rocks

Rocks help researchers better understand earthquakes

harminka — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:51:44 -0500

When Apollo punished King Midas by giving him donkey ears, only the king and his barber knew. Unable to keep a secret, the barber dug a hole, whispered into it, "King Midas has donkey ears," and filled the hole. But plants sprouted from the hole, and with each passing breeze, shared the king's secret.

Proposed method would speed natural reactions million times

harminka — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:02:09 -0600

Scientists say that a type of rock found at or near the surface in the Mideast nation of Oman and other areas around the world could be harnessed to soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide. Their studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at surprisingly high rates with CO2 to form solid minerals—and that the process could be speeded a million times or more with simple drilling and injection methods.

Seismic response to natural gas anomalies in crystalline rocks

harminka — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:29:00 -0600

The research done at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences has shown that after geochemical experiments, the porosity of crystalline rocks in the middle crust increases sharply due to water-rock interaction (see ref.).

McGill researchers find oldest rocks on Earth

harminka — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:36:25 -0500

McGill University researchers have discovered the oldest rocks on Earth – a discovery which sheds more light on our planet's mysterious beginnings. These rocks, known as "faux-amphibolites", may be remnants of a portion of Earth's primordial crust – the first crust that formed at the surface of our planet.

Rock art marks transformations in traditional Peruvian societies

harminka — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:38:20 -0500

Most rock paintings and rock carvings or petroglyphs were created by ancient and prehistoric societies. Archaeologists have long used them to gain clues to the way of life of such peoples. Certain rock frescos − such as the renowned Lascaux and Chauvet cave paintings or the petroglyphs of Scandinavia and North America − have already yielded substantial information on our ancestors' daily lives.

Rock Tumblers and Polishing Kits

Armen Hareyan — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:01:53 -0600

Mineral ages show Blue Mountain rocks related to Klamath

harminka — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:33:53 -0500

New evidence, based on mineral dating, suggests that rocks of the Blue Mountains, the oldest geological formation in Oregon, may have been derived from the Klamath and Sierra Nevada mountain chains, University of Oregon researchers report.

Rocks yielding unprecedented insights into San Andreas Fault

harminka — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:13:36 -0500

For the first time, geologists have extracted intact rock samples from 2 miles beneath the surface of the San Andreas Fault, the infamous rupture that runs 800 miles along the length of California.

Minerals act as oxygen reservoirs

harminka — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:20:31 -0500

If our planet did not have the ability to store oxygen in the deep reaches of its mantle there would probably be no life on its surface. This is the conclusion reached by scientists at the University of Bonn who have subjected the mineral majorite to close laboratory examination.

Dealing with threatening space rocks

harminka — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:04:11 -0500

Every now and then a space rock hits the world's media – sometimes almost literally. Threatening asteroids that zoom past the Earth, fireballs in the sky seen by hundreds of people and mysterious craters which may have been caused by impacting meteorites; all make ESA's activities in this field, including the Don Quijote study, look increasingly timely.

Detrital mineral chronology of the Uinta Mountain Group

harminka — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:56:39 -0500

This Uinta Mountains of Utah are distinctive for the ancient (roughly 700-million-year-old) sedimentary rocks that are exposed throughout the range. As such, they are part of a larger system preserved in small areas throughout the southwestern United States that contain vast quantities of sediment eroded from roughly one-billion-year-old rocks.

Hunting martian fossils best bet for locating Mars life

harminka — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 03:00:28 -0600