Author: samuelmeyerovich

The Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory of Australia have opened a bauxite mine.  This will be the first mine owned by Aboriginals.  Bauxite is a rock that formed from a laterite soil which has been drained of silica and other soluble materials from wet tropical environments. It is the main ore that aluminum is extracted from.  Bauxite is the main source through which aluminum materials are made.  The main international sources of bauxite are Australia, China, Brazil, India, and Guinea.  It is mainly used for aluminum production, but it could also be used as an abrasive (calcined alumina) or a proppant (hydraulic fracturing).

The opening of the mine was an important occasion because it is a demonstration of Aboriginals gaining power by owning an indigenous mine.  It is expected to provide over 100 jobs by 2018.  The leader of the Gumatj Aboriginal clan, Dr. Galarrwuy Yunupingu, has voiced his pride in his people and the fact that they can make their own decisions about the land.

References:

King, H. (n.d.). Bauxite. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from http://geology.com/minerals/bauxite.shtml

Topf, A. (2017, December 10). First Aboriginal mine opens in Northern Territory. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from http://www.mining.com/first-aboriginal-mine-opens-northern-territory/

This article analyzes the risk of earthquakes in mountainous regions. Researchers have developed a 2D simulation which uses long-time scale processes to explain short time scale problems.  It can replicate the results that were observed from historical earthquake catalogues. This new study which utilizes the simulation has found that the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes is directly related to the rate at which tectonic plates collide.  Fast tectonic plate collisions tend to occur in mountainous regions like the Alps, Himalaya, Apennines, and Zagros.  The researchers have justified this by saying that low temperatures and a large radius of impact is caused by faster collisions and as a result, a large relative number of earthquakes in the area.

These earthquakes are important to study because many of these mountainous regions are also densely populated.  Hopefully, understanding why such powerful earthquakes occur at such a high frequency will help researchers to be able to better predict when they will happen.  I think this is what seismologists should mainly focus on because by simply alerting the people of when they need to evacuate, they will be able to directly help save numerous lives.

References:

1. Elsevier. (2017, December 4). Earthquakes in the Himalaya are bigger than in the Alps because tectonic plates collide faster. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 11, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171204091833.htm
2. Luca Dal Zilio, Ylona van Dinther, Taras V. Gerya, Casper C. Pranger. Seismic behaviour of mountain belts controlled by plate convergence rate. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2018; 482: 81 DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.10.053

This article discusses the issues of using coal ash as a binding agent in concrete, bricks, roofing, wallboards, and other building materials.  Many manufacturers would consider this method as being low-cost and therefore, financially beneficial.  However, it was found that the coal ash from high-uranium deposits in China has a radiation level of 43 times higher than the maximum safe limit set by the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.  The scientists who discovered this noticed that while there are typically low levels of uranium concentration in coals from the United States and China, some coals have been identified to have high levels of uranium concentration.  When these coals are combusted, it leaves behind coal ash with very high levels of radiation.  The scientists have decided that the question has moved from how radioactive is the coal ash and can we continue to use it in building materials, but how can we dispose of this highly radioactive commodity in ways that will not result in air or water contamination.

The social impact of using unsafe amounts of radioactive coal ash in building materials is enormous.  This is an example of which the Chinese and American manufacturers should immediately recognize the issue and take action by stopping the use of the coal ash as quickly as possible despite the financial risks.  Incorporating a radioactive material into buildings will not do any good to the people using these new buildings.  If this continues, the manufacturers should be able to be sued for creating hazardous environments.

References:

1. Some Chinese coal ash too radioactive for reuse. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2017, from https://phys.org/news/2017-11-chinese-coal-ash-radioactive-reuse.html
2. Nancy Lauer, Avner Vengosh, Shifeng Dai. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in Uranium-Rich Coals and Associated Coal Combustion Residues from China. Environmental Science & Technology, 2017; DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b03473

Is it gonna blow? Measuring volcanic emissions from space. (2017, October 14). Retrieved October 27, 2017, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171012200221.htm

This article refers to a stratovolcano in Bali that has started smoking one month ago, but still hasn’t erupted.  Researchers have figured out a way to measure carbon dioxide emissions from a satellite in space.  The researchers published in the Science magazine that the satellite’s sensors are able to pinpoint localized sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  This is not an easy task considering all of the background carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Through the process of spectroscopy, the satellite emits light in which the wavelength is not detectable to the human eye.  Carbon dioxide absorbs some of the light when hit.  The satellite then measures the amount of light that bounces back (not absorbed by CO2).  This allows scientists to find specific localized sources of CO2 emission, whether human or natural.  If this technique is used on the volcano in Bali, it would be much easier and efficient than physically going up the volcano and placing devices that measure CO2 emission.

The article mentions that as soon as the smoking started, officials evacuated all of the people who live near the volcano.  This is because the last time Mount Agung erupted was in 1963 and killed over 1000 people.  However, now that it has been a month, the Balinese are complaining that they want to go back to their homes,  In addition, tourism is down.  According to a more recent article, the volcano’s alert status has actually lowered and seismic activity has actually decreased over the past week.  At first, there were 28 local villages that were in the exclusion zone, but after this decreased activity only 6 villages remain.  Bali’s governor demanded that foreign nations remove travel warnings.  This was in response to the Balinese hotel industry losing over $200 million in the past month.

References:

1. Florian M. Schwandner, Michael R. Gunson, Charles E. Miller, Simon A. Carn, Annmarie Eldering, Thomas Krings, Kristal R. Verhulst, David S. Schimel, Hai M. Nguyen, David Crisp, Christopher W. O’Dell, Gregory B. Osterman, Laura T. Iraci, James R. Podolske. Spaceborne detection of localized carbon dioxide sources. Science, 2017; 358 (6360): eaam5782 DOI: 10.1126/science.aam5782
2. Hawley, I. C. (2017, October 29). Bali volcano’s alert status lowered after decreased activity. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-30/bali-mount-agung-volcano-threat-decreases/9097790

Gibbens, S. (2017, October 19). Why This Massive Mud Volcano Turned Deadly. Retrieved October 19, 2017, from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/mud-volcano-lusi-indonesia-video-spd/

This article talks about a mud volcano named Lusi that has been erupting non-stop for the past 10 years on the Indonesian Island of Java.  Mud-spewing volcanoes, like lava-spewing volcanoes, tend to be common where two tectonic plates converge.  The article refers to this as a subduction zone.  They violently release pressurized carbon dioxide and methane gas that has been built up over time. Lusi is also at the site of a hydrothermal vent, which releases gas.  According to the article, researchers suggest that magma from a volcanic complex in Eastern Java traveled through an underground tunnel to Lusi and has been baking the sediment under the mud volcano and constantly adding pressure, explaining why it has been ongoing for all these years.

The impact of this mud volcano on the people of Java is not small.  According to a study₁, villages were found buried in as much as 130 feet of mud. About 60,000 people had to leave their homes, and 13 people have died.  The cause of the eruption in 2006 has been disputed over the years.  Some say it is due to a magnitude 6.3 earthquake which left many homeless, and caused major cracks under the earth.  Others say it was triggered by blowouts of crude oil from drilling only a few miles away from where the mud volcano first erupted.  Therefore, the people of Java suffer not only from naturally occurring earthquakes, but from a potentially human-induced eruption from a volcanically-linked hydrothermal vent.

1. Miller, S. A., & Mazzini, A. (2017). More than ten years of Lusi: A review of facts, coincidences, and past and future studies. Marine and Petroleum Geology. doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2017.06.019