IIT JAM GEOLOGY

Thunderstorm asthma, the unexpected impact of lightning storms on pollen allergies Source:  Geolog  ( European Geosciences  Union ) Image credit: Michiel Baatsen, (distributed via   imaggeo ) In October 2015 a series of massive thunderstorms rolled across the Eastern Mediterranean. In the hours and days that followed many people living along the Israeli coast had to go to their nearest medical centre because they were experiencing respiratory problems, which appeared very similar to asthma. But what could have caused these breathing problems?    Read more.

What's Up: July 2020 Skywatching Tips from NASA Source:  NASA Science (SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION)   Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech     Credit: NASA Science (SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION) Learn more about observing the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.  

"Clyde’s Spot" on Jupiter Source: NASA Image credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS   This image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft captures several storms in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere. Some of these storms, including the Great Red Spot at upper left, have been churning in the planet’s atmosphere for many years, but when Juno obtained this view of Jupiter, the smaller, oval-shaped feature at the centre of the image was brand new. Learn more.   

An Astronaut’s View of an Annular Eclipse Source: NASA Earth Observatory   See more.

Geologists Identify Deep-Earth Structures that May Signal Hidden Metal Lodes Finding New Giant Copper, Lead, Zinc Deposits Will Fuel Green  Infrastructure by Kevin Krajick If the world is to maintain a sustainable economy and fend off the worst effects of climate change, at least one industry will soon have to ramp up dramatically: the mining of metals needed to create a vast infrastructure for renewable power generation, storage, transmission and usage. The problem is, demand for such metals are likely to far outstrip currently both known deposits and the existing the technology used to find more ore bodies. Now, in a new study, scientists have discovered previously unrecognized structural lines 100 miles or more down in the earth that appear to signal the locations of giant   deposits of copper, lead, zinc and other vital metals lying close enough to the surface  to be mined, but too far down to be found using current exploration methods. The  discovery could greatly narrow down sea

Moon Craters a Window to Earth's Past Story by Lonnie Shekhtman (Source: NASA Visualization Explorer) By looking at the Moon a group of scientists is challenging our understanding of a part of Earth’s history. On Earth, asteroid impacts increased by two to three times starting around 290 million years ago. For decades many experts assumed that early Earth craters have been worn away by the wind, storms, and other geologic processes. This idea explained why Earth has fewer older craters than expected compared to other bodies in the solar system, but it made it difficult to find an accurate impact rate and to determine whether it had changed over time. But by studying data on Moon craters from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists found the Moon and Earth have historically shared a similar rate of asteroid impacts. The surface of the Moon is riddled with both ancient craters mostly undisturbed by erosion and craters from modern-day impacts making it the most complete and ac