Japan quake wiki online

The ESIP (Earth Science Information Partnership) Federation has set up a wiki for sharing scientific and technical information on the Japan (also called the Honshu or Sendai quake), but it includes a variety of news aggregations and links as well.


The ESRI map [right] has interactive links to YouTube tsunami and other videos of damage from around the country.

Kudos to Erin Robinson at ESIP Federation for setting this up and starting the compilations.

Big crowds at Tucson Festival of Books

It's another gorgeous day in Paradise - warm and sunny with the temperatures climbing towards the low 80s. And it's drawing huge crowds out to the Tucson Festival of Books on the UA campus, where the AZGS booth started drawing visitors an hour before the event opened, while we were still unpacking. [right, Michelle Harriman answers questions as a steady stream of customers stops by]

The book festival has become one of the largest in the nation in just a couple years. Organizers expect 75,000 attendees to the 2-day event this weekend, that includes book signings, lectures, interactive displays, performances and more.

Permits issued for 3 uranium mines in N. Arizona

The (Flagstaff) Daily Sun and other news outlets are reporting that the Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality issued three air and one aquifer permits today for 3 uranium mines in northern Arizona being developed by Denison Mines. Denison already operates the Arizona #1 mine in the region.

Neither the ADEQ or Denison web sites have any news on this. The Sun doesn't state the mine names but the 3 with permits filed with ADEQ are Canyon, Pinenut, and EZ mines [right, credit ADEQ]

Mining opponents were quick to issue scathing critiques of the decisions.

Putting magnitude in perspective

How does the Japan earthquake of magnitude 8.9 compare to other recent large quakes?

The news media do a better job than they used to of noting that each magnitude number is 10 times that of the lower number. But most everyone assumes that refers to the relative amount of energy released by the quake - comparable to measuring the power of atomic bombs for instance.

Not true.

The magnitude is a measure of the amplitude of the seismic waves. But each 1.0 magnitude increase is equal to approximately a 32 times increase in energy release. Each increase of magnitude by 2.0 equals 32 x 32 or 1,000 times increase in energy released.

The M8.9 Japan quake released the equivalent of 336 megatons of TNT. In comparison, last months, Christchurch, New Zealand M6.3 quake was equal to 43 kilotons, and last years M7.0 Haiti quake was equal to 474 kilotons.

The Japan quake was about 7814 times bigger than the Christchurch quake and 709 times larger than the Haiti quake.

I've simplified this in regards to Richter magnitude vs moment magnitude but my intent is to emphasize the power of the Japan quake.

Seismic waves from Japan roll across Arizona

The AZGS-run broadband seismic network recorded the M8.9 earthquake in Japan today. Here is a screen shot of the seismic waves rolling across Arizona from our station near the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

Also, Lisa Linville at Northern Arizona Univ. has multiple seismograph images up on the Groundswell ("AZ Shakes") blog from other Arizona instruments. [below, AISN station CCAZ, 44 miles NE of Flagstaff, AZ]

Arizona drought is worst in SE

Much of Arizona is in drought, ranging to extreme in the southeast corner of the state.


Thanks to Shaun McKinnon of the Arizona Republic for tweeting this link.

UA's best Mars photos from the past 5 years

Wired magazine is showcasing the best photos taken during the past 5 years by the UA-HiRise camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Observer. MRO went into orbit on March 10, 2006 and has returned over 70,000 images. All of the top 10 images are amazing.

[right, "veiny gullies trace the walls of a large pit in Mars' southern hemisphere in this image, captured Aug. 5, 2007. The gullies may have been carved by liquid water millions of years ago, when Mars was warmer and wetter." Credit, NASA/JPL/UA. Caption from Wired]

UA hosting mining performance summit

The University of Arizona is co-hosting the 5th International Industry Summit on Mining Performance, to be held in South Dakota this May. along with Penn State, South Dakota School of Mines, and Queens University.

The program brings together 550 international mining executives to focus on "cost containment, increasing safety and productivity performance, organizational change, risk management, and sustainability."

Anti-government report lacks credibility

The Goldwater Institute and Citizens Against Government Waste have released their 2011 Arizona Piglet Book which supposedly "exposes 147 pork projects, bad ideas, and misuses of power that have wasted over $1.2 billion" of state funds. Among the items they consider 'pork' are the Arizona Board of Technical Registration's dues to the Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) that provides the tests for geologist licensing, the Arizona Geological Survey, Arizona Historical Society, Dept. of Mines & Mineral Resources and a laundry list of other "Budget busting bureaucracies." The Institute makes some unsubstantiated claims, including:

The Arizona Historical Society, the Prescott Historical Society, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the Southern Arizona Cemetery would all likely continue to exist with member dues and charitable donations.

The Arizona Geological Survey creates and indexes geological maps and data, a service that could easily be privatized. The agency also regulates the production of geothermal resources, a task that would be performed more effectively by the State Land Department. [excuse me, but AZGS acts on behalf of the Arizona Oil & Gas Conservation Commission to regulate drilling for oil, gas, geothermal, CO2, helium, etc. If this is typical of their research, their whole report is suspect]

The Department of Mines and Mineral Resources “provides technical assistance to mining companies at taxpayer expense.” The specialized support should be funded by fees from those in the mining industry who wish to receive the services, not by tax dollars.

They also go after museums:

Centennial spending doesn’t end with local projects. The state government established a pricey and seemingly unnecessary museum to celebrate the state’s impending centennial. The 2011 state budget gives the Arizona Historical Society $589,700 so it can take over the existing Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum and make it a part of the new Arizona Centennial Museum.

No one from the Goldwater Institute spoke to anyone at AZGS about their claims, so we assume someone there scanned our website and picked out a couple topics that could be misrepresented to readers who know nothing else about what we do. Stick a glossy cover and clever title on it and voila! - they have a nice attention getter and fund raiser.

Former ADEQ director Ben Grumbles says hydro-frac'ing exemption was too broad

Former ADEQ Director and former EPA official Ben Grumbles [right, credit Rose Law Group] did an extensive interview with ProPublica on the topic of hydrofacturing ("frac'ing") of oil and gas wells.

The interview headline and news reports are focusing on his statements about Congress making the 2005 exemption from the Safe Drinking Water too broad, but there are a lot of other complex and nuanced remarks that make it sound not so black and white.

Ben left ADEQ last October to take a position with the Clean Water America Alliance in DC.

Proposals for a U.S. GeoHeritage initiative

A draft proposal for creation of a U.S. GeoHeritage initiative prepared by an ad hoc committee of the Geological Society of America is posted on the Society's web site for comment by GSA members through May 16.

“Geoheritage” is a generic but descriptive term applied to sites or areas of geologic features with significant scientific, educational, cultural, or aesthetic value.

The GSA position statement recommends:

• Recognize and support designation and appropriate management of geoheritage sites
• Encourage collaboration and partnerships to identify, designate, and manage geoheritage sites
• Support U.S. participation in UNESCO’s Global Network of National Geoparks
• Respect and honor the needs and interests of private landowners with special geologic features on their land

The Grand Canyon is regularly described as one of the top candidates for GeoHeritage status. Yet, the position statement notes that "None of the 77 Geoparks designated worldwide
are in the United States." And therein lies the rub. Any attempt to give an international and especially United Nations recognition to parks or other sites in the U.S. is expected by many to generate a strong political backlash over fears of loss of U.S. sovereignty or foreign interference.

Arizona Geology - 2,500 blog posts

This blog's just passed another milestone - 2,500 posts as of tonight.

What we lack in quality, we make up in quantity!

Global permeability map

A first-ever global permeability map was published last month. The authors "use an extensive compilation of results from hydrogeologic models to show that regional-scale (>5 km) permeability of consolidated and unconsolidated geologic units below soil horizons (hydrolithologies) can be characterized in a statistically meaningful way. The representative permeabilities of these hydrolithologies are used to map the distribution of near-surface (on the order of 100 m depth) permeability globally and over North America."

Mapping permeability over the surface of the Earth, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 38, L02401, 6 PP., 2011, doi:10.1029/2010GL045565

BLM's received 83,000 letters on Northern Arizona uranium

One of our correspondents reports that about 50 people showed up in Phoenix for the first public hearing on the proposed withdrawal of 1 million acres of federal land from mining exploration and development for 20 years.

BLM Project Manager Chris Horyza stated that the U.S. Interior Dept. has received 83,000 letters from 90 countries regarding the withdrawal action. When asked if there was a theme in the letters, he said the writers were concerned about damaging the Grand Canyon. This is not surprising given so much of the news coverage shows pictures of the Canyon itself when reporting on proposed exploration in northern Arizona. BLM says they are going to make their decision based on 'substantive' comments and not hold a vote on the matter, but also admit that popular opinion will influence that decision.

Chris Horyza gave the overview presentation and answered written questions from the audience. There were no verbal questions. However, an hour was provided to visit the various displays on relevant topics. Agency representatives from BLM, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife, Park Service and USGS staffed the displays and they were almost equal in number to the public.

Thanks to RM for the report

Senate passes bill on professional licenses and religious beliefs

I'm still trying to figure out how Arizona Senate bill SB1288 is going to be used. It passed the Senate today 21-9. The fact sheet on it says it "Prohibits a government from denying, suspending or revoking a professional or occupational license, certificate or registration based on a person’s exercise of religion."

The provision that confounds me "Prohibits a government from denying, suspending or revoking a professional or occupational license, certificate or registration based on a person’s refusal to affirm a statement that is contrary to the person’s sincerely held moral or religious beliefs."

Someone's going to have to interpret this one for me.

400 publications in AZGS online document repository

400 of our publications are now online for free download in the AZGS Document Repository, along with 18 collections. Kudos to Geologic Extension Service Chief Mike Conway for his and his team's relentless efforts to get everything digital and online.

You can follow Mike on Twitter to get real time updates on new additions to the Repository - http://twitter.com/AZGeology

New report: Evaluation of Avulsion Potential on Active Alluvial Fans in Maricopa County

We published a new report today, authored by Jon Fuller, that examines avulsion, the process by which flow is diverted out of an established channel into a new course on the adjacent floodplain, in Maricopa County. The report is available at the online AZGS Document Repository for free downloading.


Ref: Fuller, J.E., 2011, Evaluation of Avulsion Potential on Active Alluvial Fans in Maricopa County, Arizona Geological Survey, Contributed Report CR-11-B, 82p.

Doubling geothermal capacity in a decade

Improved access to data is one of a handful of factors "driving expanded interest" in geothermal energy. A new report from Pike Research, says geothermal power could increase total geothermal capacity "134% increase between 2010 and 2020, from 10.7 gigawatts (GW) to 25.1 GW, under a high-growth forecast scenario. Under a more conservative business-as-usual forecast scenario, the cleantech market intelligence firm estimates that geothermal power capacity would increase 34% to 14.3 GW by 2020."

The proprietary report describes geothermal as an underutilized resource. "Improved access to resource data, more efficient drilling processes, increased understanding about the industry’s potential, and improving access to financing are driving expanding interest in the sector.”

AZGS is playing a lead role in designing, building, implementing, deploying, and populating the DOE-funded National Geothermal Data System.

New York Times weighs in against uranium mining

The New York Times has editorialized for the most sweeping option in shutting down uranium exploration in northern Arizona, repeating the main points of mining opponents. [right, uranium mining in northern Arizona. Credit VANE Minerals]

They raise concerns the Colorado River is uranium-free but is at risk of being contaminated by mining activity, potentially poisoning the drinking water of 27 million people. However, work by the U.S. Geological Survey documented that 40-80 tons of uranium are eroded naturally into the Colorado River every year. The AZGS found that even the worst-case accident would add additional amounts to the river that are too small to distinguish from the large amounts of naturally-occurring uranium.

There are valid issues to resolve about mining in this region but overstated fears distract us from the real challenges and diminish the debate.

Forget NIMBY, foes go BANANAs over renewable energy

A recent report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy worries that the "BANANA syndrome, build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody is with us everywhere and impeding investment" in renewable energy projects.

Renewable energy has to increase by nearly 800% to meet President Obama's goals, which Christopher Guith, vice president for policy of the Institute says, "there are so many regulatory barriers right now, on siting and for building these facilities, it would be impossible to get there."