The History and Mystery of Yemen’s ‘Well of Hell’ - The first-ever expedition to the bottom of a startling desert sinkhole found wonders—but only natural ones, by Sarah Durn October 20, 2021
"...Actually, there was a concern more sinister than reptiles and spirits when Al-Kindi finally reached the bottom: unexploded ordnance. Since 2014, Yemen has been in the midst of a bloody civil war and, Al-Kindi explains, pilots sometimes drop bombs into caves, since people seek shelter inside. “So that got me worried a bit,” he says. “Apart from that, it was a very enjoyable moment.” ...Al-Kindi estimates the sinkhole could be several million years old, but its origin, too, is the subject of local legend. One legend says an ancient king forced jinn to carve the “well” as a place to hide his treasure. In others, the well has always served to contain evil, uncontrollable jinn..."
Le rover Curiosity a brisé une roche en roulant dessus, dévoilant des cristaux clairs et laiteux. La zone étant riche en sulfates, il est très probable que ce soit des cristaux de gypse, parmi les plus beaux que je vois depuis le début de la mission ! 1/3
Plate Tectonics Has a Surprise Silver Lining - Without this restless geologic process, which triggers destructive earthquakes, Earth would not be habitable, by Robin George Andrews May 29, 2024
"...on geologic timescales, plate tectonics ensures that Earth won’t grow so catastrophically hot that its surface becomes unlivable. Without plate tectonics, Earth would turn into Venus. And no planet aspires to be more like Venus.
...And, had it not been for—among other things—our world’s endlessly shifting tectonic plates, Earth could have shared the same grim fate as Venus.
Yes, those tectonic plates buckle and stretch, slip and slide, creating faults that jolt and snap, which generate earthquakes—sometimes devastatingly so. But these tremors are the vital sign of a planet with a beating geologic heart, an orb with a transmogrifying face..."
[I immediately thought of Calvin and Hobbes here, lol.]
Happy #FossilFriday, check out this Allosaurus fossil with amethyst growing at its center! It's likely water rich with silica and a touch of iron leeched into the bone during the fossilization process, allowing the growth of crystals over time. (1/2) #paleontology#geology#dinosaur#allosaurus#science
Latest map showing the latest volcanic eruption near Grindavík. It shows how close the lava flow is to town and how the last road into town almost got covered in lava.
It is impressive how the walls have worked so well so far. Hopefully they will continue to keep the lava out!
Grindavík is a town close to my heart. I feel for all those that have had to leave their homes there.
Here is a 360° panorama captured by Curiosity at her current location, with North at center and South at both ends, on top of two large and small scale maps with her position.
There are many geological features in the panorama, can you find them in the maps?
Unlike Canned Heat (showing my age) it’s not bullfrogs but #woodlands that are currently on my mind. And feeling the need to respond to them creatively, and high on their phytoncides, here’s some #Origami#Trees made out of old #Geology#Maps superimposed with the occasional #Photo of the #Woods that inspired me. #DoubleExposure#Abstract
View from the south to the Vercors plateau, Drôme, France. In the middle ground you can see the curved 'barre tithonique' (solid limestone of Upper Jurassic age). Behind that is the Lower Cretaceous limestone of the Glandasse (2041 m), which forms the edge of the Vercors plateau. #geology#fridayfold#foldfriday#france#alps
So, long #geology story long, I was driving the Modesto-Oakland leg of my weekend journey on Friday, and I accidentally went up Corral Hollow Rd instead of Patterson Pass. It was an interesting explore, although ultimately it dead-ended and I had to turn around. There’s a state park in there called Carnegie (really a rec vehicle place), so I checked out the butterfly situation. I crossed a wash several times, and I saw a lot of this material. At first I assumed it was old road tar, but it was weathering funny. I picked up a piece and discovered it was quite heavy, so I snagged a chunk and brought it home to clean. Seems to have a lot of feldspar - probably calcic. And mostly fine-grained mafics.
My guess is that I stumbled upon some un-serpentinized ultra-basic material from the Franciscan. I’ve heard it’s around, but in all my years of living in Northern #california I’ve never seen any in the field.
Anybody else know?
There’s a gravity hole — a spot where the Earth’s gravitational pull is weaker — in the Indian Ocean, causing the sea level to dip by over 328 feet (100 meters). The anomaly has puzzled geologists for a long time, but researchers think they’ve found a credible explanation: magma. Read more from CNN: https://flip.it/CC.EAZ #Science#Geology#Asia#Ocean#IndianOcean
The crystallization of large replenished magma bodies is amazingly complex. The photos of layered rocks from the Bushveld Complex in this new #OpenAccess paper are mind-bogglingly wonderful 🤩 🤯 🤓 . The wider applicability of their conclusions might be disputed by some, but good stuff though! https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2024.107621#Geology#Igneous#LayeredIntrusions
Visit to the Adventure Mine, Keweenaw peninsula #Michigan, USA. 1.1 billion year old basalt flows that carry pure #copper. We experienced an underground blast from a safe distance around the corner! #geology#mining
#Eruption#Volcanos#Geology
Per the Guardian, the erupting volcano,
"Ibu is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupting more than 21,000 times last year. "
Doesn't that translate to it erupted all year long? How are we defining an eruption if we can count multiple eruptions a day?