A Slippery Slope
April 22nd, 2011A Slippery Slope: Warm rains and glacial melting trigger dangerous debris flows
MELTING MOUNTAIN glaciers and warming rains drive debris flows, torrents of mud and rock that have damaged roads, closed recreational facilities and led to millions of dollars in clean-up costs in the Northwest. Climate change is likely to increase risks in the future. WITH FUNDING from the National Science Foundation, OSU geologists Anne Nolin and Stephen Lancaster work with U.S. Forest Service hydrologist Gordon Grant to understand the debris-flow causes and to map vulnerable areas in the Cascades.
Lee Sherman, terra Magazine
Brook receives Google fellowship for science communication
April 4th, 2011
Thinking Like a Physicist « Terra Magazine
March 18th, 2011New Zealand earthquake damage illustrates risks from crustal faults
February 28th, 2011
New Zealand earthquake damage illustrates risks from crustal faults | News & Research Communications | Oregon State University.
Even though this earthquake was weaker than last year’s event, it was much shallower; was situated directly under Christchurch; hit during the lunch hour when more people were exposed to damage; and shook sediments that were prone to “liquefaction,” which can magnify the damage done by the ground shaking.
Robert Yeats, a professor emeritus of geology at Oregon State University, who is an international earthquake expert and researcher on both New Zealand and U.S. seismic risks, says that same description nicely fits many major cities and towns in Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia.
“The latest New Zealand earthquake hit an area that wasn’t even known to have a fault prior to last September, it’s one that had not moved in thousands of years,” Yeats said. “But when you combine the shallow depth, proximity to a major city and soil characteristics, it was capable of immense damage.
In Memory of Dr. George Porter
February 4th, 2011The College of Science mourns the loss of a great Alumnus.
Dr. George A. Porter
Dr. George A. Porter graduated from Oregon State College (now University) in 1953. After graduation, he attended Medical School at OHSU where he earned both an M.D. and an M.S. Dr. Porter served as the first chief of the division of nephrology, hypertension and clinical pharmacology at OHSU. For the 18 years after he was chairman of medicine.
As a nephrologist, Dr. Porter’s research interests included the use of urinary biomarkers to identify toxic injury to the kidneys, and the value of serum biomarkers in chronic renal failure patients. Being revered as a great teacher and compassionate doctor, Dr. Porter focused his work in the OHSU clinics on the education of Nephrology fellows and residents. He was recognized many times for his service and contributions to medicine worldwide such as being the recipient of the International Society of Nephrology’s E.G. Bywaters Award for life-long contributions to the field of Acute Renal Failure.
Dr. Porter expressed his commitment to Oregon State University by serving as a member of the College of Science Board of Visitors, served as chair of the OSU Alumni Physicians and Dentists Council and was elected as an OSU Foundation Trustee. The George and Marthel Porter Premedical Scholarship was established to be presented annually to an outstanding premedical student in the College of Science. The Oregon State Foundation and College of Science are thankful for Dr. Porter’s dedication to Oregon State and send condolences to the Porter family.
Surprise in Sargasso
February 1st, 2011Lee Sherman, terra Magazine
Microbes are masters of adaptation.
In some of Earth’s most extreme environments — Antarc- tica’s frigid ice fields, Yellowstone’s sulfuric hot springs, Crater Lake’s lightless depths, the oceans’ deep-sea basalts — Stephen Giovannoni has discovered thriving communities of bacteria. As the holder of the Emile F. Pernot Distinguished Professorship in Microbiology, he has discovered some of the most abundant life forms on the planet.
Cascadia Roulette
January 25th, 2011Celene Carillo
terra Magazine
Bob Yeats would like you to know he cannot predict earthquakes. He is not prophetic. He claims no association with the supernatural. He can’t tell you when disaster will strike.
But Yeats, an emeritus professor in geosciences at Oregon State University, has been mapping fault lines for more than 40 years and can tell you when a quake is overdue. And he can tell you what areas of the world are most likely to suffer the greatest impact when one occurs.
Halloween horror story – tale of the headless dragonfly
November 2nd, 2010
In a short, violent battle that could have happened somewhere this afternoon, the lizard made a fast lunge at the dragonfly, bit its head off and turned to run away. Lunch was served.
But the battle didn’t happen today, it happened about 100 million years ago, probably with dinosaurs strolling nearby. And the lizard didn’t get away, it was trapped in the same oozing, sticky tree sap that also entombed the now-headless dragonfly for perpetuity.
OSU News Release: Halloween horror story – tale of the headless dragonfly
Discovery News: Lizard Entombed With Dragonfly Head in Mouth
Research shows continued decline of Oregon’s largest glacier
September 7th, 2010[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu4uNoaiMjs&fs=1&hl=en_US]
An Oregon State University research program has returned to Collier Glacier for the first time in almost 20 years and found that the glacier has decreased more than 20 percent from its size in the late 1980s.
The findings are consistent with glacial retreat all over the world and provide some of the critical data needed to help quantify the effects of global change on glacier retreat and associated sea level rise.
Flowing down the flanks of the Three Sisters in the central Oregon Cascade Range, Collier Glacier is at an elevation of more than 7,000 feet. It’s one of the largest glaciers in Oregon and is on a surprisingly short list – maybe 100 in the entire world – of glaciers that have been intensively studied and monitored for extended periods of time.
OSU News Release: Research shows continued decline of Oregon’s largest glacier
KPTV: Researcher Studies Shrinking Oregon Glacier
KTVZ: Three Sisters Glacier’s Fast Retreat Studied
OPB News: OSU Researchers Studying Collier Glacier’s Shrinkage
Ashland Daily Tidings: Researcher studies Collier Glacier
Albany Democrat Herald: Research shows decline of state’s largest glacier
