Fault Lines in Utah Are Much Bigger Than Previously Thought, Study Says

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MJbemyEn5mE/XqsoyWj_a-I/AAAAAAAASKw/7aSYbgxKuuELwuIyXDb-X0DZPHtOwFxqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2-Wasatch-fault-zone-Salt-Lake-segment-and-West-Valley-fault-zone%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fault Lines in Utah Are Much Bigger Than Previously Thought, Study Says" border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1220" height="352" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MJbemyEn5mE/XqsoyWj_a-I/AAAAAAAASKw/7aSYbgxKuuELwuIyXDb-X0DZPHtOwFxqACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h352/2-Wasatch-fault-zone-Salt-Lake-segment-and-West-Valley-fault-zone%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="Fault Lines in Utah Are Much Bigger Than Previously Thought, Study Says" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fault Lines in Utah Are Much Bigger Than Previously Thought, Study Says. Fault lines along the Wasatch front are much bigger than initially thought, according to a study by the Utah Department of Natural Resources. (Photo: Utah DNR)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> Fault lines along the Wasatch Front are much bigger than initially thought, according to a new study released by the Utah Department of Natural Resources.<br /> <br /> – A recently released four-year study by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) provides new detailed mapping of faults along the Wasatch Front that are capable of surface rupture. In a large earthquake, surface rupture could cause significant damage to homes, schools, businesses, and other buildings and infrastructure along the Wasatch Front.<br /><br />Researchers used recently acquired high-resolution elevation surveys (lidar) derived from laser sensors mounted on aircraft. This fault mapping and the new delineation of surrounding “special study zones” provide critical tools to local governments for land use planning and regulation, and will be of great use to potential homebuyers.<br /><br />Last month’s Magna earthquake that shook the Salt Lake Valley serves as a wakeup call to those living along the Wasatch Front. The moderate Magna earthquake measured magnitude 5.7. Faults in the area are capable of generating earthquakes of up to about magnitude 7.6 and releasing 700 times more energy! Earthquakes larger than about magnitude 6.5 can rupture the ground surface, producing fault scarps from a couple inches high to up to 20 feet high and 40 miles long on the Wasatch Front. Fault scarps are hazardous building locations because they can reactivate during subsequent earthquakes.<br /><br />“As a result of this research, we better understand where we’ve had surface-rupturing earthquakes in the geologic past, and where we may have them in the future. Knowing where fault scarps are present helps us make better land use decisions now and in the future,” said UGS hazards geologist Emily Kleber. “This new study provides detailed fault mapping and delineates “special study zones” for the Wasatch fault zone from southern Idaho to central Utah.”<br /><br />While the study’s increased accuracy and detail helps to pin down fault locations, it is not precise enough to safely locate specific buildings on individual lots. Furthermore, ground cracking, tilting, and minor faulting usually accompany surface fault rupture.<br /> <br /> This zone of deformation occurs adjacent to the main fault scarp and can extend hundreds of feet, mostly on the downthrown (valley) side of the main scarp. Based upon such concerns, this report delineates “special study zones” around fault traces. “While we recommend additional site specific investigation prior to building, it’s up to local agencies to regulate development within our delineated special study zones,” said UGS Hazards Geologist Greg McDonald.<br /><br />This study was a collaborative effort between the UGS and the U.S. Geological Survey. Along with new lidar imagery, mappers utilized previous geologic mapping and studies of ancient earthquakes, historical aerial photography, and field investigations. In addition to increased detail of previously mapped faults, the study identified new fault traces and potential sites for future field investigations of Wasatch Front faults.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span face=""Trebuchet MS", sans-serif">The above story is based on <a href="https://geology.utah.gov/press-release-new-study-reduces-risk-in-areas-adjacent-to-wasatch-front-faults/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://geology.utah.gov/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Utah Geological Survey.</a></span></i></u></div>

Fault Lines in Utah Are Much Bigger Than Previously Thought, Study Says

Fault Lines in Utah Are Much Bigger Than Previously Thought, Study Says. Fault lines along the Wasatch front are much bigger than initial...

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Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began Over 3.2 Billion Years Ago

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFSG4F9ok2E/XqSHf3HVtgI/AAAAAAAASJs/M7LzV_QCzYIkAado7Yg-Ktq1WHOjljvUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Earth%25E2%2580%2599s%2BPlate%2BTectonics%2BBegan%2BOver%2B3.2%2BBillion%2BYears%2BAgo%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began Over 3.2 Billion Years Ago" border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1024" height="416" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFSG4F9ok2E/XqSHf3HVtgI/AAAAAAAASJs/M7LzV_QCzYIkAado7Yg-Ktq1WHOjljvUwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h416/Earth%25E2%2580%2599s%2BPlate%2BTectonics%2BBegan%2BOver%2B3.2%2BBillion%2BYears%2BAgo%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began Over 3.2 Billion Years Ago" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began Over 3.2 Billion Years Ago. Prof. Roger Fu, an author on the study, poses on an outcrop of the Honeyeater Basalt in Western Australia’s Pilbara Craton. The ancient lavas exposed here showed the study’s authors that the Pilbara Craton moved over the Earth’s surface some 3.2 billion years ago. Credit: Alec Brenner, Harvard University.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> An analysis of rocks from the Honeyeater Basalt of the East Pilbara Craton, a stable block of crust in Western Australia, provides strong evidence that Earth’s tectonic plates were already moving 3.2 billion years ago (Archean Eon).<br /><br />New research indicates that plate tectonics may have been well underway on Earth more than 3.2 billion years ago, adding a new dimension to an ongoing debate about exactly when plate tectonics began influencing the early evolution of the planet. <br /><br />An analysis of lingering magnetism in rocks from the nearly 3.2 billion year-old Honeyeater Basalt of the East Pilbara Craton, a stable block of crust in Western Australia, provides strong evidence for a large change in the latitude of the block relative to the Earth's magnetic poles between 3.35 and 3.18 billion years ago. <br /><br />This evidence pushes back the date for the onset of modern plate tectonics to the late Paleoarchean time period, supporting the theory that changes in the crust have resulted from continuous, uniform processes similar to those we observe today - or at least that the crust has experienced intermittent switching between episodes of movement and immobility. Alec Brenner and colleagues note that these findings will contribute to scientists' understanding of how Earth's crust formed and how plate tectonics may have evolved on other planets. <br /><br />A defining feature of modern plate tectonics is the plates' gradual but steady horizontal motion. Beneath our feet, these titanic slabs of rock collide, pull apart and slide past each other, molding mountains and unleashing earthquakes that rattle the world above. But while plate tectonics is central to the evolution of Earth as we know it, scientists have been uncertain about when, exactly, this geologic process began. <br /><br />To determine whether the lithospheric plates experienced significant motion before the early Neoarchean period some 2.8 billion years ago, Brenner et al. extracted samples from a total of 235 magnetically oriented Honeyeater Basalt cores - igneous rocks that retain a record of Earth's magnetic field at the time of their crystallization. <br /><br />Since the researchers knew the ages of rocks that crystallized at different times within a single block of the crust, they were able to deduce changes in the block's latitude over millions of years. They found that this section of crust drifted at an average rate of at least 2.5 centimeters per year - a velocity comparable to plate motion rates observed today.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span face=""Trebuchet MS", sans-serif">The above story is based on <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/17/eaaz8670" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://www.aaas.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">American Association for the Advancement of Science.</a></span></i></u></div>

Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began Over 3.2 Billion Years Ago

Earth’s Plate Tectonics Began Over 3.2 Billion Years Ago. Prof. Roger Fu, an author on the study, poses on an outcrop of the Honeyeater B...

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New Seismic Map of North America Reveals a Continent Under Tremendous Stress

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gubF8ITXpOw/XqHG6ml5iEI/AAAAAAAASJg/qlFJ69EwVwsYZuJI8vhksZ-TVjxjbT5TgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/New%2BSeismic%2BMap%2Bof%2BNorth%2BAmerica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New Seismic Map of North America Reveals a Continent Under Tremendous Stress" border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1250" height="448" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gubF8ITXpOw/XqHG6ml5iEI/AAAAAAAASJg/qlFJ69EwVwsYZuJI8vhksZ-TVjxjbT5TgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/New%2BSeismic%2BMap%2Bof%2BNorth%2BAmerica.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new seismic stress map of North America.<br /> Image: Jens-Erik Lund Snee and Mark Zoback</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How do mountains form? What forces are needed to carve out a basin? Why does the Earth tremble and quake?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scientists have compiled the most comprehensive map yet of tectonic stress magnitudes across North America, highlighting regions most vulnerable to earthquakes.</span><br /> <br /> Earth scientists pursue these fundamental questions to gain a better understanding of our planet's deep past and present workings. Their discoveries also help us plan for the future by preparing us for earthquakes, determining where to drill for oil and gas, and more. Now, in a new, expanded map of the tectonic stresses acting on North America, Stanford researchers present the most comprehensive view yet of the forces at play beneath the Earth's surface.<br /> <br /> The findings, published in <i>Nature Communications</i>, have implications for understanding and mitigating problems associated with induced seismicity - human-caused earthquakes - from unconventional oil and gas recovery, especially in Oklahoma, Texas and other areas targeted for energy exploration. But they also pose a whole new set of questions that the researchers hope will stimulate a wide range of modeling studies.<br /> <br /> "Understanding the forces in the Earth's crust is fundamental science," said study co-author Mark Zoback, the Benjamin M. Page Professor of Geophysics in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth). "In some cases, it has immediate application, in others, it may be applied decades later to practical questions that do not exist today."</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First continental synthesis of data</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> The new research provides the first quantitative synthesis of faulting across the entire continent, as well as hundreds of measurements of compressive stress directions - the direction from which the greatest pressure occurs in the Earth's crust. The map was produced by compiling new and previously published measurements from boreholes as well as inferences about kinds or "styles" of faults based on earthquakes that have occurred in the past.<br /> <br /> The three possible styles of faulting include extensional, or normal faulting, in which the crust extends horizontally; strike-slip faulting, in which the Earth slides past itself, like in the San Andreas fault; and reverse, or thrust, faulting in which the Earth moves over itself. Each one causes very different shaking from a hazard point of view.<br /> <br /> "In our hazards maps right now, in most places, we don't have direct evidence of what kind of earthquake mechanisms could occur," said Jack Baker, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who was not involved with the study. "It's exciting that we have switched from this blind assumption of anything is possible to having some location-specific inferences about what types of earthquakes we might expect."</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Zooming in</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> In addition to presenting a continent-level view of the processes governing the North American plate, the data - which incorporates nearly 2,000 stress orientations, 300 of which are new to this study - offer regional clues about the behavior of the subsurface.<br /> <br /> "If you know an orientation of any fault and the state of stress nearby, you know how likely it is to fail and whether you should be concerned about it in both naturally-triggered and industry-triggered earthquake scenarios," said lead author Jens-Erik Lund Snee, PhD '20, now a postdoctoral fellow with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Lakewood, Colorado. "We've detailed a few places where previously published geodynamic models agree very well with the new data, and others where the models don't agree well at all."<br /> <br /> In the Eastern U.S., for example, the style of faulting revealed by the study is exactly the opposite of what would be expected as the surface slowly "rebounds" following the melting of the ice sheets that covered most of Canada and the northern U.S. some 20,000 years ago, according to Lund Snee. The discovery that the rebound stresses are much less than those already stored in the crust from plate tectonics will advance scientists' understanding of the earthquake potential in that area.<br /> <br /> In the Western U.S., the researchers were surprised to see changes in stress types and orientations over short distances, with major rotations occurring over only tens of miles - a feature that current models of Earth dynamics do not reveal.<br /> <br /> "It's just much clearer now how stress can systematically vary on the scale of a sedimentary basin in some areas," Zoback said. "We see things we've never seen before that require geologic explanation. This will teach us new things about how the Earth works."</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://earth.stanford.edu/news/seismic-map-north-america-reveals-geologic-clues-earthquake-hazards" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Materials</a> provided by <a href="https://earth.stanford.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences</a>.</span></i></u></div>

New Seismic Map of North America Reveals a Continent Under Tremendous Stress

The new seismic stress map of North America. Image: Jens-Erik Lund Snee and Mark Zoback How do mountains form? What forces are need...

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World's Largest Quartz Crystal Cluster

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ek4WsZm-gLM/Xp3E5NJC4kI/AAAAAAAASIo/h04kubOdd6YEicSl9LpO1EYncRbNk6BQACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/World%2527s%2Blargest%2Bquartz%2Bcrystal%2Bcluster%2Bon%2Bdisplay.%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="World's Largest Quartz Crystal Cluster" border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="850" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ek4WsZm-gLM/Xp3E5NJC4kI/AAAAAAAASIo/h04kubOdd6YEicSl9LpO1EYncRbNk6BQACLcBGAsYHQ/w540-h640/World%2527s%2Blargest%2Bquartz%2Bcrystal%2Bcluster%2Bon%2Bdisplay.%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="World's Largest Quartz Crystal Cluster" width="540" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's Largest Quartz Crystal Cluster. Size: 3m wide, 3m high Weight: 14100kg</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> World's largest quartz crystal cluster on display. Crystal gallery, Swakopmund, Namibia. Quartz crystal cluster on display in a museum in Namibia. This is the world's largest quartz cluster, it was discovered in 1985 at the bottom of a 45 metre deep cave in the Otjua mine near Karibib in Namibia. It weighs 14,100 kg and took three years to excavate and remove.<br /> <br /> Quartz is one of the most common minerals found in the Earth's crust. If pure, quartz forms colourless, transparent and very hard crystals with a glass-like lustre. A significant component of many igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, this natural form of silicon dioxide is found in an impressive range of varieties and colours. <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8CdgPYJTgT4/Xp3GwUmPW3I/AAAAAAAASI0/Bw0xcloiABQl-hqg-JVHVCrzfTz9GupqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/dsc02456%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1220" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8CdgPYJTgT4/Xp3GwUmPW3I/AAAAAAAASI0/Bw0xcloiABQl-hqg-JVHVCrzfTz9GupqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/dsc02456%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> The Kristall Gallerie is located at Corner of Tobias Hainyeko and Theo-Ben Gurirab Avenue, Swakopmund, Namibia</div>

World's Largest Quartz Crystal Cluster

World's Largest Quartz Crystal Cluster. Size: 3m wide, 3m high Weight: 14100kg World's largest quartz crystal cluster on displ...

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Ammolite: Fossilized Ammonites Gem

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDO6wsxuiGQ/XpsePE_5jnI/AAAAAAAASIM/KEofnOeeCuILxElIhJOcG0dqNhbl5cD2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Fossilized%2BAmmonites%2BGem.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ammolite: Fossilized Ammonites Gem" border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1600" height="444" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDO6wsxuiGQ/XpsePE_5jnI/AAAAAAAASIM/KEofnOeeCuILxElIhJOcG0dqNhbl5cD2QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h444/Fossilized%2BAmmonites%2BGem.jpg" title="Ammolite: Fossilized Ammonites Gem" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ammolite: Fossilized Ammonites Gem. Rare Giant Natural Ammolite From Alberta, Canada.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <b>Ammolite </b>is an opal-like organic gemstone found primarily along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains of North America. It is made of the fossilized shells of ammonites, which in turn are composed primarily of aragonite, the same mineral contained in nacre, with a microstructure inherited from the shell. It is one of few biogenic gemstones; others include amber and pearl.<br /><br />The <b>chemical composition </b>of ammolite is variable, and aside from aragonite may include calcite, silica, pyrite, or other minerals. The shell itself may contain a number of trace elements, including: aluminium; barium; chromium; copper; iron; magnesium; manganese; strontium; titanium; and vanadium. Its <b>crystallography </b>is orthorhombic. Its <b>hardness </b>is 4.5–5.5, and its specific gravity is 2.60–2.85.<br /><br />An iridescent opal-like <b>play of color </b>is shown in fine specimens, mostly in shades of green and red; all the spectral colors are possible, however. The iridescence is due to the microstructure of the aragonite: unlike most other gems, whose colors come from light absorption, the iridescent color of ammolite comes from interference with the light that rebounds from stacked layers of thin platelets that make up the aragonite.<br /><br /> Significant deposits of gem-quality ammolite are only found in the Bearpaw Formation that extends from Alberta to Saskatchewan in Canada and south to Montana in the USA.<br /> <br /> <br /> Ammolite comes from the<b> fossil shells</b> of the Upper Cretaceous disk-shaped ammonites <i>Placenticeras meeki</i> and <i>Placenticeras intercalare</i>, and (to a lesser degree) the cylindrical baculite, <i>Baculites compressus</i>. Ammonites were cephalopods, that thrived in tropical seas until becoming extinct along with the dinosaurs at the end of the Mesozoic era.<br /> <br /> <b>See also:</b><br /> <a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2019/02/fossilized-insect-discovered-not-in.html" target="_blank">Fossilized Insect Discovered Not in Amber, But in Opal</a><br /> <a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2018/08/what-are-organic-gemstones.html" target="_blank">What Are Organic Gemstones?</a><br /> <br /></div>

Ammolite: Fossilized Ammonites Gem

Ammolite: Fossilized Ammonites Gem. Rare Giant Natural Ammolite From Alberta, Canada. Ammolite is an opal-like organic gemstone foun...

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Snowflake Obsidian

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wFsCVMMPMro/XpXWAQ8bxPI/AAAAAAAASHo/KE9TdxampQsWzyt9621EQzJ00D3S4i8nACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Snowflake%2BObsidian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wFsCVMMPMro/XpXWAQ8bxPI/AAAAAAAASHo/KE9TdxampQsWzyt9621EQzJ00D3S4i8nACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Snowflake%2BObsidian.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowflake Obsidian. Photo: spiritrockshop</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> Obsidian, a dark volcanic glass, has a smooth, glossy appearance. Snowflake obsidian is a type of black obsidian with white or grayish spots. These spots are called spherulites, and they are composed of needle-shaped cristobalite, a type of quartz.<br /> <br /> Snowflake Obsidian is usually black in color, with white patches called <b>Phenocryst</b>. It resembles snowflakes, hence the name.<br /> <br /> Snowflake Obsidian is formed when the felsic lava from a volcano rapidly cools down with very minimum crystal growth. It’s <b>basically </b>a volcanic glass that formed as an igneous rock.<br /> <br /> Obsidian's high silica content makes the lava it forms from highly viscous, or thick. It also has a low water content, since as the magma reaches the surface, most of the water evaporates as steam. The lava therefore moves quite slowly. The composition of obsidian can change over time, just as any type of rock changes over time, moving through different phases of the rock cycle.<br /> <br /> Obsidian is an easily <b>recognizable </b>igneous rock. It is a glassy-textured, extrusive igneous rock. Obsidian is a natural glass - it lacks crystals, and therefore lacks minerals. Obsidian is typically black in color, but most obsidians have a felsic chemistry. Felsic igneous rocks are generally light-colored, so a felsic obsidian seems a paradox. Mafic obsidians are scarce, but they have the same appearance.<br /> <br /> <b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Obsidian forms two ways: </span></b><br /> 1) very rapid cooling of lava, which prevents the formation of crystals.<br /> 2) cooling of high-viscosity lava, which prevents easy movement of atoms to form crystals. An example of obsidian that formed the first way is along the margins of basaltic lava flows at Kilaeua Volcano (Hawaii Hotspot, central Pacific Ocean).<br /> <br /> It’s also known as White Snowflake Obsidian and Gray Snowflake Obsidian.Large deposits of Snowflake Obsidian can be found in Mexico, Iceland, and the USA.<br /> <br /> <b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">See also:</span></b><br /> <a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2018/10/chrysanthemum-stone-natural-flower-stone.html" target="_blank">Chrysanthemum Stone: Natural Flower Stone </a><br /> <a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2019/12/what-is-green-obsidian.html" target="_blank">What is Green Obsidian?</a><br /> <br /></div>

Snowflake Obsidian

Snowflake Obsidian. Photo: spiritrockshop Obsidian, a dark volcanic glass, has a smooth, glossy appearance. Snowflake obsidian is a t...

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The Most Detailed Look Inside the World's Oldest Dinosaur Eggs

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /> The fossilised skulls of dinosaur embryos that died within their eggs about 200m years ago, have been digitally reconstructed by scientists, shedding new light on the animals’ development, and how close they were to hatching.<br /> <br /> An international team of scientists led by the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, has been able to reconstruct, in the smallest details, the skulls of some of the world's oldest known dinosaur embryos in 3D, using powerful and non-destructive synchrotron techniques at the ESRF, the European Synchrotron in France. They found that the skulls develop in the same order as those of today's crocodiles, chickens, turtles and lizards. The findings are published today in <i>Scientific Reports.<br /></i><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ1phQfgQao/XpHsl_Zc-EI/AAAAAAAASGg/QHj7uXhcTIMoDjZb3XlvTxYnIwDkBd6bACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/The%2BMost%2BDetailed%2BLook%2BInside%2Bthe%2BWorld%2527s%2BOldest%2BDinosaur%2BEggs%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Most Detailed Look Inside the World's Oldest Dinosaur Eggs" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1160" height="206" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ1phQfgQao/XpHsl_Zc-EI/AAAAAAAASGg/QHj7uXhcTIMoDjZb3XlvTxYnIwDkBd6bACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h206/The%2BMost%2BDetailed%2BLook%2BInside%2Bthe%2BWorld%2527s%2BOldest%2BDinosaur%2BEggs%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="The Most Detailed Look Inside the World's Oldest Dinosaur Eggs" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dinosaur eggs were uncovered in 1976 and contain three embryos. They are thought to be some of the oldest dinosaur eggs in the world © Brett Eloff</td></tr> </tbody></table><br /> University of the Witwatersrand scientists publish 3D reconstructions of the ~2cm-long skulls of some of the world's oldest dinosaur embryos in an article in Scientific Reports. The embryos, found in 1976 in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (Free State Province, South Africa) belong to South Africa's iconic dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus, a 5-meter long herbivore that nested in the Free State region 200 million years ago.<br /> <div style="margin: 0px auto; width: 100%;"> <script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1021498709184325" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout="in-article" data-ad-slot="6157425841" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></ins><br /> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /></div> The scientific usefulness of the embryos was previously limited by their extremely fragile nature and tiny size. In 2015, scientists Kimi Chapelle and Jonah Choiniere, from the University of Witwatersrand, brought them to the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, France for scanning. At the ESRF, an 844 metre-ring of electrons travelling at the speed of light emits high-powered X-ray beams that can be used to non-destructively scan matter, including fossils.<br /> <br /> The embryos were scanned at an unprecedented level of detail -- at the resolution of an individual bone cell. With these data in hand, and after nearly 3 years of data processing at Wits' laboratory, the team was able to reconstruct a 3D model of the baby dinosaur skull. "No lab CT scanner in the world can generate these kinds of data," said Vincent Fernandez, one of the co-authors and scientist at the Natural History Museum in London (UK). "Only with a huge facility like the ESRF can we unlock the hidden potential of our most exciting fossils. This research is a great example of a global collaboration between Europe and the South African National Research Foundation," he adds.<br /> <br /> Up until now, it was believed that the embryos in those eggs had died just before hatching. However, during the study, lead author Chapelle noticed similarities with the developing embryos of living dinosaur relatives (crocodiles, chickens, turtles, and lizards). By comparing which bones of the skull were present at different stages of their embryonic development, Chapelle and co-authors can now show that the Massospondylus embryos were actually much younger than previously thought and were only at 60% through their incubation period.<br /> <br /> The team also found that each embryo had two types of teeth preserved in its developing jaws. One set was made up of very simple triangular teeth that would have been resorbed or shed before hatching, just like geckos and crocodiles today. The second set were very similar to those of adults, and would be the ones that the embryos hatched with. "I was really surprised to find that these embryos not only had teeth, but had two types of teeth. The teeth are so tiny; they range from 0.4 to 0.7mm wide. That's smaller than the tip of a toothpick!," explains Chapelle.<br /> <br /> The conclusion of this research is that dinosaurs developed in the egg just like their reptilian relatives, whose embryonic developmental pattern hasn't changed in 200 million years. "It's incredible that in more than 250 million years of reptile evolution, the way the skull develops in the egg remains more or less the same. Goes to show -- you don't mess with a good thing!," concludes Jonah Choiniere, professor at the University of Witwatersrand and also co-author of the study.<br /> <br /> The team hopes to apply their method to other dinosaur embryos to estimate their level of development. They will be looking at the rest of the skeleton of the Massospondylus embryos to see if it also shares similarities in development with today's dinosaur relatives. The arms and legs of the Massospondylus embryos have already been used to show that hatchlings likely walked on two legs.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">The above story is based on <a href="http://www.esrf.eu/home/news/general/content-news/general/synchrotron-x-ray-sheds-light-on-some-of-the-worlds-oldest-dinosaur-eggs.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Materials</a> provided by <a href="http://www.esrf.fr/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">European Synchrotron Radiation Facility</a>.</span></i></u></div>

The Most Detailed Look Inside the World's Oldest Dinosaur Eggs

The fossilised skulls of dinosaur embryos that died within their eggs about 200m years ago, have been digitally reconstructed by scientists...

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Billietite Crystal

<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e62ivhz-Vb8/YLj-5bfJe3I/AAAAAAAATDg/jJAr9FOtz48koPqCC7pkmyQqf9tJkE1JACLcBGAsYHQ/s864/Billietite%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="650" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e62ivhz-Vb8/YLj-5bfJe3I/AAAAAAAATDg/jJAr9FOtz48koPqCC7pkmyQqf9tJkE1JACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Billietite%2B%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Joy Desor Mineralanalytik</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></p><p>Billietite is an uncommon mineral of Uranium that contains Barium. It usually occurs as clear yellow orthorhombic crystals. Billietite is named after Valere Louis Billiet, Belgian crystallographer at the University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.<br /><br />Formula: <span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Ba(UO₂)₆O₄(OH)₆•8H₂O.</span></span><br />Color: Yellow to golden-yellow, amber-yellow, orange-yellow <br />Crystal System:    Orthorhombic</p><p>From: Menzenschwand, St Blasien, Baden-Württemberg, Germany<br /></p>

Billietite Crystal

Photo: Joy Desor Mineralanalytik   Billietite is an uncommon mineral of Uranium that contains Barium. It usually occurs as clear yellow orth...

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How We Discovered Slow Earthquakes That Happen Over Weeks or Even Months

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I9BGA5EAtOw/Xo9QkYGWX6I/AAAAAAAASGI/7451fNGanAYWf9ioAkIVMSxXvGgGSrPTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/How%2BWe%2BDiscovered%2BSlow%2BEarthquakes%2BThat%2BHappen%2BOver%2BWeeks%2Bor%2BEven%2BMonths%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="How We Discovered Slow Earthquakes That Happen Over Weeks or Even Months" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I9BGA5EAtOw/Xo9QkYGWX6I/AAAAAAAASGI/7451fNGanAYWf9ioAkIVMSxXvGgGSrPTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/How%2BWe%2BDiscovered%2BSlow%2BEarthquakes%2BThat%2BHappen%2BOver%2BWeeks%2Bor%2BEven%2BMonths%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> You’re probably familiar with earthquakes as relatively short, sharp shocks that can shake the ground, topple buildings and tear rips in the Earth. These earthquakes, and their aftershocks, happen because although tectonic plates move at centimetres per year, this motion is seldom steady. Earthquakes result from a “stick-slip” motion, where rocks “stick” along fault planes while stress accumulates until a “slip” occurs – a bit like pulling on a stuck door until it suddenly opens. This slip also releases energy as the seismic waves that, in large magnitude earthquakes, create substantial damage.<br /> <br /> In the last two decades another class of stick-slip motion has been discovered worldwide. These “slow slip events” last for weeks to months, compared to seconds to minutes for earthquakes. Slow slip events occur faster than average plate motion, but too slow to generate measurable seismic waves. This means they need to be studied by GPS networks rather then seismometers.<br /> <br /> Although their motion is slow, the amount of movement that occurs in a slow slip event is substantial. Earthquake magnitude depends on the distance that rocks move and the area this movement occurs over. Using the same definition, many slow slip events would have had magnitudes above 7.0 if they slipped at earthquake speeds.<br /> <br /> Slow slip events repeat at intervals of a year to a few years. Compared to major earthquakes, which have repeat times of hundreds of years (or more), slow slip events are actually very frequent. Even in the short time of a couple of decades that we’ve observed these types of slip, many cycles have occurred in several places – notably around the Pacific Rim.<br /> <div style="margin: 0px auto; width: 100%;"> <script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1021498709184325" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout="in-article" data-ad-slot="6157425841" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></ins><br /> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /></div> Slow slip events generally happen next to areas where faults are locked and expected to rupture in major earthquakes. It’s therefore possible that these slow slip events can trigger earthquakes on neighbouring locked faults. It has, for example, been suggested that slow slip events preceded the 2011 magnitude 9.1 Tohoku earthquake in Japan and the 2014 magnitude 8.1 Iquique earthquake in Chile. That said, numerous slow slip events have also been observed without any immediate, subsequent major earthquakes on neighbouring faults.<br /> <br /> Earthquakes may also trigger slow slip. In particular, the magnitude 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake in New Zealand in 2016 triggered slow slip events up to 600km away from its epicentre.<br /> <br /> It is not known why some fault segments host slow slip and others host earthquakes. Neither is it known whether the same area can change behaviour and host either slow slip or earthquakes at different times. It’s therefore important to characterise the source of slow slip, and find out what materials help create slow slip and under what conditions.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A unique opportunity</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> The Hikurangi subduction zone (where the Pacific ocean floor is pulled underneath the New Zealand continent) offshore New Zealand’s North Island is potentially the country’s largest earthquake fault and is a unique opportunity to investigate slow slip events. This is because slow slip here happens shallower and closer to the shoreline than anywhere else in the world.<br /> <br /> The shallow slow slip events in New Zealand have been observed by onshore GPS and ocean bottom pressure sensors. Oceanic scientific drilling expeditions recently sampled sediments and installed observatories along this margin.<br /> <br /> These International Ocean Discovery Program expeditions – which drilled to just over 1km deep in water depths of 3.5km in late 2017 and early 2018 – revealed that the seafloor rocks and sediments hosting slow slip in Hikurangi are extremely variable. The range of rocks, described in a recent Science Advances paper led by Philip Barnes of NIWA (New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research), include mudstones, sands, carbonates, and sedimentary deposits from oceanic volcanic eruptions. The seafloor samples show that the source of the slow slip is a mixture of very soft sediment and hard, solid rocks.<br /> <br /> The diverse seafloor sediments are not the only variability offshore of New Zealand. The seafloor itself is also very rough, including seamounts (submarine mountains rising over a kilometre above the seafloor). This seafloor roughness also makes the fault vary depending on where along it you are.<br /> <br /> The observations are consistent with a hypothesis where slow slip events occur in rocks that are transitional between moving steadily and moving in earthquakes. One way to think of this model is as rigid rocks interacting with softer, more ductile surroundings. Researchers using numerical simulations and laboratory experiments have also suggested that variable fault rocks can cause slow slip.<br /> <br /> But diverse fault rock isn’t the only model for the mechanics of slow slip. Another possibility is that pressurised fluids decrease frictional resistance and slip speed along faults. It is also possible that some rocks become stronger when they move faster – so that faults start accelerating but slow down before reaching earthquake speeds.<br /> <br /> The recent discoveries in New Zealand may be applicable to other depths and locations around the world. However, future studies will undoubtedly lead to further insights and complexities – including in the relationship between slow slip events and earthquakes.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above post is reprinted from <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-the-conditions-behind-slow-earthquakes-that-happen-over-weeks-or-even-months-new-research-134704" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Conversation US, Inc</a></span></i></u></div>

How We Discovered Slow Earthquakes That Happen Over Weeks or Even Months

You’re probably familiar with earthquakes as relatively short, sharp shocks that can shake the ground, topple buildings and tear rips ...

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Radioactive Metaheinrichite

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHGgJjfmg8M/X9jHv8cBb0I/AAAAAAAASso/ZTsBj3MglcQkM7TPBg23DS-XyFdpywLyACLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/heikyyaqjzhgf%2B-%2BKopie%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Radioactive Metaheinrichite" border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1024" height="464" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHGgJjfmg8M/X9jHv8cBb0I/AAAAAAAASso/ZTsBj3MglcQkM7TPBg23DS-XyFdpywLyACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h464/heikyyaqjzhgf%2B-%2BKopie%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="Radioactive Metaheinrichite" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Radioactive Metaheinrichite. Photo: Mintreasure.com</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>Plenty of beautiful tabular yellow crystals of rare metaheinrichite on matrix from the famed Schmiedestollen-dump, the type locality for the species. </p><p> Locality: Schmiedestollen, Wittichen, Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany<br /><br /><span style="font-family: times;">Chemical Formula: Ba(UO<sub style="border: 0px none; font-size: 0.5em; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.4em; vertical-align: 0px;">2</sub>)<sub style="border: 0px none; font-size: 0.5em; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.4em; vertical-align: 0px;">2</sub>(AsO<sub style="border: 0px none; font-size: 0.5em; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.4em; vertical-align: 0px;">4</sub>)<sub style="border: 0px none; font-size: 0.5em; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.4em; vertical-align: 0px;">2</sub>·8H<sub style="border: 0px none; font-size: 0.5em; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0.4em; vertical-align: 0px;">2</sub>O</span></p><div class="field field-name-field-mineral-strunz10 field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px none; color: #15161a; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></div><p> <br /></p>

Radioactive Metaheinrichite

Radioactive Metaheinrichite. Photo: Mintreasure.com   Plenty of beautiful tabular yellow crystals of rare metaheinrichite on matrix from the...

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Amber With Two Flies That Got Stuck Mating 40 Million Years Ago Discovered

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOWEGLw8738/XoiyN0DHKDI/AAAAAAAASFY/vGrUOM6nr_4wLXd8RkA5zV4kYnwSqhheACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Amber%2BWith%2BTwo%2BFlies%2BThat%2BGot%2BStuck%2BMating%2B40%2BMillion%2BYears%2BAgo%2BDiscovered%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Amber With Two Flies That Got Stuck Mating 40 Million Years Ago Discovered" border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1267" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOWEGLw8738/XoiyN0DHKDI/AAAAAAAASFY/vGrUOM6nr_4wLXd8RkA5zV4kYnwSqhheACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Amber%2BWith%2BTwo%2BFlies%2BThat%2BGot%2BStuck%2BMating%2B40%2BMillion%2BYears%2BAgo%2BDiscovered%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two mating, long-legged flies trapped in clear, honey-coloured amber, approximately 41 million years ago.<br /> (Photo: Jeffrey Stilwell)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Paleontologists have unearthed a piece of amber containing two mating flies that were frozen in the act 40-42 million years ago.</span><br /> <br /> The oldest known animals and plants preserved in amber from Southern Gondwana are reported in Scientific Reports this week. Gondwana, the supercontinent made up of South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia, broke away from the Pangea supercontinent around 200 million years ago. <br /> <div style="margin: 0px auto; width: 100%;"> <script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1021498709184325" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout="in-article" data-ad-slot="6157425841" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></ins><br /> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /></div> The findings further our understanding of ecology in Australia and New Zealand during the Late Triassic to mid-Paleogene periods (230-40 million years ago).<br /> <br /> Jeffrey Stilwell and colleagues studied more than 5,800 amber pieces from the Macquarie Harbour Formation in Western Tasmania, dating back to the early Eocene Epoch (~54-52 million years ago) and Anglesea Coal Measures in Victoria, Australia, from the late middle Eocene (42-40 million years ago). The authors report a rare "frozen behaviour" of two mating long-legged flies (Dolichopodidae). <br /> <br /> The specimens also include the oldest known fossil ants from Southern Gondwana and the first Australian fossils of 'slender springtails', a tiny, wingless hexapod. Other organisms preserved in the amber include a cluster of juvenile spiders, biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), two liverwort and two moss species.<br /> <br /> The authors also studied deposits found at locations in southeastern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. These include the oldest reported amber from Southern Pangea dating back to 230 million years ago, 96-92 million year old deposits from forests near the South Pole and an intact fossil of an insect called a felt scale (Eriococcidae) from 54-52 million years ago.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0yfQRCKqFFk/Xoiyy-BNQ3I/AAAAAAAASFg/7M3pZJUrVUMtK99oRESkvypGB_Ln9MGtACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Scientists%2BDiscover%2BTwo%2BMating%2BFlies%2BTrapped%2Bin%2BAmber%2B40%2BMillion%2BYears%2BAgo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Amber With Two Flies That Got Stuck Mating 40 Million Years Ago Discovered" border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1267" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0yfQRCKqFFk/Xoiyy-BNQ3I/AAAAAAAASFg/7M3pZJUrVUMtK99oRESkvypGB_Ln9MGtACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Scientists%2BDiscover%2BTwo%2BMating%2BFlies%2BTrapped%2Bin%2BAmber%2B40%2BMillion%2BYears%2BAgo.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clear yellow amber containing a new, beautifully preserved biting midge from approximately 41 million years old. <br /> (Photo: Enrique Peñalver)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> To date, most amber records are from the Northern Hemisphere, so this discovery in southern Australia was enough to prompt a wider search.<br /><br />Stilwell and his team began looking at sites across Australia and New Zealand, and their recently published results contain a remarkable abundance of amber from the ancient supercontinents of Southern Pangaea, which existed during the Triassic period, and Southern Gondwana, which existed from the Cretaceous to the Paleogene period and included South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica, and Australia.<br /><br />All in all, amongst the haul, the authors report more than 5,800 amber pieces, taken from Macquarie Harbour in western Tasmania - dating to around 54 million years ago - and also from Anglesea, Victoria - dating to around 42 million years ago.<br /> <br /> The findings provide new insights into the ecology and evolution of Southern Gondwana and indicate that there may be a vast potential for future, similar finds in Australia and New Zealand.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-62252-z#Sec7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://www.monash.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Monash University.</a></span></i></u></div>

Amber With Two Flies That Got Stuck Mating 40 Million Years Ago Discovered

Two mating, long-legged flies trapped in clear, honey-coloured amber, approximately 41 million years ago. (Photo: Jeffrey Stilwell) ...

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Bizarre Life-forms Found Thriving in Ancient Rocks Beneath the Seafloor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TM86MZ4P198/XodkWZHYlcI/AAAAAAAASE8/Xic5aDwfxwoyiYGSIkl-NescsSqOrISaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Bizarre%2BLife-forms%2BFound%2BThriving%2Bin%2BAncient%2BRocks%2BBeneath%2Bthe%2BSeafloor.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bizarre Life-forms Found Thriving in Ancient Rocks Beneath the Seafloor" border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1218" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TM86MZ4P198/XodkWZHYlcI/AAAAAAAASE8/Xic5aDwfxwoyiYGSIkl-NescsSqOrISaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h478/Bizarre%2BLife-forms%2BFound%2BThriving%2Bin%2BAncient%2BRocks%2BBeneath%2Bthe%2BSeafloor.jpg" title="Bizarre Life-forms Found Thriving in Ancient Rocks Beneath the Seafloor" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bizarre Life-forms Found Thriving in Ancient Rocks Beneath the Seafloor</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <br /> <br /> In 2013, scientists were stunned to find microbes thriving deep inside volcanic rocks beneath the seafloor off the pacific northwest, buried under more than 870 feet of sediment. The rocks were on the flank of the volcanic rift where they were born, and they were still young and hot enough to drive intense chemical reactions with the seawater, from which the microbes derived their energy.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> Newly discovered single-celled creatures living deep beneath the seafloor have given researchers clues about how they might find life on Mars. These bacteria were discovered living in tiny cracks inside volcanic rocks after researchers persisted over a decade of trial and error to find a new way to examine the rocks.<br /> <br /> Researchers estimate that the rock cracks are home to a community of bacteria as dense as that of the human gut, about 10 billion bacterial cells per cubic centimeter (0.06 cubic inch). In contrast, the average density of bacteria living in mud sediment on the seafloor is estimated to be 100 cells per cubic centimeter.<br /> <br /> "I am now almost over-expecting that I can find life on Mars. If not, it must be that life relies on some other process that Mars does not have, like plate tectonics," said Associate Professor Yohey Suzuki from the University of Tokyo, referring to the movement of land masses around Earth most notable for causing earthquakes. Suzuki is first author of the research paper announcing the discovery, published in Communications Biology.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Magic of clay minerals</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> "I thought it was a dream, seeing such rich microbial life in rocks," said Suzuki, recalling the first time he saw bacteria inside the undersea rock samples.<br /> <br /> Undersea volcanoes spew out lava at approximately 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,200 degrees Fahrenheit), which eventually cracks as it cools down and becomes rock. The cracks are narrow, often less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inch) across. Over millions of years, those cracks fill up with clay minerals, the same clay used to make pottery. Somehow, bacteria find their way into those cracks and multiply.<br /> <div style="margin: 0px auto; width: 100%;"> <script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1021498709184325" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout="in-article" data-ad-slot="6157425841" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></ins><br /> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /></div> "These cracks are a very friendly place for life. Clay minerals are like a magic material on Earth; if you can find clay minerals, you can almost always find microbes living in them," explained Suzuki.<br /> <br /> The microbes identified in the cracks are aerobic bacteria, meaning they use a process similar to how human cells make energy, relying on oxygen and organic nutrients.<br /> <br /> "Honestly, it was a very unexpected discovery. I was very lucky, because I almost gave up," said Suzuki.</div> <h4> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cruise for deep ocean samples</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Suzuki and his colleagues discovered the bacteria in rock samples that he helped collect in late 2010 during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). IODP Expedition 329 took a team of researchers from the tropical island of Tahiti in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to Auckland, New Zealand. The research ship anchored above three locations along the route across the South Pacific Gyre and used a metal tube 5.7 kilometers long to reach the ocean floor. Then, a drill cut down 125 meters below the seafloor and pulled out core samples, each about 6.2 centimeters across. The first 75 meters beneath the seafloor were mud sediment and then researchers collected another 40 meters of solid rock.<br /> <br /> Depending on the location, the rock samples were estimated to be 13.5 million, 33.5 million and 104 million years old. The collection sites were not near any hydrothermal vents or sub-seafloor water channels, so researchers are confident the bacteria arrived in the cracks independently rather than being forced in by a current. The rock core samples were also sterilized to prevent surface contamination using an artificial seawater wash and a quick burn, a process Suzuki compares to making aburi (flame-seared) sushi.<br /> <br /> At that time, the standard way to find bacteria in rock samples was to chip away the outer layer of the rock, then grind the center of the rock into a powder and count cells out of that crushed rock.<br /> <br /> "I was making loud noises with my hammer and chisel, breaking open rocks while everyone else was working quietly with their mud," he recalled.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How to slice a rock</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Over the years, continuing to hope that bacteria might be present but unable to find any, Suzuki decided he needed a new way to look specifically at the cracks running through the rocks. He found inspiration in the way pathologists prepare ultrathin slices of body tissue samples to diagnose disease. Suzuki decided to coat the rocks in a special epoxy to support their natural shape so that they wouldn't crumble when he sliced off thin layers.<br /> <br /> These thin sheets of solid rock were then washed with dye that stains DNA and placed under a microscope.<br /> <br /> The bacteria appeared as glowing green spheres tightly packed into tunnels that glow orange, surrounded by black rock. That orange glow comes from clay mineral deposits, the "magic material" giving bacteria an attractive place to live.<br /> <br /> Whole genome DNA analysis identified the different species of bacteria that lived in the cracks. Samples from different locations had similar, but not identical, species of bacteria. Rocks at different locations are different ages, which may affect what minerals have had time to accumulate and therefore what bacteria are most common in the cracks.<br /> <br /> Suzuki and his colleagues speculate that the clay mineral-filled cracks concentrate the nutrients that the bacteria use as fuel. This might explain why the density of bacteria in the rock cracks is eight orders of magnitude greater than the density of bacteria living freely in mud sediment where seawater dilutes the nutrients.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From the ocean floor to Mars</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> The clay minerals filling cracks in deep ocean rocks are likely similar to the minerals that may be in rocks now on the surface of Mars.<br /> <br /> "Minerals are like a fingerprint for what conditions were present when the clay formed. Neutral to slightly alkaline levels, low temperature, moderate salinity, iron-rich environment, basalt rock -- all of these conditions are shared between the deep ocean and the surface of Mars," said Suzuki.<br /> <br /> Suzuki's research team is beginning a collaboration with NASA's Johnson Space Center to design a plan to examine rocks collected from the Martian surface by rovers. Ideas include keeping the samples locked in a titanium tube and using a CT (computed tomography) scanner, a type of 3D X-ray, to look for life inside clay mineral-filled cracks.<br /> <br /> "This discovery of life where no one expected it in solid rock below the seafloor may be changing the game for the search for life in space," said Suzuki.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <br /> <u><i><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">The above story is based on <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/press/z0508_00099.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Materials</a> provided by <a href="http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">University of Tokyo</a>.</span></i></u></div>

Bizarre Life-forms Found Thriving in Ancient Rocks Beneath the Seafloor

Bizarre Life-forms Found Thriving in Ancient Rocks Beneath the Seafloor In 2013, scientists were stunned to find microbes thriving dee...

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