This study in blues and greys and browns, this combination of fuzziness and sharp edges, where is it? It’s where land and ocean meet and mingle. A place where mud and silt and sand pause half way along an incredible journey that links the destruction of mountains to the creation of new land. It’s an… Continue reading Sediment and sea: from the heights to the depths
Category: mountains
A new paradigm for Barrovian metamorphism?
The phrase ‘new paradigm’ is a little shop-worn but it still catches the eye. To see it used in a “discussion and reply” on a dry-looking metamorphic petrology paper is really something unusual. Tracing through these articles really shows how metamorphic petrology can get to the heart of understanding what happens in the core of… Continue reading A new paradigm for Barrovian metamorphism?
Metamorphic petrology: under pressure and getting stressed?
High pressure (HP) terranes are areas containing eclogites and other eclogite-facies rocks found within many mountains belts, including the Himalaya and the Alps. HP rocks were metamorphosed at extreme pressures, up to 3 or even 4 billion Pascals (or GPa. Atmospheric pressure is 0.0001 GPa). Based on the assumption that metamorphic pressure relates to depth of… Continue reading Metamorphic petrology: under pressure and getting stressed?
The Himalaya: mountains made from mountains
Good building stones get reused. Sometimes the only traces of very old buildings are their stones, built into more modern ones. It’s the same with rocks and mountain belts. Stone that now forms parts of the Himalaya was once part of a now-vanished mountain range. The Himalaya were formed by the collision between the Indian… Continue reading The Himalaya: mountains made from mountains