Geologists report that risks of big earthquakes may be underestimated

Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the Carrizo Plain, northwest of Los Angeles. Credit: Wikipedia.

Several geologists from around the world are presenting a case for missing or underreported earthquakes at this year's American Geophysical Union Fall meeting being held in San Francisco. They suggest that faulty or missing data from before 1900 might be leading to underestimations of the numbers of big quakes to expect in the future.

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Surprise: Duck-Billed Dinosaurs Had Fleshy 'Cocks Comb'

This is an Edmontosaurus regalis reconstruction. (Credit: Bell, Fanti, Currie, Arbour, Current Biology)

A rare, mummified specimen of the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosauraus regalis described in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 12 shows for the first time that those dinosaurs' heads were adorned with a fleshy comb, most similar to the roosters' red crest.

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Cornetite

L'Etoile du Congo Mine (Star of the Congo Mine; Kalukuluku Mine), Lubumbashi (Elizabethville), Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre)
© 2006 D. Schläfli

Formula: Cu₃PO₄(OH)₃
System:    Orthorhombic   
Colour:    Dark blue to green-blue; ...
Hardness: 4½
Name: After Mr. Jules Cornet (1865-1929), Belgian geologist.

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What the Past Tells Us About Modern Sea-Level Rise

Glacier Bay. Calving glacier. (Credit: © jeffong / Fotolia)

Researchers from the University of Southampton and the Australian National University report that sea-level rise since the industrial revolution has been fast by natural standards and -- at current rates -- may reach 80cm above the modern level by 2100 and 2.5 metres by 2200.

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Runaway Process Drives Intermediate-Depth Earthquakes

A 3D rendering of the tectonic plates (multicolored regions) in northern South America (coastline shown in yellow) shows the underlying Bucaramanga Nest, which experiences more intermediate-depth earthquakes than any place in the world. (Credit: Image courtesy of German Prieto)

Stanford researchers have uncovered a vital clue about the mechanism behind a type of earthquake that originates deep within Earth and accounts for a quarter of all temblors worldwide, some of which are strong enough to pose a safety hazard.

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RAVAN to Help Solve an Earth Science Mystery

Artist rendering of the Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes (RAVAN) satellite, a new, low-cost cubesat mission led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. RAVAN will demonstrate technology needed to measure the absolute imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget for the first time; the cubesat is scheduled for launch in 2015. (Credit: JHU/APL)

A new, low-cost cubesat mission led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. will demonstrate technology needed to measure the absolute imbalance in Earth's radiation budget for the first time, giving scientists valuable information to study our climate.

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