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November 18, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: C is for Columnar Jointing
def. Columnar Jointing: A structure that forms in rocks (most commonly in basalt) that consists of columns (mostly commonly hexagonal in shape) that are separated by joints or fractures in the rock that formed when the rock contracted, most often during cooling. Columnar jointing is always a joy to observe in rocks in the field. Stumbling upon perfectly geometric columns of rock can only be described as magical. Even the …
November 11, 2012
A Second Geologist’s Alphabet
I’m already at the letter B of my third geologist’s alphabet, so I thought I should compile a list of my second geologist’s alphabet. During the last year of my PhD, my weekly words were not so weekly. Thus, I blogged my second geologist’s alphabet over the last year and a half or so. My first geologist’s alphabet can be found here. Here’s my second geologist’s alphabet: A is for …
Geology Word of the Week: B is for Botryoidal
def. Botryoidal: Shaped like a bunch of grapes. The word botryoidal comes from the Greek word “botrus”, which literally means a cluster or bunch of grapes. In geology the word botryoidal is often used to describe a rock texture or mineral habit (appearance). Here are a few pictures of some botyroidal rocks and minerals: ***Thanks to Patrick Donohue for suggesting this week’s word and to Patrick and Lockwood DeWitt for …
November 4, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: A is for Amygdale
def. Amygdale (also spelled Amygule): Vesicles, generally in extrusive igneous rocks, that are filled with secondary minerals, most commonly quartz, calcite, chlorite, and zeolite. When a rock contains amygdales, geologists often describe it as an amygdaloidal rock. For example, basalt is often described as amygdaloidal basalt. Here are a few previous, related geology words of the week that may be of interest: V is for Vesicle (and Vug) Z is …
October 28, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: Z is for Zeolite
def. zeolite: The name of a large group of porous, framework, aluminosilicate (their basic structure is interlocking tetrahedra of SiO4 and AlO4) minerals that contain significant water and also significant exchangeable cations, which makes them absorbent materials. The name zeolite originates from the Greek words “zeo”, which means “to boil”, and “lithos”, which means “stone”. Zeolites were given their name because when you heat them, they generally release water in …
October 19, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: Y is for Yellowstone National Park
def. Yellowstone National Park: A United States national park that is located in the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Established in 1872, Yellowstone was the first national park to be founded and set an example for other national parks which were subsequently established all over the world. The park is the current location of the Yellowstone hotspot, which is responsible for large-scale volcanism in Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming. …
October 13, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: X is for Xiphactinus
def. Xiphactinus: 1. A large (15-20 ft long), predatory fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous. 2. A prehistoric sea monster. Seriously. What an enormous and scary looking fish. 3. A really, really cool fossil. Maybe one day I can display one in the library of my evil geologist lair. One of the most famous fossils of Xiphactinus is the “fish within a fish” fossil located at the Sternberg Museum of Natural …
October 7, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: W is for Widmanstätten Pattern
def. Widmanstätten Pattern: An interweaving pattern of the extraterrestrial minerals kamacite (a low nickel content iron-nickel alloy, similar to the terrestrial mineral ferrite) and taenite (a high nickel content iron-nickel alloy, similar to the terrestrial mineral austenite) that appears in some iron-nickel meteorites when a cut section of the meteorite is etched with weak acid. Widmanstätten patterns appear during acid etching because kamacite is more easily dissolved by weak acid than taenite. Widmanstätten patterns are believed to …
September 26, 2012
Geology Word of the Week: V is for Vitreous
Introductory Note: At long last, the Geology Word of the Week has returned! For almost a year, the Geology Word of the Week post has been on hold. I briefly resurrected the weekly word back in April with the posts T is for Time and U is for Ulexite, but the revival was short-lived. I neglected the weekly word because this past year has been busy and full of important life events and …
May 1, 2012
Monday Geology Picture: Chesterfield Gorge, New Hampshire
This week’s geology picture was taken in the Chesterfield Gorge, which is located just a few minutes from my parents’ house in southern New Hampshire. I would often explore and play at the gorge as a child. I used to like to throw things into the gorge and watch them go over the waterfalls. I once duct-taped a Princess Leia figurine into a plastic toy kayak and watched her go …
