Driving west across the edge of the English Peak District is a good way to see how geology shapes landscape. Tracing the routes that cross it – feeling their shapes with a finger on a map or with your body as the car swings round bends – hints at how they are shaped by the landscape beneath,… Continue reading Paths across the Cheshire Peak
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?
Dinosaurs and the dangers of pedantism
Did you click here because of the word pedantism in the title? If so, you’ll like this (perhaps) apochryphal exchange between a married couple I know. Person A: ” You’re always correcting me! Your pedantism is really getting me down.” Person B: “I think you’ll find the word is pedantry….” Most of can see both… Continue reading Dinosaurs and the dangers of pedantism