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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 ...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.
  • Earth's Center Is 1,000 Degrees Hotter Than Previously Thought, Synchrotron X-Ray Experiment Shows
    Scientists have determined the temperature near the Earth’s center to be 6000 degrees Celsius, 1000 ...Read more

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    Earth's Center Is 1,000 Degrees Hotter Than Previously Thought, Synchrotron X-Ray Experiment Shows

    Scientists have determined the temperature near the Earth’s center to be 6000 degrees Celsius, 1000 degrees hotter than in a previous experiment run 20 years ago. These measurements confirm geophysical models that the temperature difference between the solid core and the mantle above, must be at least 1500 degrees to explain why the Earth has a magnetic field. For more information about this study, see the press release from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
  • Ocean Volcanic Rocks Contain Samples of Recycled Crust
    Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials fr...Read more

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    Ocean Volcanic Rocks Contain Samples of Recycled Crust

    Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth’s crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research from a team including Carnegie’s Erik Hauri demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago. Their work is published in Nature. Oceanic crust sinks into the Earth’s mantle at so-called subduction zones, where two plates come together. Much of what happens to the crust during this journey is unknown. Model-dependent studies for how long subducted material can exist in the mantle are uncertain and evidence of very old crust returning to Earth’s surface via upwellings of magma has not been found until now. For more information about these results, see the press release from the Carnegie Institution.

    Image courtesy Julia Dooley.

From: Julia Dooley
Mackay Glacier, Antarctica, November 2, 2007

Life in an Antarctic Field Camp

Organizing a science camp for a field party of twelve people to conduct research for six weeks in Antarctica seems like an insurmountable task. And yet, here we are. It took much planning and hard work to get us here, but we've been enjoying our home away from home. We're camped out in an area known as Granite Harbor. As you can see in the photo of our camp, granite formations provide a lovely background to the flat sea ice plane.

Our camp consists of a kitchen tent and a science tent, both of which are heated, six Scott tents that sleep two people, and a potty tent. The kitchen is very cozy and Joan the camp cook keeps us well fed. We look forward to meals at the end of a long day of hard work in the cold climate. Last night we had burritos and the night before that was Pad Thai. We even barbequed steaks one night, making sure we disposed of the coals correctly.

The Scott tents are really quite comfortable for sleeping. I'm told they hold up really well in harsh storms, but I hope the good weather holds so I don't have to find that out for myself. Luckily, we have cots under our sleeping bags that keep us off the cold ice. Now that the sun dips behind the surrounding hillsides for just a short time each night, it's been much warmer for sleeping. And of course, the view from my "front porch" is unbeatable!

We'll be here in Granite Harbor for a few more weeks while we complete the seismic survey of the area in search of Holocene sediment records coming from the Mackay Glacier. You can follow the rest of my adventure through my blog at www.andrill.org/iceberg.

Postcards from the Field: ANDRILL

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