This weeks photo is once again related to permafrost and the Arctic….something tells me I miss being there. Anyway, the gorgeous photo below shows a terrific example of polygonal patterned ground from Siberia. Patterned ground is a phenomenon that occurs frequently in cold regions and is caused by the seasonal freeze-thaw of the active layer/soil. This process can produce a phenomenon called ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #44
For a bit of a change of pace the photo of the week this week isn’t a photo at all. Rather it’s a fascinating model output showing ocean surface currents in the North Atlantic. The Gulf Stream is clearly visible as it flows past Atlantic Canada and out towards the middle of the north Atlantic. I am guessing that colour scheme has something to do with current velocity or mass flux or so ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #43
This weeks photo can be described by one word: mesmerizing. Honestly, it’s hard to tell which part of this photo is better, the beautiful starry sky backdrop or the glow of Kilauea’s smoking crater. Combined, it’s just fantastic. Kilauea is part of the Hawaiian Island volcanic chain which has been formed as the Pacific plate has moved across at hotspot. The volcano is about 300,0 ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #42
This week’s photo is a beautiful example of geochemistry in action. Briefly, travertine, which is composed of CaCO3 is often precipitated at hot springs as they emerge from the ground forming these gorgeous terraces. The reason for their formation is Henry’s gas law in action which states “the solubility of a gas in a liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of the ...[Read More]
Photo of the Week # 41
I am furiously writing my Ph.D thesis at the moment. I am close to submitting. I swear! Although, everyone I know says I sound like a broken record when I say this. Anyway, while I have been doing all this writing I haven’t had much time for blogging, for which I apologize. However, in the interest of breathing some life into this dusty old thing I have decided to re-introduce the photo of t ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #40
The 40th edition of the photo of the week highlights the mudlfow from a retrogressive thaw slump near Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories, where I did field work for a few weeks in 2010 and 2011. The first photo in this series highlights the slump itself. I took this photo from a helicopter and the entire slump is approximately 1 kilometer wide and has 3 lobes. The mudflow starts where eve ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #39
I have been a bit lax with the photo’s of the week lately. Sorry about that! Here is a nice one from last year’s field season showing a cute little marmot sitting on an erratic with a great vista behind him. Cheers, Matt
Geology Photo of the Week #38
This photo is a bit of a change of pace. This past weekend I was at the cottage (Garden Island, just outside of Kingston, Ontario) and was lucky enough to get pretty close to a Northern Water Snake that slithered over our swimming area. It later approached my girlfriend with a fish in his mouth as well…maybe it wanted to share? I dunno. Of course, this wouldn’t be a photo of the week w ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #36
The highlighted photo for this week comes from my last trip to New Zealand for the AMS12 conference a few years ago. They were taken at the end of a hiking trail in the Mount Cook area, it is behind the clouds looking straight ahead but you can kind of make out some small glaciers in the distance. However, the interesting stuff is all in the foreground. These pictures highlight two really interest ...[Read More]
Geology Photo of the Week #35
This edition of the photo of the week highlights something I feel that I should have explained a long time ago: my banner photo. The banner photo above is more than just a pretty picture. It actually illustrates, very beautifully, a truly interesting phenomenon that can be encountered in Arctic watersheds. I speak of the aufeis, pronounced oh-fyse, which is the giant sheet of ice covering the rive ...[Read More]