December GEOLOGY and GSA TODAY media ...(ply that the melting of large volumes of...)

Forecasting Etna eruptions by real-time observation of volcanic gas composition
Allesandro Aiuppa et al., University of Palermo, Palermo 90123, Italy. Pages 1115-1118.

Volcanic eruptions pose significant issues in terms of volcanic risk mitigation. By presenting an exceptional data set of volcanic gas observations performed at Etna before and during its recent eruption in 2006, Aiuppa et al. unambiguously show, for the first time, that real-time monitoring of volcanic gas composition can help to forecast volcanic eruptions.

Evidence from the Crow Creek Member (Pierre Shale) for an impact-induced resuspension event in the late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway
Ryan Weber, Paleo-Data, Inc., Paleontology, New Orleans, Louisiana 70124, USA; and David K. Watkins, Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Pages 1119-1122.

The Crow Creek Member, a unique rock unit in the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale in South Dakota and Nebraska, has been thought to represent sea-level rise along the eastern margin of the Western Interior Seaway. However, Weber et al. show that the presence of impact ejecta from the Manson Impact Structure, found within the Member, suggests an impact-induced genesis. Current investigation of a reworked nannofossil assemblage occurring within the Crow Creek Member is consistent with an origin involving gravitational settling rather than sea-level rise. Additionally, the reworked assemblage decreases in abundance with increased distances from the Manson Impact Structure. These observations support the hypothesis that Manson Impact may have caused a resuspension event in the Western Interior Seaway, resulting in Crow Creek deposition.

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