World's Oldest Bug is Fossil Millipede From Scotland

<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/-pjjoleVqQqY/XtE5BopcnvI/AAAAAAAASRc/f6p77O9bkI0iS8cXuNAQfkiRd_PdTJ6OgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/World%2527s%2BOldest%2BBug%2Bis%2BFossil%2BMillipede%2BFrom%2BScotland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pjjoleVqQqY/XtE5BopcnvI/AAAAAAAASRc/f6p77O9bkI0iS8cXuNAQfkiRd_PdTJ6OgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/World%2527s%2BOldest%2BBug%2Bis%2BFossil%2BMillipede%2BFrom%2BScotland.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UT Austin scientists found that the fossil millipede Kampecaris obanensis was 425 million years old. Credit: British Geological Survey</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some millipedes can live for years, but one particular millipede inadvertently made paleontology history 425 million years after its demise. </span><br /> <br /> A 425-million-year-old millipede fossil from the Scottish island of Kerrera is the world's oldest "bug" -- older than any known fossil of an insect, arachnid or other related creepy-crawly, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.<br /> <br /> The findings offer new evidence about the origin and evolution of bugs and plants, suggesting that they evolved much more rapidly than some scientists believe, going from lake-hugging communities to complex forest ecosystems in just 40 million years.<br /> <br /> "It's a big jump from these tiny guys to very complex forest communities, and in the scheme of things, it didn't take that long," said Michael Brookfield, a research associate at UT Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences and adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. "It seems to be a rapid radiation of evolution from these mountain valleys, down to the lowlands, and then worldwide after that."<br /> <br /> The research was recently published in the journal Historical Biology. Brookfield led the study with co-authors including Elizabeth Catlos, an associate professor in the Jackson School's Department of Geological Sciences, and Stephanie Suarez, a doctoral student at the University of Houston who made improvements to the fossil dating technique used in the study when she was an undergraduate at the Jackson School.<br /> <br /> The team found that the ancient millipede fossil is 425 million years old, or about 75 million years younger than the age other scientists have estimated the oldest millipede to be using a technique known as molecular clock dating, which is based on DNA's mutation rate. Other research using fossil dating found that the oldest fossil of a land-dwelling, stemmed plant (also from Scotland) is 425 million years old and 75 million years younger than molecular clock estimates.<br /> <br /> Although it's certainly possible there are older fossils of both bugs and plants, Brookfield said that the fact they haven't been found -- even in deposits known for preserving delicate fossils from this era -- could indicate that the ancient millipede and plant fossils that have already been discovered are the oldest specimens.<br /> <br /> If that's the case, it also means both bugs and plants evolved much more rapidly than the timeline indicated by the molecular clock. Bountiful bug deposits have been dated to just 20 million years later than the fossils. And by 40 million years later, there's evidence of thriving forest communities filled with spiders, insects and tall trees.<br /> <br /> "Who is right, us or them?" Catlos said. "We're setting up testable hypotheses -- and this is where we are at in the research right now."<br /> <br /> Given their potential evolutionary significance, Brookfield said that he was surprised that this study was the first to address the age of the ancient millipedes.<br /> <br /> Suarez said a reason could be the difficulty of extracting zircons -- a microscopic mineral needed to precisely date the fossils -- from the ashy rock sediment in which the fossil was preserved. As an undergraduate researcher at the Jackson School, Suarez developed a technique for separating the zircon grain from this type of sediment. It's a process that takes practice to master. The zircons are easily flushed away when trying to loosen their grip on the sediment. And once they are successfully released from the surrounding rock, retrieving the zircons involves an eagle-eyed hunt with a pin glued to the tip of a pencil.<br /> <br /> "That kind of work trained me for the work that I do here in Houston," Suarez said. "It's delicate work."<br /> <br /> As an undergraduate, Suarez used the technique to find that a different millipede specimen, thought to be the oldest bug specimen at the time, was about 14 million years younger than estimated -- a discovery that stripped it of the title of oldest bug. Using the same technique, this study passes the distinction along to a new specimen.<br /> <br /> The research was funded by the Jackson School, the Max Kade Foundation and DFG Scientific Instrumentation and Information Technology.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2020/05/worlds-oldest-bug-is-fossil-millipede-from-scotland/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Materials</a> provided by <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">University of Texas at Austin</a>.</span></i></u></div>

World's Oldest Bug is Fossil Millipede From Scotland

UT Austin scientists found that the fossil millipede Kampecaris obanensis was 425 million years old. Credit: British Geological Survey ...

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Hawaiian Volcano Puhahonu is Earth’s Biggest and Hottest Shield Volcano

<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/-zdkUqWHDYfM/XtKDlqqaT8I/AAAAAAAASRo/9rxwQdpHeGcF2WROhqnAnJvv5VJFg6BCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gardnerpinnacles%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Gardner Pinnacles. Image credit: Andy Collins, NOAA." border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1280" height="410" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zdkUqWHDYfM/XtKDlqqaT8I/AAAAAAAASRo/9rxwQdpHeGcF2WROhqnAnJvv5VJFg6BCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Gardnerpinnacles%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gardner Pinnacles. Image credit: Andy Collins, NOAA.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> With two barren peaks that rise only about 170 feet above sea level, the now extinct Pūhāhonu volcano in the Northwestern Hawaii Islands doesn't look like much. This is especially true since in the same archipelago, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa tower over every other volcano at over 13,000 feet above sea level.<br /> <br /> Scientists at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa have proved that looks can be deceiving.<br /> <br /> A new study published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal establishes that Pūhāhonu is the largest shield volcano in the world, taking Mauna Loa's title.<br /> <br /> Scientists surveyed the ocean floor and used quantitative modeling to determine that the volcano, which is about 171 miles long and 56 miles wide, is twice the size of Mauna Loa.<br /> <br /> "Pūhāhonu is massive," the study reads. So much so that it is causing the Earth's crust to sink.<br /> <br /> "Rapid loading of the crust causes it to subside," Michael Garcia, lead author of the study, told CNN. "When a giant volcano forms, the hot mantle flows away from the weight allowing the volcano to sink."<br /> <br /> Located about 1,000 kilometers north west of Honolulu, Pūhāhonu's name translates to "turtle surfacing for air" in Hawaiian. The small peaks above sea level have also been known as "Gardner Pinnacles."<br /> <br /> American whaler Maro first sighted Pūhāhonu in 1820, and the crew of a Russian vessel first landed on it in 1828. The volcano is now part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, established in 2006.<br /> <br /> The island is home to only one species of plants, the sea purslane, a succulent, but is an ideal habitat for a wide range of fish, corals and insects.<br /> <br /> A 1974 study originally considered Pūhāhonu as the largest volcano in the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain, based on limited survey data. Later studies, which examined both what's above and beneath the surface of the sea, concluded that Mauna Loa was the largest volcano. The current study updates that conclusion.<br /> <br /> Pūhāhonu is not only the largest volcano in the world, it is also the hottest. The two things are interconnected, Garcia said.<br /> <br /> "Volume and temperature go hand in hand. Large volume comes from hot magma. It is more likely to erupt if it is hot," Garcia said.<br /> <br /> An analysis of rocks sampled from the volcano was used to determine the magma temperature, and found it to be about 1,700 degrees Celsius (3,092 degrees Farehenheit).<br /> <br /> "Finding Earth's largest shield volcano in the 21st Century is a surprising discovery, but then we know more about the surface of Mars than what is below the ocean on Earth," Garcia said.<br /> <br /> <br /> "We are still discovering things about our physical planet that we did not know. There is still much to learn about planet Earth."<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X20302399" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.</a></span></i></u></div>

Hawaiian Volcano Puhahonu is Earth’s Biggest and Hottest Shield Volcano

Gardner Pinnacles. Image credit: Andy Collins, NOAA. With two barren peaks that rise only about 170 feet above sea level, the now ext...

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New Clues to Deep Earthquake Mystery

<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/-vy7SkqOFX2o/Xs_VwaFzZJI/AAAAAAAASRM/UF4B51tPlD45gAhtd6nwrcV6JAAraCvpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/New%2BClues%2Bto%2BDeep%2BEarthquake%2BMystery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1215" height="368" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vy7SkqOFX2o/Xs_VwaFzZJI/AAAAAAAASRM/UF4B51tPlD45gAhtd6nwrcV6JAAraCvpwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/New%2BClues%2Bto%2BDeep%2BEarthquake%2BMystery.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Subduction zones occur where one tectonic plate dives under another.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> A new understanding of our planet's deepest earthquakes could help unravel one of the most mysterious geophysical processes on Earth.<br /><br />Deep earthquakes -- those at least 300 kilometers below the surface -- don't typically cause damage, but they are often widely felt. These earthquakes can provide vital clues to understanding plate tectonics and the structure of the Earth's interior. Due to the extremely high temperature and pressures where deep earthquakes occur, they likely stem from different physical and chemical processes than earthquakes near the surface. But it's hard to gather information about deep earthquakes, so scientists don't have a solid explanation for what causes them.<br /><br />"We can't directly see what's happening where deep earthquakes occur," said Magali Billen, professor of geophysics in the UC Davis Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What's driving deep earthquakes?</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Billen builds numerical simulations of subduction zones, where one plate sinks below another, to better understand the forces controlling plate tectonics. Her recent work helps explain the distribution of deep earthquakes, showing that they most often strike in regions of "high strain" where a sinking tectonic plate bends and folds.<br /><br />"These models provide compelling evidence that strain rate is an important factor in controlling where deep earthquakes occur," she said.<br /><br />The new understanding that deformation is a major factor in deep earthquakes should help scientists resolve which mechanisms trigger deep earthquakes and can provide new constraints on subduction zone structure and dynamics, Billen said.<br /><br />"Once we understand deep earthquake physics better, we will be able to extract even more information about the dynamics of subduction, the key driver of plate tectonics," she said.<br /><br />Her findings were published May 27 in the journal Science Advances.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">New way to study deep earthquakes</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Deep earthquakes occur in subduction zones -- where one of the tectonic plates floating on the surface of the Earth dives under another and is "subducted" into the mantle. Within the sinking slabs of crust, earthquakes cluster at some depths and are sparse in others. For example, many slabs exhibit large gaps in seismic activity below 410 kilometers in depth.<br /><br />The gaps in seismicity line up with regions of the slab that are deforming more slowly in the numerical models, Billen said.<br /><br />"Deformation is not the same everywhere in the plate," Billen said. "That's really what's new here."<br /><br />Billen's research was not originally intended to investigate deep earthquakes. Rather, she was trying to understand the slow back-and forth motion of deep ocean trenches, where plates bend downward in subduction zones.<br /><br />"I decided out of curiosity to plot the deformation in the plate, and when I looked at the plot, the first thing that popped in my mind was 'wow, this looks like the distribution of deep earthquakes,'" she said. "It was a total surprise."</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mimicking the deep Earth</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Billen's model incorporates the latest data about phenomena such as the density of minerals, different layers in the sinking plate, and experimental observations of how rocks behave at high temperatures and pressures.<br /><br />"This is the first model that really brings together the physical equations that describe the sinking of the plates and key physical properties of the rocks," Billen said.<br /><br />The results cannot distinguish between possible causes for deep earthquakes. However, they do provide new ways to explore what causes them, Billen said.<br /><br />"Taking into account the added constraint of strain-rate should help to resolve which mechanisms are active in the subducting lithosphere, with the possibility that multiple mechanisms may be required," she said.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /><u><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/new-clues-deep-earthquake-mystery" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Materials</a> provided by <a href="http://www.ucdavis.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">University of California - Davis</a>.</span></i></u></div> </div>

New Clues to Deep Earthquake Mystery

Subduction zones occur where one tectonic plate dives under another. A new understanding of our planet's deepest earthquakes cou...

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Rare, Mysterious Diamond Found in West Virginia

<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/-RjsXAFHs5xo/Xs6Jx5M-1hI/AAAAAAAASRA/mGq7EHGvmgM9cPMhqvklNzmpKs7_HUKHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Jones_Diamond001_standard%2B%25281%2529%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rare, Mysterious Diamond Found in West Virginia" border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="958" height="474" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RjsXAFHs5xo/Xs6Jx5M-1hI/AAAAAAAASRA/mGq7EHGvmgM9cPMhqvklNzmpKs7_HUKHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Jones_Diamond001_standard%2B%25281%2529%2B%25281%2529.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jones diamond, photographed at Rich Creek Bank in Peterstown, 1968</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> Diamonds don't exist naturally in West Virginia, yet one of the largest ever found was discovered accidentally in a horseshoe pit in Monroe County in 1928.<br /> <br /> Geologists are still at a loss to explain how it got there, though speculation has never died down.<br /> <br /> The diamond is an uncut naturally formed dodecahedral crystal, with 12 natural facets, weighing 34.48 carats and has a white color with a bluish tinge. It has the rare distinction of being the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in North America. The bluish tinge is probably caused fluorescence.<br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">History of the Diamond</span></h4> On a certain day in April 1928, when William P. Jones (Punch Jones), and his father Grover C. Jones Sr. were pitching horseshoes, on the land surrounding their residence, in Peterstown, West Virginia, they noticed a shiny stone on the ground, which they thought was a shiny piece of quartz commonly found in the area. One of them casually picked up the stone and carried it into the tool shed, where he just deposited it in a wooden cigar box.<br /> <br /> The whole incident was forgotten for the next 14 years, and the stone remained undisturbed in the wooden cigar box. Even if the stone had been re-discovered from the box during this period, it would not have had any impact, as this period corresponded with the period of the "Great Depression," a period of harsh adversity, precipitated by a worldwide economic downturn, causing drastic declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation. The depression was particularly long and severe in the United States and Europe.<br /> <br /> In 1942, William P Jones-Punch, re-discovered the stone in the wooden cigar box, dumped in the tool shed. This time he became very inquisitive about the stone, and was determined to find out more about the stone, it's nature and if it had any monetary value. He carried the stone to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI)-now Virginia Tech- in nearby Blacksburg, Virginia, and met the professor of Geology, Holden, who examined the stone. After a careful examination of the stone, the Professor concluded that the stone was a diamond, The Professor was genuinely shocked at Punch's discovery, as this was the first time he was seeing an alluvial diamond of that size, discovered from North America.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ2LPsOlshg/Xs6FYstcfoI/AAAAAAAASQ0/uZ4fEhaep-oI1XaEwFpSHTLElYeJDuVtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/WV-048%2BHome%2Bof%2Bthe%2BJones%2BDiamond%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="480" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ2LPsOlshg/Xs6FYstcfoI/AAAAAAAASQ0/uZ4fEhaep-oI1XaEwFpSHTLElYeJDuVtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/WV-048%2BHome%2Bof%2Bthe%2BJones%2BDiamond%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> The Jones family who were excited and overjoyed by the authentication of the stone as a diamond, lost no time in taking necessary precautions to safe guard their precious find. They dispatched the stone to the Smithsonian Institution for safe keeping and display at the Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Institution gladly accepted the stone and kept it in their custody until February 1964, when the Jones family informed the Institution that they needed to take back the stone.<br /> <br /> Having removed the stone from the Institution's custody, the Jones family deposited it in a safe deposit box in the First Valley National Bank , in Rich Creek, Virginia. Twenty years later in 1984, the Joneses sold the diamond for an unspecified amount to an anonymous buyer, at a Sotheby's auction held in New York.<br /> <br /> </div>

Rare, Mysterious Diamond Found in West Virginia

Jones diamond, photographed at Rich Creek Bank in Peterstown, 1968 Diamonds don't exist naturally in West Virginia, yet one of t...

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Thunderegg: Ordinary Rocks With Crystal Surprise Inside!

<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/-6xmj8_doRCk/Xsvx8HnkdgI/AAAAAAAASQQ/4FEfUPxjjJgWaA_z2OuQEygop81A9_rDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Thunder%2Begg%2Bis%2Ba%2Bnodule-like%2Brock%2B-geology%2Bin%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1024" height="524" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xmj8_doRCk/Xsvx8HnkdgI/AAAAAAAASQQ/4FEfUPxjjJgWaA_z2OuQEygop81A9_rDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Thunder%2Begg%2Bis%2Ba%2Bnodule-like%2Brock%2B-geology%2Bin%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thunderegg. Credit: Bill The Eggman</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span> A <b>thunderegg </b>(or thunder egg) is a nodule-like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers. </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Thundereggs are rough spheres, most about the size of a baseball—though they can range from a little more than a centimeter to over a meter across. They usually contain centres of chalcedony which may have been fractured followed by deposition of agate, jasper or opal, either uniquely or in combination.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Thundereggs usually look like ordinary rocks on the outside, but slicing them in half and polishing them may reveal intricate patterns and colours. A characteristic feature of thundereggs is that (like other agates) the individual beds they come from can vary in appearance, though they can maintain a certain specific identity within them.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thunderegg Vs. Geode</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Thunderegg is not synonymous with either geode or agate. A <b>geode </b>is a simple term for a rock with a hollow in it, often with crystal formation/growth. A thunderegg on the other hand is a specific geological structure. A thunderegg may be referred to as a <b>geode </b>if it has a hollow in it, but not all geodes are thundereggs because there are many different ways for a hollow to form. Similarly, a thunderegg is just one of the forms that agate can assume.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Formation</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> Thundereggs are found in flows of rhyolite lava. They form in gas pockets in the lava, which act as molds, from the action of water percolating through the porous rock carrying silica in solution. The cooled bubbles were gradually filled by water percolating through the porous rock carrying rich quantities of silica (quartz). </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <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><div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="margin: 0px auto; width: 100%;"> <br /> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /></div> <br /> <br /> The deposits lined and filled the cavity, first with a darker matrix material, then an inner core of agate or chalcedony. The various colors come from differences in the minerals found in the soil and rock that the water has moved through.<br /> <br /> The agate, chalcedony, and quartz veins and open-space-fillings within voids in the spherulites formed later by multiple cycles of hydrothermal fluids. Hydrothermal fluids are a mixture of late-stage fluids escaping the magma and local ground water. <br /> <br /> The fluids contain some elements from the original magma and also dissolved minerals from the country rock. The amount of ions that the fluid can dissolve depends upon pH, temperature, pressure, and composition of the fluid. The hydrothermal fluids move through fractures in the rocks, which crosscut the igneous textures, and form veins or banded agate, chalcedony, and quartz. <br /> <br /> Some of these fluids seep through microscopic pores and into spherulites and gas pockets in the volcanic rocks, and they precipitate crystals along the walls of the cavity, forming geodes and geode-like spherulites. Other fluids seep through fractures and gas and other void spaces in the spherulites. Because of their formation by multiple hydrothermal events, each thunderegg provides clues as to its unique formation.<br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></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/-5UaIQKEGe74/XsvycKC2kiI/AAAAAAAASQY/sCfgimsuLsI2wAsY4gknxEsEwZIS_ADxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Thunderegg%2BAgate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="844" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5UaIQKEGe74/XsvycKC2kiI/AAAAAAAASQY/sCfgimsuLsI2wAsY4gknxEsEwZIS_ADxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Thunderegg%2BAgate.jpg" width="351" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: John Meinen</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">How to Spot Thundereggs?</span></h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Though thundereggs appear as rocks, they can be easily identifiable by the abnormally round and bumpy brown-gray exteriors. Usually, thundereggs lie relatively close to the Earth's surface, embedded in the clay of the tuff, where they were formed. During the time, the tuff has been decayed to soft mud and clay, making rock-like thundereggs noticeable.<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><h4> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Where to Find Thundereggs?</span></h4> Thundereggs are found globally where conditions are optimal. In the US, Oregon is one of the most famous thunderegg locations. The regions of Central and Eastern Oregon are the most popular in the world for thundereggs hunting. The best productive areas are located in the high desert of Central Oregon near Prineville, Madras and in the Ochoco National Forest (Central Oregon). Also, thundereggs can be collected in Succor Creek Creek Canyon (Eastern Oregon)<ul style="text-align: left;"> <li><b>White Fir Springs</b></li> <li><b>White Rock Springs</b></li> <li><b>Whistler Springs</b></li> <li><b>Richardson Rock Ranch</b></li> <li><b>Succor Creek Canyon</b></li> <li><b>Alvord Desert</b></li> <li><b>Owyhee Reservoir  </b></li> </ul> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">See also:</span></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2018/07/where-to-find-sunstone-in-oregon.html" target="_blank">Where to Find Sunstone in Oregon?</a></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2017/07/dig-your-own-unique-opals-from-nevada.html" target="_blank">Dig Your Own Unique Opals From Nevada </a></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2017/06/where-to-find-opals-in-oregon.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Opals in Oregon</span></a></div> </div>

Thunderegg: Ordinary Rocks With Crystal Surprise Inside!

Thunderegg. Credit: Bill The Eggman A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule-like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed...

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Giant Tectonic Plate Under Indian Ocean is Breaking in Two

<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/-LS1SwFa08as/Xsg3fmmhw6I/AAAAAAAASP8/Y7MP_ncS2gIHtepdI2fwhWDPhJo83VLowCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Giant%2BTectonic%2BPlate%2BUnder%2BIndian%2BOcean%2Bis%2BBreaking%2Bin%2BTwo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1074" height="514" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LS1SwFa08as/Xsg3fmmhw6I/AAAAAAAASP8/Y7MP_ncS2gIHtepdI2fwhWDPhJo83VLowCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Giant%2BTectonic%2BPlate%2BUnder%2BIndian%2BOcean%2Bis%2BBreaking%2Bin%2BTwo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This map shows the seafloor topography and deformation below it at a fracture in the Wharton Basin. This fracture likely formed when the ocean crust was formed, but now this fracture is being turned into a new plate boundary. The purple-colored depressions are indicative of a strike-slip fault, which is the same kind of fault as the San Andreas Fault in California.  (Image credit: Aurélie Coudurier-Curveur; Coudurier‐Curveur, A. et al. Geophysical Research Letters (2020); CC BY 4.0)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> The giant tectonic plate under the Indian Ocean is going through a rocky breakup … with itself.<br /> <br /> Bathymetric and seismic data point to a new plate boundary in a fracture-riddled zone beneath the northern Indian Ocean.<br /> <br /> Tectonic plates blanket the Earth like a patchwork quilt. Now, researchers think they’ve found a new plate boundary—a line of stitching in that tectonic quilt—in the northern Indian Ocean. This discovery, made using bathymetric and seismic data, supports the hypothesis that the India-Australia-Capricorn plate is breaking apart, the team suggests.<br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Earthquakes in Unexpected Places</span></h4> In 2012, two enormous earthquakes occurred near Indonesia. But these massive temblors—magnitudes 8.6 and 8.2—weren’t associated with the region’s notorious Andaman-Sumatra subduction zone. Instead, they struck within the India-Australia-Capricorn plate, which made them unusual because most earthquakes occur at plate boundaries.<br /> <br /> These earthquakes “reactivated the debate” about the India-Australia-Capricorn plate, said Aurélie Coudurier-Curveur, a geoscientist at the Institute of Earth Physics of Paris.<br /> <br /> Some scientists have proposed that this plate, which underlies most of the Indian Ocean, is breaking apart. That’s not a wholly unexpected phenomenon because this plate is being tugged in multiple directions, said Coudurier-Curveur. Its eastern extent is sliding under the Sunda plate, but its northern portion is buckling up against the Himalayas, which are acting like a backstop.<br /> <br /> “There’s a velocity difference that is potentially increasing,” said Coudurier-Curveur, who completed this work while at the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University.<br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Zooming in on Fractures</span></h4> Coudurier-Curveur and her colleagues studied one particularly fracture riddled region of the India-Australia-Capricorn plate near the Andaman-Sumatra subduction zone. They used seismic reflection imaging and multibeam bathymetry, which involve bouncing sound waves off sediments and measuring the returning signals, to look for structures at and below seafloor consistent with an active fault.<br /> <br /> Along one giant crack that the team dubbed F6a, Coudurier-Curveur and her colleagues found 60 pull-apart basins, characteristic depressions that can form along strike-slip plate boundaries. The team showed that the basins followed a long, linear track that passed near the epicenters of both of the 2012 earthquakes.<br /> <br /> “It’s at least 1,000 kilometers,” said Coudurier-Curveur. “It might be even longer, but we don’t have the data to show where it extends.” This feature, the team surmised, was consistent with being a plate boundary. An important next step was to estimate its slip rate.<br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Slower Than San Andreas</span></h4> To do that, the scientists relied on two quantities: the length of the largest, and presumably oldest, pull-apart basin (roughly 5,800 meters) and the duration of the most recent episode of fault activity (roughly 2.3 million years). By dividing the length of the pull-apart basin by this time interval, they calculated a maximum slip rate of about 2.5 millimeters per year. That’s roughly tenfold slower than the rate along other strike-slip plate boundaries like the San Andreas Fault but not much slower than the slip rates of the Dead Sea Fault and the Owen Fracture Zone, the team noted.<br /> <br /> On the basis of that slip rate, Coudurier-Curveur and her collaborators estimated the return interval for an earthquake like the magnitude 8.6 one reported in April 2012. Assuming that such an event releases several tens of meters of coseismic slip, a similar earthquake might occur every 20,000 years or so, said Coudurier-Curveur. “Once you release the stress, you need a number of years to build that stress again.”<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL087362" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">American Geophysical Union</a>.</span></i></u></div>

Giant Tectonic Plate Under Indian Ocean is Breaking in Two

This map shows the seafloor topography and deformation below it at a fracture in the Wharton Basin. This fracture likely formed when the ...

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Dumortierite Quartz: Rare Blue Quartz

<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/-8mDF-ntziP0/XsV_zJP2PWI/AAAAAAAASPE/XimMuHxax5E0uI61lP8ZzZdDJF-VIAcSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dumortierite%2BQuartz%2BRare%2BBlue%2BQuartz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="710" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mDF-ntziP0/XsV_zJP2PWI/AAAAAAAASPE/XimMuHxax5E0uI61lP8ZzZdDJF-VIAcSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Dumortierite%2BQuartz%2BRare%2BBlue%2BQuartz.jpg" width="618" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dumortierite in quartz From Brazil. Photo: GalaxSea.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dumortierite quartz</span> is blue colored quartz containing abundant dumortierite inclusions.<br /> <br /> Dumortierite quartz is one of the rarer and more unusual blue varieties of quartz gemstones. It is a gemstone-quality combination of quartz aggregate, intergrown with the mineral known as dumortierite. Although quartz can occur in a wide range of colors, blue colored quartz is surprisingly quite rare. The traces of dumortierite are responsible for its distinct color, which can range from light to dark blue and in some cases reddish-brown.<br /> <br /> Dumortierite is an aluminum borosilicate ( <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Al₇BO₃(SiO₄)₃O₃ </span>) with a hardness that can range from 7.0 to 8.5 on the Mohs scale. In aggregate form, mainly when cut, its hardness is 7.0. (the same as quartz), while crystal forms have a hardness rating of 8.5.<br /> <br /> The mineral was first described in 1881 and was named after French paleontologist, Eugene Dumortier (1803-1873). Dumortierite also has a few industrial purposes other than jewelry. Since it is known to turn remarkably pure white in color when fired, it is often used for the production of porcelain and ceramics. It is sometimes mistaken for sodalite and has been used as imitation lapis lazuli.<br /> <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/-3fPXxgemmKI/XsWDoLtlBOI/AAAAAAAASPQ/x1t0UetRiQM6DNd6V3cE4Ky6tRRl9gkWACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Rare%2BBlue%2BQuartz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1280" height="299" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3fPXxgemmKI/XsWDoLtlBOI/AAAAAAAASPQ/x1t0UetRiQM6DNd6V3cE4Ky6tRRl9gkWACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Rare%2BBlue%2BQuartz.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dumortierite in quartz From Brazil. Photo:  crystalarium</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /></div>

Dumortierite Quartz: Rare Blue Quartz

Dumortierite in quartz From Brazil. Photo: GalaxSea. Dumortierite quartz is blue colored quartz containing abundant dumortierite inc...

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Fossils of 10m-long Dinosaur Found in Argentina

<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/-sfb-OvFucck/XsQ0IUzKzAI/AAAAAAAASO4/tAKaD9lQh5IlNpTWtWZpdNtdI5-0W1HAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Fossils%2Bof%2B10m-long%2BDinosaur%2BFound%2Bin%2BArgentina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfb-OvFucck/XsQ0IUzKzAI/AAAAAAAASO4/tAKaD9lQh5IlNpTWtWZpdNtdI5-0W1HAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Fossils%2Bof%2B10m-long%2BDinosaur%2BFound%2Bin%2BArgentina.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Raffaele Sergi</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> Paleontologists from the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences said on Monday they found the 70-million-year-old remains of a megaraptor, making it one of the last carnivorous dinosaurs to inhabit the earth.<br /><br />The discovery was made in the southern province of Santa Cruz in the middle of March this year. After studying the fossils, measuring 10 meters (32 feet), experts realized they were looking at the remains of a predatory dinosaur from the end of the “age of dinosaurs.”<br /><br />“This is the moment, 65 million years ago, when the extinction of the dinosaurs occurs, and this new megaraptor that we now have to study would be one of the last representatives of this group,” Fernando Novas, the paleontologist in charge of the project, told Reuters.<br /><br />Unlike the Tyrannosaurus rex, the megaraptors were slimmer and built for speed, with long tails that allowed them to keep their balance. They had muscular but elongated legs to take long steps, according to the specialist.<br /><br />“The defining characteristic of the megaraptors was that they had very long arms and that their thumb ended in a claw of approximately 40 centimeters (15 inches),” allowing them to catch their prey, he said.</div> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What did it seem like?</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> The megaraptor had lengthy, muscular arms with sickle-like claws and a protracted tail which supplied it with stability.<br /><br />Slimmer and extra agile than the T. rex it’s thought to have used its arms and claws quite than its jaw as its principal weapon when searching its prey.<br /><br />“It had powerful and elongated legs which allowed it to take big steps,” palaeontologist Aranciaga Rolando mentioned.<br /><br />The scientists from the Natural Sciences Museum imagine it could have used its velocity to hunt ornithopods, plant-eating dinosaurs which walked on two legs.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <u><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="http://www.macnconicet.gob.ar/encuentran-en-patagonia-un-nuevo-dinosaurio-carnivoro-de-10-metros-de-largo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="http://www.macnconicet.gob.ar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Natural Sciences Museum.</a></span></i></u></div> </div>

Fossils of 10m-long Dinosaur Found in Argentina

Photo: Raffaele Sergi Paleontologists from the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences said on Monday they found the 70-million-year-ol...

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Pineapple Quartz

<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/-RuZL7YFynHU/Xr7bMwEcVjI/AAAAAAAASOM/90zfwmwoY0Mmbn2XjiVMrqfHjSJkPFICgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Pineapple%2BQuartz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RuZL7YFynHU/Xr7bMwEcVjI/AAAAAAAASOM/90zfwmwoY0Mmbn2XjiVMrqfHjSJkPFICgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Pineapple%2BQuartz.jpg" width="323" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pineapple Quartz from Madagascar. <span data-offset-key="5sufa-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br />Photo: Ancient Mountain Treasures/</span></span>Instagram</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pineapple Quartz </span></b>is the name given to a silicon dioxide mineral and is characterized by hundreds of small terminations forming around the base and sides of the main crystal termination all of which point in the same direction. Most of this form of Quartz is from Madagascar and the colour is off white/cream, sometimes with pinkish/red/brown markings and inclusions.<br /> <br /> <br /> Quartz is one of the most well-known minerals on earth. It occurs in basically all mineral environments, and is the important constituent of many rocks. Quartz is also the most varied of all minerals, occurring in all different forms, habits, and colors. There are more variety names given to Quartz than any other mineral.<br /><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/-Ww4shCMT1mI/Xr7cceTbLmI/AAAAAAAASOU/eswbY1erJ1sCgzIpVvYw1X29DCIZlt_zwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Pineapple%2BQuartz%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ww4shCMT1mI/Xr7cceTbLmI/AAAAAAAASOU/eswbY1erJ1sCgzIpVvYw1X29DCIZlt_zwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Pineapple%2BQuartz%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: familiar_scent/Instagram</td></tr> </tbody></table> Quartz belongs to the <b>trigonal </b>crystal system. The ideal crystal shape is a six-sided prism terminating with six-sided pyramids at each end. In nature quartz crystals are often twinned (with twin right-handed and left-handed quartz crystals), distorted, or so intergrown with adjacent crystals of quartz or other minerals as to only show part of this shape, or to lack obvious crystal faces altogether and appear massive.</div>

Pineapple Quartz

Pineapple Quartz from Madagascar. Photo: Ancient Mountain Treasures/ Instagram Pineapple Quartz is the name given to a silicon dioxid...

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First Animal 'Buckyballs' Discovered in 80-million-year-old Sea Lillies

<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/-LMb7XQ5gPKk/Xr2cAmiRZkI/AAAAAAAASOA/0YM7nDsgmTsoYtxy8SL8DSyK0sDdSNIBACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/First%2BAnimal%2B%2527Buckyballs%2527%2BDiscovered%2Bin%2B80-million-year-old%2BSea%2BLillies%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="1363" height="460" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LMb7XQ5gPKk/Xr2cAmiRZkI/AAAAAAAASOA/0YM7nDsgmTsoYtxy8SL8DSyK0sDdSNIBACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/First%2BAnimal%2B%2527Buckyballs%2527%2BDiscovered%2Bin%2B80-million-year-old%2BSea%2BLillies%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uintacrinus socialis from the Niobrara Formation, Kansas, United States. Image credit: James St. John / CC BY 2.0.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> Scientists from The University of Western Australian and University of Cambridge have made a chance discovery in UK museum collections, finding hollow ball-like structures in 80-million-year-old fossils from species believed to be related to starfish and sea urchins.<br /><br />The scientists found the unusual structures known as buckyballs made up of a series of hexagons and pentagons in two species—the Uintacrinus socialis and Marsupites testudinarius. They believe the structures might have acted as a buoyancy chamber to allow the crinoid organisms to float in seawater, but also protect them.<br /><br />UWA Adjunct Research Fellow Aaron Hunter from UWA's School of Earth Sciences said crinoids were in a very dangerous place millions of years ago when the oceans were shallower and they shared them with predators such as crabs and fish.<br /><br />"Survival was critical and the ball-like structures, able to withstand very heavy loads, formed around them to protect them from the harms of the ocean and aid buoyancy," Dr. Hunter said.<br /><br />"These animals could then spread around the world and have been found in chalk rocks from Texas, US to Kalbarri in Western Australia. They could form a snow shoe to sit on the bottom of the shallow oceans or float and relocate to safer places."<br /><br />Dr. Hunter said in comparing the two species, Marsupites testudinarius had fewer but relatively large plates, creating a stable structure.<br /><br />"Uintacrinus socialis on the other hand has far more complex plates that form a dome," he said.<br /><br />"The structures are also found in the carbon molecule Buckminsterfullerene but this is the first time we have found such a structure in fossils and it still remains a mystery why these successful structures did not evolve again."<br /><br />"Later, architect Buckminster Fuller would rediscover and popularise these structures and apply them to creating iconic buildings such as the Eden project in Cornwall in UK. However most would recognise the structure in the humble soccer ball we know and love."<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pala.12474" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://www.uwa.edu.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">University of Western Australia.</a></span></i></u></div>

First Animal 'Buckyballs' Discovered in 80-million-year-old Sea Lillies

Uintacrinus socialis from the Niobrara Formation, Kansas, United States. Image credit: James St. John / CC BY 2.0. Scientists from Th...

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New Lake Larger Than 5 Football Fields Forms in Hawaiian Volcano

<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/-4_uAhRg671c/XrsArNPHpzI/AAAAAAAASNw/xD3gjTtuJh4jqU2ZYqu04tpMZN4hWobdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/New%2BLake%2BLarger%2BThan%2B5%2BFootball%2BFields%2BForms%2Bin%2BHawaiian%2BVolcano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New Lake Larger Than 5 Football Fields Forms in Hawaiian Volcano" border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1335" height="394" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_uAhRg671c/XrsArNPHpzI/AAAAAAAASNw/xD3gjTtuJh4jqU2ZYqu04tpMZN4hWobdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/New%2BLake%2BLarger%2BThan%2B5%2BFootball%2BFields%2BForms%2Bin%2BHawaiian%2BVolcano.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Joshua Stevens (NASA Earth Observatory)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> NASA has released images that document the growth of a water lake inside a huge crater within Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano.<br /><br />The lake started to form in the lowest part of the Halema'uma'u crater in July 2019 and has been rising steadily ever since, according to the space agency. This was the first time in recorded history that a water pond had appeared in Halema'uma'u.<br /><br />Now the body of water—which is rusty brown in color due to chemical reactions measures up to 100 feet deep and has an area of roughly five football fields.<br /><br />The new lake formed as a result of the caldera, a crater called Halema’uma’u, collapsing at Kilauea’s peak. Now that the crater has filled with water, it’s possible that it may lead to even more explosive eruptions on the Hawaiian volcano.<br /><br />Kilauea is a wide, 4,091-foot-tall shield volcano that erupted from 1983 until 2018. From 2010 on, Halema’uma’u filled with lava, creating a lava lake (which is exactly what it sounds like). But 2018 marked a months-long wave of activity at Kilauea, setting off a destructive eruption expelling nearly a cubic kilometer of lava that flowed through inhabited areas and into the ocean. This event was Kilauea’s largest eruption in two centuries.<br /><br />Alongside the eruption came the slow, dramatic collapse of Halema’uma’u’s floor, leaving a hole over 1,500 feet deep as the lava drained out. This changed landscape of the crater, which now appears to be much deeper and is flanked by a tall cliff.<br /><br />But Halema’uma’u’s story didn’t end there. Water started to collect at the bottom of the crater a year later, and today, it’s a lake at least 100 feet deep taking up an area larger than five football fields, according to the NASA Earth Observatory press release. Basically, the crater has now dipped far below the water table, or the upper limit where groundwater saturates the earth. That water has now started to fill the open pit.<br /><br />This new lake could spell bad news for future Kilauea eruptions. The volcano more typically erupts explosively. If water dissolves into the magma, it could cause the build up of steam, an increase in pressure, and perhaps a more dramatic and potentially dangerous release of lava.<br /><br />Volcanologists will continue to study Kilauea in order to understand what its future eruptions might be like.<br /> <br /> <br /></div>

New Lake Larger Than 5 Football Fields Forms in Hawaiian Volcano

Image: Joshua Stevens (NASA Earth Observatory) NASA has released images that document the growth of a water lake inside a huge crater...

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Hundreds of Towering Hydrothermal Chimneys Discovered on Seafloor Off Washington

<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/-7PRz3qHg1vo/XrhiqsvJqnI/AAAAAAAASNU/5VYiNuv_w6Av2q61nwupepuIiCwgPowBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Hundreds%2Bof%2BTowering%2BHydrothermal%2BChimneys%2BDiscovered%2Bon%2BSeafloor%2BOff%2BWashington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1200" height="356" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7PRz3qHg1vo/XrhiqsvJqnI/AAAAAAAASNU/5VYiNuv_w6Av2q61nwupepuIiCwgPowBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Hundreds%2Bof%2BTowering%2BHydrothermal%2BChimneys%2BDiscovered%2Bon%2BSeafloor%2BOff%2BWashington.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> At the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Washington State, the seafloor is ripping apart.<br /><br />Magma beneath the seafloor heats water within the surrounding bedrock, which emerges from the seafloor in the form of underwater seeps and geysers known as hydrothermal vents. When this superheated, mineral-rich water comes in contact with near-freezing seawater, the dissolved minerals crystalize, creating a wonderland of spires and hydrothermal chimneys up to 25 meters (80 feet) tall.<br /><br />Marine geologists and biologists have studied Endeavour hydrothermal vent field since 1982 using human-occupied submersibles and underwater robots. Early on, they discovered that the field was very active, with lots of vents and chimneys. But because of the difficult access, total darkness, and murky water, no one had ever mapped all the vents in this area or even determined how many existed. But a recent paper by MBARI geologists and collaborators shows that there are almost 600 chimneys in this area.<br /><br />The Endeavour vents are all located in a long, narrow valley about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) long and 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) wide. Before this study, scientists from the US and Canada had named about 47 active hydrothermal vents, most of which lie within five major vent fields. They gave these vent fields fanciful names such as Mothra, Salty Dawg, and Sasquatch. They also discovered that this region not only had vast numbers of chimneys, but also had some of the tallest hydrothermal chimneys known on any mid-ocean ridge in the world. The tallest of these chimneys, "Godzilla," reached a height of 45 meters (150 feet) before it toppled over in 1995.<br /><br />Over the years, the Endeavour hydrothermal vent fields were mapped using sonar on ships and underwater robots. However, none of these surveys had high enough resolution to detect individual chimneys over large areas of seafloor. It was not until MBARI's autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) D. Allan B. mapped the area at about 1.25-meter (4-foot) resolution that geologists were able to see the huge number of chimneys in this area, many of which were located outside known active vent fields.<br /><br />MBARI researchers were able to achieve this feat by flying D. Allan B. just 50 meters (160 feet) over the rugged seafloor during seven surveys in 2008 and 2011. Overall, the AUV completed 140 hours of dives and mapped about 62 square kilometers (24 square miles) of the seafloor.<br /><br />MBARI researchers searched through the data from the AUV to identify all chimneys taller than three meters (the minimum height that could be reliably separated from background topography). They were amazed to find 572 chimneys. Many of the newly discovered chimneys were close to vent sites that had been studied for decades.<br /><br />As David Clague, the lead author on the new paper, explained, "It's very hard to see down there because all the particulates in the water create a kind of haze. I remember there was one well-studied chimney where the composition of the fluids seemed to vary from one research dive to the next. It wasn't until we did our detailed mapping that people realized they had actually been sampling at two different chimneys. They apparently would encounter one chimney or the other depending on what direction they approached the site."<br /><br />MBARI's mapping effort revealed many large, and presumably active, chimneys, the tallest being at least 27 meters (90 feet) high. But the majority of the chimneys were smaller--less than eight meters (26 feet) high--and the researchers believe many are inactive (no longer releasing fluids).<br /><br />Active chimneys typically form where superheated water (over 300 degrees Centigrade; 570 degrees Fahrenheit) flows up through cracks in the seafloor. If this flow is strong and lasts long enough, the chimney may grow taller and taller until it becomes unstable and topples over. However, many seafloor cracks and chimneys become clogged by mineral deposits. At this point, the chimney becomes inactive and stops growing, but may remain standing for hundreds of years. Meanwhile, the fluids from the clogged chimney find their way upward through different cracks in the seafloor to form new chimneys nearby.<br /><br />To figure out what makes the Endeavour Segment unique, the researchers compared the types of chimneys at Endeavour with those found at the Alarcón Rise (near the south end of the Gulf of California), another spreading center that MBARI has mapped in detail. They found that the Endeavour Field had many more chimneys, but a lower proportion of active chimneys.<br /><br />Clague and his coauthors suggest that the Endeavour Segment has lots of inactive chimneys because, over the last several thousand years, this area has only had a few small volcanic eruptions, and the lava from these eruptions did not bury the chimneys. In contrast, at the Alarcón Rise, large amounts of lava have erupted from the seafloor, burying or destroying older chimneys, so only the youngest and most active chimneys remain.<br /><br />Based on their work at Endeavour and other mid-ocean ridges, the researchers propose that these ridges may go through three phases of evolution:<br /><br />A magmatic phase, lasting up to tens of thousands of years, when large amounts of magma erupt and cover the seafloor with lava.<br /><br />A tectonic phase, lasting perhaps 5,000 years, when the magma supply slows, and the seafloor cools and contracts, while spreading continues deeper in the crust. During this phase, the axial valley sinks, and numerous cracks and faults form in the seafloor.<br />A hydrothermal phase, lasting just a few thousand years, when resurgent magma below the surface heats fluids that percolate upwards through seafloor cracks, forming large numbers of vents.<br /><br />The researchers think that the Endeavour area has been in a hydrothermal phase for about the last 2,000 years. However, they suspect it may be entering a new magmatic phase, which means that the area could see more volcanic eruptions in the future. When this happens many of the chimneys they mapped will be buried under new lava flows, and the fractured rocks that currently allow substantial amounts of fluid to rise to the surface will be mostly sealed.<br /><br />Meanwhile, geologists studying the Endeavour Segment will be able to use MBARI's new maps to plan their research dives and decide where to put monitoring equipment on the seafloor.<br /><br />Data from MBARI's mapping effort has also been used by collaborators at the University of Ottawa and GEOMAR to estimate the volume and mass of the hydrothermal deposits in the Endeavour chimneys. Such estimates are critical for understanding the distribution of metal-rich rocks at hydrothermal vents, some of which have been targeted for deep-sea mining. However seafloor mining is unlikely within the Endeavour vent fields. In 2003, the government of Canada declared the active vent sites and nearby areas a marine-protected area.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="http://astrobiology.com/2020/05/hundreds-of-hydrothermal-chimneys-discovered-on-the-seafloor-off-the-pacific-northwest.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://www.mbari.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.</a></span></i></u></div>

Hundreds of Towering Hydrothermal Chimneys Discovered on Seafloor Off Washington

At the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Washington State, the seafloor is rip...

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Rare Blue Skarn

<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/-GdxFGzbFadA/XrRtZ7OzGzI/AAAAAAAASMg/pjY0ARl33WMCvAxUajy9vSHJ_ENuYE62gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Blue%2BSkarn%2B1%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1577" height="380" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdxFGzbFadA/XrRtZ7OzGzI/AAAAAAAASMg/pjY0ARl33WMCvAxUajy9vSHJ_ENuYE62gCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Blue%2BSkarn%2B1%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue diopsidite skarn. Photo: James St. John</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> Skarns are hard, coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by a process called metasomatism. Skarns tend to be rich in calcium-magnesium-iron-manganese-aluminium silicate minerals, which are also referred to as calc-silicate minerals. These minerals form as a result of alteration which occurs when hydrothermal fluids interact with a protolith of either igneous or sedimentary origin.<br /> <br /> A skarn-type mineralogy may be formed during regional or contact metamorphism and from a variety of metasomatic processes involving a great variety of fluids. A skarn is formed by a variety of metasomatic processes during metamorphism between two adjacent lithologic units. Skarn can form in almost any lithology type such as shale, granite and basalt but the majority of skarns are found in lithology containing a limestone or a dolomite. <br /> <br /> The attractive rock shown here is a rare variety of skarn dominated by bluish-colored diopside pyroxene  (“violane” or “violan”) (Ca,Mg,Fe)₂Si₂O₆). Violane is a coarse violet to light blue, manganese-rich variety of Diopside. Such rocks are called diopsidite skarn. <br /> <br /> Diopside is a pyroxene made of calcium, magnesium, and silicon – diopside commonly forms in skarns because the mineral dolomite can supply the calcium and magnesium while the igneous rock will supply silicon.<br /> <br /> This rock comes from a location in eastern Siberia known for the incredible blue color. The rock is a skarn, the term for a type of metamorphic rock commonly found when a magma chamber forms next to a limestone deposit. The edge of the limestone is heated, recrystallized, and often altered chemically by fluids coming off the magma.<br /> <br /> Locality: Dovyren Highlands, Buryatia Republic, Transbaikalia, eastern Siberia, Russia<br /> <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/2018/03/what-is-maw-sit-sit.html" target="_blank">What is Maw-sit-sit? </a><br /> <a href="https://www.geologyin.com/2019/12/what-is-green-obsidian.html" target="_blank">Green Obsidian</a></div>

Rare Blue Skarn

Blue diopsidite skarn. Photo: James St. John Skarns are hard, coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by a process called metasom...

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'Gargantuan' Hail in Argentina May Have Smashed World Record

<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/-yCXmQ8IQq48/XrBoXoouMsI/AAAAAAAASL8/WPnItLbWYT8H9-AWEkBAWxtpphIXXeMTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Hailstone%2Bthe%2Bsize%2Bof%2Ba%2Bfootball%2Bin%2BArgentina%2Bmay%2Bhave%2Bsmashed%2Ba%2Bworld%2Brecord%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="'Gargantuan' Hail in Argentina May Have Smashed World Record" border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1530" height="432" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCXmQ8IQq48/XrBoXoouMsI/AAAAAAAASL8/WPnItLbWYT8H9-AWEkBAWxtpphIXXeMTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Hailstone%2Bthe%2Bsize%2Bof%2Ba%2Bfootball%2Bin%2BArgentina%2Bmay%2Bhave%2Bsmashed%2Ba%2Bworld%2Brecord%2B%25282%2529.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gargantuan hailstone that fell in Argentina may have set a world record, according to researchers. Credit: Victoria Druetta</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> Once upon a time in a town in central Argentina, hailstones the size of footballs were so big that researchers needed a new category to describe them.<br /> <br /> A supercell thunderstorm pelted a city center in Argentina a few years ago with hailstones so large scientists suggested a new category to describe them—gargantuan hail.<br /><br />Researchers investigating the 2018 storm found one hailstone likely measured between 7.4 and 9.3 inches across, potentially setting a new world record. The current record belongs to a hailstone that measured 8 inches across, or about the size of a volleyball, that fell near Vivian, South Dakota.<br /><br />"It's incredible," said Matthew Kumjian, associate professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmosphere Science at Penn State. "This is the extreme upper end of what you'd expect from hail."<br /><br />The scientists proposed hail larger than 6 inches should be classified as gargantuan, and said more awareness of these events, while rare, could help piece together a better understanding of the dangerous storms.<br /><br />"Anything larger than about a quarter in size can start putting dents into your car," Kumjian said. "In some rare cases, 6-inch hail has actually gone through roofs and multiple floors in houses. We'd like to help mitigate the impacts on life and property, to help anticipate these kinds of events."<br /><br />The storm in heavily populated Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina, offered scientists a rare opportunity to study a well-documented case of gargantuan hail. As the storm unfolded, residents took to social media, posting pictures and videos.<br /><br />Researchers followed up on the accounts a year later, interviewing witnesses, visiting sites where damage occurred, collecting photogrammetric data and analyzing radar observations. Using photogrammetry—taking measurements from photographs—and video evidence, the scientists estimated one hailstone may have set a world record.<br /><br />The scientists reported their findings in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.<br /><br />"Such a well-observed case is an important step forward in understanding environments and storms that produce gargantuan hail, and ultimately how to anticipate and detect such extreme events," Kumjian said.<br /><br />Hail typically occurs during severe storms, which produce strong, sustained updrafts. The winds hold hailstones aloft long enough to grow in sub-zero temperatures high in the atmosphere. But predicting hail size remains challenging, the scientists said.<br /><br />Rachel Gutierrez, a graduate student at Penn State and co-author of the paper, found a connection between a storm updraft's rotational velocity, or how fast it is spinning, and larger hail size, but much remains unknown about the relationship.<br /><br />She said the data, especially from a storm outside the United States, is invaluable.<br /><br />"There typically isn't a lot of data from storms outside the U.S.," Gutierrez said. "Having this shows us these crazy, high-impact events can happen all over the world."<br /><br />Gargantuan hail events may be more common than once believed, but researchers need volunteers willing to report hail and provide accurate measurements, either by including a common item for scale, or a ruler, Gutierrez said.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0012.1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pennsylvania State University</a>.</span></i></u></div>

'Gargantuan' Hail in Argentina May Have Smashed World Record

A gargantuan hailstone that fell in Argentina may have set a world record, according to researchers. Credit: Victoria Druetta Once up...

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Sahara was Earth’s Most Dangerous Place 100 Million 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/-25fztfOWe9U/Xqx3kkSBPyI/AAAAAAAASLE/XQ1Zd-H32OUPU6j5NpYBwq4eDl7R6YrfACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Sahara%2Bwas%2BEarth%25E2%2580%2599s%2BMost%2BDangerous%2BPlace%2B100%2BMillion%2BYears%2BAgo%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1210" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25fztfOWe9U/Xqx3kkSBPyI/AAAAAAAASLE/XQ1Zd-H32OUPU6j5NpYBwq4eDl7R6YrfACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Sahara%2Bwas%2BEarth%25E2%2580%2599s%2BMost%2BDangerous%2BPlace%2B100%2BMillion%2BYears%2BAgo%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The giant predatory dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus eyes a group of Elosuchus — crocodile-like hunters — near a carcass. Image credit: Davide Bonadonna.<br /></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> A large number of ferocious predators, including predatory dinosaurs, pterosaurs and crocodile-like creatures, made Sahara the most dangerous place on Earth, according to an analysis of fossils from the Cretaceous-period sediments in eastern Morocco.<br /><br /> 100 million years ago, ferocious predators, including flying reptiles and crocodile-like hunters, made the Sahara the most dangerous place on Earth.<br /><br />This is according to an international team of scientists, who have published the biggest review in almost 100 years of fossil vertebrates from an area of Cretaceous rock formations in south-eastern Morocco, known as the Kem Kem Group.<br /><br />The review, published in the journal ZooKeys, "provides a window into Africa's Age of Dinosaurs" according to lead author Dr Nizar Ibrahim, an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Detroit Mercy and Visiting Researcher from the University of Portsmouth.<br /><br />About 100 million years ago, the area was home to a vast river system, filled with many different species of aquatic and terrestrial animals. Fossils from the Kem Kem Group include three of the largest predatory dinosaurs ever known, including the sabre-toothed Carcharodontosaurus (over 8m in length with enormous jaws and long, serrated teeth up to eight inches long) and Deltadromeus (around 8m in length, a member of the raptor family with long, unusually slender hind limbs for its size), as well as several predatory flying reptiles (pterosaurs) and crocodile-like hunters. Dr Ibrahim said: "This was arguably the most dangerous place in the history of planet Earth, a place where a human time-traveller would not last very long."<br /><br />Many of the predators were relying on an abundant supply of fish, according to co-author Professor David Martill from the University of Portsmouth. He said: "This place was filled with absolutely enormous fish, including giant coelacanths and lungfish.<br /> <br /> The coelacanth, for example, is probably four or even five times large than today's coelacanth. There is an enormous freshwater saw shark called Onchopristis with the most fearsome of rostral teeth, they are like barbed daggers, but beautifully shiny."<br /><br /> <br /> <u><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The above story is based on <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/47517/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">materials </a>provided by <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">University of Portsmouth.</a></span></i></u></div>

Sahara was Earth’s Most Dangerous Place 100 Million Years Ago

The giant predatory dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus eyes a group of Elosuchus — crocodile-like hunters — near a carcass. Image credit: David...

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