Geology.com | News - October 8, 2009

Enormous New Ring Discovered Around Saturn Posted: 07 Oct 2009 11:54 PM PDT NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered an enormous ring around Saturn — by far the largest of the giant planet’s many rings. The ring was not discovered before because it is a very difuse scatter of ice and dust particles.

World Record Dinosaur Footprints Posted: 07 Oct 2009 10:08 PM PDT Numerous dinosaur imprints measuring up to 2 meters in diameter and covering a distance of over 100 meters have been discovered near the village of Plagne, France.

Eruption at Soufriere Hills Volcano Posted: 07 Oct 2009 08:52 PM PDT “After 10 months of relative quiet, Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat blasted ash into the sky in early October 2009. This natural-color satellite image shows a plume of ash extending westward from Soufriere Hills on October 6, 2009, a day after eruptive activity resumed on October 5th.” Quoted from the [...]

7.7 M Santa Cruz Islands Earthquake Posted: 07 Oct 2009 07:40 PM PDT Another large earthquake in the Vanatu region… This 7.7 earthquake occurred near the Santa Cruz Islands on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 09:18:26 AM local time. It was located on the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates. A tsunami watch was issued but cancelled.

ExxonMobil: Natural Gas Demand is Rising Posted: 07 Oct 2009 07:26 PM PDT Tom Walters, a division president at ExxonMobil, believes that global natural gas demand is starting to grow and, if sustained, will produce opportunities for LNG facilities and pipelines.

Major Earthquakes in the Pacific Posted: 07 Oct 2009 06:04 PM PDT CNN has an article about today’s major earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean. A 7.8 magnitude and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Vanatu area within an hour and ten minutes.

7.8 M Vanatu Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Posted: 07 Oct 2009 05:44 PM PDT A 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Torres Islands, Vanuatu area on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 09:03:15 AM local time. The earthquake occurred near the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates. The earthquake’s location, depth, and focal mechanism are consistent with the earthquake having occurred as thrust-faulting associated with subduction along [...]