Mi(ni)Geo

Carboniferous rocks - Cheverie, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia (by laszlofromhalifax)

‘I’m sorry to inform you that Earth is about to be been eaten by a fire demon,’ wrote photographer Ben Brockert on Twitter. Ben is an engineer at Armadillo Aerospace. (via Universe Today)

Sulphur Crystals on Matrix (by cobalt123)

Sulphur Crystals on Matrix - A superb specimen of yellow sulphur crystals, well-formed and distinct on a matrix with white calcite crystals. This was shot through the glass display case at the Tucson Rock and Gem Show 2012.

Las esferulitas son pequeños cuerpos esféricos que normalmente aparecen en rocas ígneas ricas en vidrio, sobretodo en riolitas ricas en sílice, aunque también aparecen en obsidianas. A menudo cuentan con una estructura radial provocada por el intercrecimiento de cristales de cuarzo y ortoclasa. Se piensa que estas formas ocurren cuando ocurre un crecimiento mineral muy rápido tras la nucleación. (via Un geólogo en apuros)

A Forest of Channels on the South Polar Layered Deposits (by Lunar and Planetary Institute)

The sublimation of seasonal carbon dioxide in the Martian polar regions seems to erode connected channels on the underlying surface, as escaping carbon dioxide gas scours the surface beneath the carbon dioxide ice. Such features are fairly common to the south polar region. However, the channel clusters here are unusually even in their spacing. The carbon dioxide gas-driven erosion will exploit pre-existing weakness in the underlying surface, so it’s possible that these features are following joints or fractures that exist in the layered deposits. The regularity of these features may suggest something about the thickness of ground ice deep below the surface. ASU-IPF-3256

Birds fly in the foreground as a plume of ash and steam rises from Popocatepetl. Credit: AP. (via guardian.co.uk)

Fig. 2.5 in Polar Research Board. Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. NAP (2011): Cartoon of Southern Ocean circulation and glaciological processes occurring on the coast of Antarctica.

Draft, delta building and stratigraphy, Emriver Em4 model. (by Steve Gough)

Here we build a delta, then lower base level so the channel cuts through it. We then used vertical slicing to reveal some very nice stratigraphy. There are four sizes of color coded particles, the material is melamine plastic (density 1.6). You can see Gigapan images of the stratigraphy.

Marcia Bjornerud in “Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth”. (via The Road To Endeavour)

The Grímsvötn crater lake formed during the May 2011 eruption. (via Dave McGarvie)

With advances in the methods of interferometry, subsidence of entire countries can now be mapped. This image shows the average displacement rates over millions of permanent scatterers identified over Italy using data from ESA’s ERS missions (1992–2001). The project was financed by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and carried out by e-GEOS, TRE and Compulab. Credit: Tele-Rilevamento Europa (TRE). (vía ESA)

Perpetual Ocean (by djxatlanta)

Ocean surface currents around the world during the period from June 2005 through Decmeber 2007. This visualization was produced using NASA/JPL’s computational model called Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II or ECCO2. ECCO2 is high resolution model of the global ocean and sea-ice. ECCO2 attempts to model the oceans and sea ice to increasingly accurate resolutions that begin to resolve ocean eddies and other narrow-current systems which transport heat and carbon in the oceans.The ECCO2 model simulates ocean flows at all depths, but only surface flows are used in this visualization. The dark patterns under the ocean represent the undersea bathymetry. Topographic land exaggeration is 20x and bathymetric exaggeration is 40x. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio.

Icnita Dinosaurio Terópodo “Gigante” (by Paleoymas)

Huella fósil de 69 cm de longitud.

Sage geologic wisdom. (via @Taconic_Musings)

Giant’s Causeway (by fmhsu)