USGS News: October Science Picks - Frightful Topics: alien impacts, vampire bats, eruptions and earthquakes

[Denver Makle <dmakle@xxxxxxxx>]

USGS Office of Communications
   Science Picks — Leads, Feeds and Story Seeds
   October 2007 Edition

   For Release: UPON RECEIPT

   Slow news day? Fretting over frightful topics? As we fall back into
   autumn, the October edition of Science Picks will introduce readers to
   seemingly scary research: alien impacts, vampire bats, eruptions and
   earthquakes … Science Picks provides a host of intriguing and timely
   tips on earth and natural science research and investigations at the
   USGS. Photos and Web links are available. If you would like to receive
   Science Picks via e-mail, would like to change the recipient or no
   longer want to receive it, please e-mail dmakle@xxxxxxxxx

   October Highlights:

   ·  An Alien Experience Shaped the Lake Superior Region
   ·  Are There Really Vampire Bats?
   ·  Debunking the Halloween Rep of Frightful Foliage
   ·  Beer from 15-Million-Year-Old Plant Skeletons
   ·  How Do Dogs Affect the Threatened Desert Tortoise?
   ·  Marsh Health — Counting Parasites as a Positive
   ·  Just When You Thought it was Safe to Go Back in the River …
   ·  New USGS Map Portrays Risk of Repeat Hayward Fault Earthquake
   ·  Mount St. Helens Eruption Reaches Third Anniversary
   ·  How can Wildlife and Transportation Safely Cross Paths?
   ·  Happy 100th to the Flint River Gage
   ·  1868 Hayward Earthquake Press Conference on Oct. 17, 2007
   ·  The USGS Presents at the Annual Geological Society of America
   Conference
   ·  National Geography Awareness Week
   ·  USGS Headquarters Opens its Doors to the Public


   LEADS (top news, updates and happenings in natural science)

   An Alien Experience Shaped the Lake Superior Region
   Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada, have something in
   common, and it’s not of this Earth. It’s a newly recognized rock layer
   made up of debris from the impact of a giant extraterrestrial object in
   this region 1,850 million years ago. The impact created a roughly 200
   kilometer-diameter crater centered near Sudbury, Ontario, about 700 km
   from the study area from the study area. The layer contains a record of
   several extraordinary events that occurred within hours after the
   impact, including a powerful earthquake, deposition of solid and melted
   rocks that were blasted hundreds of kilometers from the crater and large
   tsunamis that swept across the area. Find out what USGS scientists and
   their colleagues in Canada have learned while studying this
   ultra-precise time marker that allows an accurate reconstruction of
   ancient geologic events in the Lake Superior region. For more
   information contact William Cannon at (703) 648-6345 or wcannon@xxxxxxxx
   .

   Are There Really Vampire Bats?
   Yes. Of the three species of vampires in North America, only a single
   specimen has been recorded for the United States, in southwest Texas.
   Despite ghoulish urban legend, vampires do not suck blood — they make a
   small incision with their sharp front teeth and lap up the blood with
   their tongue. Vampires in Mexico and South America feed on the blood of
   livestock such as cattle and horses, as well as deer, wild pigs and even
   seals. More than 43 species of bats occur in the United States, and most
   eat only insects. One species in Texas probably saves cotton farmers in
   that region more than $700,000 per year in pesticide costs by eating
   about two tons of harmful crop pests each night! Learn why USGS
   scientists research bats — the health of bat populations, their role in
   disease transmission cycles, the effects of climate change, and energy
   development. Visit http://www.usgs.gov/125/articles/bats.html,
   http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/biology/bats/, or for more
   information contact Paul Cryan at (970) 226-9389 or cryanp@xxxxxxxx or
   Thomas O’Shea at (970) 226-9397 or osheat@xxxxxxxxx

   Debunking the Halloween Rep of Frightful Foliage
   Halloween night, when you curl up to watch your favorite horror flick —
   the one with the starlet running for her life through ghostly, shrouded
   trees — consider this: while it sets a good backdrop for a scary movie,
   that frightening foliage hanging throughout the forest — bryophytes and
   lichens — is an important component of forests and other ecosystems
   around the world. They are small but abundant, and by draping tree
   branches and trunks and carpeting the forest floor, logs, and rocks,
   they slow the rate at which water is lost from the forest ecosystem and
   reduce erosion, a process that can that can wash away soil nutrients,
   damage the forest floor, and contaminate streams. For more information
   see http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/fs/fs-154-02.pdf, or contact Andrea
   Woodward at (206) 526-6282, x332 or andrea_woodward@xxxxxxxxx

   Beer from 15-Million-Year-Old Plant Skeletons
   You might enjoy Oktoberfest or a football tailgate feast with a cold
   glass of beer filtered through the skeletons of microscopic,
   single-celled plants dating back 15 million years. Found in lake beds
   formed millions of years ago, freshwater diatomite deposits in the
   Western United States contain billions of tiny diatom skeletons, which
   are widely used for filtration, absorption, and abrasives. New studies
   by the USGS are revealing how ancient lakes in the Western States
   produced such large numbers of diatoms. To learn more, visit
   http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3044/, or contact Alan Wallace at (775)
   784-5789 or alan@xxxxxxxxx

   How Do Dogs Affect the Threatened Desert Tortoise?
   Desert tortoise populations have declined in recent decades, causing
   populations north and west of the Colorado River to be federally listed
   in 1990 as threatened. One USGS study hypothesized that attacks by
   domestic and feral dogs are a growing threat to recovery of the species.
   The scientists found tortoise populations most likely to be affected by
   dogs occur within 2-6 kilometers of settlements and towns. The percent
   of tortoises with moderate to severe trauma from predators was
   significantly higher at sites near settlements than in remote areas. Two
   tortoise populations, under study since 1980 and near settlements, also
   showed significantly increased frequency in moderate to severe trauma
   over time. Want to learn more about this study? Contact Kristin Berry at
   (951) 697-6361 or kristin_berry@xxxxxxxxx

   Just When You Thought it was Safe to Go Back in the River …
   Likely invading a river near you are fish that can wreak havoc on native
   fish populations and boaters alike, all without a mouth full of teeth!
   Frightened by the noise and vibration of a passing motorboat, silver
   carp weighing as much as 20 pounds catapult themselves into the air and
   passing boats, often bruising, bloodying and getting slime on boaters,
   or breaking boating equipment. Another threat is below the water’s
   surface, where native fish are battling the ever-increasing invaders for
   existence in the Missouri and Mississippi River systems. Rapid
   maturation, explosive reproductive rates and long life-spans bolster
   silver carp populations, a fish that is steadily expanding its range
   through the interconnected river systems of the central U.S. Eating as
   much as 20 percent of their body weight in plankton each day, silver
   carp drastically change food chains, threatening the food resources of
   native fishes. Scientists at the Columbia Environmental Research Center
   are collaborating with scientists from the United States and China to
   better understand the biology and ecology of invasive Asian carp,
   developing ways to reduce the threats from these flying giants. One
   redeeming value of this plentiful invader is that silver carp are
   delicious to eat and are a good nutritional source of omega-3 fatty
   acids, and due to their size, one fish is large enough to feed a whole
   family! To learn more about invasive Asian carp, visit
   http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/pubs/center/pdfDocs/Asian_carp-2-2004.pdf and
   http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/pubs/pubs.htm#carp. For more information
   contact Duane Chapman at (573) 876-1866 or dchapman@xxxxxxxxx

   FEEDS (USGS tools and resources)

   New USGS Map Portrays Hazard of Repeat Hayward Fault Earthquake
   This Oct. 21 marks the 139th anniversary of the 1868 Hayward earthquake
   in the San Francisco Bay Area — the average interval between the past
   five large earthquakes on the Hayward Fault has been 140 years,
   indicating that another large, damaging earthquake could occur at any
   time. On Oct.17, the USGS will announce progress towards a new map
   product, which portrays the strong ground shaking produced during the
   1868 magnitude-7 earthquake, the 12th-deadliest in U.S. history. Are you
   curious about the location, number of landslides or amount of soil
   liquefaction? How would a modern-day magnitude-7 affect the Bay Area?
   The new map will show the locations at greatest risk. Have you
   considered the economic losses? The map will allow others to estimate
   the number of employees and the value of wages exposed to strong to very
   strong levels of ground shaking, as well as the exposure of property to
   these shaking levels. The 1868 ShakeMap will also be compared to
   computer simulations of the earthquake to help scientists better
   understand how the Hayward Fault ruptured in 1868. For more information
   contact Tom Brocher at (650) 329-4737 or brocher@xxxxxxxx or Susan
   Garcia at (650) 329-4668 or garcia@xxxxxxxxx


   Mount St. Helens Eruption Reaches Third Anniversary


   Lava continues to erupt onto the crater floor of Mount St. Helens 3
   years after a blast of steam and ash marked the volcano’s reawakening,
   after 18 years of calm. Since mid-October 2004, the erupting volcano has
   extruded approximately 121 million cubic yards of lava, which is
   equivalent in volume to about 160 large sports stadiums or the height of
   the Empire State Building, 1,250 ft or 102 stories. Read more about this
   ongoing eruption and the glacier it is displacing on the USGS Cascades
   Volcano Observatory Web site at
   http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Eruption04/framework.html. For
   more information on USGS work on natural hazards contact Clarice Ransom
   at (703) 648-4299 or cransom@xxxxxxxxx

   How can Wildlife and Transportation Safely Cross Paths?
   Until now, few decision guides for wildlife road crossings were
   available. USGS scientists recently unveiled results of a 3-year
   research project that will help make the North American roaded landscape
   safer and more permeable for wildlife, while also reducing the risk of
   wildlife-vehicle collisions. With the guide, users can assess a
   transportation plan or project for its potential effects on wildlife and
   ecosystems, identify mitigation techniques that could allow wildlife to
   move more freely over and under a road or railway, and learn how to
   adaptively monitor and manage the
   situation over time. Check out www.wildlifeandroads.org. The Web site
   lets you search a literature database, database of wildlife crossings in
   North America, related Web sites, selected literature files, and
   wildlife-crossings pictures. For more information contact John
   Bissonette of the USGS-Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
   at (435) 797-2511 or john.bissonette@xxxxxxxx

   STORY SEEDS (points to ponder or investigate)

   Happy 100th to the Flint River Gage
   On Oct.1, the USGS streamgage on the Flint River at Bainbridge, Ga.,
   turned 100-years old. The gage is central in monitoring water issues in
   Georgia, Florida, and Alabama and is the 18th gage in Georgia that’s
   been operating for more than 100 years. It’s one of a small number of
   gages in the network of more than 7,400 gages in the United States with
   100-year records. Learn more about the river, which flows beneath the
   runways of the world’s busiest airport, generates electric power and
   provides drinking water to many communities: Go to the National Water
   Information System site,
   http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/nwisman/?site_no=02356000&agency_cd=USGS,
   to see the data first hand. For more information on the USGS steamgaging
   network contact Jennifer LaVista at (703) 648-4432 or jlavista@xxxxxxxxx

   The USGS Presents at the Annual Geological Society of America Conference
   USGS scientists will present research findings on emerging contaminants,
   work in Afghanistan, coastal storms, geology and human health,
   groundwater, energy and more during the 2007 Geological Society of
   America annual meeting in Denver, Colo., October 28-31. For more
   information, contact Heidi Koontz at (303) 202-4763 or hkoontz@xxxxxxxxx

   National Geography Awareness Week
   In 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation establishing the
   third week in November as Geography Awareness Week, so mark your
   calendars for Nov. 11-17. Another special day, GIS Day, will be held
   Wednesday, Nov. 14. Check the USGS Web site (http://www.usgs.gov) for
   upcoming activities. For more information, contact Denver Makle at (703)
   648-4732 or dmakle@xxxxxxxxx

   USGS Headquarters Opens its Doors to the Public
   Explore more than 125 years of earth science at the USGS Open House at
   USGS Headquarters in Reston, Va.: On Nov. 3, 2007, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
   enjoy exhibits, demonstrations, hands-on activities and live
   entertainment. Admission and parking are free, and food and beverages
   will be for sale. Most activities are indoors, and the event will take
   place, rain or shine. For driving directions go to
   http://www.usgs.gov/visitors/directions.html. For more information
   contact Denver Makle at (703) 648-4732 or dmakle@xxxxxxxx