Accretionary Wedge #57: Seeing Geology Everywhere

Accretionary Wedge, cats, Dana Hunter, GeoLOLCats 2 Minutes
Pandora the cat illustrating a normal fault. Taken from Geokittehs here: http://geokittehs.blogspot.com/2011/10/under-pressure.html.

I’m hosting this month’s Accretionary Wedge. For those of you who don’t know, the Accretionary Wedge is a monthly geoblog carnival which is hosted by various geology bloggers. The host proposes a topic and everyone– from amateur to professional geologist, from brand-new to seasoned blogger– is encouraged to post on the topic. If you have a blog, write a post on this month’s topic and then put a link to the post in a comment below. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to email me your entry (georneysblog AT gmail). Please send your entries through by June 20th. I apologise for the short deadline, but I’d like to compile the posts before I leave for fieldwork in Alaska on June 24th.

Here’s the call for posts:

This month’s Accretionary Wedge topic is “Seeing Geology Everywhere.” Like many geologists, I often see geology in places where there are no rocks. I see landslides and orogenies in messy piles of papers on my desk; I see stratigraphy in my desserts and chemical diffusion in my accompanying cups of tea; I see interference colors in paintings in modern art museums.

My geology vision, so to speak, is heightened when I am especially excited about a geological subject– and when I am working long hours on a geology project. For example, back in 2007 I participated in a 50 day long research cruise along the Ninetyeast Ridge in the Indian Ocean. I worked long shifts describing the rock samples that were dredged up from the ridge. One evening after a particularly long shift, I was brushing my teeth before bed and found myself estimating phenocryst percentages in the speckled linoleum tiles on the bathroom floor.

One (in)famous example of geology vision is Geokittehs, a blog about geology and cats that I started with my friend Dana Hunter two years ago. Yes, for two years I have regularly written a blog about geology as shown through cats in various poses. If that doesn’t qualify as “Seeing Geology Everywhere” I don’t know what does!

Now it’s your turn: Do you see geology in unexpected places? Do you often find yourself viewing the world through geology-tinted glasses? Do you have any adorable cat pictures that could be used to illustrate geology?

Please participate in this month’s Accretionary Wedge! I look forward to reading your entries.

Finally, I think we need some volunteers for future Accretionary Wedge hosts. If you’d like to host, please leave a comment below, and we’ll make the necessary arrangements within the geoblogosphere community.

Published by Evelyn Mervine

Published

15 thoughts on “Accretionary Wedge #57: Seeing Geology Everywhere”

  1. I would like to host! But I wouldn’t be able to do it until September, because I’ll be in the field/internshipping in July & August.

    That’ll give me some time to think of a topic!

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    1. Maureen– you can post your submission on your own blog and then leave a link to your post in a comment here. Otherwise, you can email me your submission, and I’ll host it here on Georneys.

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  3. What is the average slip rate on your cat example? Does the slip occur aseismically? Have you tried adding talc to the surface to experiment with fault creep? Of course the cat is buttressed so this would complicate the situation…;-)

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  4. i found it very valuable and nice…..i want some more information from you….if you can contact me or help me.
    geological engineer
    izhar ahmed kakar

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