USGS Office of Communications Science Picks—Leads, Feeds, and Story Seeds March 2006 Edition For Release: UPON RECEIPT Spring is around the corner, and March Science Picks offers insight on significant science that will help you transition to sizzling summer topics. Science Picks brings U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science to you, helping you cover ongoing earth and natural science research, investigations, and technology. Photos and Web links are provided to enhance your story. If you would like to receive Science Picks via email, would like to change the recipient, or no longer want to receive it, please email dmakle@xxxxxxxxx March Highlights: · Mile-long Crust on Display — Tells 35 Million-Year Tale · Big Earthquakes Can Rock Middle America · Famous 1906 Earthquake Shot Recaptured by USGS Scientist · Coral Reefs and Sea-Level Rise Don’t Mix · USGS Grants Available for Earthquake Research · USGS Subscription Makes Science No "Trivial Pursuit" and more … LEADS: Mile-long Piece of the Earth's Crust on Display — Tells 35 Million-Year Tale: Ever wondered what a mile-long piece of the Earth’s crust looks like? Last fall, a team of scientists drilled more than one mile into the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater. Reporters are invited to see what scientists have collected at the USGS National Center in Reston, Va., 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, March 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No registration necessary. For more information, call Diane Noserale at (703) 648-4333 or at dnoseral@xxxxxxxxx Big Earthquakes Can Rock Middle America: It may seem unlikely, but earthquakes can happen in America’s heartland. Although earthquakes in the central United States are less common than in California, cities such as St. Louis and Memphis are not spared and may feel the effects more widely since seismic energy travels more efficiently through the hard, ancient crust which is typical for the region. Based on studies of the New Madrid seismic zone in the central Mississippi Valley, large, magnitude-7 to-8 earthquakes occur every 500 years, on average. USGS scientists estimate that the 50-year probability of having a large magnitude earthquake ranges from 7 to 10 percent, and for a magnitude-6.0 or larger earthquake, 25 to 40 percent. Find out how scientists use information from large magnitude earthquakes that happened in 1811 to 1812 and two prehistoric earthquake sequences to determine the probability and risk for the mid-continent region. For more information, contact Arthur Frankel at (303) 273-8556 or at afrankel@xxxxxxxxx Famous 1906 Earthquake Shot Recaptured by USGS Scientist: What a sight it must have been when professional photographer George Lawrence shot “San Francisco in Ruins,” an image of the city from an estimated 1000 feet above the bay, using a train of Conyne kites with his 49-pound camera. That was three weeks after the April 18,1906 San Francisco earthquake, an event so devastating that it caused at least 3,000 deaths, more than 200,000 homeless, and the destruction of more than 28,000 buildings in the San Francisco fire that followed. This month, in commemoration of the significant scientific advances made because of 1906 earthquake studies, a USGS scientist will recreate the famous panoramic photo. The USGS and the Drachen Foundation, which supports kite education and research, have worked collaboratively to recapture the event. However, it’s just the beginning of commemoration events: take a trench tour, or get the birdseye view of the California faults through detailed maps designed to educate the public, land-use planners, utilities and lifeline owners, and emergency response officials. For more information, see http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/info/1906/ or contact Susan Garcia at (650) 329-4668 or garcia@xxxxxxxx for details on upcoming events. A complete list of 1906 Centennial Alliance events, exhibits, lectures, and publications is also available at http://1906centennial.org/activities/. Coral Reefs and Sea-Level Rise Don’t Mix: The Hawaiian Islands are known for beautiful, blue waters, tropical fish, and magnificent coral reefs. They are also the laboratory for a new USGS study that finds the rising sea might be one of reefs’ greatest foes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that worldwide sea level will rise 1.5 feet over the next 100 years, and USGS scientists' research suggests that this rise in sea level will cause the reefs in Hawaii and off other high islands (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, etc.) to be more susceptible to land-based pollution such as sediment, nutrients, and contaminants. Is this an important finding? Judge for yourself — coral reefs cover less than 1 percent of the Earth's surface yet house more than 25 percent of all marine life; they also contribute hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the U.S. fishing industry and help generate billions of dollars a year for the Nation's tourist industry. They are a source of food and provide jobs, chemicals, protection against storms, and life-saving pharmaceuticals. Find out how scientists are using data and computer modeling to study this phenomenon at http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov. For more information, contact Curt Storlazzi at (831) 427-4721 or at cstorlazzi@xxxxxxxxx USGS Produces a Gold Mine of Information: For the second year in a row, value of U.S. non-fuel mine production rose by double digits, reaching $51.6 billion last year – a 13 percent increase from 2004. To produce its annual report, the USGS collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on current production and consumption of about 100 mineral-based commodities and raw materials, such as steel, for the U.S. and about 180 other countries. The report also discusses trends behind the numbers. The USGS evaluates these materials because their production is the first step in building and manufacturing nearly everything, and they are a key indicator of the global economy. These commodities are also the foundation of our national security. So, why is the value increasing? Check it out: "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2006" is available on the USGS Web site at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/. Printed copies are for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) (bookstore.gop.gov or toll free (806) 512-1800); GPO stock number 024-004-02549-2; price: $30 domestic, $42 foreign. For more information, contact Lucy McCartan at 703-648-6905 or at lmccartan@xxxxxxxxx FEEDS: USGS Grants Available for Earthquake Research: The USGS will award up to $5.5 million in National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) grants for earthquake research in 2007. Interested researchers can review the grant announcement and apply online at www.grants.gov. Applications are due May 2, 2006. Earthquakes are one of the most costly natural hazards nationwide – 75 million Americans in 39 states face significant risk from earthquakes. Worldwide, more than 500,000 earthquakes occur annually. As part of the multi-agency NEHRP program, the USGS has the lead Federal responsibility to provide notification of earthquakes. For more information, contact Clarice Ransom at (703) 648-4299 or at cransom@xxxxxxxxx Take a Geology Field Trip in Your Own Schoolyard: The education Web site Schoolyard Geology provides lessons and activities for teachers and ambitious science students to conduct a geologic field trip right in their own backyard. Lessons and activities on the site include mapping your schoolyard using the USGS' The National Map, locating and identifying rocks, and learning geologic features such as glacial striations, layers, and sinkholes, all within your neighborhood schoolyard. To access the Web site, visit http://education.usgs.gov/schoolyard/. For more information, contact Matthew d'Alessio at 650-329-4829 or at dalessio@xxxxxxxxx Science at Your Fingertips: Don’t know which Government agency is doing research in what areas? Now the public has a one-stop shop to search science subjects, and scientists have a place to go to find related research. Science.gov is an interagency science portal that searches databases and Web sites of U.S. Government science agencies, including the USGS. To find out more, contact Thomas Lahr at (303) 273-8596 or at tom_lahr@xxxxxxxxx USGS Subscription Makes Science No "Trivial Pursuit": Never miss another question when the Trivial Pursuit® category is “Science and Nature.” Subscribe to the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed for USGS Frequently Asked Questions, or suggest that your readers do. Every time there’s a new question posted or an existing FAQ updated, subscribers are notified immediately. (Think about how great it would be to have a new FAQ pop into your RSS reader just when you’re stumped for that certain bit of science info or want to challenge your readers with a Q&A column or sidebar.) To get started, go to the USGS Home Page, http://www.usgs.gov, and look for the familiar “RSS” in the orange-colored box in the Frequently Asked Questions section. And, while you’re at it, subscribe to the other USGS RSS feeds for up-to-the-minute monitoring of earthquake and volcano activity and much more. Check out http://www.usgs.gov/homepage/rss_feeds.asp. For more information, contact Steve Shivers at (703) 648-5422 or at spshivers@xxxxxxxx, or Scott Horvath at (703) 648-4011 or at shorvath@xxxxxxxxx New Mount St. Helens B-roll Released: The USGS has released 28 minutes of b-roll taken between September 2004 and February 2006 of the growing dome at Mount St. Helens. The footage features thermal imaging, time-lapse photos of dome growth, volcano–fly-bys, and footage of scientists installing a new tiltmeter within the crater. The video is available to the media. For more information or to obtain the footage, contact Don Becker at (605) 594-6175 or at becker@xxxxxxxxx STORY SEEDS: Today’s Science…Tomorrow’s Water: During Ground Water Awareness Week, March 12-18, sponsored by the National Ground Water Association, the Nation is reminded of the value of America’s groundwater resources. Ground water, found in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is the source of drinking water for nearly half of the Nation’s population, provides about 40 percent of the irrigation water essential for the Nation’s agriculture, sustains the flow of most streams and rivers, and helps maintain a variety of aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, the trend in ground water withdrawals for public supply and irrigation is increasing. View real-time ground water data at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/current/?type=gw. For more information on Ground water research, contact AB Wade at (703) 648-4483 or at abwade@xxxxxxxxx Healthy Forests — Got Calcium? A recent USGS study of Oregon forests shows that nitrogen and calcium, essential nutrients for healthy forests, are tightly linked and that high nitrogen levels strongly reduce calcium availability to trees. For more information, contact Steven Perakis at (541) 758-8786 or at sperakis@xxxxxxxxx New Water Testing Technology Streamlines Process and Cuts Cost: Thousands of water samples are collected and tested by USGS scientists from streams, lakes, reservoirs, and ground water annually. New robotic technology — the automated discrete analyzer instruments — have replaced the continuous flow analyzer technology that the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory has used for decades. Now, instead of 360 tests per hour, the USGS lab processes 600 tests per hour. To learn more about this technology, contact Charles Patton at (303) 236-3956 or at cjpatton@xxxxxxxxx
