Geology

There are two discussion boards upload and in the discussion board is the site where they watched the video. 1.What most interested you about the classmate’s thread and article?There are two discussion boards upload and in the discussion board is the site where they watched the video. 1.What most interested you about the classmate’s thread and article?2. Is there anything fascinating about the article that the classmate did not identify?3. Would you recommend this article to someone else? Why or why not? Provide at least 2 reasons. cite any sites or references used

PHSC Replies1. BAAntarctica is a continent that has many undiscovered areas, leaving so many mysteries about what lies within, or even underneath it. In the article, “World’s Largest Volcanic Range May Lurk Beneath Antarctic Ice”, scientists discover a massive volcanic region underneath Antarctica’s ice sheet, possibly the biggest range on Earth. The region is known as the West Antarctic Rift System. This article was written by Maximillian van Wyk de Vries, Dr. Robert G. Bingham, and Andrew S. Hein. The authors reside as students and professor of University of Edinburgh. It can be viewed athttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814092735.htm.            The findings of this study were 91 unknown volcanoes that spread across a large amount of Antarctica. This study is very important because it dives into a vastly unknown area to find a region of volcanic activity that can shed light on many areas of how volcanoes affect the environment. “Results from the study, which is the first of its kind, will help scientists understand how volcanoes can influence long-term fluctuations in the ice sheet” (Vries, Bingham, & Hein, 2017). The article goes on to mention that it is unknown if the volcanoes are active, but under further study, more information will be obtained to find out if activity will increase due to different climate conditions. Research of this region can help to see the effect that climate has had and will have in future conditions on the range of volcanoes. The article goes on to cite Bingham in stating, “Better understanding of volcanic activity could shed light on their impact on Antarctica’s ice in the past, present, and future, and on other rift systems around the world” (2017).            Upon finding this article, I found it very interesting based on the fact that Antarctica is, for the most part, unexplored. What is so interesting is that at the slightest research of the continent, a major discovery of mass proportion is found, that could provide groundbreaking data. It is unimaginable what other natural wonders and phenomena could be found with further study.            Earth is a constantly changing planet that can produce new geological features in any area, at any given time. It is very important to explore all areas of Earth to obtain insight on such features to better understand Earth. In reading the given article, it makes a person wonder just what past, present, and future geological processes have occurred that we are completely unaware of.

2.JC.
According to Standford School of Earth, Energy & Enviromental Sciences (2017), in their article entitled Supervolcanoes: A Key to America’s electric future?, lithum-rich deposits can be found in clay located in lakes that were formed by ancient supervolcanoes. This new information, a process discovered and the diversification of resources, could help to free America from its dependency on foreign energy. Let us take a closer look at the details.According to this article, most lithum currently comes from Chile and Australia.With the United States interest in decreasing its carbon footprint, increased usage of electric cars and the need for larger batteries, Gail A. Mahood (2017) claims that it is important for the U.S. to develop its own resources. In doing so, he believes that America would become more self-sufficient.Through research, Geolgists have developed a trace element correlation process that helps to determine lithum concentrastions created bysupervolcanoes. For example, rubidium in bulk quanties are indicators of lithum, whereas zirconium indicates less lithum. As a result of this new testing, Scientists at Standford University believe that large deposits exist right here in America.With this new information, Professor Mahood concludes that this discovery marks the beginning of the diversification of our energy sources. As a result, he believes that this will help to eliminating America’s risk of being manipulated through political or economic means by foreign nations. This would both benefit and change how America operates, globally.   I found this article very interesting and in my opinion, American dependency on on Middle Eastern oil has caused us much hardache. I also believe that there are many other sources of energy out there that could be researched and used. Cause and affect on the enviroment must be taken into consideration first, but we have an abundant amount of fossil and solar energy that could be developed. With the discovery of lithium in the United States and the ability of testing trace elements to locate lithium concentrations, we are well on our way to freeing ourselves from global energy dependenancey. Ultimately, this will lead to diversifying our energy options. In my opinion, I think that we should also continue to research other means of natural energy. As good tenants of this Earth, God charges us with its care. In the development of those additional resources, we must first take into consideration the long-term affects that our actions might have, on the environment around us.       This discussion forum article was accessed on 14 September 2017 at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170816084929.htm.Originally, it was written by Danielle Torrent Tucker, and may have been modified for both “…style and length”. The journal references are by Thomas R. Benson, Matthew A. Coble, James J. Rytuba, Gail A. Mahood. Lithium enrichment in intracontinental rhyolite magmas leads to Li deposits in caldera basins. Nature Communications, 2017; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00234-y