May 11, 2026

News and notes

Here are some news items that I thought were interesting. For my news items, I try to stick to open access papers.

If you enjoy my blogs, bookmark the site and check on Mondays rather than relying on social media postings which can get lost in the shuffle. For my news items, I try to stick to open access papers.

Comments

After last week’s posting, one of my readers, Marcus S., rightly pointed out that I had missed highlighting the carbonatite deposits in Paraguay. Here are some links for those who are interested:

• Villalba, Narciso & Salinas Franco, Néstor & López, Diego, 2021, Geology of the alkaline-carbonatitic complexes, northeast of Eastern Paraguay, Reportes científicos de la FACEN. 12. 104-109. DOI 10.18004/rcfacen.2021.12.2.104.

• Piero Comin-Chiaramonti, Angelo De Min, Vicente A. V. Girardi, Celso B. Gomes, 2014, Carbonatites and primary carbonates in the Rio Apa and Amambay regions, NE Paraguay, Lithos, Volume 188, 2014, Pages 84-96, ISSN 0024-4937, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2013.10.027.

• Castorinal, F., Censi, P., Comin-Chiaramonti, P. et al., 1997, Carbonatites from Eastern Paraguay and genetic relationships with potassic magmatism: C, O, Sr and Nd Isotopes, Mineralogy and Petrology 61, 237–260 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172487.

If anyone has comments on any of my postings, please leave a comment on the Linkedin page for the posting or email me at raymondreichelt@gmail.com.

Geopolitics

Oil prices up to date
Credit: Oilprice.com

Marine Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz
Credit: marinetraffic.com

Iran War

• Iran War Live; with maps, casualty counts, and summaries.

• Oil Jumps As Trump Says Mulling Restart Of Project Freedom, Which Could Mean New Hormuz Clashes With Iran.

• Opinion: U.S. Empire Dies in the Strait of Hormuz; lots of people want Trump to fail.

• Oil prices jump as US, Iran trade fire in Strait of Hormuz.

• Iran Seizes Tanker Carrying Its Own Oil.

• The Greatest Energy Shock in History Is Unfolding.

• 2 U.S. Navy destroyers transit Strait of Hormuz after dodging Iranian onslaught.

• Chevron CEO says physical shortages in oil supply to begin appearing.

Other Geopolitics

• Three Wars: Russia, Iran and Mali Are Reshaping the World w/ Stanislav Krapivnik.

• Ukraine Hits 400,000 bpd Kirishi Refinery in Drone Attack Near St. Petersburg.

• Say Goodbye to the Panama Canal: A New Ocean-to-Ocean Route Just Shipped 900 Vehicles in Just 72 Hours.

• Could gold mining help Colombia’s armed groups to finally lay down their weapons?

• Canada Is Running Toward Europe as the West Fractures.

Research and News

• Fluvial geology: What’s the Oldest River In the World? It’s So Old It Passed Through Pangea.

• Unraveling the Mystery of Melt Migration in Migmatites: From Channeling Instability to Pattern Formation.

• Isotope fractionation during travertine deposition at high altitude: A case study from the Antofalla Graben, Central Andes.

• Quantitative Assessment of Peridotite Tectonomagmatic Affinities Using Compositional Data Analysis and Explainable Machine Learning.

• Investigation of the effects of ductile deformation on in situ biotite and muscovite Rb-Sr geochronology.

• Thermal expansion in garnets and thermal expansion-volume relations in minerals.

• Making dolomite: Inhibition Effect of Dissolved Silica on Carbonate Recrystallization.

• Trace metal concentrations, distributions and enrichments in the Aleutian Trench.

• Lithology of recycled sediments controls metasomatism in the lithospheric mantle: Examples from Italian ultrapotassic volcanics.

• Role of mafic cargo in discriminating Andean from postcollisional I-type granites.

• The detrital zircon record of the Mesoproterozoic Renner Group, Tomkinson Province, northern Australia: correlations within the greater McArthur Basin.

• Sub-continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Adamawa volcanic area (Cameroon Volcanic Line): inference from lavas and hosted mantle xenoliths from Bini Warack, NE-Ngaoundéré, Cameroon (Central Africa).

Geophysics

• Autocorrelation Seismic Imaging of Northern Taiwan Using Ambient Noise Data.

• Effect of realistic heat flux patterns on geodynamo simulations.

• Shipboard Marine Gravimeters Operated on Vessels in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet: Capabilities and Data Quality.

• Ediacara Obscura: Unveiling Hidden Magnetisations in the Fen Complex, Southern Norway.

• The United States Magnetotelluric Array and the National Impedance Map; Phys.org summary here.

Plate Tectonics

• Rock dredge- to sample-scale extreme petrological and chemical variability in abyssal peridotites: Extensive melt-rock reactions in the shallow oceanic mantle (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 24.5°-25°N).

• Block-in-Matrix Deformation and Veining in Alpine Subducted Oceanic Metasediments at Blueschist Facies Conditions.

• New Tonian-Ediacaran zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes from arc-related magmatism with adakite-like signatures in the Araçuaí-Ribeira Orogenic System (SE-Brazil): Implications for early Western Gondwana assembly.

• Transient behavior in the lithosphere driven by coaxial narrowing in shear zones.

• Paleoarchean deep crustal hydration and oxidation induced by subduction-driven water recycling.

• Neoproterozoic syn-sedimentary and Cenozoic tectonic deformation in the Blaini Formation, Garhwal Lesser Himalaya, India.

• Conductivity structure suggests a fluid-rich rupture barrier on the Gofar oceanic transform fault (East Pacific Rise).

• Interior Rifting Coupled With Peripheral Subduction in the Rodinia Supercontinent: New Insights From the Tarim Craton.

• Empirical Scaling Relationships Between Fault Length and Throw-Rates Modulated by Fault Interactions in Extensional Regimes.

• Subduction process and mineral deformation: Brillouin Scattering Observations of Elastic Behavior Across the Post-Stishovite Transition Under Deviatoric Stress in Polycrystalline Al-Bearing Stishovite.

• Ridge collision sculpts forearc segmentation along the eastern Nankai Trough.

• Post-Eocene 90° CCW Rotation of Sardinia-South Corsica: Paleomagnetic Evidence From Permian-Cretaceous Sediments of Nurra (NW Sardinia).

• Continental evolution influenced by relamination of deeply subducted continental crust.

• Neotectonic shortening and foreland structural evolution of the Malta Horst Cenozoic carbonate succession, Central Mediterranean.

Paleontology

• A well-preserved specimen of Stenopterygius quadriscissus (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Yorkshire, UK and new insights into species delineation in the genus.

• Osteology and phylogeny of Panzhousaurus rotundirostris from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Guizhou Province, China, and implications for the origin of Keichousauridae (Pachypleurosauroidea, Eosauropterygia).

• Biological use of molybdenum and tungsten stems back to 3.4 billion years ago; Phys.org summary here.

• A Miocene pelagornithid skull from the Astoria Formation and other bones of bony-toothed birds from the late Eocene Keasey Formation, western Oregon (USA).

• The ecology of Archaeopteryx; SciNews summary here.

• Tooth wear in juvenile and adult hadrosaurs: implications for parental care in Maiasaura; Phys.org summary here.

Ore Deposit and Energy Geology

• Origin and fate of an episodic oil seep, Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada).

• Seismic Porosity Estimation Using Geologically-Informed Seismic Attributes and a Kriging-Enhanced Random Forest: Application to a Shallow-Marine Carbonate Reservoir.

• Hornblendite in the Lower Crust: A Possible Source for Porphyry Cu Deposits.

• Hydrogen: Radiolysis and Fe-Biotite Alteration: Questioning the Origin of H2-Bearing Fluid Inclusions in the Yorke Peninsula Granites, South Australia.

• Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessment of Lithium Pegmatite Deposits in the Northern Appalachian Orogen, USA.

Mining and Energy

• Chalmette explosion: Panic as huge blast rocks PBF Energy refinery in Louisiana.

• Cenovus chief warns Canada risks losing oil competitiveness.

• Ooh, shiny: Massive 11,000-carat ruby unearthed by miners in Myanmar, officials say.

• Manitoba's only potash mine nears commercial production after nearly 20 years of planning.

• Lloyds Metals eyes reopening of giant PNG copper mine.

• The World's Biggest Fusion Reactor Just Hit a Milestone.

• Norwegian government attacked over decision to reopen North Sea gas fields.

• Mining halted at Baowu-led Simandou site over pay dispute.

• The World's Biggest Fusion Reactor Just Hit a Milestone.

• Tinka Resources: Exploring for open-pittable silver upside in Peru’s polymetallic heart.

• Commercial electricity sales have soared in Virginia, driven by data centers.

• China Produces More Coal Than the Rest of the World Combined.

• Mapping Mali’s gold and natural resource wealth.

• DR Congo’s Cobalt Miners Pivot To Copper Amid Price Crash.

• CIM Connect: Teck chief pushes permits, power lines as Canada’s mining bottlenecks.

• Geothermal resource identification in Australia using shallow groundwater temperature data.

• Permit granted for geothermal, hydrogen, and helium exploration in Jorat, Switzerland.

Environmental Geology and Hydrogeology

• Under whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fighting,

• Why the Colorado River is once again facing a water crisis.

• Video: Water Crisis in the Southwest - Tony Heller.

• Changes in nitrogen concentrations in an upland Mediterranean riparian aquifer during water table fluctuations: Insights from soil column experiments.

• Long-term transport processes across an argillaceous aquitard sequence evidenced by isotope geochemistry of veins,

• Interview: Daniel Hubé: "The pollution inherited from the First World War still surpasses any more recent industrial pollution today."

• US-Indian Space Mission Maps Extreme Subsidence in Mexico City.

• The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor.

Glaciers and Climate Change

• Lots of recent papers on glaciers in The Cryosphere from the EGU.

• Channelized topography amplifies melt-sensitivity of cold Antarctic ice shelves; Phys.org summary here.

• Ancient ice core could help explain mysterious shift in Earth’s ice ages.

• Laurentide Ice Sheet dynamics across multiple glacial-interglacial cycles from Quaternary stratigraphic records in central Canada.

• Stable sedimentary dynamics of a deep-sea fan across the Marinoan Snowball Earth glaciation.

• On the demise of Whistler, Horstman and Blackcomb Glaciers, southwest British Columbia, Canada: historical use, recent change and future prospects within a mountain resort.

• Tight regulation of Earth’s long-term temperature over Phanerozoic time.

• NASA Image of the Day: Record-Setting Retreat of Hektoria Glacier.

Bad Science

• French professor investigated for awarding himself fake prize.

Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Geohazards

Seismic Monitor

Active Volcano Map

Volcanoes

• Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.

• United States Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Observatories:

• Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles: A tribute to Mike Stickney, Montana’s earthquake expert!

• Cascades Volcano Observatory Weekly Update.

• Volcano Watch – Think Hawaii has many volcanoes? Think again, says El Salvador.

• Axial Seamount: Spring break is over, but the rates of uplift & seismicity at Axial remain low.

• Assessing Deposit-Derived Pyroclastic Flow Hazard at Stromboli (Italy): 1. Reconstruction of the Dynamics of the 11 September 1930 Event and 2. Probabilistic Invasion Maps.

• Indonesia: ‘Dukono erupts every second’: Local guides warn of risks on volcano hike.

• Hunga-Tonga Volcano Plumbing System Inferred From Virtual Seismometer Approach.

• Forecasting volcanic eruptions across scales.

• Synchronized Mascarene volcanism reveals 400 kyr cycles in melt supply from the Réunion plume.

• This Greek Volcano Seemed Quiet for 100,000 Years. Then It Erupted Again. Should Scientists Take a Second Look at ‘Extinct’ Volcanoes?

Earthquakes

• Earthquake swarm rattles Brawley, California.

• 4.3 Magnitude Earthquake 0.0 km from Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada.

Geohazards

• Tsunami causes: Consolidated-Undrained Shear Behavior of Diatomaceous Mudstones: Implications for Submarine Landslides.

• NASA Image of the Day: Tracy Arm’s Post-Tsunami Landscape; related: Alaska landslide set off CN Tower-sized tsunami last year – and a warning for B.C.

• A 3800 year-long sedimentary record of tsunamis and hurricanes in Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles.

Free Geology Books and Other Stuff

Free geology books can be downloaded from these sites:

• OreZone Readers and Experts Telegram Channel; the Ore Zone channel also shows employment opportunities for geologists.

• The Groundwater Projecthas many groundwater geology books for free downloadtogether with free online courses, listed here.

• Free Groundwater Modeling Courses from the HydroGeoCenter.

• Lectures on groundwater from the IAH, on YouTube.

• From Western Australia: Carbonatite, lamprophyre and host rocks in the northern Aileron Province.

• The Geology of Indonesia: Volume 1 and Volume 2.

• Brett Davis’ book on veins in a deforming rock mass: “The Veining Bible”; also at this site.

• From the Mineralogical Society of America: Handbook of Mineralogy.

• Systematic geochemical classification of felsic igneous rocks of the Yilgarn Craton.

• From the Arizona Geological Survey: Geochemistry Diagram Generator v 1.0.

• Online app: Australia’s full national topographic library at your fingertips.

Upcoming Events

• GAC-MAC 2026 St. John's NL, St. John's Convention Center, May 25-28, 2026.

• 8-11 June 2026, World Geothermal Congress 2026, Calgary Telus Convention Center.

• June 9–10, 2026, Critical Minerals for Defence, Marriott Downtown CF Toronto Eaton Centre.

• PEG2026: 11th International Symposium on Granitic Pegmatites; 16th–19th August 2026, in Perth, Western Australia.

• August 23 – 28, 2026, 24th Annual Conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences, Montreal, Canada.

• 14-18 September 2026 , IAH 2026, 53rd Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists; Budapest Congress Center.

• September 24, 2026, 25 years of Extraordinary, Oakridges Moraine Groundwater Program, The Village of Black Creek, 1000 Murray Ross Pkwy, Toronto, ON.

• September 30 - October 3, 2026 SEG 2026 Conference Salt Lake City, United States.

• Paleoamerican Odyssey 2026, October 14-17, 2026, Santa Fe Convention Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

• November 2-3, 2026 CCMEC 2026 Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

• 12-20 August 2028, Geosciences for Humanity, 38th International Geological Congress, in the BMO Centre, Calgary.

• Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer Schedule.

• American Geophysical Union List of Upcoming Meetings.

• The Geological Society: Events & Courses.

• Upcoming Distinguished Geoscience Australia Lectures (DGALs).