News
September 10, 2014
The launch of a NASA ocean winds sensor to the International Space Station (ISS) this month inaugurates a new era of Earth observation that will leverage the space station's unique vantage point in space. Before the end of the decade, six NASA Earth science instruments will be mounted to the station to help scientists study our changing planet.
August 24, 2014
7,500 people from 27 countries have formed an 8-kilometer human chain across the German-Polish border to protest opencast brown coal mining, which could entail the destruction of villages in both countries.
The line was formed between the villages of Kerkwitz in Germany, and Grabice in Poland on Saturday. Residents of the two communities, home to some 3,000 people, fear they could be resettled to make way for more brown coal mines as a result of investments by a group of energy companies, including Polish giant PGE.
August 25, 2014
Residents of northern California are bracing for aftershocks after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit near Napa Valley Sunday, injuring at least 172 people and causing extensive damage, including fires sparked by burst gas lines, in the largest tremor to rock the Bay Area since the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta quake in 1989. Aftershocks were expected to continue for several weeks, though State Geologist John Parrish told the Associated Press that they would decrease in magnitude and it was unlikely that there would be a large follow-up earthquake.
August 23, 2014
Amel Barich, IAGETH National Chapter (Morocco) elected as new IUGS Councillor (2014-2018). Amel Barich received a B.Sc. and a M.Sc.
August 21, 2014
Environmental authorities in the Komi region (Russia) upheld Greenpeace Russia’s proposals on how to amend the gaps in regulations that let the oil pour from old, rusty pipelines. They plan to forward them to the provincial parliament and then to the Russian State Duma to develop amendments on the federal level, with the aim that irresponsible oil business will be held liable.
August 20, 2014
August 14-16, 2014 the meeting with the African IAGETH National Chapters was organized by IAGETH Vice-President for Africa Lopo Vasconcelos in the framework of the 25th Colloquium on African Geology – CAG25 in Dar as Salaam, Tanzania.
There was a number of African National Chapters here – Mozambique, Namibia, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
They discussed what to in their countries and conclusions were:
a) Try to call to IAGETH as much members in the respective countries as possible to strengthen their NCs;
August 19, 2014
18th of August, Rosneft together with Norwegian company Statoil Petroleum AS started exploration operations at the Pingvin License PL713prospect in the Norwegian section of the Barents Sea. The first exploration well Pingvin-1 will be drilled by the Transocean Spitsbergen rig. The water depth is 422 meters and the drilling target total vertical depth (TVD) is 1516 meters. The companies expect to analyse the drilling results until the end of 2014. RN Nordic Oil AS is partner in the licence (PL713) with Statoil (that is the operator), North Energy ASA and Edison International Norway Branch.
August 18, 2014
Reuters said - Iceland's Met Office on Monday raised its risk level to the aviation industry for an eruption at its Bardarbunga volcano to orange, which is the fourth level on a five-grade scale. Ash from the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010 shut down much of Europe's airspace for six days, affecting more than 10 million people and costing $1.7 billion. There has been intense seismic activity at Bardarbunga since Aug. 16, although there are no signs of eruption yet.
August 9, 2014
Canada has launched a mission to map the Arctic seabed to support its bid to extend its territory up to the North Pole. The six-week mission comes in the face of competing claims from other countries, including Russia. Two ice-breakers are setting out from Newfoundland to collect data from an undersea ridge that starts near Ellesmere Island and runs to the Pole. The region is believed to include large oil and gas reserves. Last December Canada filed an application with the UN seeking to vastly expand its Atlantic sea boundary.
August 06, 2014
Government pushes ahead with fracking plan dispite wide opposition.