Geological Sciences | Science Communication
Besides its aesthetic beauty and awesome vibrant colors, eclogite is a very rare and important rock. Eclogites are mafic metamorphic rocks that are formed in subduction zone settings. They experience metamorphism at extremely high pressures (1.2 GPa), greater than those typical of the Earth’s crust, as well as medium to high temperatures. They are responsible… Continue reading Eclogite
Here’s a shot of my geomorphology class having a little fun with our flume after running an experiment! Photo by Rachel Crowl, Lawrence University
Wolf River Batholith (WI) - 1.45 Ga Ravakipi is a rather unusual, and distinctive, type of granite with rounded orthoclase (K-spar) crystals. These crystals typically have plagioclase rims, and hornblende and biotite are other common minerals present. Image by author
Click HERE for more information on Azurite Image by author
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Not only is the Morton Gneiss of Minnesota absolutely gorgeous, it’s also really freaking old. Zircon crystals in the gneiss have been dated to ~3.6 Ga [that’s 3.6 billion years old!] At their age, these rocks are from the Archean Eon, the second eon in Earth’s history (the Hadean is the first), which lasted from… Continue reading Minnesota Morton Gneiss
The Jurassic (early Mesozoic) is known as the ‘Age of the Ammonites,’ as they were the original index fossils used by William Smith. Along with dinosaurs, corals, brachiopods, and molluscs, they were among the hardest hit species during the K-T extinction 65 Ma. Image by author
Image by author
Typically when you think of a sediment deposit, you think of a fining upwards sequence. That means that the heaviest/coarsest stuff is going to be at the bottom and the lighter stuff is going to be at the top, ‘cause you know, gravity settling. In laterally migrating streams, we see these fining upwards deposits of sand under… Continue reading Prograding Delta Deposits
Okay, here’s what I’ve got so far (some are common around the internet, others are things we’ve come up with in our geo department): Geology is the schist Rocks are really gneiss Do we have an apatite for geology? You breccia! All my faults are stress related Igneous is bliss That’s some perfect cleavage My… Continue reading Would you consider compiling a list of geology related puns? I’d enjoy it very much. Also your blog is great and I love it.
Emily Zawacki, Ph.D. 