Phoenix Mars Lander mission to be extended, says CNN

CNN's SciTechBlog says the UA's Phoenix Mars Lander is sure to be further extended after the first extension runs out at the end of September.

The Lander is in the Martian arctic where the sun set for the first time in its mission on August 21, to rise again about half an hour later.

It's expected to continue operating until the Martian winter freezes it sometime in November.

[right, sunrise on Mars, August 25, 2008. Credit, NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University]

Cairo landslide was expected

Dave's Landslide Blog site has a large number of photos and a description of the deadly landslide in Cairo in today: "The death toll in the rock slide at El Doweiqa in the Manshiet Nasser slum of east Cairo is slowly creeping upwards. At the time of writing it has exceeded 30 people, but unfortunately as the image [right] shows the likelihood is that it will be much higher once these huge blocks have been shifted (if ever)."

He also includes an article from the local newspaper in 2006 warning that the people who lived at the base of the slope feared they would die from a landslide that was expected. This is a powerful story about the threat of natural hazards anywhere.

I stumbled across this blog looking for news about the landslide and am amazed at the rest of the blog posts and photos Dave [Petley] has about landslides all over the world. I'm bookmarking the site.

[photo - EPA/MIKE NELSON image showing the displaced blocks at El Doweiqa]

USGS' Water Science for Schools one of 10 best government web sites

USGS' Water Science for Schools was selected as one of the 10 best government Web sites by Government Computer News, based on information and services delivered.

The citation said "USGS’ educational site on water, for instance, offers almost everything a student, or anyone else, would ever want to know about the wet stuff. And we mean everything.

Opinion surveys and quizzes can help visitors think further about water issues. This modest site has drawn as many as 1 million visitors a month. It’s also a communal project. Much of the material available on the site is presented in as many as 60 languages — Chinese was added recently. Volunteers did most of the translation work. With the growing scarcity of fresh water becoming a pressing issue not just for the United States, this site can be an invaluable resource not only for students but also for people worldwide."

Mining forces us to "pay attention to what our lifestyle does to the planet"

There is a thoughtful and provocative piece on mining and the Rosemont copper mine in particular at the Tucson Observer blog, entitled "Meteor Crater Caused by Humans." [thanks to Jack Caldwell at "I Think Mining" for spotting this one]

Author "Jimmy Petrol" offers three options:

Option one; follow the current American method and make the miners go dig in third-world countries, where the environmental restrictions are lesser. With this option, our backyard stays pristine(er), but the earth get dirtier overall.

Option two; dig the hole, get the copper for our new laptops and houses, pay attention to what our lifestyle does to the planet and think about it when we chose to consume. Have the effects in our face, and the mine right here where we can be sure it will be done cleanly.

Option three; mine the largest, purest copper deposit in the area; our houses. If you don't want to mine the earth for minerals, take your copper wires out of your walls, the ceiling fans and alternators and put them in a pile at the curb. If you don't want copper, you shouldn't be made to have any.

[right, land ownership map Santa Rita mountains, Augusta Resources]

International Rock Flipping Day - there's still time!

Today, the first Sunday in September, is International Rock Flipping Day! So, for all of you (me included) who have not yet flipped over a rock today, get out there before it's too late.

Check out "The Rock Flipper Song," blogposts, and pictures from rock flippers all over the world at www.vianegativa.us.

Hi-resolution satellite imagery for Google

The GeoEye-1 satellite launched yesterday will
simultaneously collect both 16-inch (0.41-meter) ground resolution black-and-white images and 5.5- foot (1.65-meter) color images. Due to U.S. licensing restrictions, commercial customers will get access to imagery at half-meter ground resolution.

Google signed a deal with GeoEye Inc to use the imagery probably for Google Earth, when it starts arriving in 45-60 days.

[above, Rainbow Bridge, Utah, from GeoEye.com, but not from the new satellite camera]

NPR audio reports: McCain on mining, public lands, oil

NPR's Living On Earth broadcast a story about John McCain's record in Arizona on mining and public lands issues and another on his plans for oil drilling.

Copper strong now, but down to $1 by 2011?

Standard & Poor's expects persistent strength in metals prices including $750 gold and $2.75 copper over the next few years.

But S&P's base-case metals prices include $750 per ounce gold from 2008 through 2010, with $650/oz gold in 2011 and $500/oz gold in the long term. For copper, the analysts predict $3.25/lb for 2008, $2.75/lb in 2009-10, $2/lb in 2011 and $1/lb for the long term. [right, copper cathode plates. Credit Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold]

California and Nevada storing water in Pinal Co. aquifers

The Pinal County Governmental Alliance reports that California and Nevad have stored 2 million acre-feet of water in aquifers, most of it in Pinal County of Arizona. The presentation was made to the Central Arizona College governing board.

The water is from the Colorado River and is being 'banked' in groundwater aquifers for use later.

The only way this makes sense is if California and Nevada are allowing some of their Colorado River water to go down the Central Arizona Project canal to Pinal Co. where it is used to recharge the local aquifers.

When California or Nevada need that water, they can't pump it back up the canal, so they must take part of Arizona's share of river water, and let Arizona pull the California or Nevada shares out of the aquifers to replace it.

Shale tv

Shale.tv is a new internet television coming soon to your computer, totally dedicated to content about shale, especially the Barnett Shale, a growing source of natural gas.

Other internet tv stations have sprung up recently looking at energy issues, including CleanSkies.tv, Energy-TV.com, TheEnergyNews.com, and Energypolicytv.com.

The new issue of AAPG Explorer describes this new broadcasting medium and the different business models.

And if we have shale.tv already, are there comparable internet stations for mining or water? How soon until we see a station dedicated to the geosciences in general?

Where's the soil moisture on Mars?

All the measurements of Martian soil made by a conductivity probe on the Phoenix Lander are consistent with extremely dry soil. There are no indications of thin films of moisture in the soil which is puzzling because the probe has sensed humidity rising and falling at the site. The Lander science team say measurements so far indicate soil that is thoroughly and perplexingly dry.

The team plans deeper tests of the soil, closer to the ice layer.

[right, conductivity probe. Credit, NASA, JPL-CalTech, UA, Texas A&M]

Iron King mine - Humboldt Smelter added to Superfund list

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the Iron King Mine - Humboldt Smelter site in Dewey-Humboldt, Ariz., to the federal Superfund list today, after its initial proposal in March. [right, Iron King mine tailings, Humboldt, AZ. Credit, wikipedia]

This brings the number of Superfund sites in Arizona to 9.

According to EPA, "the site encompasses areas of contamination from two facilities: the Iron King Mine property and the Humboldt Smelter property. The Iron King Mine was an active mine from 1904 until 1969. The majority of this area is covered by tailings and waste rock piles.

The Humboldt Smelter is situated less than one mile east of the Iron King Mine property. The smelter operated from the late 1800s until the early 1960s. This area is covered in yellow-orange tailings, grey smelter ash, and slag. Mining and processing have contaminated soil, sediments, surface water and groundwater with arsenic, lead, and other metals."

The listing had the endorsement of the AZ Dept. of Environmental Quality.

The geoarcheological search for Coronado's route

Last night's talk at the Arizona Geological Society meeting in Tucson by UA grad student Alyson Thibodeau
used isotopic geochemistry to trace the history of mining in the Southwest and propose a method that may allow geoarcheologists to finally pin down the route of Spanish explorer Vazquez de Coronado.

I didn't realize how little is known definitively about Coronado's epic trek in 1540-42. Or how passionate the debate is among those pursuing the answers.

Alyson is using lead and strontium isotopes to determine the sources of turquoise found across the Southwest and Mesoamerica. But it appears the same techniques work with lead musket balls and copper parts of crossbows used by Coronado's expeditions. Earlier attempts by other researchers to use major element geochemistry to trace the origin and provenance of the Coronado's lead and copper have not been as successful as initially hoped.

Grand Canyon flood warning system

State, federal, and local authorities are talking seriously now about a flood warning system for parts of the Grand Canyon, in the wake of the August 17 flood down Cataract Canyon and through Supai village.

[right, campers wait for helicopter evacuation from Supai village after the flood of August 17. Credit, "I'm Just Sayin" blog]

The Arizona Dept. of Water Resources handles water alerts and is likely to the lead state agency. Officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Army Corps of Engineers are reportedly in the village now, assessing the situation and talking with Havasupai tribal leaders.

Grupo Mexico wins one, loses one, in Asarco fight

A Texas state court has ruled that Mexican mining company Grupo Mexico denied punitive damages claims made by Asarco and that Grupp paid a reasonable amount for Asarco's stake in Southern Copper Corp.

At the same time, a federal judge found that Grupo committed fraud against Asarco when it transferred Asarco's stake in Peruvian copper mines to another Grupo subsidiary just before Asarco declared bankruptcy, in an apparent move to protect those assets from being used to settle Asarco's creditors, including environmental liabilities.

UA scientist verifies 'hockey stick' climate model

A paper co-authored by UA scientist Malcolm Hughes, coming out next week appears to settle the political debate over the so-called 'hockey stick' curve of global warming.

The paper published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that the northern hemisphere is now warmer than at any time in at least 1300 years.

Hughes, at the UA Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, lead author Michael Mann, and co-authors examined a wide variety of climate proxy data after controversy arose over the use of tree-ring data to produce the 'hockey stick-shaped' curve showing a dramatic temperature rise in recent years.

The tree-ring data has been controversial due to differences in the thickness of growth rings between young and old trees. The researchers say the large number of other proxies now allow them to derive a long-term temperature record for the Northern Hemisphere without tree-ring data, although data for the Southern Hemisphere is still sparse to date.

In 2006, Congressman Joe Barton of Texas, chairman of the House Energy Committee challenged the hockey stick curve, questioned the credibility and veracity of the scientists involved, and demanded copies of all their data and records. This led to sharply worded concern in the scientific community about a political witch-hunt by climate doubters.

EPA report on US-Mexico border disasters misses the big ones

The US EPA's Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB) published its 11th report to the President and Congress this past March (thanks to Southwest Hydrology magazine for pointing this out), covering natural disasters and their impact on a 100-km wide swath along the U.S. - Mexico border.

The emphasis of the 64 page report is on weather phenomena (floods, storms, and drought) and to a lesser extent, fires, and their impacts on wildlife and human health. Earthquakes, landslides, and mudslides merit 2 paragraphs. In the sidebar discussing earthquakes, the Imperial Valley of California and Texas' Alpine region are mentioned as sites of earthquakes felt in modern history.

No mention is made of the estimated magnitude 7.2 earthquake of 1887 in northern Sonora that rocked much of southern Arizona. If that occurred today, we'd be facing serious threats to lives and property across the region.

No mention either of the devastating debris flows of 2006 in the Coronado National Memorial near the Mexico border.

No state agencies are included as resources in the event of natural disasters. The report does note that "with the exception of one proposed plan—between the states of Arizona and its Mexican neighbor state, Sonora— no formal state-to-state agreements and plans for emergency preparedness and response exist."

The section on "Earthquake and Wildlife Specific Partnerships" describes the Border Agency Fire Council, with no mention of earthquakes.

It's hard to take serious a report with such a bold claim of subject matter and such a myopic view and limited coverage of it. I hope there are other sources of information getting to Congress and the White House about the true nature of natural disasters in the region.

Copper consumption and price down on housing forecasts

The price of copper has fallen to around $3.40 per pound with predictions of further declines to $3.20 in the near-term, because of a faltering world economy, and especially the housing market which may continue a downward trend through 2009. Analysts attribute as much as 46% of copper use in building construction. [right, 6-month copper spot market price trend. Kitcometals.com]

A study by the International Copper Study Group showed that total global copper usage grew by 6.6% in 2007 to 18.2 million tons but has declined 0.06% through April.

Slammed by the monsoon

Monsoon season in southern Arizona is wrapping up, but you couldn't tell that from the rains this Labor Day weekend.

Phoenix is reeling from massive rains and winds in recent days.

Here, where we live in the Tucson Mountains, west of the city, we had probably the biggest back to back storms since we moved here in February 2006. Nothing compared to Hurricane Gustav, but pretty impressive for this desert.

Saturday evening we got 1.3 inches in less than an hour. The dry wash behind the house was running white water with sheet flow pouring over bedrock on the hillside behind us. For a while we watched small waterfalls and cascades. The wind was strong enough to force the outflow from the downspouts to turn horizontal as the water poured off the roof.

Sunday night was not as windy but storm cell after storm cell dumped their loads on us, reaching 1.8 inches for the evening. This morning, we found one of our saguaros uprooted and its arms ripped off (photo). It was probably the winds, saturated ground, steep slope, and a saguaro that was heavy from sucking up so much groundwater. I guess it was at least 100 years old. Next to the sheared off base, is the next generation - a small saguaro, under a foot tall, but hopefully firmly rooted.

Martian clouds video

These Martian clouds are a bit wispier than the monsoon clouds that dumped 3+ inches of rain at our house over the weekend, but they are still mesmerizing.

From the UA press release:

Clouds scoot across the Martian sky in a movie clip consisting of 10 frames taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.

This clip accelerates the motion. The camera took these 10 frames over a 10-minute period from 2:52 p.m. to 3:02 p.m. local solar time at the Phoenix site during Sol 94 (Aug. 29), the 94th Martian day since landing.

Particles of water-ice make up these clouds, like ice-crystal cirrus clouds on Earth. Ice hazes have been common at the Phoenix site in recent days.

The clouds are a dramatic visualization of the Martian water cycle. The water vapor comes off the north pole during the peak of summer. The northern-Mars summer has just passed its peak water-vapor abundance at the Phoenix site. The atmospheric water is available to form into clouds, fog and frost, such as the lander has been observing recently.

[Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University]