kutv.com
After a boulder smashed into a St. George home and seriously injured a woman, a geologist is asking cities to pay attention to rock fall hazards when approving housing developments.
Someone was hurt this time, said Bill Lund, senior geologist with the Utah Geological Survey who specializes in geologic hazards. It could have very well been worse.
The boulder broke loose around 3 a.m. Saturday and tumbled down Foremaster Ridge into the bedroom of Wanda Denhalter.
deseretnews.com
Even Thomas Chidsey happily concedes that dinosaurs steal the show.
He can walk guests of the Utah Geological Survey’s Utah Core Research Center past drill-produced samples of layers of rock, or core, that are millions upon millions of years old and tell the stories of the state’s unique and diverse geology.
deseretnews.com
Utah experts who know the stories behind the state’s dazzling rock formations, towering mountains and sheer sandstone cliffs put their expertise behind a camera and are showcasing their work in the 2013 edition of the Utah Geology Calendar.
OTHER STORIES:
desertnews.com
The land south of here is mostly flat, sprawling and full of cheatgrass and sagebrush, a landscape that belies its hidden treasure thousands of feet below the surface.
In this wind-whipped region of west central Utah lies a volcano, a literal hotbed of geothermal energy that has the potential to erupt with cheap, dependable power for years to come.
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Discovery of a new type of geothermal energy resource in Utah offers hope for significantly more potential across the western U.S., and a boost in geothermal power production. In 2011 and 2012, Utah Geological Survey geoscientists, in partnership with a U.S. Geological Survey research drilling crew, drilled nine temperature gradient holes in Utah’s Black Rock Desert basin south of Delta in western Utah to test a new concept that high-temperature geothermal resources might exist beneath young sedimentary basins. Preliminary results show that near-surface temperature gradients in the basin vary from about 33⁰F/1000 feet to 55⁰F/1000 feet. This implies temperatures of 300 to 500⁰F at 10,000 to 13,000 feet depth beneath the basin. Given the large area of this basin, the power potential is conservatively estimated to be hundreds of megawatts, and preliminary economic modeling suggests a cost of electricity of about 10c per kilowatt-hour over the life of a geothermal power project. This basin is especially attractive for geothermal development because of the existing nearby infrastructure ─ it is next to a large coal-fired power plant, a 300 MWe wind farm, and a major electrical transmission line to California.
The project findings are being presented on Monday, October 1, at the annual meeting of the Geothermal Resources Council in Reno, Nevada.
sltrib.com
Utah geologists have discovered what appear to be three new raptor species of dinosaurs based on fossils recovered near Arches National Park.
A team led by the Utah Geological Survey published a paper describing one of these early Cretaceous fossils, which are between 120 and 130 millions years old, on Tuesday in the online journal PLos One, or the Public Library of Science.
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kcsg.com
Digging in the dirt does not sound like a glamorous job, but it caught the attention of the cable television network’s Discovery Channel. The show, DIRTY JOBS recently went on a dinosaur dig with some paleontologists from the Utah Geological Survey (UGS). The show is set to air on Tuesday, December 20.
According to the show’s website: “DIRTY JOBS profiles the unsung American laborers who make their living in the most unthinkable — yet vital — ways. Our brave host and apprentice Mike Rowe introduces you to a hardworking group of men and women who overcome fear, danger and sometimes stench and overall ickiness to accomplish their daily tasks.”
State Paleontologist Jim Kirkland and UGS paleontologist Don DeBlieux traveled with the cast and crew of the show to an undisclosed location in eastern Utah for the one day shoot to look for and dig dinosaur bones out of the side of a steep hill. “We picked that site because it is such a spectacular location, but it is a difficult location and one which requires lots of hard and strenuous work,” says DeBlieux.
In fact, the weather was very uncooperative as they were driving to the site. “It rained for a couple of hours in the morning and we were afraid that we weren’t going to be able to film, and they only had one day to shoot. But luckily, the skies cleared and it turned out to be a nice day.” The show points out that you have to have patience, strength and a love of playing in the dirt in order to be a paleontologist.
“We are excited to see the show because we have only seen the trailers,” said DeBlieux. “But based on the trailers, it should be pretty amusing!”
Some of the episode’s trailers can be seen at: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/dirty-jobs-sneak-peek/
The Utah Geological Survey provides timely scientific information about Utah’s geologic environment, resources, and hazards.
sltrib.com
Heads up, map geeks! (We know you’re out there.)
The Utah Geological Survey has released a full-color geological map of unprecedented detail of 1,800 square miles of the central Wasatch, which includes wilderness areas and public lands along with human-infested areas, including Heber and Payson.
The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) is a division of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Several specialized programs comprise the UGS: Data Management, Energy & Minerals, Geologic Hazards, Geologic Information & Outreach, Geologic Mapping, Groundwater & Wetlands, and Paleontology.
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