Tag Geology
10,000-year record shows dramatic uplift at Andean volcano
The dramatic finding rested on a simple, painstaking study of the ancient lakeshore, which resembles a bathtub ring.
Study questions dates for cataclysms on early moon, Earth
Phenomenally durable crystals called zircons are used to date some of the earliest and most dramatic cataclysms of the solar system. One is the super-duty collision that ejected material from Earth to form the moon roughly 50 million years after Earth formed. Another is the late heavy bombardment, a wave of impacts that may have created hellish surface conditions on the young Earth, about 4 billion years ago.
Giving freight rail tracks a boost
The big chunks of rock - crushed limestone or dolomite that engineers call ballast - that keep railroad tracks in place look like a solid footing even as freight cars rumble overhead.
UW team explores large, restless volcanic field in Chile
If Brad Singer knew for sure what was happening three miles under an odd-shaped lake in the Andes, he might be less eager to spend a good part of his career investigating a volcanic field that has erupted 36 times during the last 25,000 years. As he leads a large scientific team exploring a region in the Andes called Laguna del Maule, Singer hopes the area remains quiet.
Oldest bit of Earth’s crust among attractions at Geology Museum open house
It promises to be a trip through geologic time: from a look at the oldest piece of Earth's crust, to the earliest smells on our planet, to a recently crash-landed Martian meteorite.
‘Cabinet of curiosities’ captures nature through work of artists and scientists
Of all the places Sierra Swenson expected to end up during her first semester at college, precious few were lined with jars full of preserved reptiles.
Recent Sightings: Fossil fun
Undergraduate and staff tour guide Michael Schiltz talks with first-grade students about bone fossils and replicas of several dinosaur and mammoth skeletons on display at the UW–Madison Geology Museum.
Vaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle
With the help of a solitary sea squirt, scientists have resolved the longstanding puzzle of the crystal structure of vaterite, an enigmatic geologic mineral and biomineral.
Students size up seismic sensor sites
University of Wisconsin–Madison students Matthew Kogle and Kelly Hoehn logged thousands of miles this summer driving rural Wisconsin roads, scanning the landscape. When they found a promising spot, they knocked on the door of the nearest farmhouse and tried to interest the owners in their cause.
Twenty-year study yields precise model of tectonic-plate movements
A new model of the Earth, 20 years in the making, describes a dynamic three-dimensional puzzle of planetary proportions.
Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel
Materials scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel.