#Geoscience

[monarchbutt]

whenever i can't picture dinosaurs existing i just humble myself by looking at birds alive today. what the actual fuck is that thing

[void-of-unparalleled-chaos]

Being in geoscience is funny because all of our perceptions of time are completely skewed. No other field would you have someone tell you that 1,000,000 years isn't very long ago. Anything under 5,000,000 is chump change (and I am being stingy).

[aro-geo-turtle]

What people think studying geology is like: Here, memorize these 100 cool rocks and where to find them and also here's how plate tectonics works.

What studying geology is actually like: All rocks are actually one of these 10 rocks except when they're not, but those are like super rare so don't worry about it. The Earth's mantle isn't really made of magma and its also green actually. Rotate this cube in your mind seven different ways. Remember not to lose your protractor. We combined a compass and a level into one horrible machine, now go chuck it at a hillside in the rain in seven different ways. Do you remember anything from high school trigonometry? Cause you'd better. Move this object into the theoretical construct where space isn't real and all angles are doubled for some reason. Time to play in the sandbox! You think you know how the concept of temperature works? Haha fuck you. Now rewrite how your brain thinks about 3D space.

[letstalkrocks]

Today's Specimen: Ametrine

Ametrine is a variety of quartz with areas of natural purple and yellow/orange colouration. It's name comes from the colours it produces, resembling both amethyst and citrine. Ametrine deposits can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, and India, with the majority coming from a single mine in Bolivia. It is ranked at about a 7.0 on the Mohs hardness scale. Alternate names for ametrine include: Bolivianite, Golden Amethyst, and Trystine.

Stay tuned for another rock talk!

[metamorphosedsapphic]

It's dunite day. We're looking at dunite. That's code for A Whole Hell Of A Lot Of God Damned Olivine. And a little pyroxene to taste! I have to somehow draw this absolute beast of a thin section. I love my degree.

The jet black stuff in the upper right is chromite btw. She's a beaut

[cjab-0201]

I returned to a Pennsylvanian (late Carboniferous) site I had visited a few times and I finally found some Sphenophyllum!

EDIT: I talked to a paleobotanist and according to him, this is actually Asterophyllites. (I don't buy it though. If anything, it would be Annularia, and the leaves lack a central midvein.)

EDIT 2: Check the reblogs for more fossils from this site!!!

[friedmagazinebouquet]

Geoscientists and geologists are the most people ever

My professor brought in crude oil last week for all of us to smell, and today he handed around some uranium

Incredible teaching, 10/10 would recommend

[cachien]

basically everyone i follow on here has disappeared so i only see posts from the same 5 or so people, so pls like this so i can follow if you post

history

science

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idk honestly just if you have something fun you post abt often pls like this so i can follow you! i love my 5 or so people but i want to see more people!

[taphonomenon]

Drew my profile picture. This is a drawing of Prestosuchus chiniquensis found in the American Museum of Natural History. I took the photo below when I was 15

[katiedigsdinos]

Coon Creek Formation, Tennessee

The Coon Creek Formation is a Late Cretaceous rock unit in western Tennessee. At the type-locality near Enville, Tennessee, this formation is an internationally-recognized Lagerstätte— which simply means that it is an area of excellent fossil preservation.

📍Location 🗺️

The type-locality, where the formation was described, is located near Enville, Tennessee, in the Coon Creek. Although the naming might sound suspicious (especially given the South’s racist history), this creek was actually named for the numerous raccoons that call the forest home. I’ve attached a picture of some raccoon tracks I found on the banks of the creek!

🪨 Geology ⛏️

This unit was initially a member of the Ripley Formation (Late Cretaceous rock unit that exists as part of the Cretaceous Belt in Mississippi and Alabama). In 1975, geologist Ernest E. Russell raised this unit to formation status.

The dark gray rock (a very fine- to fine-grained sandy marl) pictured above comprises the lower, fossiliferous unit of the Coon Creek Formation. Marls, by definition, are silty-clays/clayey-silts that are rich in calcium carbonate. This marl has a particularly high clay content which, coupled with the regional river drainages pumping sediment into the paleo-Mississippi Embayment, ensured that deceased organisms were buried rapidly.

🦕 Paleontology 🦖

The Coon Creek Formation represents sediment deposition in a shallow marine environment proximal to the shoreline. As such, the fossils found here are those of sea-dwelling organisms, including: mollusks (clams, oysters, cephalopods, sea snails), arthropods (shrimp, lobsters, crabs), echinoderms (urchins), and vertebrates (fish, sharks, turtles, and marine reptiles). Fragmentary dinosaur fossils have been found in the Coon Creek Formation, though they are quite rare.

The state fossil of Tennessee— a clam called Pterotrigonia thoracica— can be found in abundance throughout the creek.

🏕️ The Coon Creek Science Center (CCSC) 🔭

The CCSC is a 240-acre field station owned by the Memphis Pink Palace Museum and operated by the University of Tennessee at Martin. The CCSC also hosts the type-locality for the Coon Creek Formation.

The science center has a museum, field laboratories, bunk facilities, mess hall, weather station, and astronomy observing capabilities. On the third Saturday of each month, they host a Community Day, where people are welcomed into the creek to collect fossils for themselves. Afterwards, the on-site paleontologists will help you to identify your finds and teach you the basics of fossil preparation! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a real hands-on experience in fossil hunting.

[monarchbutt]

[void-of-unparalleled-chaos]

[girlapologist]

absolutely devastating meme that was shared in my earth science college’s discord

[letstalkrocks]

Today's Specimen: Kyanite

Kyanite is a usually blue aluminosilicate. It can be found in high pressure environments rich with aluminum. Kyanite was first discovered in 1789, in Mt Greiner, Austria, but have since been found worldwide. These specimens have a 4.5-7.0 on the Mohs hardness scale, with hardness varying on each axis. This mineral contains toxic amounts of aluminum, and should not be wet. Alternate names for Kyanite include: Cyanite, Disthen, Sapparite.

Stay tuned for another rock talk!

[metamorphosedsapphic]

Year 2, semester 4, geochemistry field expedition.

I got covered in efflorescent sulfur salts and the smell won't come OFF

Anyway. Here's to another successful field expedition, this time for geochemistry. We analysed water samples and talked about acidic runoff as a product of mines, as well as seeing some old metal refining waste and discussed how it is dangerous, how it is dealt with, etc.

During our survey of an ex-mine still populated by sulfide minerals like magnetopyrite/pyrrhotite, iron pyrite, galena, sphalerite and all their secondary minerals, talk came up over these efflorescent salts that come about as sulfides break down and the sulfur's gotta go somewhere.

Well the professor overlooking us asked me to collect some samples of them for something he wants to analyse, and I was happy to oblige. Note: sulfur salts are very powdery in this form, and as soon as I stuck the flat end of my hammer into it, discovered that with my very own eyes, and nose, and mouth, and boy! is it sulfurous! I think I startled an ancestor or two thinking we were in a german gas raid.

Well, I didn't stop there, truth be told I actually just kept going. I then found some of the marble bedrock, took a chunk out of that too. And then something else that was weird and I've yet to clean up. And only THEN did I realise I smelled like sulfur, everywhere. For some reason, to me sulfide minerals smell more like a mix of garlic and burnt iron.