Category Archives: rocks & minerals

New at Erratics: the mysterious iron ore of Bell Island, Conception Bay, Newfoundland

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Chris Rowan

We’re pleased to welcome our latest contributer to Earth Science Erratics: Tim Sherry, a graduate student at McGill University. His first entry (cross-posted from Tim’s newly created geoblog, Up-Section), gives an account of a memorable stop on a recent field … Continue reading →

Categories: links, outcrops, rocks & minerals

Scenic Saturday: Waterfalls need the right rocks as well as water

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Earlier this year, I spent a pleasant day hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One of the places I visited was Grotto Falls; not the world’s tallest waterfall, but rather handsome all the same. Being an unabashed geonerd, … Continue reading →

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Categories: geomorphology, outcrops, photos, rocks & minerals

New at Erratics: Chalk is weird

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Chris Rowan

The theme for the upcoming Accretionary Wedge is ‘weird geology’. In his contribution, Simon Wellings takes a look at what might superficially appear to be an unlikely subject: the chalk that forms the rolling hills of southern England: No texture, … Continue reading →

Categories: links, rocks & minerals

New at Erratics: more adventures in copper mineralisation

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Nina Fitzgerald, our latest Earth Science Erratics contributor, continues and concludes her run of guest posts with two more articles on copper mineralisation. In the first, she explains the role of hydrothermal sulphide mineralisation in forming copper ore: Still wondering … Continue reading →

Categories: links, rocks & minerals

New at Erratics: from lahar to suevite

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Chris Rowan

In his second post at Earth Science Erratics Simon Wellings reveals a rather interesting deskcrop, collected from Scotland in his youth: Since it was picked up, this rock has changed identities: what was once thought to be a mud flow … Continue reading →

Categories: planets, Proterozoic, rocks & minerals

Using rock cubes to learn about hydrogeology

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Anne Jefferson

Dunking rocks in water – and doing some measurements and calculations – helps my students get a hands-on understanding of porosity. Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, hydrology, rocks & minerals, science education

Glacial deposits new and old in the Scottish isles

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Chris Rowan

Islay – one of the birthplaces of the Snowball Earth. And good whisky. Continue reading →

Categories: deep time, geology, outcrops, past worlds, photos, Proterozoic, rocks & minerals

Standing up for serpentinite

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Chris Rowan

The presence of serpentinite is like a big red flag telling geologists “interesting tectonic stuff here!”. But in California, that might not be the only red flag that you will be seeing in the future, if the state government have their way. Continue reading →

Categories: antiscience, geology, public science, rocks & minerals, science education