#geology
Mineral Monday
Linarite, PbCu(SO4)(OH)2
Classification: Sulfate
Name Derivation: Linares, Spain.
Physical Properties: Monoclinic, 2.5 hardness, light blue streak
Dinosunday
Irritator
Temporal Range: Early Cretaceous, 110 Ma
Location: South America
Diet: Omnivore
Family: Spinosauridae
Strataday
Conrad, A. “Source Rock for the World’s Largest Oil Field,” silurian shale. Quassim Province, Saudi Arabia.
Dinosunday
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Here is the official dinosaur of America’s capital to celebrate. To avoid confusion, this dinosaur has not been officially classified because the only fossil found was one vertabrae from one dinosaur. The classification is still under debate, and current information is subject to change if more fossils are found.
Capitalsaurus
Temporal Range: Early Cretaceous
Location: Eastern United States
Diet: Carnivore
Family: Undetermined
Strataday
Saltatelli F. “Triassic Layering in Ischigualasto Provincial Park,” Valley of the Moon. San Juan, Argentina.
Mineral Monday
Pyrite FeS2
Classification: Sulfide
Name Derivation: Greek word ‘pyritēs’ meaning “of fire.”
Properties: Cubic, 6-6.5 hardness, greenish-black streak
Dinosunday
Achillobator
Temporal Range: Late Cretaceous, 93-80 Ma
Location: Mongolia
Diet: Carnivore
Family: Dromaeosauridae
Walk past this every time I go to the lake, and just noticed it’s abundance of fossils.
Strataday
Lynch, D. “Encore,” Folding and Faulting. Calico Mountains, California.
Mineral Monday
Corundum Al2O3
Classification:Oxide
Name Derivation: Tamil word, Kurundam
Properties:Hexagonal, 9 hardness
Dinosunday
Kosmoceratops
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 76.4-75.9 Ma
Location: North America
Diet: Herbivore
Family: Ceratops
Patagonia
A beautiful region shared by Argentina and Chile in the Southern Andes. Glaciers are a prominent feature which have carve mountains, and created lakes.
Research highlights ethical sourcing of materials for modern technology
Researchers from the Camborne School of Mines have identified methods to predict the environmental and social cost of resourcing new deposits of rare earth minerals used in the production of mobile phones, wind turbines and electric vehicles.
The team are pioneering techniques to develop the equivalent of a ‘Fairtrade’ model for ethically and sustainably resourcing raw materials that are crucial in the manufacturing of next generation technologies.
In the research the team highlight the pivotal role that geoscientists can play in developing 'life cycle assessment techniques" for potential new deposits of rare earth elements, to meet the growing worldwide demand.
The research is published in the journal, Elements.
Robert Pell, PhD student at the Camborne School of Mines, based at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, and co-author on the paper said, 'It is important that we understand the environmental costs of generating these rare earths so that we can select the right projects to support, but also research and improve the areas of production with a greater environmental cost. This is especially important when you consider the demand growth of rare earths, and their importance in the proliferation of green technology.“
All of these samples were collected at Hogen Camp Mine, Harriman State Park, NY. The first image is a reflected light image of the ore vein. The ore vein formed as a result of dextral shear which ultimately created large fractures. Shortly after this, hydrothemal alteraltion occured of the metavolcanic gneiss in the region (image 2 and 3). The metavolcanic gneiss is rich in iron. Due to this, the highly acidic metamorphic fluids began to precipitate in the fractures. The process yeilded magnetite, clinopyroxene, and less common biotite within the fractures occuring at Hogen Camp Mine. The clinopyroxene and biotite are highly rich in iron.
Image 3 and 4 is the local pink pegmatites that occured in the region around 923 Ma. The pegmatitic dikes formed post-Ottawan orogeny. Composition includes: alkali feldspar with minor constituents of clinopyroxene and quartz.
This rock is a quartzofeldspathic gneiss from Surebridge Mine in Harriman State Park, NY. What’s so cool about this is you can see the hydrothermal process which alters biotite to chlorite. The large brown grain being biotite, and the purple/blue/green in the center being chlorite. (10x XPL)