Friday fold: Ferruginous sediments in Barberton Mountain Land
A trip back to Archean sedimentary rocks in Barberton, South Africa, reveals a few folds on the roadside…
archean
Cross-bedding in Archean komatiitic ash deposits
Cross-bedding isn’t just for modern sedimentary deposits; you can find it in truly ancient ash deposits too! Let’s head to South Africa and take a look.
Weathering in komatiite
This morning on Twitter I was reminded of komatiites, those “extinct” ultramafic lavas that were relatively common eruptions during the Archean. I’ve actually got a good number of komatiite photos to share from my time last year in South Africa’s Barberton Greenstone Belt. But since time is short this morning, I’ll start with a short … Read more
Chert-slab conglomerate from the Fig Tree Group, Barberton
Deep in the Archean, things suddenly got violent in the deep water of the Mapepe Formation’s oceanic setting. What was a quiet precipitation of chert suddenly was torn apart and tumbled downslope. Was an earthquake to blame? A bolide impact? This is the result.
Accretionary lapilli from Archean volcanic eruptions
Volcanic “hailstones” called accretionary lapilli rained down on South Africa 3 billion years ago, and have survived to be seen in the present day, along the R40 road through Barberton Mountain Land, near the Bulembu border crossing into Swaziland.
Q&A, episode 3
A reader asks about the use of zircons in isotopic dating, and the argument for submerged continental crust beneath Mauritius.
Banded iron formation in Barberton Mountain Land
Banded iron formation is an “extinct rock” that can be found in ancient marine strata such as those found in the Barberton Greenstone Belt. Visit an outcrop on the Barberton GeoTrail and contemplate the bizarre anoxic world that Earth used to be.
Friday fold: Lewisian gneiss near Tarbet
I tried something new this morning, and polled Twitter for their choice of Friday fold: Quick poll – What do you want for the Friday fold? 30 minutes to respond. — Callan Bentley (@callanbentley) November 18, 2016 As of the time of this posting, the first choice, “Lewisian gneiss @ Tarbet” won out with 7 … Read more
Friday fold: “the eye of Sauron” at Sibubule
Have a look at this week’s Friday fold – but be aware that it will be looking back!
Archean meteorite impact evidence from the Fig Tree Group in Barite Valley, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa
What does the sedimentary record of a giant meteorite impact look like? Turns out it is full of tsunami breccia, fine ash, hail-like spherules, and a barium-rich ocean’s crystal precipitates. Join us in the Barberton Greenstone Belt of South Africa to learn more.
GIGAmacro views of komatiite
Erik Klemetti posted today at Eruptions about komatiite, which is apropos, considering I just finished imaging some samples of that ultramafic volcanic rock. Have a look at three samples from Barberton Greenstone Belt here, each from the 3.27 Ga Weltevreden Formation: Link GigaPan by Callan Bentley Link GigaPan by Callan Bentley Link GigaPan by Callan … Read more
Friday fold: isoclinal fold in ferruginous pelite and chert of the Fig Tree Group
A quick Friday fold – Ulundi Formation, basal Fig Tree Group of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, exposed in a creekbed etched into the trace of the Sheba Fault. This is one of the outcrops I visited one week ago today as part of the pre-IGC field trip to the Barberton. The rocks are iron-rich cherts … Read more
Archean microbial mats in the news and in GigaPan
The news yesterday of 3.7 Ga stromatolites in Greenland prompts a closer look at 3.22 Ga microbially-induced sedimentary structures in the Barberton Greenstone Belt’s Moodies group sandstones.
Northwest Highlands unconformities (1 of 3): Sub-Stoer Group
First in a series profiling the three unconformities to be found in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. Today: the sub-Stoer unconformity as exposed at Clachtoll. Explore a Proterozoic buried topography topped with coarse, angular breccia.
Friday fold: Lewisian gneiss near Tarbet, North-West Highlands, Scotland
A quick Friday fold here from the North-West Highlands of Scotland: These are Lewisian gneisses exposed on a headland northwest of the little outpost of Tarbet (where the Handa Island ferry departs from). I was out there in search of shear zones, but I found plenty of nice folds, too. There are two main folds … Read more
Kilometer to millimeter: 4 GigaPans to zoom in on Lewisian gneiss
I’m in the North-West Highlands of Scotland, enjoying spectacular geology and less-than-spectacular weather. I’ve been fairly productive on the GigaPan front, regardless, nipping outdoors when the weather permits to shoot outcrops and landscapes. One set I’m particularly pleased with is this suite of four images. They show the Archean-aged Lewisian gneiss, the oldest rock unit … Read more
3D models to spin and twist
More 3D models: digital facsimiles of real rock samples. Check them out and explore! Clinker from the Powder River Basin, Wyoming: Ripple marks from the Rose Hill Formation, West Virginia: Meta-komatiite from the Red Lake Greenstone Belt, northern Ontario, Canada:
Four new GIGAmacro images
Here are a few new images I’ve been working on with my home-based Magnify2 imaging system from GIGAmacro. Archean basement complex gneiss from the Gallatin Range of Montana: Link (If this looks familiar, that’s because one of the samples I imaged with the Photoscan 3D modeling technique and published on Sketchfab the week before last.) … Read more
Three new 3D rock sample models
Pahoehoe “ropes” on a basalt, sample site unknown: Archean gneiss from the Gallatin Range of Montana: Tafoni in Malmesbury Group turbidites, South Africa:
Friday fold: Macro GigaPan of Archean gneiss, Spanish Peaks, Montana
I don’t think I’ve featured this sample here before… It’s a lovely gneiss from near the trailhead for the Spanish Peaks, near Ted Turner’s Ranch in the Gallatin/Madison Range in southern Montana, not too far from Big Sky. Have fun checking it out in this macro GigaPan: link Happy Friday to all.