Gas-Guzzling Bacteria

I found an interesting article while surfing, about bacteria that oxidize methane and can reduce the amount of methane in soils (http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/17905/Gas-guzzling_bacteria.html). Under atmospheric conditions in well-drained soil, the bacteria can reduce methane in soil by 10 percent.

The bacteria was detected using a new method involving stable carbon isotopes and allows scientists "to track where carbon is incorporated into bacteria at the low atmospheric levels of methane in soils."

The bacteria can be used to maximize the amount of atmospheric methane oxidized by soils, and may help deal with the increased level of methane in our atmosphere today.

Water Sources, Distribution, Pollution

San Diego is a large county in Southern California, consisting of a predominantly semi-arid, Mediterranean climate. Only about 10-20 percent of the water is supplied by rainfall collected in the county's reservoirs, while the remaining 80-90 percent comes from two separate sources. One source is the Colorado River, coming from Lake Havasu via aqueduct. The rest comes from Northern California via the State Water Project, and is carried via aqueduct from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The water is treated in San Diego's reservoirs for treatment and distributed to the people.

In California water is a big issue, and water rights are even bigger. Regulations in treatment and distribution of drinking water are a touchy subject for many drinking water providers.

Gallatin County in Montana is vastly different from San Diego, with a higher average rainfall (higher even than the rest of the state), and snow, of course. In particular, the City of Bozeman is supplied by Lyman Creek in the Bridger Mountains, and Sourdough and Hyalite Creeks in the Gallatin Mountains. The Lyman Creek source is ground-water. Water from Sourdough and Hyalite is treated at the Sourdough Water Treatment Plant, which provides about 75% of the water requirement for the city.

I am just learning about water rights and distribution in Montana, but from my research thus far, it seems that agricultural run-off is a major cause of pollution in streams and lakes, and the major effect on water quality.

H2O

I worked for the USGS for a year under the Ground-Water Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The idea behind GAMA is to provide an analysis - a "big picture," if you will - of the ground-water quality throughout the state of California. The water quality sampling done by GAMA is important because the data collected is useful for providing an early indication of potential water quality problems. The gamut of constituents sampled by the program includes many that are not sampled under normal water quality testing, including things like age dating.

Water conservation is an important part of everyone's daily life. The increase in pollution of our water systems is something that must be managed and controlled so that water supplies last for continuing generations. I believe that water conservation is a serious issue, and that's why I want to continue to pursue a career in environmental sciences and water quality.

You can find more info about the GAMA program at: http://ca.water.usgs.gov/gama/

Geysers!

I went to Yellowstone National Park for the first time this past summer (July '08) and I was absolutely amazed. The natural beauty of the park is stunning, and I was also impressed on a deeper level with the geology and geothermal features I saw.

Of course I made it a point to see Old Faithful and waited with hundreds of other tourists for the eruption to occur. The supervolcano that underlies the Yellowstone area is the cause of the amazing heights the geyser reaches, as precipitation seeps through the porous ground rock and comes into contact with rocks heated by the magma, which then rises through a series of cracks and fissures within the Earth. Pressure builds beneath the Earth due to the high temperatures, and pushes the water in the upper layers of the Earth's surface out and causes an overflow. This overflow relieves the pressure below and causes it to vaporize into steam, and the force of this vaporization causes the water to shoot into the air.

Yellowstone has the world's densest concentration of geysers, with over 200 within 1.5 square miles. One of my favorite areas was the Black Sand Basin, as I've always had an affinity for obsidian, and weathered volcanic glass makes up the black sand of its eponym.

Earthquakes

I lived most of my life in a tectonically active area, near the San Andreas Fault (right), and although I've experienced my share of earthquakes and tremors, the collective number of quakes that I'd physically felt in my lifetime paled in comparison to the amount of quakes I felt during the six months I lived in Japan. Although mild, I could almost use the tremors as an alarm clock with the frequency that they occured. It was an interesting experience after living in a state that everyone believes will someday break off into the ocean.

The San Andreas Fault is a result of a transform fault... where two plates slide horizontally past each other. To the west side of the fault, the land is moving in a northwesterly direction relative to the land on the east side of the fault. This is in contrast with the tectonics of the Japanese island arc, which is a subduction zone. This occurs where two oceanic plates collide, and the younger, less dense plate overrides the older, more dense plate. As the plate is being subducted, it melts, and this hot, melted material subsequently rises to the surface and forms volcanoes, which creates an island arc. The continuing subduction under the Japanese islands causes the earthquakes.

Introduction

I am a self-proclaimed rock geek. I studied earth science at the University of California, San Diego. After graduation, I worked for the US Geological Survey as a hydrologic technician for a year. Now, I live in Montana, and although I am unemployed in my field at this time, I appreciate the geological uniqueness of this locale. So these are my geological ramblings, collected. Enjoy!