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.
This is an example of Venus volcanism.
Click on image for full size
NASA/JPL

Volcanic Rises

Volcanic rises are more like islands than a continents. They are thought to be formed by plumes, in a similar fashion to island formation on Earth. Measurements suggest that there is hot magma deep beneath these rises which, through heat, help to hold up the rises and support their mountains, as shown in this picture.

There are three types of volcanic rises:

  • Rift-Type Rises
    • These are rises that contain two or more deep rift valleys. Beta Regio is an example of a rift-dominated rise.
  • Volcano-Type Rises
  • Corona-Type Rises
    • These rises lack large rift valleys, like volcano-Type rises. But instead of having many shield volcanoes, these rises have many coronae.


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Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms

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Beta Regio

Beta Regio is an example of what is known as a volcanic rise, which makes Beta Regio more like an island than a continent. Volcanic rises such as Beta Regio are broad, sloping highlands over 1000 miles...more

Shield Volcanoes

Shield volcanoes can grow to be very big. In fact, the oldest continental regions of Earth may be the remains of ancient shield volcanoes. Unlike the composite volcanoes which are tall and thin, shield...more

Venus Coronae

The feature of Venus' geography called a "Corona" is a deep, curving, trench surrounding an elevated plain. Coronae is the plural term for corona. This is an image of Artemis Corona which is found on Aphrodite...more

The Tharsis Ridge

This image, taken from the Mars Global Surveyor mission (MGS), shows the Tharsis Ridge, the green/blue area in the middle of the picture, as well as a portion of the southern hemisphere of Mars. The green...more

Alpha Regio

Alpha Regio is an example of what is known as a "Plateau Highland" of Venus. The only volcano known to be found on Alpha Regio is Eve Mons. A Plateau Highland is like a continent, and is different from...more

Volcanism of Venus

The Magellan mission to Venus confirmed that the surface of Venus is definitely volcanic. As shown in this picture, lava flows extend to hundreds of miles across the plains in the foreground. The surface...more

Aphrodite Terra

Aphrodite Terra, the Greek name for the goddess Venus, is about the size of half the continent of Africa, and is to be found along the equator of Venus. Aphrodite Terra is different from Ishtar Terra in...more

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