MetaFilter posts tagged with geology

Petoskey Stones or "Crown Jewels"

Deathalicious — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:03:16 -0800

Petoskey Stones are stones of fossilized coral (Hexagonaria percarinata ) that can be found along the shore of Lake Michigan near the town of Petoskey (Population 6,000). Once polished, they can be beautiful, and are often made into jewelry. It is the state stone of Michigan and is celebrated in an annual festival. The origin of the name of the stone, however, is under contention. According to a common story (the one in the Wikipedia article as well as the official booklet provided by the Geological Survey Division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality), the stones and the town are named after Petosegay, the son of Antoine Carre, a French trader who married an "Indian princess" and later became an honorary chief. His son was born at sunrise, and he held the boy up and gave him the name (Petosegay is traditionally translated as meaning "morning rays"). Later, Petoskey bestowed his name on the (white settler populated) town.^* This story and other legends about the stones have been retold in two childrens' books, The Legend of the Petosky Stone and Tears of Mother Bear which have been strongly criticized by Native critics (both critiques are worth a read). Among the arguments is that "chiefs" and royalty did not exist in that culture, and thus neither the "honorary chief" nor "Indian princess" labels made any sense. There is also the issue that the authors are not Indian and are appropriating or misrepresenting Indian culture. This is more than just quibbling:

Some of us find ourselves so deeply appalled by these books that we actually wash our hands after handling them, trying to perpetually cleanse ourselves.

These stones, are called "crown jewels" and considered sacred by the Anishinaabek people. * Petoskey is coincidentally also a surname given to many of the Indian people in that area by white settlers.

Expeditions to the Polar Regions

netbros — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:01:49 -0800

The Polar Discovery team has documented science in action from pole to pole during the historic 2007-2009 International Polar Year, and covered five scientific expeditions. The science projects explored a range of topics from climate change and glaciers, to Earth’s geology, biology, ocean chemistry, circulation, and technology at the icy ends of the earth. Through photo essays and other multimedia, they explain how scientists collected data and what they discovered about the rapidly changing polar regions. From the awesome folks at WHOI.

Philadelphia Underground

Rumple — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:08:35 -0800

Native American Sites in the City of Philadelphia is a superbly illustrated exposition of the historical development of Philadelphia, with a focus on those few surviving Native American sites which lie under the urban fabric. Lots more excellent Public Archaeology is available from the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum. Bonus link: Philly's lost creeks and streams. "Nay, it is very possible, that on the very site of Coaquanock, by the margin of the Dock Creek, on which their wigwams clustered and their canoes were sheltered, — on the very spot where Henry, Hancock and Adams since inspired the delegates of the colonies ... with nerve and sinew for the toils of war, — there may have been lighted the council fires of wary Sachems, and there may have pealed the rude eloquence of Tamanend himself, — and of the Shingas, Tadeuscunds and Glikicans of their primitive and undebauched age!" –John F. Watson, Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time (1857), Vol 1: 41

3D Mapping

netbros — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:44:55 -0800

Durango Bill's Home Page. With topics that include: 3D end-to-end tour of the Grand Canyon, the origin and formation of the Colorado River, and examples of river systems that cut through mountain ranges instead of taking easier routes around them in Ancestral Rivers of the World. But if geology and 3D mapping isn't your thing, Bill also entertains and informs with his evaluations of creationism and religious cultists, an energy/oil analysis, gaming probability analysis, graph and number theories and applied mathematics. Durango Bill is a busy dude.

KRAKADOOM!

Artw — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:29:57 -0800

A supervolcano may be brewing beneath Mount St Helens

Geology, Archaeology and History of Seattle

Rumple — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:32:20 -0800

Waterlines is a new online exhibit from the excellent Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Seattle. It tells the story of the land underlying Seattle, one of the United States' most geologically active city sites, and of the human attempts to engineer this landform. Closely related are the archaeology of West Point and Coast Salish Villages of Puget Sound (e.g., read the story of North Wind and Storm Wind).

Redoubt blows its top

baphomet — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:29:21 -0800

After months of pre-eruptive activity, Alaska's Mount Redoubt has erupted 6 times since Sunday night. Telegraphing its eruption with massive shallow earthquake activity in the range of 26 earthquakes every 10 minutes, the volcano, located around 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, spewed an ash column 10km high, and is expected to continue erupting for weeks or months. The last time this massive volcano erupted in 1989 a commercial airliner was caught in the ash column, causing the engines to seize and the plane to lose two miles of altitude before the engines were restarted. That eruption, which lasted for 5 months, produced this spectacular photo. Follow this amazing event at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Affected local residents and airline industries are bracing for the impacts of a potentially long series of ashfalls, which can irritate skin, eyes, and breathing passages, as well as damage or disable vehicle engines.

Video of underwater volcano

CunningLinguist — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:55:02 -0800

Cool video of an undersea volcano erupting off Tonga. Spectacular clouds began spewing out of the sea on Monday about 10km from the southwest coast off the main island of Tongatapu, where up to 36 undersea volcanoes are clustered. More on these volcanism blogs.

"The flood of fire flowed with the speed of a great river swollen with meltwater on a spring day"

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:38:46 -0800

On June 8, 1783, the volcano Laki in south Iceland tore open a 16-mile fissure that erupted over nine cubic miles of lava. Not only would this eruption kill over 50% of Iceland's livestock population, leading to famine which killed approximately 25% of the population; its effects were felt the world over, with flourine, sulfur dioxide, ash, sand and drastically cooled tempertaures from the blotted-out sun reaching as far afield as North America and Africa. The eruption lasted for nearly eight months. And from the day the eruption began, a humble priest named Jón Steingrímsson would make his mark in history. Steingrímsson - known now as the "Fire Priest" - not only witnessed the Laki eruption, he stayed with his parishioners, distributing food and money even as thick ash clouds created perpetual darkness and a winter that lasted nearly a year. Despite losing his wife and many of those close to him, he recorded the events of the Laki eruption in the eloquently written book Fires of the Earth. But what Steingrímsson is best known for is his "fire mass" (web page in Icelandic) - a sermon he delivered after all the townspeople of Kirkjubæjarklaustur were assembled in the church, a giant wall of lava approaching. The sermon was brief, but was said to have been delivered with great passion. At its conclusion, the lava had changed course, sparing the townspeople. Here is Jón Steingrímsson's sermon, translated with the help of our own Kattullus:

Let us pray to God in correct piety, that He in His grace will not want destroy us in haste. Each and every one pray without fear. Each and every one be ready to die if it pleases Him. Not in ours, but Your name do we praise glory. Some make ungodly speech, bluster and act badly but even they will be humble and persevering. To one God is the honor! Call to God and suffer patiently what He lays on us. God does all things well and nothing unjustly. He knows better than men what is good for them. Give unto God the glory, and praise His highest name.

You're soaking in it

baphomet — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:41:02 -0800

Where does your water come from? Global water supply chart. Global freshwater resources from the UN.

The capitvating and deadly pyroclastic flow

baphomet — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:53:46 -0800

An erupting stratovolcano poses numerous hazards for nearby habitation, but none nearly so terrifying and deadly as the pyroclastic flow. Pyroclastic flows, comprised of tons of superheated sulfuric gases, particulate rock materials and ash, can reach temperatures of 1,830 °F and travel at alarming speeds up to 450mph. Convection of materials within the clouds causes them to become a suspension, fluidizing and thundering noxiously across the surrounding landscape for miles, in some cases even uphill or across open water. Wherever these clouds come in contact with humans the result is catastrophe, as the residents of Herculaneum and St. Pierre, Martinique learned within minutes of the eruptions of Vesuvius in 79AD and Pelee in 1902-- both towns were overwhelmed by pyroclastic clouds, igniting all flammable materials and incinerating and suffocating the inhabitants. None survived Herculaneum, while just two of St. Pierre's 26,000 survived, one of whom was a prisoner condemned to death and awaiting his execution in a dungeon cell. Despite their incredible capacity for violence, pyroclastic flows are also capable of producing mesmerizing, awe-inspiring beauty.

What happens when the Big One hits?

rtha — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:38:13 -0800

Is Oakland supposed to...ripple like that? When the Hayward Fault finally flips out - and it will - what will it do to the Bay Area? Geologists have created simulations, from Berkeley to San Jose. warning: pop-up quicktime movies in the last link. Previously on MetaFilter; currently on AskMe (yes, you should buy earthquake insurance).

Birth of an Ocean

homunculus — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:30:29 -0800

Birth of an Ocean: The Evolution of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. "Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe." [Via]

I Didn't Know That

netbros — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:11:17 -0800

Science Hack is a unique search engine for science videos focusing on Physics, Chemistry, and Space. For example, things to do with sulfur hexafluoride. Still growing, the editors are presently indexing other scientific fields of study including Geology, Psychology, Robotics and Computers. Ever wonder why things go bang?

Its a digital world after all

shothotbot — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:35:48 -0800

OneGeology is an international initiative of the geological surveys of the world which is taking the data from the individual surveys and combining their data into a consistent format to produce the first digital geological map of the world. There are previews of the insanely large sample files on the press page. There is an interactive thingy here. It only works in IE and (2 < Firefox < 3). The default image it brings up is just the surface of the Earth, ala Google Earth, but you can add layers of geological information, at the world or political unit level, with the "add layers" button. From one planetary geology course (Moons for Goons) twenty years ago this looks pretty cool, but I will defer to the geologists among us.

The young island Surtsey

carsonb — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:41:17 -0800

Surtsey was first observed on November 14, 1963, as a pillar of smoke on the water some ways south of Iceland. The very next day lava and tephra broke the surface of the Atlantic and by May, 1964 the formation had grown to 2.4 km². Over the next three years lava eruptions continued, coating the loose debris in a hard shell and protecting it from erosion. An island born. Naturally, Surtsey has been under close scientific observation since its emergence, and courtesy The Surtsey Research Society you can read published reports on the geology and biological colonization of this new earth.

They're not available from Edmund Scientific

Kronos_to_Earth — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:42:32 -0800

Later this year, geophysicist Dan Lathrop's DIY Planet Earth will be filled with liquid sodium, weigh in at 26 tons, and will be spun-up to 80mph at its equator in an effort to discover how the earth's magnetic field is generated. Currently undergoing tests, even those can be pretty impressive.

Global Cooling

Rumple — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:29:39 -0800

In 1987, the Caltech biomagnetist and paleomagnetist Joe Kirschvink gave undergraduate Dawn Sumner a rock sample [from South Australia] to study for her senior thesis. The apparent glacial origin of this rock lead directly to the theory that periodically the Earth has been thoroughly glaciated from the poles to the Equator: the so-called Snowball Earth events. A website dedicated to this theory includes detailed teaching slides, a FAQ, and many other resources on this interesting period in Earth's history.

Suspending Life

homunculus — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:10:28 -0800

Suspending Life. "If almost every species on Earth was killed some 250 million years ago, how did our ancient ancestors survive and evolve into us?"

The Door to Hell

homunculus — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:00:12 -0800

The Burning Crater of Darvaza. [Via.]

New peer-reviewed Creationist Research Journal

Rumple — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:07:48 -0800

Answers Research Journal is a new "professional peer-reviewed technical journal for the publication of interdisciplinary scientific and other relevant research from the perspective of the recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework." Current Volume. Call for Papers.

Slip Sliding Away

amyms — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:46:14 -0800

The Mystery of the Sliding Rocks of Racetrack Playa. One of the most interesting mysteries of Death Valley National Park is the sliding rocks at Racetrack Playa (a playa is a dry lake bed). These rocks can be found on the floor of the playa with long trails behind them. Somehow these rocks slide across the playa, cutting a furrow in the sediment as they move. Some of these rocks weigh several hundred pounds. That makes the question: "How do they move?" a very challenging one. [Via]. For more in-depth information, including maps and additional pictures, see Paula Messina's website about the Sliding Rocks.

William Hamilton and the Flaming Fields of Vesuvius

mediareport — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:45:39 -0800

British diplomat William Hamilton (whose 2nd wife Emma is perhaps best known for having a scandalous public affair with Horatio Nelson) loved volcanoes. His 1776 book Campi Flegrei: Observations on the volcanoes of the two Sicilies* used stunning hand-coloured illustrations by Peter Fabris to demonstrate to the scientific world that volcanic processes can be beautifully creative as well as horribly destructive. [via this post at the nonist, which, in case you hadn't noticed, has been really great lately] A 1779 supplement documented that year's Vesuvius eruption 8 pages of images Still more images *[click the images at the Georgetown site to enlarge, enlarge, and enlarge again]

Look up...and watch down

Skeptic — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:55:28 -0800

The GTC (Great Telescope Canaries) sees first light today. Apart from the sheer size (10.4 m) of its mirror and from the science it will deliver, the GTC is remarkable by its location at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory 2426 m high at the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente in the island of La Palma. La Palma is also, for a number of reasons, also interesting for geologists. In that regard, it made headlines a couple of years back due to a paper about the risk of a collapse of the island which could cause a devastating tsunami. Oh, and it's also a really nice place for a holiday.

That's one humungous fungus.

The Straightener — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:05:33 -0800

Prototaxites, what is it? Is it wood? Is it algae? Why, it's a humungous fungus. Scientists were long baffled by the mystery organism, which was recently verified to be a 350 million year old fungus that stood more than twenty feet tall. It doesn't look like much in the hands of Geologist Kevin Boyce, but the far sexier artist's rendering gives you a better idea of what an odd geological bird Prototaxites was.