March 17, 2012
Ophiolite and Trace Fossil Mash-Up
Posted by Evelyn Mervine
A few weeks ago on Twitter, I expressed amazement that I had accumulated 800 followers. Unfortunately, I neglected to save the series of tweets, but I tweeted something along the lines of: “Wow. 800 followers. I can’t believe so many people are interested in ophiolites and trace fossils.” I tweeted this because ophiolites and trace fossils are the topics I have been blogging about the most in recent months.
In response, a number of my twitter followers assured me that they loved ophiolites and trace fossils. Some people also joked, “We just follow you for Geokittehs.” Then fellow geoblogger Tony Martin suggested that I post an ophiolite and trace fossil mash-up post to see how many twitter followers I would gain. I laughed and said I would do so, but a few weeks have slipped by since I’ve been so busy working on my thesis.
At this moment, I have 981 Twitter followers. That means I’ve accumulated almost 200 new followers in a few weeks! Since I haven’t posted all that much on Georneys, I attribute most of that to my Geokittehs posts :-).
I normally don’t worry too much about how many Twitter followers I have or how much traffic this blog receives. I really enjoy writing Georneys, and if other people enjoy reading Georneys then that’s just icing on the cake for me. However, I do find myself amazed that I have accumulated nearly 1,000 Twitter followers and that so many people read– and sometimes enjoy!– my geological musings. That’s really great. I’m happy that I reach so many people and, in some cases, help them understand geology a little bit better. I also really enjoy and appreciate the interactions I have with other geologists through this blog. Perhaps, then, the more Twitter followers I have, the merrier.
So, I think I will take up Tony’s challenge. Below is a mash-up of pictures of ophiolites and trace fossils. I’ve only visited two ophiolites, and many of the trace fossil pictures are actually just traces, but hopefully this ophiolite and trace fossil mash-up is good enough to gain me some more tweeps. If you appreciate this mash-up, please consider following me on Twitter. My user name is @GeoEvelyn. I’ll check back in a week to see how many twitter followers I’ve gained (or lost) as a result of this mash-up. In any case, enjoy!
Ophiolite:
Garnet peridotite (from more than 300 km depth!) exposed at Alpi Arami, Switzerland, June 2010.
Trace Fossil:
Dinosaur footprint, Western USA, Fall 2005.
Ophiolite:
Dunite channels (light brown) in harzburgite (darker brown), Samail Ophiolite, Oman, January 2009.
Trace Fossil:
Footprints on the beach, Woods Hole, Cape Cod, December 2010.
Ophiolite:
- Pillow Basalts in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman, January 2012.
Trace Fossil:
More dinosaur footprints, Western USA, Fall 2005.
Ophiolite:
Hyperalkaline (pH ~12) pool in the peridotite layer of the Samail Ophiolite, Oman, January 2009.
Trace Fossil:
Crab house in the sand, Barr Al-Hikman, Oman, January 2012.
Ophiolite:
Examining ophicarbonate rocks in Davos, Switzerland... in JUNE! There's ophiolite in this picture, I swear. Switzerland, June 2010.
Trace Fossil:
Penguin burrow. With Penguin. Simonstown, South Africa, January 2008.
Ophiolite:
Sheeted dikes in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman, January 2012.
Trace Fossil:
Crab and gastropod traces, Barr Al-Hikman, Oman, January 2012.
Ophiolite:
Hiking in the Samail Ophiolite as sunset approaches, Oman, January 2009.
Trace Fossil:
Cat footprints in the snow, New Hampshire, December 2010.
Cat:
Zayna on a walk in the snow. Yes, my awesome cat walks on a leash in the snow. New Hampshire, December 2010.
I put the cat photo in for good measure. Cat photos are always good for attracting internet followers.
Great mash-up, Evelyn! If I weren’t already following you, I’d be increasing your number by one.
I think I recognize the dinosaur tracks – those are the ones near Greybull, WY (Red Gulch), Sundance Fm., right? What’s cool about those is that they’re preserved in carbonate intertidal flats. The geologist who discovered them was amazed when he realized they were tracks, because the Sundance in that area had been previously interpreted as subtidal only.
One last point: modern traces are more properly called “incipient trace fossils,” rather than trace fossils. Because they are (inconveniently) not yet fossilized. Sorry to be such a pedant about that 🙂
Nice job, and thanks for taking up the challenge!
Cheers,
Tony
Thanks, Tony! I didn’t know they were called “incipient trace fossils.” That’s neat lingo– I just thought they were called “traces.”
Yes, those dinosaur tracks are near Greybull, Wyoming. Thanks for providing some more information on them! I visited them during my undergrad geology field program back in 2005.
I need to add some more *real* trace fossils to the mix. I’ll have to seek some out in my geological travels in the future!
your cat did do the job of attracting me to your blog! I did a search on mica and i saw my Mr. B’s sibling!
http://youtu.be/vIBFwLlrvU8