A lot of people, including many non-geologists (even Beyoncé), are aware of the famous detrital Hadean zircons from the Jack Hills of Western Australia, which represent the oldest terrestrial minerals yet found (up to 4.37 Ga). The oldest crystalline basement rocks are arguably an equally important source of information regarding Earth’s earliest history. During my […]
How field trips are more than just geological sight seeing Field work is not only essential for collecting samples that we can later analyse in the lab. The understanding of the geological context of our samples is what sets geologists apart from being an analytical chemist or physicist. During my studies I tried to attend […]
When most people think of methane production and aqueous geochemistry, they probably think of shale gas. However, about 8% of the natural gas produced United States in a year comes from coalbeds. In the Powder River Basin, the majority of the natural gas is produced by groups of microorganisms that break down the coal and […]
Geologists working very hard as we do. One of the many reasons I love the Alps is because one can transect the entire crust from fiamme-bearing ignimbrites at Crevacuore to … … the mantle as seen here near Balmuccia where fresh peridotite is intruded by peroxenite dikes. The Balmuccia Peridotite is located up the Val […]
Yellowstone is the site of the largest geothermal system in North America, which is fueled by a giant magma reservoir that is only 4 km beneath the surface. The most recent supereruption took place 640,000 years ago, which ejected >1,0003 km (240 mi3) of material and produced the 45 x 85 km (28 x 53 mi) Yellowstone […]
