geology

Is this dike a feeder?

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A new paper in the journal Geology examines an interesting question: how can you tell feeder dikes from non-feeder dikes? The answer is, normally you can’t. Normally, there’s no way to tell for sure whether a given dike actually funneled magma to the paleo-surface, or whether it never reached the paleo-surface. The reason for this … Read more

Crucifix site 3: a WTFite

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So, I’ve introduced you to the sediments at the Crucifix Site, and the faults which cut across those sediments. Today, I would like to show you something else that I found there, and ask you to tell me just what the hell it is. Here we go: an outcrop of the volcaniclastic sediments in this … Read more

Visitation

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Guess which day I launched the blog? Thanks to everyone who has stopped by so far. I’ve gotten the same question several times from several readers, so let me address it here for everyone’s edification: Yes, NOVA Geoblog will be left “as is,” where it is. You can link to it, or bookmark it, or … Read more

Graded bed sample

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Today during Physical Geology lab, I used our grinding wheel to plane down a turbidite sample than I collected this past December down in Chilean Patagonia. Thanks to the technological miracle of blogging via iPhone, I can send it to you in a mere 45 seconds. Enjoy the graded bed: let it transport you back … Read more