One of the great privileges of studying geology at university is spending time looking at thin sections. It may not feel like it at the time – learning to identify minerals down the microscope is hard work – but peering into the secrets of the earth is deeply satisfying, both intellectually and aesthetically.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrsphr\/status\/461928938584166401<\/p>\n
For those of us who don’t have access to the kit (thin slices of rock, specialised microscopes) we have to make do with photographs. So I was very pleased\u00a0to discover that rock-whisperer Chris Jennings (@chrsphr<\/a>)\u00a0has invented the Twitter hashtag #thinsectionThursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrsphr\/status\/461911607615184896<\/p>\n Twitter is a great place to share images, and Earth Scientists have long made use of this, posting pictures of long-dead animals (#fossilFriday) and dangerous piles of clinker (#volcanoMonday) on particular days. The potential of #thinsectionThursday is enormous. Thinsection images are often visually stunning – with varied colours and textures – plus\u00a0the educational potential is vast. They can show\u00a0crystals that grew in the heart of a volcano, a detailed cross-section of a fossil or the jumbled joyful chaos of a metamorphic rock. Archaeologists, meteorologists and others can play\u00a0too.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/TectonoAndy\/status\/462005832788738048<\/p>\n I’ll be contributing to #thinsectionThursday, please do join me. If you use thin sections day to day, it’s a no-brainer: take pictures from your course-work or research and get tweeting. If you’re not on Twitter, you can still view the images<\/a>. If you don’t have your own photos, there are other options….<\/p>\n Schist from Dalradian. Garnets show older fabric #thinsectionthursday<\/a> Img from @BritGeoSurvey<\/a> http:\/\/t.co\/JPXWfictxd<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MaccTOaPac<\/a><\/p>\n — Simon Wellings (@metageologist) May 2, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n