Volcanoes and Climate Change

A colleague shared some claims made by Ian Rutherford Plimer. Claims made in big, bold red fonts make me suspicious, as does the absence of research offered up to support the claims.

NASA offers this, “Large-scale volcanic activity may last only a few days, but the massive outpouring of gases and ash can influence climate patterns for years.”

NASA also interpreted SAGE II satellite measurements to account for a decline in the globally averaged surface temperature in mid-1992 of about 1° degree F as a result of aerosols released during the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. It seems reasonable to me, based only on what I recall from climate projections, that 1°F (0.55 C) is significant.

But it's not clear how to compare that to the progress in CO2 cuts over the past 5 years. The accounting for the effects of carbon cuts in atmospheric cooling seems as perilous as accounting for the effects of savings schemes in financial records

Europa's Ocean Ascending

Literally Very Cool - modeling of crustal deformation of the icy crust of Europa.  See the entire gif here.

USGS & CDC Estimate about 2.1 million people use wells high in arsenic

It's common to run into arsenic in soils and groundwater here in Midwest.  If you operate a well for your drinking water supply, get it tested.

Your state geological survey and local water monitoring council provide a lot of information on arsenic in drinking water - a great place to start for citizens with questions and concerns about arsenic in their drinking water.  Here is a link to the Indiana Water Monitoring Council's arsenic pages.

Salt storage impact to potable water supply

Xenon completed an electromagnetic survey to map the distribution of chlorides in shallow soils in the vicinity of a supply well.  Magnetic gradiometry data were collected to evaluate the presence of abandoned well casings.  The results are compelling and show the influence of previously unmapped utility corridors that were likely installed for an interment camp that was located at the site in the 1940s. 

This image shows areas of increased conductivity (red-orange) that are attributed to chloride content with distinctly linear anomalies interpreted as underground utilities.  Soil sampling corroborated the results.background imagery per Google Earth Pro.

announcing Dr. Howell

Samuel Howell completed his dissertation defense on Nov. 15, wrapping up his work at U Hawaii SOEST.  Next he moves to Pasadena for post-doc work at JPL where he will work on the Europa mission. 

Well done!  Congratulations!