Look at a large-scale geological map and, provided the area is not covered in recent sediments, there will be large areas of red showing outcrops of granite. There are many ways in which rocks can be melted to produce granitic magma. But it’s long been recognised that there is a ‘space problem‘: how do those big… Continue reading Granites and their space problem
Exciting extraterrestrial eclogites
Eclogites are beautiful rocks that on Earth are associated with the process of subduction – where pieces of crust sink into the deep mantle region. A recent paper by Makoto Kimura and 5 other Japanese authors, describes the first ever evidence of eclogitic rocks found beyond Earth, formed within an unusually large asteroid now found only… Continue reading Exciting extraterrestrial eclogites
Height, speed and distance: the view above my back garden
I’ve bought a deck chair this Summer and it’s got me thinking. As I’ve sat in it – enjoying some peace until the moment when my children and ‘playing nicely together’ abruptly part company – I’ve been looking at the sky and thinking about space, distance and speed. The view of the sky from my deck chair… Continue reading Height, speed and distance: the view above my back garden
Ireland: good terrain for terrane training
The word terrane has a very specific geological meaning. Usually short for tectonostratigraphic terrane, they’ve been defined as “fault-bounded crustal blocks that preserved a geological record distinct from that of adjacent terranes” (Jones et al., 1983). The concept was first coined as a way of understanding the rocks of the North America Cordillera. We know now… Continue reading Ireland: good terrain for terrane training