Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #geology, aggregated by home.social.
🦐 NEW: Sand hoppers are centimeter-long #crustaceans that live on #California #beaches, eat washed-up #kelp, and dig a fresh burrow each night.
Researchers at #UCSantaBarbara measured the excavated #sand at #IslaVista Beach by framing plots before high tide and weighing the mounds the next morning. They found up to 50 kg moved per meter of shoreline daily.
#sandhoppers #amphipods #bioturbation #dunes #erosion #marine #science #ocean #ecology #geology #animals #wildlife #nature
Chip off the old block?
These rocks break in pretty straight lines.
John MacCulloch, born OTD in 1773, was the first geologist employed by the government in #Britain; he wrote pioneering texts on #geology and also introduced the world "malaria" into the English language https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/uk/ben-nevis/?s=mb #travel #Scotland
The Richat Structure in Mauritania looks like a 40 km bullseye in the Sahara. It was first taken for an impact crater, but geologists found none of the shocked rock an impact leaves behind. About 100 million years ago, molten rock pushed the layers up into a dome, and erosion has since carved them into rings, with the oldest rock at the centre. Its outer ring is unusually rich in Stone Age tools.
Imagery: Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics
#space #moon #geology #exploration
A Buried Volcano on the Moon Hints At An Ancient Lunar Dynamo
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-buried-volcano-on-the-moon-hints-at-an-ancient-lunar-dynamo
Astrobiology is the comprehensive study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
#Biology #Astronomy #Geology #PlanetaryScience #Chemistry #SpaceScience #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/10/cat10062601.html
Today's wonder: Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar — a stone forest of razor-sharp limestone pinnacles rising tens of meters high.
Rain and groundwater dissolved these blades from ~200-million-year-old Late Jurassic marine limestone over millions of years. "Tsingy" means "where one cannot walk barefoot" in Malagasy — and it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. 🪨
Photo: Andy Maloney, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
#geology #earthscience
#RockinTuesday #ColorADay #BlueTue #TidesOutTuesday
Bluffs Trail at Montaña De Oro State Park, California.
#ECK #Hiking #MontañaDeOro #WestCoastKin #LandscapePhotography #Geology
John MacCulloch, born OTD in 1773, was the first geologist employed by the government in #Britain; he wrote pioneering texts on #geology and also introduced the world "malaria" into the English language https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/uk/edinburgh/?s=mb #travel #Scotland
Lava emerging from Mount Vesuvius at night and running towards Resina, 11 May 1771 (1776–9) by Peter Fabris, from Campi Phlegraei.
Source: Wellcome Collection
https://pdimagearchive.org/images/0095faaa-1950-4250-b02b-eb5db4647ee0
#volcanoes #lava #pompeii #fire #nature #geology #naples #italy #etching #painting #drawing #art #publicdomain
Today's wonder: Fly Geyser, Nevada — a geyser born by accident. In 1964, a geothermal test well drilled in the Black Rock Desert blew out, and mineral-rich hot water has gushed ever since. Dissolved calcium carbonate and silica precipitate into ever-growing travertine mounds, while heat-loving algae paint them vivid reds and greens. Nature keeps the fountain running. 📷: Wikimedia Commons / Ken Lund #geology #earthscience
Byssus-like Carbonate of Copper (*Cuprum carbonatum*) (1802–17) by James Sowerby, from British Mineralogy.
Source: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives / Biodiversity Heritage Library
https://pdimagearchive.org/images/8396458c-032d-4083-aea8-a56139db75b3
#minerals #geology #green #patterns #rocks #mineralogy #bookillustration #engraving #art #publicdomain
https://www.europesays.com/ie/722467/ European rover trains for Mars in the desert #Desert #Éire #ExoMars #Exploration #Geology #IE #Ireland #Mars #operations #rover #Science #ScienceTeam #Simulation #Space #Spain
European rover trains for Mars in the desert
Science & Exploration 06/10/2026 50 views 0 likes For eight days, a Mars rover prototype travelled 220 metres…
#Europe #EU #desert #European #exomars #exploration #geology #Mars #operations #rover #science #scienceteam #simulation #Spain
https://www.europesays.com/europe/153223/
Deep in the Mauritanian Sahara sits the Eye of the Sahara — the Richat Structure, a 40-km-wide bullseye of concentric rock rings. Long mistaken for an impact crater, it's actually an eroded dome: 100-million-year-old strata pushed up, then stripped by wind into a giant geologic cross-section. Astronauts use it as a landmark from orbit. Photo: NASA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. #geology #earthscience
300 m beneath Chihuahua, Mexico, the Naica mine hides the Cave of Crystals — home to Earth's largest natural crystals. Translucent gypsum (selenite) beams up to 12 m long and 55 tons grew over ~500,000 years: magma-heated groundwater held at exactly 58°C, where anhydrite dissolves and gypsum slowly crystallizes. At 58°C and ~100% humidity, explorers need cooling suits to enter. #geology #earthscience
FUN FACT: Did you know the Moon has moonquakes? Unlike Earth, the lack of water means these tremors can make the Moon ring like a bell for nearly an hour.
Apollo seismometers captured these unique moonquakes for years, offering a glimpse into lunar geology.
Explore more at https://orbitalradar.com/moon?ref=mastodon
Cappadocia's fairy chimneys look almost magical, but they're carved by patient erosion. Millions of years ago, eruptions blanketed central Turkey in soft volcanic tuff (consolidated ash). Harder basalt caps shielded the rock beneath as wind and water stripped everything around them — leaving towering hoodoo-like spires, some hollowed into homes centuries ago. #geology #earthscience