The death toll due to the devastating <keyword id="6362774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="earthquake" source="Orion">earthquake</keyword> that struck Turkey and Syria has increased to more than 4,300 as rescuers are racing against time to find more survivors amid heavy rain and snow in the two neighbouring nations, according to media reports.<br /><br />As of Tuesday morning, the toll in Turkey stood at 2,921, while in Syria it increased to 1,451, the BBC reported.<br /><br />According to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), there were at least 15,834 injured persons, while 7,840 people were pulled alive.<br /><br />The AFAD also noted that at least 5,606 buildings destroyed, adding that a total of 14,720 people are currently providing assistance in the disaster zone, including military personnel, reports Xinhua news agency.<br /><br />The devastating 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4.17 a.m. on Monday morning, which was followed by a 6.4-magnitude temblor a few minutes later in Gaziantep province.<br /><br />The epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude quake was 23 km east of Nurdagi in Gaziantep, at a depth of 24.1 km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.<br /><br />At around 1.30 p.m, athird 7.5-magnitude tremor hit Kahramanmaras, which officials said was "not an aftershock".<br /><br />There were more than 60 aftershocks recorded throughout the day.<br /><br />Meanwhile in Syria, of the overall toll, 711 deaths were recorded across government-controlled areas, mostly in the regions of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus, CNN quoted state news agency SANA as saying.<br /><br />The "White Helmets" group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defence, reported 740 deaths in opposition-controlled areas.<br /><br />Much of northwestern Syria, which borders Turkey, is controlled by anti-government forces amid the ongoing bloody civil war that began in 2011.<br /><br />The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the toll may rise dramatically as search and rescue operations are still continuing in both the countries, the BBC reported.<br /><br />In the Turkish city of Osmaniye, near the epicentre, heavy rain hampered rescuers as they searched through the rubble looking for survivors.<br /><br />The city was left without power in the aftermath of the devastation.<br /><br />The earthquake has also caused significant damage to three airports across Turkey, creating additional challenges for aid deliveries.<br /><br />A host of countries have sent rescue workers to help the stricken region and have offered support.<br /><br />US President Joe Biden spoke earlier to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reaffirming "the readiness of the United States to provide any and all needed assistance".<br /><br />In a statement, the White House said Biden "noted that US teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and co-ordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items".<br /><br />India on Monday announced that two teams of NDRF comprising 100 personnel with specially trained dog squads and necessary equipment were ready to be flown to the affected regions.<br /><br />Medical teams were also being readied with trained doctors and paramedics with essential medicines. Relief material would be dispatched in coordination with the Government of Republic of Turkey and Indian Embassy in Ankara and Consulate General office in Istanbul.<br /><br />On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would provide an "initial" $10 million in aid, to go to humanitarian groups, while his New Zealand counterpart Chris Hipkins also announced $1.5 million in aid.<br /><br />South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol issued an order to send rescuers and emergency medical items to Turkey.<br /><br />The European Union is sending search and rescue teams to Turkey, while rescuers from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way.<br /><br />The UK has said it will send 76 specialists, equipment and rescue dogs.<br /><br />France, Germany, and Israel have also pledged to help.<br /><br />Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered help to both Turkey and Syria, as has Iran.<br /><br />Monday's quake is believed to be the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when a tremor of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people in Erzincan province, according to the USGS.<br /><br />Earthquakes of this magnitude are rare, with fewer than five occurring each year on average, anywhere in the world, says the USGS.<br /><br />Seven quakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck Turkey in the past 25 years, but Monday's is the most powerful.<br /><br />Monday's earthquake was powerful enough to be felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel.<br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /></strong><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/100-airports-to-be-developed-by-2024-under-udan-infra-scheme-centre/articleshow/97674969.cms">100 airports to be developed by 2024 under UDAN infra scheme: Centre</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/drinking-water-in-israel-becomes-turbid-after-turkey-syria-quake/articleshow/97675030.cms">Drinking water in Israel becomes turbid after Turkey-Syria quake</a><br />

Turkey-Syria quake toll reaches over 4,300

Astronomers now routinely discover planets orbiting stars outside of the solar system they're called exoplanets. But in summer 2022, teams working on <keyword id="6360409" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nasa" source="Orion">NASA</keyword>'s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite found a few particularly interesting planets orbiting in the habitable zones of their parent stars.<br /><br />One planet is 30% larger than <keyword id="6359982" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="earth" source="Orion">Earth</keyword> and orbits its star in less than three days. The other is 70% larger than the Earth and might host a deep ocean. These two exoplanets are super-Earths more massive than the Earth but smaller than ice giants like Uranus and <keyword id="175328" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="neptune" source="Orion">Neptune</keyword>.<br /><br />I'm a professor of astronomy who studies galactic cores, distant galaxies, astrobiology and exoplanets. I closely follow the search for planets that might host life.<br /><br />Earth is still the only place in the universe scientists know to be home to life. It would seem logical to focus the search for life on Earth clones planets with properties close to Earth's. But research has shown that the best chance astronomers have of finding life on another planet is likely to be on a super-Earth similar to the ones found recently.<br /><br />Common and easy to find<br /><br />Most super-Earths orbit cool dwarf stars, which are lower in mass and live much longer than the <keyword id="24879" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sun" source="Orion">Sun</keyword>. There are hundreds of cool dwarf stars for every star like the Sun, and scientists have found super-Earths orbiting 40% of cool dwarfs they have looked at.<br /><br />Using that number, astronomers estimate that there are tens of billions of super-Earths in habitable zones where liquid water can exist in the Milky Way alone. Since all life on Earth uses water, water is thought to be critical for habitability.<br /><br />Based on current projections, about a third of all exoplanets are super-Earths, making them the most common type of exoplanet in the Milky Way. The nearest is only six light-years away from Earth. You might even say that our solar system is unusual since it does not have a planet with a mass between that of Earth and Neptune.<br /><br />Another reason super-Earths are ideal targets in the search for life is that they're much easier to detect and study than Earth-sized planets. There are two methods astronomers use to detect exoplanets. One looks for the gravitational effect of a planet on its parent star and the other looks for brief dimming of a star's light as the planet passes in front of it. Both of these detection methods are easier with a bigger planet.<br /><br />Super-Earths are super habitable<br /><br />Over 300 years ago, German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz argued that Earth was the best of all possible worlds. Leibniz's argument was meant to address the question of why evil exists, but modern astrobiologists have explored a similar question by asking what makes a planet hospitable to life. It turns out that Earth is not the best of all possible worlds.<br /><br />Due to Earth's tectonic activity and changes in the brightness of the Sun, the climate has veered over time from ocean-boiling hot to planetwide, deep-freeze cold. Earth has been uninhabitable for humans and other larger creatures for most of its 4.5-billion-year history. Simulations suggest the long-term habitability of Earth was not inevitable, but was a matter of chance. Humans are literally lucky to be alive.<br /><br />Researchers have come up with a list of the attributes that make a planet very conducive to life.<br /><br />Larger planets are more likely to be geologically active, a feature that scientists think would promote biological evolution. So the most habitable planet would have roughly twice the mass of the Earth and be between 20% and 30% larger by volume.<br /><br />It would also have oceans that are shallow enough for light to stimulate life all the way to the seafloor and an average temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius).<br /><br />It would have an atmosphere thicker than the Earth's that would act as an insulating blanket. Finally, such a planet would orbit a star older than the Sun to give life longer to develop, and it would have a strong magnetic field that protects against cosmic radiation. Scientists think that these attributes combined will make a planet super habitable.<br /><br />By definition, super-Earths have many of the attributes of a super habitable planet. To date, astronomers have discovered two dozen super-Earth exoplanets that are, if not the best of all possible worlds, theoretically more habitable than Earth.<br /><br />Recently, there's been an exciting addition to the inventory of habitable planets. Astronomers have started discovering exoplanets that have been ejected from their star systems, and there could be billions of them roaming the Milky Way.<br /><br />If a super-Earth is ejected from its star system and has a dense atmosphere and watery surface, it could sustain life for tens of billions of years, far longer than life on Earth could persist before the Sun dies.<br /><br />Detecting life on super-Earths<br /><br />To detect life on distant exoplanets, astronomers will look for biosignatures, byproducts of biology that are detectable in a planet's atmosphere.<br /><br />NASA's <keyword id="145694" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="james-webb-space-telescope" source="Orion">James Webb Space Telescope</keyword> was designed before astronomers had discovered exoplanets, so the telescope is not optimised for exoplanet research. But it is able to do some of this science and is scheduled to target two potentially habitable super-Earths in its first year of operations.<br /><br />Another set of super-Earths with massive oceans discovered in the past few years, as well as the planets discovered this summer, are also compelling targets for <keyword id="1102401" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="james-webb" source="Orion">James Webb</keyword>.<br /><br />But the best chances for finding signs of life in exoplanet atmospheres will come with the next generation of giant, ground-based telescopes: the 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope and the 24.5-meter Giant Magellan Telescope. These telescopes are all under construction and set to start collecting data by the end of the decade.<br /><br />Astronomers know that the ingredients for life are out there, but habitable does not mean inhabited. Until researchers find evidence of life elsewhere, it's possible that life on Earth was a unique accident.<br /><br />While there are many reasons why a habitable world would not have signs of life, if, over the coming years, astronomers look at these super habitable super-Earths and find nothing, humanity may be forced to conclude that the universe is a lonely place.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO :<br /><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/if-india-can-import-dark-chocolate-why-cant-we-sell-imli-candy-abroad-says-this-startup-founder/articleshow/94309775.cms">If India can import dark chocolate why can’t we sell imli candy abroad says this startup founder</a><br /><br /></strong><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-indian-equity-gold-and-debt-investments-have-performed-over-the-past-two-decades/articleshow/94304653.cms"><strong>Story in charts: How Indian equity, gold and debt investments have performed over the past two decades</strong></a><br />

All about Super-Earths, their dwarf stars and how they're more habitable than our earth

New Delhi, Dec 27 () As the country aims to become a USD 5 trillion economy, the policy makers need to focus more on the mining sector with concerted efforts to regain its 3 per cent share in the GDP by 2024-25, says a study.
<p>According to the study conducted by industry body CII, the mining industry's share in India's GDP (in real terms) in 2018-19 was a low of 2.6 per cent, down from 3 per cent in 2011-12.
</p><p>The study 'Towards a Globally Competitive Minerals and Mining Industry' was released at the Mining Summit 2019 here.
</p><p> "The minerals and mining industry is core to India's growth ambition of a USD 5 trillion economy. Exploration, extraction and management of minerals have to be guided by national goals and perspectives, to be integrated into the overall strategy of India's economic development.
</p><p> "And at the same time, there should be efforts to promote domestic industry and reduce import dependency," Mines Joint Secretary Upendra Joshi said while releasing the report.
</p><p> The sector has a pivotal role to play in the 'Make in India' vision of the prime minister and exploration can improve India's mineral security and competitive edge.
</p><p> "There is a significant scope for new mining capacities in iron ore, bauxite and coal and considerable opportunities for future discoveries of sub-surface deposits. The Geological Survey of India has almost doubled its exploration activity by implementing about 400 mineral exploration projects on various mineral commodities," he said.
</p>Attractive provisions have been made for inviting private investment in mineral exploration through revenue sharing model. It shall also be ensured that the regulatory environment is conducive to ease of doing business with simpler, transparent and time-bound procedures for doing business, Joshi added.  SID  ANU

Focus more on mining sector to regain its 3% share in GDP: CII

Parts of the Arctic region have become greener due to increased plant growth stimulated by warmer air and soil temperatures, says a study that used satellite images to track <keyword id="9986057" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-tundra-ecosystems">global tundra ecosystems</keyword> over decades.<br /><br />The study, published in the journal <keyword id="932868" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nature-Communications">Nature Communications</keyword>, is the first to measure vegetation changes spanning the <keyword id="9986058" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="entire-arctic-tundra">entire Arctic tundra</keyword>, from Alaska and Canada to Siberia, using satellite data from Landsat, a joint mission of NASA and the US Geological Survey (USGS).<br /><br />"The Arctic tundra is one of the coldest biomes on Earth, and it's also one of the most rapidly warming," said <keyword id="9986056" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="lead-researcher-logan-berner">lead researcher Logan Berner</keyword> from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, US.<br /><br />"This <keyword id="9986059" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="arctic-greening">Arctic greening</keyword> we see is really a bellwether of global climatic change -- it's a biome-scale response to rising air temperatures."<br /><br />Greening can represent plants growing more, becoming denser, and/or shrubs encroaching on typical tundra grasses and moss.<br /><br />When the tundra vegetation changes, it impacts not only the wildlife that depend on certain plants, but also the people who live in the region and depend on local ecosystems for food.<br /><br />While active plants will absorb more carbon from the atmosphere, the warming temperatures could also be thawing permafrost, thereby releasing greenhouse gasses.<br /><br />Berner and his colleagues used the Landsat data and additional calculations to estimate the peak greenness for a given year for each of 50,000 randomly selected sites across the tundra.<br /><br />Between 1985 and 2016, about 38 per cent of the tundra sites across Alaska, Canada, and western Eurasia showed greening.<br /><br />Only three per cent showed the opposite browning effect, which would mean fewer actively growing plants.<br /><br />To include eastern Eurasian sites, they compared data starting in 2000, when Landsat satellites began regularly collecting images of that region.<br /><br />With this global view, 22 per cent of sites greened between 2000 and 2016, while four per cent browned, said the study.<br /><br />"Whether it's since 1985 or 2000, we see this greening of the Arctic evident in the Landsat record," Berner said.<br /><br />"And we see this biome-scale greening at the same time and over the same period as we see really rapid increases in summer air temperatures."<br /><br />The researchers compared these greening patterns with other factors, and found that it's also associated with higher soil temperatures and higher soil moisture.<br /><br />They confirmed these findings with plant growth measurements from field sites around the Arctic.<br /><br />SEE ALSO: <br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/china-has-hardened-its-stance-experts-decode-the-india-china-joint-statement-on-border-tensions/articleshow/78270081.cms">China has hardened its stance — experts decode the India-China joint statement on border tensions</a>

The Arctic, one of the coldest places on Earth, is becoming greener and that's not a good thing

<ul><li><keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword> wants to build the world’s largest earthquake detection network using Android smartphones. <br /></li><li>The phones already have acceleration sensors that can serve as mini-seismometers. <br /></li><li>Smartphones across the world will send data back to Google’s servers, which it will then compare, to determine whether there was an actual earthquake or not.<br /></li></ul>Google wants to build the world’s largest earthquake detection network, and it is going to use every available Android smartphone on the planet to do it. Last year, the total number of active Android devices across the planet crossed <a href="https://twitter.com/Android/status/1125822326183014401">2.5 billion.</a><br /><br /><div type="image" title="Google earthquake 2" msid="77499801" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Google wants to use Android phones across the planet to build the world&amp;#39;s largest earthquake detection system&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />Each smartphone already comes with tiny accelerometers, which is how Google Maps can estimate how fast you’re driving down the highway. Those same sensors can be used to detect earthquakes, each serving as a mini-seismometer.<br /><br />It is not always possible to deploy an actual ground network of seismometers in every nook and cranny of the world. With smartphones doing the heavy lifting, <a href="https://blog.google/products/android/earthquake-detection-and-alerts/?utm_source=tw&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=og&amp;utm_content=">it may no longer be necessary either. </a><br /><br /><strong>How will Google find out if there’s an earthquake?<br /></strong>If a phone detects an earthquake, it will send a signal back to Google’s earthquake detection server. This means your phone’s location at that particular point of time will be shared with the tech giant. <br /><br />Google says it needs the location in order to compare the information with incoming data from other phones to determine if an earthquake is really happening. “We’re essentially racing the speed of light against the speed of an earthquake. And lucky for us, the speed of light is much faster,” the company said in a statement.<br /><br /><strong>How will Google use this information?<br /></strong>To begin with, Google will use the collated data to pump up its results on Google Search. If you search for ‘earthquake’ or ‘earthquake near me’, Google will be able to determine if there have actually been any tremors along with helpful resources on what to do after.<br /><br />In the US, Google has collaborated with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to send earthquake alerts to users in the state using the ShakeAlert system.<br /><br /><div type="image" title="Google earthquake" msid="77499809" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Google is launching earthquake alerts in California&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />Over the coming year, Google plans to roll out the <keyword id="7364797" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="earthquake-alert">earthquake alert</keyword> system to more countries across the world using Android’s phone-based earthquake detection.<br /><br />In addition to earth detection, Google’s latest operating system update also includes Android Emergency Location Service (ELS), Android Auto for cars, and a new ‘bedtime’ mode to keep phones alert-free as users sleep. <br /><br /><div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/after-jio-swiggy-paytm-ola-and-byjus-and-other-startups-on-target-of-chinese-hackers/articleshow/77497819.cms">After Jio, India's unicorn startups are the top target for Chinese hackers trying to get their hands on Indian users' data</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/meet-the-makers-of-motera-stadium-the-same-company-that-designed-melbourne-cricket-ground-and-sections-of-lords/articleshow/77499104.cms">Meet the makers of Motera Stadium — the same company that designed Melbourne Cricket Ground and sections of Lord’s</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-approves-another-1-2-billion-for-defence-over-and-above-the-5-5-billion-last-month/articleshow/77487432.cms">HAL's share price jumps 4% after India approves defence projects worth $1.2 billion</a></strong><br />

Google wants to turn Android phones into the world's largest earthquake detection network

<br /> Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> today presented to Irish PM <keyword id="848978" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enda-Kenny">Enda Kenny</keyword> reproductions of a selection of historic manuscripts and papers pertaining to two Raj-era Irish officials, <keyword id="3070780" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Thomas-Oldham">Thomas Oldham</keyword> and <keyword id="279549" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="George-Abraham-Grierson">George Abraham Grierson</keyword>, in recognition of their contributions in India. <br /><br />

	Irish gave us institutions like geology survey &amp; first linguistic survey of India, said PM Modi during India-Ireland joint talks.
<br /><br />

	Modi also gifted a specially handcrafted piece of silver, marble and roughly-hewn sandstone rock that imagines the Irish symbol of shamrock as a votive candle-stand or an 'aarti' lamp, with a peacock perched by the side of shamrock leaves, along with silver-tipped crystal dewdrops signifying serenity and purity. 
<br /><br />

	The original manuscripts and papers which Modi presented to Kenny are preserved in the National Archives of India.
<br /><br /> Born in Dublin, Oldham (1816-1878) was appointed as geological surveyor in 1850 to conduct a survey in India and his services were placed with the then <keyword id="3070878" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Government-of-Bengal">Government of Bengal</keyword>. <br /><br />

	He assumed charge in March 1851 and his joining day is celebrated as the foundation day of the Geological Survey of India. Apart from conducting the first systematic coal mapping of India - and later initiating mapping of other minerals - he wrote extensively on the fossils of India. 
<br /><br />

	Grierson (1851-1941) was an Irish civil servant and philologist who, starting 1898, conducted the first Linguistic Survey of India. The Survey was later published over several years during 1903-28. 
<br /><br />

	It was Grierson's Survey that provided the first scientifically-based taxonomy of the Indo-Aryan languages within which the linguistic status of various forms of Hindi, Urdu and other Indo-Aryan speech forms is based. 
<br /><br />

	The separation of Hindi into Western and Eastern dialect zones is the direct result of Grierson's classification efforts. As a student of mathematics at Trinity College, Dublin, Grierson took prizes in Sanskrit and Hindi. 
<br /><br />

	Grierson went to Bengal in October 1873, where, in addition to carrying out his duties in a succession of government posts until 1898, he devoted much time to language research. Two of his most important works are Seven Grammars of the Dialects and Sub-dialects of the Bihari Language (1883-87) and Bihar Peasant Life (1885). 
<br /><br />

	The latter work, in addition to offering much linguistic information, describes the life, farming methods, and beliefs of the Bihar peasantry. 
<br /><br />

	In 1994, India instituted an award in his honour that is given to foreign scholars who have made significant contributions to Hindi.

	<br />
	<br />
	(Image credits: PIB)

PM Modi gifts his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny collection of historic manuscripts

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-nepal-earthquake-death-toll-has-risen-to-more-than-3600-2015-4">deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal</a> in April and killed thousands of people was so powerful it moved Mount Everest.</p><p>The quake, which hit Nepal on April 25, devastated the city of Kathmandu and caused an avalanche on Everest. But the shaking also shifted the massive p<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">eak about an inch to the southwest, reversing the direction it was naturally and slowly moving</span>. That's all according to a survey by China's <span>National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation</span>, which <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-06/15/c_134328321.htm">state media reported</a> on <span>Monday, June 15</span>.</p><p>Even though the massive mountain shifted, its height - just over 29,000 feet - stayed the same<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">. And several other surrounding mountains moved as well. </span></p><p><span>Everest, located</span> in the Himalayas on the border between China and Nepal, is world's tallest mountain (unless <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/earths-tallest-mountain-is-hawaii-2015-6">you're measuring</a> from beneath the ocean.) It was created <span style="background-color: #ffffff;">roughly 60 millions years ago </span>when the Indian tectonic plate smashed up against the Eurasian plate.</p><p>Since then, Everest has moved about 1.6 inches and gotten about 0.1 inches taller each year, <span>reports </span>state news agency Xinhua<span>. </span>That means that, just the past decade, the hulking peak has crept over a foot and grown about an inch taller!</p><h2>Moving mountains<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h2><p>Normally, <span style="background-color: #ffffff;">the massive, tectonic plates resting beneath India and Eurasia are "locked together," so they move as one, </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-bdf274ff-031d-d14f-6d6f-27848d30d3c8"><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">Rich</span>ard Briggs, a geologist at the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Golden, Colorado, told Business Insider. </span><span style="background-color: #ffff00;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bdf274ff-031d-d14f-6d6f-27848d30d3c8"></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-bdf274ff-031d-d14f-6d6f-27848d30d3c8">In between quakes, there's a </span>steady buildup of<span style="background-color: #ffffff;"> strain energy <span id="docs-internal-guid-bdf274ff-035e-197d-b8e7-93749f46b6ec">as India pushes into Eurasia, slowly shoving the high Himalayas toward Tibet.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But during the quake, that motion was suddenly reversed, and </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Everest was pushed</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in the opposite direction.</span></span></p><p>The quake caused the ground to deform, and some areas above the fault - such as Kathmandu - got pushed upward, while others further north got pushed downward. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Everest, Briggs thinks, may have been on the edge of that downward trough.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bdf274ff-0323-03a4-0f2e-332f68dc5ff6"><span>Everest wasn't the only peak affected by the quake. And while Everest's height didn't change, other peaks closer to <span>Kathmandu suddenly shrunk, getting dramatically shorter, said Briggs.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Together with an aftershock that happened in May, the </span>two Nepal earthquakes killed more than 8,700 people. <span>The April </span><span>quake also caused an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed 18 people, <span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/science/earthquakes-tectonic-plates-collisions-subduction.html?ref=topics">the Times reported</a>.</span></span></span></p><p><span>But the Nepal earthquake isn't the only one to move mountains. The giant earthquakes that hit Japan in 2011 and Chile in 2010 caused several big volcanoes to sink by up to 6 inches, according to two studies published in the journal Nature Geoscience in 2013.</span></p><p><span>Still, these movements are negligible compared with the larger movements that occur over geologic time, Briggs said.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mountaineer-breaks-record-fastest-climb-matterhorn-alps-2015-5">A mountaineer just blew away the record for fastest climb to the top of the Matterhorn</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="l3MGJ0dDq_r-pLHCyIaU63PtogRZRGVs" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Deadly Nepal earthquake was so powerful it moved Mount Everest

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>As an island in the moist, atmospherically turbulent North Atlantic, Iceland is often shrouded in cloud cover and hard to observe from space. And lately, the island is making some of its own cloud cover, as the Earth has split open between the Bardarbunga and Askja volcanoes and spewed lava and hot gas.</p>
<p>The view of the Holuhraun lava field has been spectacular <a href="http://www.ruv.is/frett/holuhraun-eruption-picture-gallery">from the ground</a> and <a href="http://vimeo.com/105365343">from low-flying aircraft.</a> Infrared imaging makes the view spectacular from space, too.</p>
<p>On September 6, 2014, the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/main/LDCM_OLI_intro.html">Operational Land Imager</a> (OLI) on <a href="http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/?page_id=4071">Landsat 8</a> captured this view of the ongoing eruption.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/541063d96bb3f76d35123b2a-960/holuhraun-iceland-volcano-lava-flow.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The false-color images combine shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green light (<a href="http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/?page_id=5377">OLI bands 6-5-3</a>). Ice and the plume of steam and sulfur dioxide appear cyan and bright blue, while liquid water is navy blue. Bare or rocky ground around the Holuhraun lava field appears in shades of green or brown in this band combination. Fresh lava is bright orange and red.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="NASA Earth Observatory" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5410659b69bedd5e27c92c21-960/holuhraun-lava-flow-natural-color-image-iceland-volcano.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>NASA Earth Observatory</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>"Thermal imagery can be used to determine the extent of the lava flows and the heat loss," noted Ashley Davies, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and leader of NASA's <a href="http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov/new/extended/sensorweb/sensorWeb.html">Volcano Sensor Web</a> team.</p>
<p>Infrared imagery can help scientists estimate the effusion rate-the rate at which lava is pouring out of the Earth-as well as the sulfur dioxide content of the plume. "And high resolution imagery of this kind allows us to model the dynamics of the emplacement process. In this case, individual vents can be seen feeding separate lava flows that combine into a main channel feeding an expanding lava flow field."</p>
<p><a href="http://icelandreview.com/news/2014/09/09/holuhraun-largest-lava-eruption-iceland-19th-century">By some accounts,</a> Holuhraun has spewed more lava this month that any Icelandic volcano since the 19th century. As of September 9, 2014, the new lava flow was 16 kilometers (10 miles) long and covered about 20 square kilometers (8 square miles), <a href="https://twitter.com/uni_iceland/status/509471429524328448/photo/1">according to the University of Iceland.</a></p>
<p>The plume from Holuhraun is rich with sulfur dioxide (SO2), a rotten-smelling gas that can cause respiratory problems in humans and animals. <a href="http://icelandreview.com/news/2014/09/08/blue-haze-eruption-east-iceland">A blue haze</a> of SO2 and aerosols has been observed downwind over several towns and villages in eastern Iceland.</p>
<p>Scientists and other observers working near the eruption site have been evacuated several times and cautioned to keep gas masks handy due to noxious gases and shifting winds. Elevated levels of SO2 <a href="http://o3msaf.fmi.fi/">have been detected</a> as far as <a href="http://bardarbungavolcano.com/Home/News/75">Ireland,</a> Greenland, and Scandinavia.</p>
<p>The University of Iceland and Iceland Met Office have been providing regular updates on Holurhaun and Bardarbunga <a href="https://twitter.com/uni_iceland">via Twitter</a> and on <a href="http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/articles/nr/2947">their web site.</a></p><div class="feed-footer-wrapper"><div class="feed-footer">

  <h3>More from NASA Earth Observatory:</h3>

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     <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84316&amp;src=eorss-iotd">Roiling Flows on Holuhraun Lava Field</a>
    </li>
       <li>
     <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=84329&amp;src=eorss-nh">Happy Camp Complex Fire, California</a>
    </li>
       <li>
     <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=84320&amp;src=eorss-nh">Smoke in Yosemite</a>
    </li>
       <li>
     <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=84316&amp;src=eorss-nh">Roiling Flows on Holuhraun Lava Field</a>
    </li>
       <li>
     <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=84299&amp;src=eorss-nh">Flooding in Bangladesh and India</a>
    </li>
     </ul>
 </div></div>

NASA Satellites Spy Erupting Iceland Volcano From Space

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://gdacs.org/report.aspx?eventtype=EQ&amp;eventid=124055&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter">GDACS</a></p></div>A 8.0-magnitude <keyword id="6362774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="earthquake">earthquake</keyword> has struck near the <keyword id="41896" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iran">Iran</keyword> Pakistan border, according to the United States Geological Survey and <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/324113983625900032">reported by Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>NBC News notes <span>witnesses say tall buildings shook as far as way as New Delhi, India, sending people running into the streets.</span></p>
<p><span>The Global Disaster </span></p>
<p>There are reports of <a href="https://twitter.com/liibyaaa/status/324115554602463232%20">secondary</a> quakes.</p>
<p><span>We'll have more informationa as it becomes available.</span></p>

Massive 8.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Iran-Pakistan Border

Amidst reports of widespread devastation across <keyword id="12266" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nepal">Nepal</keyword> and the upper Himalayan region of India closest to the epicentre of the massive 7.9 magnitude <keyword id="6362774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="earthquake">earthquake</keyword>, troubling reports of a climbing death toll are emerging. These are the top 10 developments from the massive natural catastrophe.<br />
<br /> 1)Television footage showed that large numbers of offices and homes had collapsed in <keyword id="18568" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="kathmandu">Kathmandu</keyword>, while roads had been split in two by the force of the impact.<br />
<br /> 2)Tremors were felt in Delhi, nearly 1,100 kms away, and states including Rajasthan, Bengal and Bihar. Some people were seen rushing out of their homes and offices in cities like <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword>, Guwahati and Jaipur among others.<br />
<br /> 3)<keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> has called an emergency meeting at 3 pm to discuss the impact of the earthquake. He tweeted, "We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet.<br />
<br /> 4)"The damage potential of any earthquake above seven magnitude is high. The duration of the earthquake tremors was different at different places. It was around 50-55 seconds long in Delhi," said Laxman Singh Rathore, Director-General of the <keyword id="55209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-Meteorological-Department">Indian Meteorological Department</keyword>.<br />
<br />
5)The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck 81 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, with walls crumbling and families racing outside of their homes.<br />
<br />
6)"Everything started shaking. Everything fell down. The walls around the main road have collapsed. The national stadiums gates have collapsed," Kathmandu resident Anupa Shrestha said.<br />
<br /> 7)Initially measured at 7.5 magnitude, the quake was later adjusted to 7.9, with a depth of 15 kilometres, the USGS said. It hit 68 kilometres east of the tourist town of <keyword id="230852" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pokhara">Pokhara</keyword>.<br />
<br />
8)A historic tower built in the 19th century collapsed in  Kathmandu following a severe earthquake on Saturday morning. The Dharara Tower had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony on its eighth floor. Witnesses reported several dead bodies from the site of the collapse.<br />
<br />
9)The earthquake was also felt across large areas of Bangladesh, triggering panic in the capital Dhaka as people rushed out onto the streets.<br />
<br />
10)A 6.9-magnitude quake hit Sikkim northeastern India in 2011, rocking neighbouring Nepal and killing 110 people.<br />
<br />
11) A total of 14 aftershocks have been felt across Nepal, some as high in magnitude as 6.7<br />

Nepal Earthquake: 10 Latest Developments, as 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastates Nepal

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A shallow earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck west of the ancient Nepali capital of Kathmandu on Saturday causing buildings to collapse, injuring many and leaving a pall of dust over the city, witnesses said.<p>A Nepalese diplomat <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/591895839913725952">said</a> there are "possibly hundreds dead" and the government there said at least 114 deaths have been confirmed so far, <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/591897519891849216">according to&#xa0;Agence France-Presse</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Associated Press <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/591912065746530304">reported</a> that Indian officials said there are at least 20 confirmed deaths in their country, which neighbors Nepal.</p><p>Kathmandu's decrepit buildings, crisscrossed by narrow alleys, are home to large families. A 1934 quake of magnitude 8.3 in the impoverished Himalayan nation killed over 8,500 people.</p><p>At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms were being rushed in for treatment. It was unclear how many people were injured.</p><p>A girl died after a statue fell on her in a park in Kathmandu, a witness said, while another died in India when her house collapsed.</p><p>An historic tower built in the 19th century in Kathmandu collapsed, trapping at least 50 people, Nepal media reported.</p><p>The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony on its eighth floor.</p><p>One body was removed from the tower and a second lay further up the road, a Reuters witness said.&#xa0;</p><p>A Reuters reporter in Kathmandu said he had seen some buildings collapse and walls of several houses reduced to rubble. "Everyone is out in the streets, people are rushing to the hospital," the reporter said.</p><p>The city is home to ancient, wooden Hindu temples. Photographs posted online showed buildings left in rubble, large cracks along roads and residents sitting in the street holding babies.</p><p>Mountaineer Alex Gavan tweeted from Mount Pumori, about 8 km (5 miles) west of Mount Everest, that the quake had caused an avalanche on Everest:</p><div><div></div></div><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and other northern cities in India, with reports of tremors lasting almost one minute.<p>"Massive tremors have been felt here in Delhi and several other parts of India," said a newsreader on NDTV in Delhi.</p><p>"You can see pictures of our Delhi studios, where the windows rattled and everything shook for a very long time, for a minute perhaps or longer," she said as footage showed studio ceiling camera lights shaking.</p><p>A police officer in the control room of neighbouring Indian state of Bihar said the phone lines were jammed with callers from across the heavily populated state. "We don't know about the casualties, we are flooded with calls."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, initially measured at 7.7 but upgraded to 7.9 magnitude, struck 80 km (50 miles) east of Pokhara. It was only 2 km deep.</p><p>"We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home &amp; in Nepal," tweeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p><p>Modi convened a high-level meeting with ministers and top officials to assess the situation. There were no preliminary reports of damage anywhere in India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Press Trust of India.</p><p>Nepal emerged in 2006 from a civil war between Maoists rebels and the state that left 17,000 dead. Nepal abolished the monarchy in 2008 and the Maoists laid down their arms.</p><p>(Reporting by New Delhi and Kathmandu newsrooms; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Nick Macfie)</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cats-and-dogs-drinking-water-slow-motion-2015-4">Scientists have discovered the subtle difference between how dogs and cats drink water</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RicmpidDq_DPHgbEkLPZzYNHQMHsrbSc" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

'Possibly hundreds dead' after massive earthquake hits Nepal

<br /> Finally, Europe has found a place on the map that pinpoints the areas where <keyword id="163713" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Early-humans">early humans</keyword> existed much before the current human species or <keyword id="602546" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Homo-sapiens">Homo sapiens</keyword> came into being. According to a recent report published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, British scientists, on a routine geological survey, have discovered the <keyword id="214190" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Footprints">footprints</keyword> of ancient humans called <keyword id="2064704" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hominins">hominins</keyword> on the <keyword id="2064715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Muddy-bank">muddy bank</keyword> of an <keyword id="2064717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Estuary">estuary</keyword> at <keyword id="2064705" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Happisburgh">Happisburgh</keyword> in <keyword id="86049" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Norfolk">Norfolk</keyword>. These <keyword id="2064706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Footmarks">footmarks</keyword> are about 800,000 years old and look like they belonged to a group of adults and children – probably that of a family.<br />
 <br /> However, these are not the oldest footmarks left by our ancient ancestors. You will find such footprints at <keyword id="2064707" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Laetoli">Laetoli</keyword> in <keyword id="89578" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tanzania">Tanzania</keyword> dating back to 3.5 million years while those found at <keyword id="2064708" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ileret">Ileret</keyword> and <keyword id="1179917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Koobi-Fora">Koobi Fora</keyword> in <keyword id="6360004" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kenya">Kenya</keyword> are about 1.5 million years old. But the hominin footprints found in the UK are the oldest outside <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword>, clearly indicating that our ancestors evolved in <keyword id="686724" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Continental-Europe">continental Europe</keyword> as well. After all, <keyword id="6355981" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="England">England</keyword> was not much like an island in those days and was connected to the continental Europe.<br />
 <br /> Scientists analysed the shallow prints using multi-image <keyword id="2064709" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Photogrammetry">photogrammetry</keyword>, a technique that combines digital photographs to create a permanent record. The final output shows that the hollows are distinctly elongated and tally with the foot sizes of hominins from different age-groups. In many cases, one can distinctly identify the heel, the arch and even the toes.<br />
 <br />
In case you are curious, let us tell you these foot sizes match the modern shoe sizes of 7 or 8 in UK/India. The US equivalent will be size 8 or 9 while the European equivalent will be 41 or 42. The biggest footprints could be that of a male while the smaller ones, varying in size, could be left by women and children.<br />
 <br />
As for height, the hominins seem to resemble the Homo sapiens and their heights varied between 2'11" and 5'6" (depending on age). Another interesting point is that each walked on their two feet, which means these ancient people were fully bipedal.<br />
 <br /> “This is an extraordinarily rare discovery,” said <keyword id="1295177" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nick-Ashton">Nick Ashton</keyword> of the <keyword id="173563" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="British-Museum">British Museum</keyword>, who led the research team, which also involved the National History Museum and Queen Mary University London. “At first we weren’t sure what we were seeing,” Dr Ashton told the media. “But as we removed any remaining beach sand and sponged off the seawater, it was clear that the hollows resembled prints and that we needed to record the surface as quickly as possible before the sea eroded it away,” he said.<br />
 <br /> But what is the real identity of the <keyword id="2064711" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Happisburgh-hominins">Happisburgh hominins</keyword> whose footmarks indicated that they were travelling south, treading the mud-flats along the river edge? Going by several points of similarity regarding body stature and the period in history when they existed, some experts believe that they might have belonged to the species called <keyword id="2064713" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Homo-antecessor">Homo antecessor</keyword> or <keyword id="2064703" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pioneer-Man">Pioneer Man</keyword>, whose fossil remains have been found at <keyword id="1329916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Atapuerca">Atapuerca</keyword> in <keyword id="6363645" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Spain">Spain</keyword>.<br />
 <br /> Homo antecessor might have become extinct from Europe some 600,000 years ago and next came <keyword id="1453378" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Homo-heidelbergensis">Homo heidelbergensis</keyword>, followed by the <keyword id="528865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Neanderthals">Neanderthals</keyword> and finally, the modern humans or Homo sapiens, who came into existence some 40,000 years ago.<br />
 <br />
<strong>Image:</strong> Wikipedia

Footprints
In The Mud Of Time Indicate Early Humans Treaded European Shores

<p>It finally happened. For the first time since 2008, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to a crude oil production cut last week, renewing hope among producers and investors that prices can begin to recover in earnest after a protracted two-year slump, one of the worst in living memory.</p><p>The last three times the cartel agreed to trim output-in 2008, 2001 and 1998-oil rallied in the following weeks and months. Of course, there's no guarantee the same will happen this time around, as other market forces are at play, but it's helpful to look at the historical precedent.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Global Investors</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>OPEC's decision follows a strong endorsement from Goldman Sachs, which upgraded its rating on basic materials to overweight for the first time in four years. Analysts see commodities gaining 9 percent on average over the next three months, 11 percent over the next six months.</p><p>As reported by <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/story/13902110/1/goldman-sachs-gets-optimistic-about-commodities-prices.html">TheStreet's Paul Whitfield,</a> Goldman's change of heart was prompted by "the recent acceleration in global PMIs (purchasing managers' indexes)," which "suggests commodity markets are entering a cyclically stronger environment." </p><p>The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose slightly in November to a 27-month high of 52.1, extending sector expansion for the sixth straight month-very encouraging news.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Global Investors</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>As I've shared with you many times before, our own research has shown a strong correlation between <a href="http://www.usfunds.com/investor-library/frank-talk/one-weird-trick-to-forecast-commodity-trends">PMI performance and commodity prices</a> three and six months out. I'm thrilled to see Wall Street and media outlets coming around to this realization as well.</p><p>In short, OPEC's production cut is constructive for energy in the near term, while a rising PMI is good news for the long term.</p><h3>$70 Oil Next Year?</h3><p>Since oil collapsed in September 2014, as much as $4 billion have been wiped from oil workers' wages in the U.S. alone, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Countries that <a href="http://www.usfunds.com/investor-library/frank-talk/5-world-currencies-that-are-closely-tied-to-commodities">rely heavily on oil revenue</a>-Venezuela, Colombia, Russia and Nigeria, notably-have had to stretch balance sheets. And for the first time in nearly 40 years, Alaska, where the oil industry accounts for half of all economic activity, is scheduled to impose an <a href="http://www.usfunds.com/investor-library/frank-talk/this-industry-is-set-to-post-record-profits-on-lower-fuel-costs">income tax by 2019.</a></p><p>Many analysts now find reason to be optimistic about a recovery in energy. Speaking to the <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/OPEC-deal-to-cut-production-boosts-Houston-Texas-10645136.php">Houston Chronicle,</a> David Pursell of energy investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt &amp; Co. predicts "2017 will be a better year for oil and gas activity than we anticipated." Pursell sees crude possibly rallying above $70 a barrel sometime next year. </p><p>The OPEC deal, announced last Wednesday, aims to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day, or about 1 percent of global output. For comparison's sake, the cartel, which controls a third of all oil production, agreed to a reduction of 2.2 million barrels a day in 2008. Although not an OPEC member, Russia has also agreed to trim production-by about 300,000 barrels a day-the first time it's cooperated with OPEC since 2001.</p><p>Following the announcement, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surged above $50 a barrel.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Global Investors</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Meanwhile, investors piled into oil ETFs, with inflows into one surpassing $1 billion on Thursday alone. Shares of Halliburton, Continental Resources and California Resources all saw dramatic spikes.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Global Investors</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>The Challenges Ahead</h3><p>Some investors are understandably cautious. OPEC doesn't have the authority to enforce compliance from its 14 member-nations, and output has typically exceeded quotas.</p><p>What's more, it's likely U.S. shale producers, which today operate at lower costs compared to other players, will be first to take advantage of a bump in prices. Drilling activity is already accelerating. Since May, the number of active oil rigs in North America has climbed 50 percent to 474, as of November 23.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Global Investors</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"U.S. oil production growth is all but guaranteed to return in 2017," according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-30/oil-shares-soar-as-emerging-opec-deal-brightens-price-outlook">Joseph Triepke,</a>founder of oil research firm Infill Thinking. Triepke adds that as many as 150 rigs could be reactivated next year in Texas' Permian Basin alone.</p><p>It's there, in the Wolfcamp formation of the Permian, that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recently discovered <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-estimates-20-billion-barrels-oil-texas-wolfcamp-shale-formation">20 billion barrels</a> of "technically recoverable" oil, the largest deposit ever to be found in the U.S. Bloomberg reports that the deposit is worth an estimated <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-15/permian-s-wolfcamp-holds-20-billion-barrels-of-oil-u-s-says">$900 billion at today's prices. </a> </p><p>On the demand side, higher prices could spell trouble in emerging countries whose currencies have weakened against the U.S. dollar in recent months, especially since Donald Trump won the presidential election. Because oil is priced in dollars, it's become more expensive in China and India, the second and third largest oil consumers following the U.S.</p><h3>Gold Looks Technically Oversold, Ready for a Price Reversal</h3><p>As I often say, every asset class has its own DNA of volatility, which is measured by standard deviation. Specifically, standard deviation gauges the typical fluctuation of a security or asset class around its mean return over a period of time ranging from one day to 12 months or more.</p><p>This brings us to mean reversion, which is the theory that, although prices might trend up for some time (as in a bull market), or fall (as in a bear market), they tend to move back toward their historic averages eventually. Such elasticity is the basis for knowing when an asset is overbought or oversold-and when to sell or buy.</p><p>As you can see in the oscillator below, gold looks oversold right now and is nearing a "buy" signal, after which we can statistically expect it to return to its mean.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Global Investors</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Gold's current standard deviation for the 60-day period is about 7 percent-you can reasonably expect it to move this much over a two-month period, therefore, 68 percent of the time.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trailer-martin-scorsese-film-silence-paramount-andrew-garfield-liam-neeson-adam-driver-2016-11">Watch the trailer for the new Martin Scorsese film that took over 20 years to make</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="s5eWVzNzE6mrqy88PGw96JEVxfJ15L_J" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "geological survey of india" and got 14 results

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Focus more on mining sector to regain its 3% share in GDP: CII

PTI

The Arctic, one of the coldest places on Earth, is becoming greener and that's not a good thing

IANS

Google wants to turn Android phones into the world's largest earthquake detection network

Prabhjote Gill

PM Modi gifts his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny collection of historic manuscripts

BI India Bureau

Deadly Nepal earthquake was so powerful it moved Mount Everest

Tanya Lewis

NASA Satellites Spy Erupting Iceland Volcano From Space

NASA Earth Observatory

Massive 8.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Iran-Pakistan Border

Michael Kelley

Nepal Earthquake: 10 Latest Developments, as 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastates Nepal

BI India Bureau

'Possibly hundreds dead' after massive earthquake hits Nepal

Colin Campbell,Reuters

Footprints In The Mud Of Time Indicate Early Humans Treaded European Shores

Sanghamitra Mandal

Oil rallied the last 3 times OPEC cut production

Frank Holmes

Climbers Are Obsessed With These 14 Eight-Thousander Peaks

NASA Earth Observatory