#geologist

[bethanythebogwitch]

*Elmer Fudd voice* Be vewwy, vewwy, quiet, I'm hunting geowogists

[blueiskewl]

New Mexico Footprints are Oldest Sign of Humans in Americas

Fossil footprints date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, upending previous theory that humans reached continent later.

New research confirms that fossil human footprints in New Mexico are probably the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many archaeologists thought they knew.

The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands national park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published on Thursday in the journal Science.

The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of aquatic plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake – which could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years.

The new study presents two additional lines of evidence for the older date range. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient conifer pollen and quartz grains.

The reported age of the footprints challenges the once conventional wisdom that humans did not reach the Americas until a few thousand years before rising sea levels covered the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, perhaps about 15,000 years ago.

“This is a subject that’s always been controversial because it’s so significant – it’s about how we understand the last chapter of the peopling of the world,” said Thomas Urban, an archaeological scientist at Cornell University, who was involved in the 2021 study but not the new one.

Thomas Stafford, an independent archaeological geologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was not involved in the study, said he “was a bit skeptical before” but now is convinced.

The new study isolated about 75,000 grains of pure pollen from the same sedimentary layer that contained the footprints.

“Dating pollen is arduous and nail-biting,” said Kathleen Springer, a research geologist at the US Geological Survey and a co-author of the new paper.

Ancient footprints of any kind can provide archaeologists with a snapshot of a moment in time. While other archeological sites in the Americas point to similar date ranges – including pendants carved from giant ground sloth remains in Brazil – scientists still question whether such materials really indicate human presence.

“White Sands is unique because there’s no question these footprints were left by people, it’s not ambiguous,” said Jennifer Raff, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Kansas, who was not involved in the study.

[yutaan]

A flat-color commission of the client’s Dragonborn geologist (plus a feathery friend)! I had a lot of fun with the big, chunky shapes in her outfit combined with the delicate little steampunk-esque details - she stays a total fashion-plate as she investigates the natural world!

[elizabugz]

[trying-geology]

Hi geobuddies!!!

So the spring semester has started and we’re loving it! Besides that my geologist friend has a question!

She found this dope ass rock! It’s was found in Grand Teton National Park, Jenny Lake Loop! Anyone have any guesses?

P.S. I know you're not supposed to do rock ID from pictures but look how cool!!

[hoybero]

i wish i had a geologist friend who could sit me down and tell me everything about these rocks and what kind of rock it is and how they were formed and everything about them:(

theyre just normal rocks but i want to KNOW about them.

[geekysteven]

A geologist is someone who watches a Fantastic Four movie and thinks the worst part is how they never said what kind of rock Ben Grimm is.

[justanotherbirdbrain-blog]

Nacli appreciation post

Nacli, the rock salt Pokémon, I adored him the moment I saw him, and his name made him even better. NaCl is the chemical formula for salt, which makes its name super cute!

However, this is not even the best part about Nacli, his little salt crystals are cubic! Which is the natural structure of table salt! If you wanted to prove this, you could always take a large piece of Himalayan salt that you see for sale in department stores all the time and break it. It should cleave in right angles if not produce a perfect cube!

The last super exciting thing to see in the design of this Pokémon is that the rock that is making up the round body of Nacli is actually layered! this is really neat to see because salt deposits are typically found in sedimentary rocks (more specifically, they are usually found in dried ocean beds) and sedimentary rocks are known to have layers! Here is a picture of a core that was taken from a salt mine for reference. Anyway, end appreciation post.

[floridaboiler]

[greenbookreclaim]

Help, he did it, he's used rocks against us!

[nepeta-cata]

Conclusion: it's most likely angelite.

Can someone help me identify this rock? I got it at a market and it didn't have a label.

I tried google but I'm just not knowledgeable enough.

Reblogging so more people see is appreciated!

Idk if it will help but it almost feels powdery? Really soft, like I always think there must be residue left on my hands but there isn't.

It's harder than my fingernail but softer than a nail I had lying around. It can be scratched with a knife!

[alliterative-endlessknot]

Happy #GeologistsDay! The early history of the field of geology is fascinating, and surprisingly explosive – and we explored it in our video on the word “Fossil”.

[elizabugz]

[trying-geology]

Went to Big Bend National Park in Texas!!!

First two pictures are along the Emory Peak trail with a view of what they call The Window. The rocks are from a rhyolitic lava flow.

Third picture is of the eclipse.

Fourth is of mini potholes or vugs from a random rock I climbed into.

Fifth is the trail heading to the Rio Grande depicting the Santa Elena Canyon.

[gaynaturalistghost]

More cute air genasi geologist girlie! She was adopted by earth genasis and became fascinated by them, and went to school for geology and divination in Medulla. Her name is Caliche (named after the geology term). More sketches to follow hopefully!

[woodsrat]

~ what if we forget how to dream?