Tag Archives: mineral extinction

Sliced thin; an unfolding story of sandstone

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derivation of sediment from bedrock, repeating the cycle

What do you think of this analogy; sandstone, and a pile of garbage? I jest, of course. Garbage is no laughing matter – it has become a defining environmental issue of global import. Sandstones too are not to be sneered at.

Your pile of refuse will consist of the flotsam and jetsam of a lifestyle – things you no longer need or want, things acquired over time from any number of localities, some of which may be very far away. Garbage anthropology is a thing. Enlightened folk examine piles of old rubbish because they provide data that allows them to decipher lifestyles and cultural norms.

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock made up of a collection of grains; these too accumulated over time and could have been derived from sources close by or very far afield. Grains of sand Continue reading →

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Sliced thin; kaleidoscopes with a geological purpose

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This is the first post in a series on the geological world under a microscope

As a kid visiting my Scottish grandparents, I would make a bee-line for two delights in their house (after the hugs); the kitchen (following my nose) to the inevitable trays of homemade donuts and shortbread, and the living room credenza wherein was kept an old kaleidoscope. It was a triangular prism (most modern forms are tubes), filled with glitter, two mirrors at one end, and a peep-hole at the other. This simple toy introduced me to the world of symmetrical, kaleidoscopic, never-repeated patterns.  Years later, as a geology student, I was introduced to optical mineralogy, the science and art of identifying minerals under a polarizing microscope – flashbacks to my childhood. Continue reading →

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