Dinosaur extinction shaped modern forests and rivers, researchers find
The sudden extinction of the dinosaurs dramatically altered the North American landscape, according to a recent study published by a multi-institutional team including researchers from Penn State.
EarthTalks: Pa. sees ‘promising opportunities’ for critical minerals production
Gale Blackmer, the Pennsylvania state geologist and director of the Bureau of Geological Survey in the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, delivered a public talk on Monday, Dec. 8. as part of EarthTalks seminar series.
EarthTalks: Research about coal byproducts a window into critical minerals
Christina Lopano from the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Research and Innovation Center, presented “Characterizing the Critical: REE and CM Speciation in Fossil Energy Waste Materials,” on Monday, Dec 1st as part of the EarthTalks series.
New members appointed to Earth and Mineral Sciences alumni boards
The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences has announced the appointment of two new members to the Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences (GEMS) board of directors, and four new members to the college’s Development Council.
Uganda community collaboration targets climate hazards with reforestation
Penn State researchers and collaborators are forging a reforestation plan to counter climate-related disasters: deadly rainstorms, landslides and mudslides that have ravaged infrastructure, homes, farmland and livestock in recent years.
EarthTalks: Models can assess supply-chain risks around critical minerals
Elisa Alonso, assistant chief for the Minerals Intelligence Research Section at the U.S. Geological Survey, delivered a public talk, titled “Increasing Transparency for Critical Mineral Commodity Supply Chains from Deposit to End-use in an Uncertain and Opaque Market,” on Monday, Nov. 17, as part of the EarthTalks seminar series.
EMS increases support for Millennium Scholars Program this GivingTuesday
Penn State will soon celebrate its eleventh GivingTuesday, and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences will be raising money to support the Millennium Scholars Program.
Screening of 'Contact' and expert discussion to be held at the State Theatre
The Penn State Eberly College of Science hosted a free screening of the award-winning film “Contact” on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the State Theatre. A Q&A featuring experts in the field of extraterrestrial intelligence, moderated by Jennifer Macalady, geomicrobiologist in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and director of the Penn State Ecology Institute, was immediately after the film’s screening.
Defunct Pennsylvania oil and gas wells may leak methane, metals into water
Researchers surveyed 18 abandoned wells, like this one, and found that they not only leak natural gases that contaminate the atmosphere but also release methane into the adjoining water table. Some of the sites also exhibited high concentrations of dissolved metals in nearby groundwater.
$13.9M grant to investigate how fire, climate, people shaped Africa’s landscapes
Sarah Ivory in Dhofar’s Nejd Desert, a vast stony plateau in southern Oman, looking for caves that house hyrax middens to use for fossil pollen analysis to understand how pastoral groups managed desert landscapes in the past.