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Tectonics and Ancient Civilizations
A new study published in the current issue of Geoarchaeology claims that earthquake-prone areas along the edges of tectonic plates were far more likely to give birth to great ancient civilizations than less dynamic landscapes. The author of the paper, Eric Force, a (U of A Wildcat!) says that 13 of 15 ancient civilizations sites aren’t the product of chance. Instead, ancient people appear to have chosen to settle close to a tectonic plate boundary. The exceptions were in ancient China and Egypt. [Image Adapted from Eric R. Force, Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 23 (2008)]
Sierra El Mayor (Baja) 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake
UC Berkley GeoEngineering Lectures on YouTube
UC Berkley has a bunch of lectures online, including three geoengineering themed ones. It appears that they were all from lectures given as a part of the 27th Annual GeoEngineering Distinguished Lecture Series on May 8, 2009. So if you have an hour plus to kill per lecture (and I haven’t yet), you can check out one of the following.