Google Delves Into Volcanoes, Earthquakes

“They” are Scott Haefner and Dina Venezky, two geologists who work for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).  Haefner and Venezky explain, “The USGS monitors, assesses and issues warnings of natural hazards, including earthquakes and volcanoes. . . .  Now you can track both real-time earthquakes and volcanic activity on Google Maps using the USGS Mapplets.”

Of course, these Mapplets will be more useful to some people than to others – I don’t know of any active volcanoes in Indiana, for example – but the effort is still appreciated.  If nothing else, it’s resulted in some graphics that would go well with a Popular Science article.

Back to the USGS software, then.  “The Earthquake Mapplet plots the past week of earthquakes around the world, showing the location, time and magnitude,” write Haefner and Venezky.  “Each earthquake includes a link to the USGS earthquake website for more information . . .”

They later continue, “The Volcano Mapplet displays the latest U.S. volcano updates, showing the current level of both ground-based and aviation hazards.  Clicking on an alert icon provides a summary of the volcano update along with a link to the USGS Volcano Hazards Program website for additional details and images.”

Right.  Once again, there’s nothing wrong with run-of-the-mill, search-related stuff.  Google’s also got your back when it comes to magnitude 8.0 earthquakes, though.

The birth of this theory flies in the face of the prevailing ones. The impact of a large asteroid has been the primary recipient of blame for the dinosaurs’ mass extinction. The Discovery Channel reports:

Paleontologists concluded that the disappearance of 90 percent of all marine species and 75 percent of land plants and animals at the boundary between the Permian and Triasic periods was caused by atmospheric warming from of greenhouse gases triggered by erupting volcanoes

“Animals and plants both on land and in the sea were dying at the same time, and apparently from the same causes: too much heat and too little oxygen,” he said, adding that there was little evidence of a sudden catastrophe caused by an asteroid.

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