Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.
A map of the surface of Mars, showing where some volcanoes are located.
Click on image for full size
Image from: NASA

Martian Volcanoes

On this map of Mars, the lightly cratered Tharsis Ridge is shown, as well as the heavily cratered Martian highlands (near the bottom of the picture), and Valles Marineris to the right. The volcanoes are the yellow and red dots in the sea of blue in this image.

The Tharsis Ridge is the home of several volcanoes, including Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons is the leftmost volcano in the image. The three large volcanoes which accompany Olympus Mons on the Tharsis Ridge are Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons. Measurements returned by Mars Global surveyor demonstrate the very large size of these volcanoes. Other volcanos named Tharsis Tholus, Ceraunius Tholus, Elysium Mons, and Albov Tholus are found in the right-hand side of the large topographic map of Mars, as well as the very large version of the map to the left.

These volcanoes came into being early in Martian history.


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Mars Global Surveyor Measures Volcano Altitudes

Mars Global Surveyor carries an instrument which measures the altitudes of things. The instrument is called an altimeter, or "altitude-meter". The graph to the left shows Mars Global Surveyor's measurement...more

Exploratour - Volcanoes of the Solar System

Other volcanoes of Mars include Tharsis Tholus, Ceraunius Tholus, Elysium Mons, and Albov Tholus. Two of these are shown in the picture to the left. This is page 15 of 23...more

The Largest Valley System in the Solar System

Scientists studying the features of Mars have discovered the largest known valley system in the solar system. These valleys and gorges lie beneath the surface of the planet, under ash, lava, and dust,...more

The History of Martian Volcanism

During its earliest history, Mars was bombarded with *planetismals*. The impacts of these asteroid-like boulders caused the surface regions of Mars to become warm enough for continents to drift across...more

Gusev Crater location on Mars

Gusev Crater is an impact crater on Mars that looks as though a lake may have once filled it in the distant past. One of the two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) will explore Gusev Crater beginning in January...more

The Climate of Mars

Unlike that of the Earth, the Martian climate is significantly influenced by the eccentricity of the Martian orbit. In spite of the significant influence the orbit plays on Martian climate over the years...more

The Martian Lithosphere

Like the Earth's lithosphere, the Martian lithosphere is the not-so-rigid part of the crust of Mars which is cooler than the interior of Mars somewhat like the film on top of a cup of hot cocoa. On Earth,...more

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