imaggeo on mondays

Imaggeo on Mondays: Cooking crystals in the Earth cauldron

Hazel Gibson February 10, 2020

Cooking crystals in the Earth cauldron. Credit: Julien Leuthold (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This picture shows a 30 micrometer thick rock section of a gabbro from the Rum Layered Intrusion (Scotland). Large clinopyroxene crystals are enclosed in a foliated fine grained groundmass of plagioclase and olivine. The clinopyroxene core crystallized at an early stage, at 1160°C. They were partly molten at 1200°C during successive hot magma injections and subsequently recrystallized, enclosing h ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Mondays: Contrasting Colors of Pinnacles and Mountains

Hazel Gibson February 3, 2020

Contrasting Colors: Pinnacles & Mountains. Credit: Lukas Hörtnagl (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Despite its rugged appearance of sandstone pinnacles and arches, the ecosystem of Arches National Park in Utah, U.S.A. is very fragile. Beyond the normal ‘high desert’ environment, this beautiful landscape is home to microbial communities in the soil called cryptobiotic crusts. These biological soil crusts are very vulnerable to damage and when harmed they can take years to grow back. These barren ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Mondays: Contrasted island in the Mozambic Canal

Jean Roger January 27, 2020

Contrasted island in Mozambic Canal. Credit: Jean Roger (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Mayotte, the so-called “perfume island”, is a volcanic island of the Comoros Archipelago and a French overseas department which hit the headlines in 2018-2019 with an enigmatic as well as frightening seismic swarm, recently linked to the appearance of a new submarine volcano nearby. Surrounded by one of the largest lagoons in the World and sprinkled with small islands, Mayotte only rea ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Santorini cliffs sculpted by wind and sea

Cedric Gillmann January 20, 2020

The ancient sculpted wall. Credit: Cedric Gillmann (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The cliffs look like a bas-relief sculpted by a tireless artist. Naturally carved by the wind and sea, Vlychada’s white cliffs border its black sands, on the southern shore of Thera (Santorini), Greece. Both are of volcanic origin. The material originates from the Late Bronze Age eruption around 1600 BCE, which also buried the prosperous Akrotiri settlement. This massive Plinian eruption led to th ...[Read More]