EARTH: Rock stars -- Geologists on the silver screen

Alexandria, VA - As this summer's blockbuster movie season gets underway, EARTH Magazine asks an important question: In movies, "are geologists portrayed as heroes or villains?" The topic of how geologists are portrayed in film has been oft-debated around a campfire, or over a frosty beverage at the end of a day of fieldwork, but now four scientists bring some serious analysis to the subject in the June issue feature, "Rock Stars - Geologists on the Silver Screen."

The authors - all geologists in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden - define and explore the demographics of movie "geologists," look at the genres in which they've appeared over the years, and even delve into their characters and moral sensibilities. Explore the history of geologists in the movies, and even see who the authors picked as their favorites, in the new issue of EARTH Magazine: http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/rock-stars-geologists-silver-screen.

Enjoy the complete June issue of EARTH Magazine by downloading it from the Digital Newsstand at http://www.earthmagazine.org, or receive the May/June issue by subscribing in print. In it, EARTH Magazine brings you the science behind the headlines with stories on the naming of Earth's most abundant mineral, how scientists are mapping solar winds, and fossils found in China of what are the oldest-known climbing and burrowing mammals. EARTH Magazine also brings you features on new techniques that are helping anthropologists understand humanity's ancestors, and on exploring the glacial geology and vineyards of South Australia. As always, subscribers can participate in the "Where on Earth?" photo contest, and read exclusive interviews with the movers and shakers of the geoscience community.

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Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and environment news with EARTH magazine online at: http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.

The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment. Maureen Moses