Geology.com | News - August 24, 2009

Typhoon Vamco Satellite Image Posted: 23 Aug 2009 09:03 PM PDT Earth Observatory has another great image of a typhoon. This one is Typhoon Vamco moving over the Pacific on August 20, 2009 as a Cateogry 3 storm.

Barents Sea Algal Bloom Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:54 PM PDT Earth Observatory has a spectacular image of a spectacular algal bloom in the Barents Sea from August 19th. (More NASA images of phytoplankton blooms.)

Diversity in the Geosciences Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:46 PM PDT Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has an article that looks at diversity in the geosciences. A quote: “The statistics are stark: From 1973 to 2003, only 313 Hispanic Americans, 135 African Americans, and 49 Native Americans earned Ph.D. degrees in geosciences. That’s a sprinkle in the ocean compared with the more than 21,000 people [...]

Lake Victoria, Africa and Climate Change Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:43 PM PDT A New York Times article reports that Uganda and Kenya are threatening war over Migingo Island in Lake Victoriaclimate change is impacting the lake and that brings the boundary dispute into focus. – which is crossed by their international boundary. The science story in that article is about ho

Over 1/2 of World Population Exposed to Major Natural Hazards Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:19 PM PDT The World Bank published a report in 2005 titled: “Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis,” that presents a global view of disaster risks associated with some major natural hazards such as drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. The report indicates that 3.4 billion people, more than half the world’s population, live in [...]

Taiwan Landslides Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:11 PM PDT Dave Petley has a short essay titled “Some reflections on the Typhoon Morakot Landslide Disaster in Taiwan”. It explains why Taiwan has so many landslides and focuses on the recent landslides of Typhoon Morakot.

Climate Change Graphs and Maps Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:04 PM PDT NOAA has a large collection of graphs, tables and maps that document climate change. They have maps and charts for temperature, precipitation, sea ice extent, atmospheric measurements and more.

Climate Change and GDP Posted: 23 Aug 2009 07:55 PM PDT An article on the Strategic Risk website suggests that climate change might produce water shortages that lead to conflict in some parts of the world and that climate change could cost 5 to 20% of GDP annually.