10 of the Best Learning Geology Photos of 2016

May 14, 2020    Comment   

10 of the Best Learning Geology Photos of 2016

A picture is worth a thousand words, but not all pictures are created equal. The pictures we usually feature onLearning Geology are field pictures showing Geological structures and features and many of them are high quality gem and mineral pictures. The purpose is to encourage students and professionals' activities by promoting "learning and scope" of Geology through our blogs.

In the give up of 2016, we're sharing with you the 10 satisfactory snap shots of 2016 which we've got published on our page.

P.S: we usually try our best to credit every and each photographer or website, however now and again it?S not possible to track some of them. Please go away a remark in case you recognize approximately the lacking ones.

1. Folds from Basque France

Image Credits: Yaqub ShahYaqub Shah

2. Horst and Graben Structure in Zanjan, Iran

Image Credits:https://www.Instagram.Com/amazhda

three. A specific Normal Fault

four. The Rock Cycle

Therock cycle illustrates the formation, alteration, destruction, and reformation of earth materials, and typically over long periods of geologic time. The rock cycle portrays the collective system of processes, and the resulting products that form, at or below the earth surface.The illustration below illustrates the rock cycle with the common names of rocks, minerals, and sediments associated with each group of earth materials: sediments, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and igneous rocks.

Image Credits: Phil Stoffer

5. An amazing Botryoidal specimen for Goethite fans!

Image Credits: Moha Mezane

6. Basalt outcrop of the Semail Ophiolite, Wadi Jizzi, Oman

Image Credits: Christopher Spencer

Christopher Spencer is founder of an high-quality technological know-how outreach program named as Traveling Geologist. Visit his website to research from him

7. Val Gardena Dolomites, Northern Italy

8. Beautiful fern fossil found in Potsville Formation from Pennsylvania.

The ferns maximum generally found are Alethopteris, Neuropteris, Pecopteris, and Sphenophyllum.

Image Credits: Kurt Jaccoud

9. Snowball garnet in schist

Syn-kinematic crystals in which ?Snowball garnet? With noticeably turned around spiral Si.

Porphyroblast is ~ five mm in diameter.

From Yardley et al. (1990) Atlas of Metamorphic Rocks and their Textures.

10. Trilobite Specimen from Wheeler Formation, Utah

The Wheeler Shale is of Cambrian age and is a international famous locality for prolific trilobite stays.

Image Credits: Paleo Fossils

30+ Thin Section Photos That Will Develop Your Interest in Petrography

May 08, 2020    Comment   

30+ Thin Section Photos That Will Develop Your Interest in Petrography

The art of getting ready thin sections has been critical to expertise the core samples that scientists are observing. Thin segment samples permit scientists to look at minerals in rocks, their crystal shape and texture at a microscopic stage.

Want to revise how do geologists examine rock? Follow this hyperlink to see our blog on "Studying Rock".

In this blog, we're taking you into the adventure of thin phase snap shots that were captured and given by means of college students and younger professionals from Finland, Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic and Plymouth (UK).

Again our purpose is to encourage students and professionals' research by promoting "learning and scope" of Geology through our blogs. Help us to help others in learning and understanding geology. See this link that how you can contribute to Learning Geology.

Note: We are using following thin section photos by having permission from their owners. If you like to use these photos, leave us a message or email ushere.

1. A beautiful heart shaped hornblende in XPL (cross polarized light) view.It is a thin section ofbasalt with some secondary mineralization in the vesicles. Plagioclase is present in the form of black and white matrix and large phenocryst (with some zoning). Alignment of plagioclase grains is indicative of the "flow" of magma.

Photo Credits: Astaley

2. Thin Section of a Biotite and Muscovite, XPL view

Photo Courtesy: Laura

3. Thin Section of a Plagioclase (orthoclase) and Pyroxene, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

4. Eclogite in Thin Section, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

5. Cummulate Rock with Pyroxene and plagioclase, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

6. Blueschist, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

7. Agglomerate in a Thin Section, XPL view

       Agglomeratesare pyroclastic igneous rocks that consist almost wholly of angular or rounded lava fragments of varying size and shape. Fragments are usually poorly sorted in a tuffaceous matrix, or appear in lithified volcanic ash. (Britannica.com)

Photo Courtesy: Laura

8. Thin Section of a Pigeonite and Olivine, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

nine. Olivine phenocryst in Basaltic Lapilli, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

10. Thin Section of a Gabbro, XPL

Showing minerals; Pyroxene and Olivine, plagioclase and others. Learn more about Gabbrohere.

Photo Courtesy: Laura

 11. Another beautiful skinny section of a Gabbro, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

12. Thin Section of a Greenschist, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Laura

thirteen. Thin Section showing intrusion of rocks from magma chamber into united states rocks, XPL

Photo Courtesy: Jack Lewis Donnelly

14. Thin Section of a Sillimanite - a mineral discovered in rocks formed with the aid of the metamorphism of a mudstone. (XPL view)

Photo Courtesy: Jack Lewis Donnelly

15. Microgeode in ultrabasic vulcanite (a rare copper telluride mineral), 30 µm thin section, PPL and XPL

Photo Courtesy: Petr Hyks

Photo Courtesy: Petr Hyks

See unique photohere

16. Muscovite & biotite (30 µm thin section, PPL and XPL)

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

Same photo in XPL view. See unique photohere

17. Quartz and epidote (30 µm thin section, PPL and XPL)

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

See originalhere.

18. Olivine (30 µm thin section, PPL and XPL)

Photo Courtesy: Petr Hyks

See this photohere on Petr Hyks' website

19. Zircons in biotite (30 µm thin section, PPL views, showing extinction)

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

See this photo here on Petr's website

20. Zircon in biotite (30 µm thin section, XPL)

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

See this photo here on Petr's website

21. Kyanite surrounded by muscovite (30 µm thin section, PPL and XPL)

Photo Courtesy: Petr Hyks

See these photos on Petr's pagehere and here

22. Zircon crystal in chloritized biotite (30 µm thin section, PPL and XPL)

Photo Courtesy:Petr Hyks

See these photos on Petr's pagehere and here Petr Hyks is 21 year old geology student from Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic). He has uploaded 5000+ photos about geology, astronomy and meteorology on his Flickr page. Follow this link to visit his website. Thank you Petr for contributing to Learning Geology and helping others to learn geology through your thin section photos. 🙂 Now following 10 thin section photos are from a geology student of University of Helsinki, Finland.

23. Thin Section of Olivine Diabase in XPL and PPL view.

Photo Courtesy: GeoAmethyst

24. Thin Section of Basalt in XPL view

        Having minerals: Olivine (in center) plagioclase, pyroxene and other accessory minerals

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

25. Thin Section of a Trachyte, XPL view

    Trachyte is an igneous volcanic rock with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. It is volcanic equivalent of Syenite. Major or essential minerals are alkali feldspar with less amount of plagioclase, quartz or feldspathiod.

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

26. Thin Section of a Harzburgite, XPL view

      Harzburgite is an ultramafic igneous rock. It chiefly contains plagioclase (under 10%) , olivine, orthopyroxene (enstatite), clinopyroxene (diopside) and biotite. There could be a small amount of talc, carbonate, tremolite, cummingtonite, chlorite, serpentine and titanite.

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

27.  Another thin section of Harzburgite, XPL view

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

28.  Thin Section of Pyroxenite (an ultramafic igneous rock), XPL view

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

29. Thin Section of Trachyte showing Sandine mineral in center, XPL view

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

30.  Thin Section of Andesite, XPL view

       It is an extrusive igneous, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture.              Here this thin section is showing chiefly hornblende and plagioclase.

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

31. Thin Section of Alkali Basalt (silica undersaturated) in XPL view.

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

32. Thin Section showing small clinopyroxene grains within orthopyroxene

Photo Courtesy:GeoAmethyst

Like this article? Leave a comment down or send us your valuable suggestion or feedback here  to help us in improving this article.

Useful Websites:  1. Polarized light Microscopy (Image Gallery)

2.How to make a thin section

3. Petrographic thin section preparation

4. Guide to Thin Section Microscopy

5. Index of Minerals in Thin Section

6. Optical Petrography website by an Italian Geologist

7.Carbonate Thin Section Images and Exercises

"Why I left Electrical Engineering and choose Geology?" with Rana Faizan

May 05, 2020    Comment   

"Why I left Electrical Engineering and choose Geology?" with Rana Faizan

When I was studying in the 8^th grade, my father had a wish to make me an Electrical Engineer. Honestly speaking at that time I have no idea about my future goals and even I didn’t knew anything about Electrical Engineering.

One day I was in my class, my teacher gave us a lecture on future planning which really inspired me to think about future aims. This was the first time I started thinking about my future goals. I reached home and asked my father about this concern. He advised me to choose Electrical Engineering in future and told me that this is his dream about me. At that time, I was not familiar with the Geology. Days were passed and I completed my 10^th grade exams with good percentage and took admission in 11^th grade (pre-engineering), and I started study hard to fulfill my parent’s dream.

Then a day come, my father was sharing his university life experiences with me and this was the first time I heard about Geology because his hostel mates were Geology students. My father told me about the geology field work experience that his friends shared with him. And his friend is currently settled in Canada and working as a Geologist. He told me about some more people and some of them are now my professors.

These all things sums up and gave me inspiration about geology, I searched about geology on internet and I found it an interesting field as geologists ruin tourism in their daily life. They can work in natural resource companies, environmental consulting companies, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and universities. Many geologists do field work at least part of the time. Others spend their time in laboratories, classrooms or offices. All geologists prepare reports, do calculations and use computers. I found that geology is a practical and professional field, all sciences and engineering required geology work in some disciplines. Another thing is the study of mountains, different rocks, minerals, structures and more over their observations in field with naked eye is so interesting. Moreover thin section study and geological mapping was another cause that inspired me to pursue my career in this field.

Due to all these things, I mentally prepared myself to choose geology in future but my father wanted me to become an engineer.

After few months, I completed my 12^th grade with good percentage and I applied for electrical engineering as per my father’s wish. And I also applied for geology as per my wish. Unfortunately, I didn’t get admission in any geology institute and get admission in electrical engineering. My parents were very happy because their wish was near to fulfill at that time but I was not so happy because I wanted admission in geology. Then unwillingly, I have to study the electrical engineering. This was little bit interesting subject for me especially circuits. I liked working on C++ programming. I completed my first semester with good CGPA and got 2^nd position but still I wasn’t satisfied in this field.

Next year, when I was studying 2^nd semester in engineering, the admissions in geology get opened and again I tried to get admission in this field but my parents, relatives and friends even my engineering professors advised me that I should not leave this field (engineering) now because that decision would effected my future and one year of my study would be wasted. I listened to my heart voice and applied for admission and I was surprised to know that I got admission in geology. I left engineering and join geology field. My friends and professors of engineering institute asked me again not to leave this field. I still remembered, I simply told them that I don’t want high marks, I want to fulfil my interests so that I can give my 100% in that work. I thought what if I done electrical engineering with good percentages and get job. But what if I am not satisfied with my decision then what is the benefit of that job? Geology may not give me highly paid jobs easily as I could find in electrical engineering but I would definitely find peace and satisfaction in geology.

Me (left) discussing geological map of Pakistan with my class mate (right).

Photo © Rana Faizan

Describing about Salt Range (Sub-Himalayas) model

Photo © Rana Faizan

Now, I’m studying geology and I am fully satisfied with my decision. I have completed my two and half years of bachelor’s degree with three field works and I have learnt many things about geology. I found all things as same as I imagined, when I was in 12^th grade. This was my dream that one day I will become a geologist and will study from the same institute from my father’s friends have studied. Everyone has its own interest. Some like engineering, some like medical and some go for other. My purpose here is not to degrade anyone especially electrical engineering students, no doubt it is also a good field as technology is becoming a need of everyone. So, I have an advice for everyone, always listen to your own decisions and do not bother what other say.

Selfie at Harno River, Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Photo © Rana Faizan

Had a rainy fieldwork at Indus River, Pakistan

Photo © Rana Faizan

I still remember a quote:

"Think100timesbefore youtake a decision,

But once thatdecision is taken, stand by it as one man."

We have a lot of hidden potential that we don’t know. And if we know then we don’t utilize it because we fear what people would say. More than that there is our own voice shouting inside that you can do this. What if we stop listening to those voices and listen only to our heart.

I have observed many geological things during field work and some pictures below are describing about the beauty of geology. I have many pictures related to rocks, minerals, structures and other features. Some beautiful pictures are given below:

Hammering slates

Photo © Rana Faizan

Plunging anticline fold observed during fieldwork.

Photo © Rana Faizan

Enjoying fieldwork after mapping sedimentary area

Photo © Rana Faizan

Note: This article is originally written and contributed by Rana Faizan. You can also contribute your article by sending us at geologylearn@gmail.com. We would love to share your field experiences with our readers. See guidelines here.