GeoLog

EGU Scientific Divisions

Celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of Marie Tharp: Seafloor mapping and ocean plate tectonics

Celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of Marie Tharp: Seafloor mapping and ocean plate tectonics

The seafloor mapping pioneered by Marie Tharp, an American geologist and cartographer, though originally underappreciated, ended up playing a key role in the acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics. This week the EGU is highlighting Tharp’s groundbreaking contributions by hosting both a press conference and a session in her honour at the Union’s virtual …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Red triassic sandstone

Imaggeo on Mondays: Red triassic sandstone

As child growing up on the south coast of Devon in the UK, I never really realised that our beaches were unusual. A glorious, glowing orange-red colour, the cliffs that you can see in this photograph by Sarah Weick produced similarly red sand beaches and warm ochre soils. The bright colour is the result of …[Read More]

Imaggeo On Mondays: Psychedelic Foraminifera

Imaggeo On Mondays: Psychedelic Foraminifera

This is a transmitted light microscope image of a thin section – a 50-micron thick sliver of rock. This sample was collected from Jebel Hafit, a mountain which straddles the United Arab Emirates and Oman border. Jebel Hafit is approximately 900 m high and is made up of Eocene to Miocene age carbonate rocks which …[Read More]

Travels in Geology: A World Turned Upside Down

Travels in Geology: A World Turned Upside Down

Last weekend, with a strict, stay-at-home coronavirus order looming on the horizon, I decided to practice social distancing by escaping on one last hike. Since I’m currently in Colorado, I chose to climb North Table Mountain, the remnant of an ancient basalt lava flow located on the outskirts of Denver.   Locally this mesa, along …[Read More]