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Moving mountains

By Guest PostJanuary 29, 2014Environment, Science3d modeling, andes mountains, Argentina, chilean border, claudio berti, debris, environmental impacts, erika schreiber, geologic consulting company, geological feature, google earth, icy landscape, lehigh university, metals, michael o neal, mining companies, moving mountains, renato kane, rock glacier, rock glacier dynamics, san juan province, university of delaware

Research in the Andes examines rock glacier dynamics for mining industry

When it comes to mining for copper and gold, prospectors will move mountains to make it happen. As in, physically dig up the rock, extract the precious metals and move the debris elsewhere.

In the chilly high altitudes of the Andes Mountains, however, what may look like part of a mountain can in fact be a huge, frozen block of rock fragments and ice. When some of that ice melts in the spring, these so-called “rock glaciers” become a valuable source of water for local populations. (more…)

Cassini Finds Titan Lake is Like a Namibia Mudflat

A new study analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggests that the lake, known as Ontario Lacus, behaves most similarly to what we call a salt pan on Earth.

A group led by Thomas Cornet of the Université de Nantes, France, a Cassini associate, found evidence for long-standing channels etched into the lake bed within the southern boundary of the depression. This suggests that Ontario Lacus, previously thought to be completely filled with liquid hydrocarbons, could actually be a depression that drains and refills from below, exposing liquid areas ringed by materials like saturated sand or mudflats. (more…)

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Moving mountains

Cassini Finds Titan Lake is Like a Namibia Mudflat