indonesia.

  From Amy Brownlee: I was amazed by the pictures of Iceland when we were learning about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge System, so naturally I was intrigued by the news of possible volcanic activity going on there now. Here is a link to an article warning us of the potential hazards to be brought on by the eruption of Katla.

• April 10: From Steve Pouech: Here is a satellite photograph of the Oman Mountains with a description of its ancient history. A word of caution, it’s real easy to get lost wandering around this website. Go to Oman crust.

• April 9 pm: Last Friday, the rocks and minerals class visited Silver City and Rose Dome in Woodson County. These unusual pipe structures will be relevant for this course next week in connection with the mid-Cretaceous superplume episode. We were able to conduct kite aerial photography at Silver City.

  From Richard Landzettel: I thought this would be an interesting entry. This is a drawing that shows the depth of ocean features, along with some interesting tidbits about pressure, naval vessels, and oil wells, etc. Go to xkcd.

• April 9 am: Typical spring weather has returned to eastern Kansas with a light frost on Emporia roof tops Easter morning. Our focus this week is terranes and western North America (howell.pdf, jones.pdf, tect_figs10.pdf). See also USGS terranes and a special presentation on the Cascade Mountains.

  Reminder: Graduate (ES 767) webpage reports are due next week.

  From Steve Pouech: This week’s blog submission is a website that has tons of information about the Himalayan Mountains: history, geology, glaciers, climate, flora and fauna, and lots more. If a person has a desire to visit this region, I believe this would be a good site to begin planning your trip.

• April 5: From Alex Moser: I was intrigued by the USGS site on the Himalayas and found this NOVA site that also speaks to the birth of Everest and the Himalayas. Really simple, straight-forward information with some added interaction the USGS site missed. Hope this helps.

• April 4: From Gentry Holaday: USGS offering $7 million in grants for earthquake research. Applications for distributing grant money are due this May.

• April 3: From Marco Allain: Much of the Japan's Pacific shore could be inundated by a tsunami more than 34 meters (112 feet) high generated from a 9.0 intensity earthquake like the one last year. Last year the Fukushima nuclear plant nearly went into meltdown because it was only designed to withstand a 6-meter (20-foot) tsunami. The actual surge was 14 meters (45 feet) high. An earlier forecast in 2003 put the potential maximum height of such a tsunami at less than 20 meters (66 feet). See giant tsunami.

• April 2: The month of April arrived on a high note yesterday with a record-breaking temperature of 90 °F in Emporia. Another record high is forecast for today!

  Our focus this week is selected mountain systems. See molnar.pdf, simpson2.pdf and tect_figs09.pdf as well as USGS Himalayas.

  As promised earlier to on-campus students, here is a special presentation on the Morton Gneiss.

  From Amy Brownlee: Here's a link to a website I found regarding mountains. It describes the four different ways in which mountains are formed.

• March 30: Your instructor will attend the Kansas Academy of Science annual meeting tomorrow, where he's giving a poster presentation on the Kansas wind industry. See KAS abstracts.

• March 28: From Steve Pouech: Here’s an interesting look at what Scotland, Norway, Newfoundland and the U.S. have in common. Also, here’s a peek at a hidden mountain range and how it formed in Antarctica.

  From Gentry Holaday: This article is a little older but I was browsing Science Daily articles and thought this was interesting and related somewhat to our previous class discussion on early cool oceans.

  From Alex Moser: I was looking at what future supercontinents might look like, and apparently it's going to be cold. It's a really good concise article, even has a podcast for those tired eyes.

• March 27: ESU is online again! From Ashley Feaster: No, U.S. Mole-Men Are Not Causing Haiti’s Earthquakes. See Wired.

  From Lindsey Gerber: This is an article about how James Cameron, film director, reaches the deepest spot on Earth in the Mariana Trench.

• March 26: Welcome back from spring break! Well, maybe ... ESU's Internet service was interrupted beginning Sunday afternoon and still is offline, as of 10 o'clock this morning. Only on-campus students have access to the campus network at this time.

  Our subject this week deals with supercontinents (nance.pdf and dalziel.pdf). See also the last billion years and USGS before Pangaea.

  Regarding the bonus opportunity (below), the remarkable hogbacks at Garden of the Gods are formed in the Lyons Sandstone. This stone was used to construct the house, known as Red Rocks, that William Allen White bought in Emporia, KS.

• March 21: From Molly Reardon: I'm sure most people saw this large earthquake in Mexico reported on world news. After hearing several different reports of the actual magnitude, I checked it out on the USGS site: Mexican quake. Looks like it was a 7.4...not 7.9 as CNN and Fox News originally reported!

• March 19: Earth science club spring-break field trip in Colorado. Yesterday we visited the Cripple Creek and Victor gold mine, Florissant fossil beds, and Garden of the Gods with local geologist Steven Veatch. The latter site includes spectacular hogbacks along the eastern edge of the Front Range.

Overview of the Colorado Front Range with Pikes Peak in the background. Photos © J.S. Aber.

	Hogback of sandstone formation tilted into a vertical position. Left: front view of hogback. Right: end-on view of same hogback.
	This particular sandstone was quarried extensively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the building stone was used widely in the central and western United States.

Participation bonus point: What is the identity of this sandstone formation, and what is its connection to Emporia, Kansas? Responses due by Thursday (March 22).

• March 16: From Steve Pouech: My blog submission this week is a recent article that examines some new ideas about the formation of the Earth’s continents from Science Daily. I also want to mention that I’m pretty excited about James Cameron’s planned trip to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. I’m looking forward to seeing some pictures. See NY Times.

• March 15: Your instructor will be away from campus all of spring break (next week) with the earth science club field trip to Colorado. We will visit the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and San Luis Valley, both major tectonic features with diverse igneous and metamorphic rocks—go to southern Rockies.

  No class assignments are scheduled during spring break, but there's always the possibility of participation bonus points!

• March 14 pm: From Brian Lawson: Was reading the news and saw that an earthquake hit Japan on Wednesday evening. The first quake measured 6.8 magnitude, with a 6.1 magnitude following about three hours later. Go to Japanese quakes.

  From Brenda Tozer: Zircons that are synthetically made are compared to Australia's naturally occurring zircons. I found the results interesting. Check out titanium thermometer.

• March 14 am: From Gina Manders: You may have already read about this—it is news to me, and I think you might also enjoy reading about the magnetic stripes on land.

• March 13: From Ashley Feaster: I found this blog post that has links to several webcams positioned on volcanoes across the world. Not all of the cameras seem to be working at the moment, but a lot of them are. Go to volcano webcams.

  From Alex Moser: I found this website that talks about the beginning of continent formation and our surface (with the earliest forms of life) emerging. It's a little dense (lots of info) and some stellar 'artists renderings' pictures of what Earth was like eons ago.

• March 12: Our subject this week is the origin of continents and their earliest history during the Archean; review valley.pdf and simpson1.pdf as well as tect_figs08.pdf. The latter has a short article about the elements zirconium and hafnium.

  Bonus: For a participation bonus point, find out how hafnium got its name and what the name means. Responses due by Wednesday morning, March 14.

  From Molly Reardon: This article is about the debate on hydro-fracking occurring in upstate New York. Especially interesting are the arguments and claims of earthquakes being felt as a result of the fracking/injection process into the Marcellus Shale.

• March 9: From Marco Allain: Another site for the moon, which once was tectonically active like the Earth until it rid itself of its internal heat. According to new data, that inactivity happened much more recently than previously thought. See Yahoo News.

  From Cheyenne Acree: The Little Ice Age began with a volcanic bang, and big volcanoes wake up fast.

• March 7: From Alex Moser: The article on East Africa from the USGS got me wondering more about triple junctions. Here's an article from a professor at Berkeley, it discusses both the San Andreas Fault and the Mendocino Triple Junction and the connection between them. Go to triple junction.

• March 6: From Cheyenne Acree: Plate tectonics modelled realistically from Physorg.com, and recent formations say the Moon's not (tectonically) dead yet! See Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

• March 5 pm: From Lindsey Gerber: Found this about two earthquakes that struck San Francisco this morning. A magnitude-2.9 and magnitude-4.0 earthquake.

• March 5 am: Mid-term grades will be available via Buzz-in later this week. We are ready to begin part III of the semester schedule dealing with continental tectonics. Review burchfield.pdf, haddok.pdf and tect_figs07.pdf as well as USGS East Africa. Article summary II is due this week.

  From Steve Pouech: My blog submission is an article that from Science Daily July 2011 about how hot spots “may work as an additional tectonic driver, along with push-pull forces.” I’m also submitting another Mariana Trench site from the BBC that has some cool interactive videos and other graphics. Also, I thought the submission from Lindsey Gerber was very interesting…Marsquakes!

  From Nicolle Scott: This article has a slightly un-geologic theme. James Cameron wants to go to the bottom of the Mariana Trench to get footage for his new Avatar movie. The article talks about some scares from other dives and what his new submersible will need to be able to withstand: deep dive.

• March 2: The mid-term exam is complete, and results will be returned to students individually. The class did quite well overall with most scores in the 80s to 90s range; the median grade = 89%. Keep up the good work!

  From Lindsey Gerber: I found this article about scientists finding new signs of rumblings on Mars.

  From Molly Reardon: I caught this show on TV over the weekend. The Science Channel has a series called, "When Earth Erupts". This weekend's episode focused on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and more specifically Alaskan towns impacted by the great 1964 earthquake! The website has some excellent video clips of show highlights.

  From Amy Brownlee: Here is some info about what's been going on in Hawaii. There has been quite a bit going on there recently, wish I could go visit! I have actually been to Hawaii and saw the Kilauea crater in May of 1987. I could see the gas escaping from all around the inside of the crater as well as where I walked from the parking lot to the visitors center. It was yellowish and stinky--sulfur! Anyway, quite interesting. Here's the link to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

• Feb. 27: We complete part II on oceanic tectonics this week with articles on vulcanism at rifts (white.pdf) and hot spots (tarduno.pdf). See also USGS hotspots, mush_zone.pdf and tect_figs06.pdf.

  Meanwhile the mid-term exam is underway (due tomorrow), and preliminary drafts for summary II may be submitted this week.

• Feb. 23: The mid-term exam is now available. Please follow instructions and submit your answers by the deadline.

• Feb. 21: From Brenda Tozer: They find light in the darkness from the NY Times.

  From Jaime Carlos: Whilst on twitter this morning, I came across a news report posted by NASA, on recent tectonic activity on the Moon. Is the Moon growing?! Check it out at lunar graben.

• Feb. 20: Our focus this week is the Mariana Trench and associated tectonic features—see fryer.pdf and USGS Pacific ring of fire. We also have a special presentation on North Atlantic tectonic evolution. Review tect_figs04.pdf, tect_figs05.pdf, and solomon.pdf.

  Reminder: the mid-term exam begins later this week, Feb. 24-28. Check the schedule or this blog; it may be put online Thursday. Note: the blog will have a temporary hiatus for student contributions during the mid-term exam period.

  From Lindsey Gerber: I found this article about a waterfall at Yosemite.

  Blog challenge: the image below depicts Canon Beach, Oregon. This is the site where a great whale washed up in Dec. 1805. By the time Clark arrived, little of value was left. He was able to trade with the Indians to obtain about 300 pounds of blubber and few gallons of oil. Canon Beach is the farthest south reached by Lewis and Clark along the Pacific coast. Just offshore is the Cascadia subduction zone, where the Juan de Fuca plate dips under the edge of North America.

• Feb. 16 pm: Time for a class participation opportunity. We lately reviewed tectonic conditions along the Pacific coast of the United States, specifically California, Oregon and Washington, the so-called leading edge of the continent.

  Participation blog challenge. Kite aerial photograph showing a famous site on the Pacific coast of the U.S. Identify this location. Clue: this site was reached on the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805. Photo © J.S. & S.W. Aber.

  Bonus: Identify this location and describe the tectonic conditions here. Send your response to the instructor by Monday morning, Feb. 20th.

• Feb. 16 am: From Steve Pouech: My blog submission this week is a look at a section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that’s above sea level, Iceland. Specifically “the Þingvellir area a part of the North Atlantic rift system, which is almost entirely nested within the Reykjaneshryggur-Langjökull rift system.” What spectacular views! Check out Iceland.

• Feb. 15 pm: From Gentry Holaday: Easy to understand diagrams on sonar-based mapping methods.

• Feb. 15 am: From Brenda Tozer: The Lena Trough is the final event in the separation of the North American continent from the Eurasian continent. Until recently scientists were unable to collect data for this trough.

• Feb. 14: Happy Valentines Day! From Ashley Feaster: Lasers reveal hidden earthquake damage—see lasers.

  From Alex Moser: Probably a few people saw this, California quake. I used to go to school out there. It's somewhat near the Mendocino Triple Junction, but didn't produce any tsunamis. California is earthquake land.

• Feb. 13: Finally some real winter in Emporia, KS. Yesterday we came within 2 °F of reaching our record low temperature, and this morning we have 2-3 inches of snow! But it won't last long.

  We continue with oceanic tectonics this week; review pratson.pdf, bonatti.pdf and alvin.pdf as well as USGS fracture zones and mid-Atlantic ridge.

• Feb. 10: From Nicolle Scott: In reading the first USGS chapter for this week, it was talking about how the discovery that earthquakes occur along lines led to the acceptance of plate tectonics. It got me thinking of why earthquakes would occur anywhere else, as it did last year in Virginia and in the central U.S. I found a good USGS page that talks about the residual faults within the mountains in Virginia and has some good visuals: Virginia quake.

• Feb. 9 pm: From Alex Moser: Here's something I found regarding seafloor spreading. It has quite a bit of information, but I found it was laid out very simply, really helpful diagrams and it builds up to a fun little paper activity at the end! You can make your own simulated seafloor spreading!

  From Gentry Holaday: Another Mariana story. The entire Mariana Trench, approximately 400,000 square kilometers, was mapped from August through October 2010. Researchers discovered four bridges spanning the trench and rising as high as 2,500 meters above its floor, while satellite images had suggested the trench might be spanned by one such ridge. The ridges were formed by the collision of the Pacific plate and the Phillippine plate.

• Feb. 9 am: From Lindsey Gerber: I found this article from USGS about volcanic hazards in California.

  From Molly Reardon: This article discusses a future continent of "Amasia," citing how North America and Asia may be on a collision course. It's pretty interesting—see Amasia .

  From Brenda Tozer: Recent mapping of the Mariana Trench has revealed multiple bridges that span the trench. The Mariana Trench has always fascinated me. This article expanded my knowledge and added more details for me. The links at the end of the article show pictures of the newest views of the trench obtained through bathymetry.

• Feb. 8: From Steve Pouech: My blog submission this week is an article from the magazine Nature about the surprising discovery of large fields of hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean. The area supporting these vents is the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) that separates the African and Antarctic plates. What’s a little disturbing but probably not surprising is that some countries are planning on mining these hydrothermal vent areas for precious metals.

• Feb. 7: From Ashley Feaster: Earthquake (6.9-magnitude) in the Philippines yesterday, and Death Valley volcano is considered potentially active.

  From Marco Allain: I work for a drilling contractor and a lot of our wells are hydrothermal. Hydroshearing is a new technique like hydro fracking only used instead to generate green thermal energy. This involves pouring water into an active volcano and collecting the steam that follows the water injection. Yahoo news has the full story.

• Feb. 6: We're ready to begin part II of the semester schedule—oceanic tectonics. See francheteau.pdf, kelemen.pdf and tect_figs03.pdf as well as USGS developing the theory and hot springs. The first article summary is due this week.

  From Gentry Holaday: Geothermal energy stories and sources—go to Geothermal energy news and ECS geothermal.

• Feb. 4: From Molly Reardon: I really enjoyed this article from the National Science Foundation. Researchers at Penn State University received a grant from the NSF to gain core samples from areas 1.5 miles deep along fault lines. Analyzing the rock samples and seeing the evidence of movement on the rocks may help them determine an earthquake prediction model. I personally believe it's difficult/nearly impossible to predict earthquakes, but perhaps this research may lead to a way to alert people if a quake is occurring deep in the earth...giving a warning for possible movements at the surface.

• Feb. 2: Happy Ground Hog Day!

  From Mat Edwards: I found this article on Discovery News from 2009 and thought it was interesting. It suggests that the Earth had two cores resulting from a collision of a Mars sized body with the Earth. These cores rotated opposite to each other and thus resulted in a flow of magma that could have begun the movement of tectonic plates. Go to twin cores.

  From Steve Pouech: Last night I watched “The Deepest Place on Earth”, episode 2 of the History Channel documentary, “How the Earth was Made.” It’s an exploration of the history and geology of the Mariana Trench, the subduction zone located in the western Pacific Ocean. What I found especially fascinating was the explanation of why there are few large earthquakes in this area. According to the documentary, it is because of the relatively soft material being subducted that keeps the fault area lubricated. The video can be watched on Netflix or on WatchDocumentary TV.

• Feb. 1: From Brenda Tozer: I was confused as to why the outer core was liquid and the inner core was solid. I found this site that explains the properties of iron that allows a liquid to surround a solid without melting it. Very cool! There is more information in this site than just the composition of iron!

• Jan. 30 pm: From Cheyenne Acree: Regarding deformation of the Earth's mantle.

• Jan. 30 am: An exceptionally warm and dry January is coming to an end with record-high temperature expected today in Emporia! This week we will finish part I of the semester schedule with heat flow (pollack.pdf) and deep earthquakes (frohlich.pdf). See also USGS geothermal energy and seismic zones.

  The first article summary is due next week. Students may turn in a preview summary this week for your instructor to review. For further information, go to summary instructions.

  From Molly Reardon: I've been looking into regional resources for seismic activity in New Mexico. I think we are all familiar with the USGS site, however, they have regional links so that you can get a better feel for local seismology. Here's the link to the Albuquerque NM site.

• Jan. 27: From Jaime Carlos: In regards to our discussion the other day about the Earth's magnetic field: These last couple days (and should continue throughout the year), planet Earth has been blasted with solar storms. These are the largest solar flares Earth has encountered since 2005. Despite all the damage solar storms can cause to satellite and GPS instruments, it created some spectacular aurora borealis displays in the northern sky.

• Jan. 26: From Brenda Tozer: There was a minor earthquake in Italy early this morning. I went online to look into it and found the USGS site that lists all earhtquakes world wide. I was amazed as to how many are recorded in just one day around the world.

  From Alex Moser: I found a Nova article on magnetic field of earth. It has the same timeline as the glatzmeir article. Here is the link to magnetic timeline. I enjoyed the third paragraph about the sun and tie in with animals—energy all around.

• Jan. 24 pm: From Steve Pouech: I’m sending a link for an animation of seafloor spreading that includes the magnetization of the seafloor. Be sure to click on the labels and the little earth magnet in the upper right corner.

• Jan. 24 am: From Amy Brownlee: I found a good website explaining the three different kinds of plate boundaries. In addition, it also includes diagrams that (when you click on them) demonstrates how these plates move. Go to plate boundaries.

  From Ashley Feaster: A little science humor! The true story behind Pangaea’s separation.

• Jan. 23: The first full week of the semester! ESU's Internet service was offline for an extended period, Sunday and Monday, including course webpages, email, and Buzz-in. Service now appears to be restored.

  We continue to examine the Earth's core and magnetic field (glatzmaier.pdf) and begin to consider the mantle (mckenzie.pdf). See also USGS magnetic stripes and what drives plates.

• Jan. 20: From Gentry Holaday: Relating well to last class discussion over Earth's magnetic field, reversals, and the core of the Earth—November 19, 2011 was the date of the article, so not new new but a somewhat recent publication by an Alexandra Witze on Science News.

• Jan. 19: From Carol Hughes: There is a great article in the Feb. 2012 issue of National Geographic about tsunamis and how they are formed by violent movement of the seafloor. Go to tsunami science.

• Jan. 18 pm: From Brian Lawson: Here is a cool animation as well as some useful information regarding continental drift. The time periods can be clicked on to give a small definition of each period.

• Jan. 18 am: From Ashley Feaster: A new island was announced today. I thought the images from the eruption were really neat. The Red Sea has a newborn island—go to Red Sea island (also see lava fountains below).

  From Lyal Miller: There have been numerous earthquakes in the Midwest region the past week, with one being south of Rapid City, South Dakota with a 3.0 magnitude, as well as a 2.2 magnitude earthquake east of St. Louis. Felt about 24 miles away (based on USGS).

  From Steve Pouech: Here's the USGS report on the Virginia earthquake of August 23, 2011 as presented on their website. I’m also including a picture of the quake area that shows the various faults of the region. I was at work in Windsor Locks, Connecticut when the earthquake occurred and it was felt throughout the building. The 10 inch chilled water pipes that are suspended from the ceiling were swaying at least 6 inches. This was the second earthquake that I experienced. The first was in Anchorage, Alaska in June of 1995. I was on the 13th floor of the Captain Cook Hotel at the time. It’s an experience you don’t quickly forget.

• Jan. 17: From Cheyenne Acree: Pole flips tied to plate tectonics, and mineral deposits related to tectonics in Australia.

• Jan. 16: We get into course readings and review this week with articles on Wegener (hallam.pdf) and the Earth's core (jeanloz.pdf) as well as tect_figs02.pdf. See also USGS historical perspective and inside the Earth.

  The FTP problem we encountered last week has been fixed. Note: the student user ID is the first part of your ESU email address, not your E number.

  From Marco Allain: Italy's Mount Etna erupted on January the 5th. Press TV has a slideshow of the eruption—go to Etna eruption.

  From Steve Pouech: Here's an article on the pre-plate tectonics theory that the features on the Earth are caused by the shrinking or expansion of the planet. Check out ENN.

• Jan. 14: From Brenda Tozer: I found this article interesting and thought it went well with the first readings for the course. Go to discovery.com.

• Jan. 13: From Gentry Holaday: Current plate tectonic event occurred in December on the 19th. In the Red Sea Lava fountains were spotted by fisherman. Image from NASA—see lava fountains from geology.com.

• Jan. 11 pm: The FTP problem appears to be fixed. To make a long story short, another faculty member requested changes for FTP access to his folder, and when these changes were made student access was inadvertantly cut off to the /var/www/academic/aberjame/datasets/ course folders. This has been corrected, and students should be able to connect again.

  From Brian Lawson: Here is a cool animation I found showcasing some aspects of plate tectonics. Go to tectonics video from BBC.

• Jan. 11: Apparently something unexpected happened to student FTP access today, the first day of classes. For the past week, students have connected to the "datasets" folder and downloaded files without a problem. But now students are directed to their own personal ESU folders. Your instructor is in contact with the ESU webmaster to find out what took place. In the mean time, please be patient as we wait for a solution.

• Jan. 9: The spring semester is about to begin! Our first on-campus class meeting is Wednesday, 1 o'clock in SH room 131. Download tect_figs01.pdf via FTP and check out USGS preface.

  All distance-learning students must fill out, sign, and return the student agreement for participation in this course (either paper or electronic). On-campus students will do this in class.

• Jan. 5: From Gayla Corley (former student): Here are links to web site about Antarctic black smokers. You can also go and look at the video and then watch these other videos: Underwater Mic of Japanese Earthquake (quite noisy); First Glimpse of Antarctic Deep; and the Spread of Japan Earthquake Tsunami Waves.

  This slideshow has pics of some of the new species they've discovered living around Antarctic hydrothermal vents. Picture 11 shows a modern day crinoid. Go to hydrothermal vents. Also view video of some of the vent life.

• Dec. 23: Happy and safe holidays to all students! Note: your instructor will be away from campus the last week of December and first week of January, but he will have email contact during this period. Returning to campus January 9th.

• Nov. 6 A series of earthquakes rattled the mid-continent region yesterday and this morning. The quakes took place ~45 miles east of Oklahoma City. They began Saturday morning, culminated with a shock of 5.6 magnitude at 10:53 pm, and continued with minor aftershocks Sunday morning—go to USGS summary. Click on the largest square for the main quake. If you felt this quake, you can click on the "Did you feel it" link to report the damage.

  Your instructor did feel the largest of these quakes in Emporia! Heavy furniture vibrated and a wavelike motion took place for 10-15 seconds = Mercalli magnitude IV. Minor plaster cracks appeared in house interior walls, perhaps exacerbated by drought conditions that have caused foundation settling. Mercalli values up to VI took place close to the quake in Oklahoma. For more information, see Huffington Post.

• Welcome! GO 326/ES 767 will be taught in the spring 2012 semester, beginning in January. Both undergraduate and graduate sections are offered for on-campus and distance-learning students. At this time, the preliminary syllabus is available.