Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
Post-fire forest recovery tools developed
01/18/2022
01/18/2022
Restocking forest patches after fires is important but relies on landscape and local factors, making successful tree replacement and forest recovery difficult. Now, a team of geographers analyzed forest recovery to develop aids for managers in maintaining forests.
Newly discovered carbon may yield clues to ancient Mars
01/17/2022
01/17/2022
NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, and since then has roamed Gale Crater taking samples and sending the results back home for researchers to interpret.
Penn State awarded $3.4 million contract to target plastic waste
01/17/2022
01/17/2022
Penn State has been awarded a $3.4 million contract from the REMADE Institute, a public-private partnership established by the United States Department of Energy, to fund research targeting the inefficient methods currently used to process and upcycle mixed plastic waste.
Integrated modeling of climate impacts on electricity demand and cost
01/17/2022
01/17/2022
Around the world, energy systems are increasingly impacted by the effects of a changing climate.
Paper on geovisual analytics wins 'Test of Time' award
01/10/2022
01/10/2022
A 2011 paper authored by Penn State researchers outlining a geovisual analytics approach to support geographically grounded situational awareness of crisis events using social media was selected to receive the 2021 IEEE Symposium on Visual Analytics Science and Technology Test of Time award.
How understanding neighborhoods can help reduce tobacco use
01/03/2022
01/03/2022
A Penn State researcher testing a new way to assess tobacco use with a neighborhood mapping platform and in-person interviews has found that community engagement is key to addressing risky health behaviors.
Fossil worm dung shows traces of microscopic ‘miners’ in elemental silver
12/17/2021
12/17/2021
When one organism's trash contains traces of human treasure, look for ancient microbial activity, according to researchers who found elemental silver in fossilized worm dung.
Battery metals from mine waste: Potential economic benefits for the commonwealth
12/17/2021
12/17/2021
New findings by a team led by Penn State researchers suggest potential economic opportunities from the domestic production of critial minerals like cobalt and manganese.
Novel model can aid decisions in electricity generation, stream water quality
12/09/2021
12/09/2021
Switching from coal to natural gas in power plants can reduce how much sulfur dioxide, a gas that smells like a freshly struck match, is emitted into the atmosphere and ultimately how much sulfate pollution enters waterways, according to a Penn State-led research team that has developed a model to detect if the recent switch from coal to gas is affecting streams.
Lunar radar data uncovers new clues about moon’s ancient past
12/01/2021
12/01/2021
The dusty surface of the moon -- immortalized in images of Apollo astronauts' lunar footprints -- formed as the result of asteroid impacts and the harsh environment of space breaking down rock over millions of years. An ancient layer of this material, covered by periodic lava flows and now buried under the lunar surface, could provide new insight into the Moon's deep past, according to a team of scientists.