Browsed by
Category: Killer Geology

Mother Nature is out to get you.

Green Vitriol

Green Vitriol

WHAT IS A VITRIOL? Simply put, a vitriol is a metallic sulfate compound, often but not always hydrated. The crystals of most vitriols are glassy and all are soluble in water, making solutions containing sulfuric acid. In fact, the very word vitriol has its origin in the Latin word for glass, vitrum. Out of the ten or so vitriol compounds, one is common and occurs along faults and oxidized zones in metallic mineral deposits: green vitriol, better known to geologists and miners as…

Read More Read More

The Best USGS Topo Map Ever!

The Best USGS Topo Map Ever!

My blog posts are going to be science-lite until we’re done with our move from Maine to Idaho.  This week’s offering is the Rozel Point SW Utah 7.5 minute topo map. I discovered this topo while working on a project involving the Rozel Point Oil Field, which is mostly under the Great Salt Lake.  Anyway, I believe that just by looking at this topo, you will discover the great humor and awesomeness of it.  Words often fail to describe this…

Read More Read More

Corpse Gas Part II: Enter the Soil Gas Cadavermeter

Corpse Gas Part II: Enter the Soil Gas Cadavermeter

CORPSE GAS 101 At the dawn of the 21st century, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation promoted research into quantitative methods of measuring corpse gasses as an adjunct or possible replacement for cadaver dogs. They funded a joint project with the University of Tennessee body farm and a soil gas group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A body farm is just what it sounds like: it’s a plot of land where researchers plant corpses in order to study the…

Read More Read More

Corpse Gas Part I: Cadaver Dogs and Other Human Remains Detection Methods

Corpse Gas Part I: Cadaver Dogs and Other Human Remains Detection Methods

Beginning in 2010, I had the opportunity to help in the search for Susan Powell, a mother of two toddlers from West Valley City, Utah. Susan is a missing person. She was last seen on the evening of December 7, 2009. Her husband, the now-deceased Josh Powell, remains the sole “person of interest” in her disappearance. The details of her case made headlines internationally so I won’t repeat them here. There are three good “true crimes” books out on the…

Read More Read More

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Volcanic Bombs

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Volcanic Bombs

Ever watch those nature shows of volcanoes erupting where gobs of red molten lava are thrown high into the air? All that airborne lava has to come back down. When those gobs and splatters of lava fall back to earth, they tend to look like somewhat flattened blobs of bread dough. Geologists call them volcanic bombs. Today’s installment of gnarly science is about a volcanic eruption where the expected volcanic bombs went missing. Before we go looking for the missing…

Read More Read More