Growth of giant gypsum crystals...

has been explained.

Scientists use rare mineral...

to correlate past climate events in Europe and Antarctica, establishing that the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period were global in extent.

Hmm.  That's not the way it's supposed to work. Al Gore, call your office.

Another influential book...

that I recall thumbing through during junior high school as my interest in geology grew:

This isn't my original copy, but a fun gift from good friend DA. If you know a kid with a developing interest in earth science, an updated version is available.

Related previous post.

The Spokane gem and mineral show...

sponsored by the Rock Rollers is this weekend, April 8-10, at the Spokane County Fairgrounds.

Everything you want to know about asbestos...

will be explained in a lecture on Wednesday, 19 January 2011, at 7 pm:

Dr. Mickey Gunter

Professor of Geology

University of Idaho

"My Mineralogical and Geological Lessons

Learned From a Decade of Asbestos Issues

in Libby, Montana"

Spokane Community College

Lair-Student Center Auditorium

Mickey has spent more than a decade researching the geology and asbestos mineralogy of the vermiculite deposits near Libby, Montana.  This presentation will focus on the results of that research, and address the ongoing health issues in the community.

Side note:  Mickey and I were both undergraduates in the geology program at Southern Illinois University together, from 1975 to 1979.  He went on to study crystallography with Don Bloss at Virginia Polytechnic, while I focused on fluvial geomorphology with Stan Schumm at Colorado State University.

Naica Crystal Cave video...

being shot by the BBC as part of a new television series "How Earth Made Us."

Previous related posts about this amazing cave located in a deep Mexican silver mine, and its gigantic gypsum crystals, can be found here and here.

New granite countertops...

were installed in the kitchen yesterday at my cottage in the pine forest (click to enlarge), and they provide an excellent opportunity to teach basic mineralogy and igneous petrology to guests during dinner parties. How geeky is that?

Oh, yeah. They also look fabulous.

Micro-poop...

is the basis for some cave mineral deposits: Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe Poop.

Spelean flowstone river ...

is world's longest speleothem: World's longest cave formation still growing. The mineral deposit in Fort Stanton Cave, New Mexico, dubbed Snowy River, is 7.5 km long and is no older than 850 years. Here's the technical abstract.

507 carat diamond found...

at a South African mine.

New video being shot...

at Naica Crystal Cave in Mexico. Here's a link to an on-line article that describes the experience.

Previous related post with embedded video.

Dendritic pyrolusite...

is not an expression of fossil flora, but rather an intricately branching mineral encrustation composed of manganese dioxide (click to enlarge.) Here it is exposed on a sandstone bedding plane surface, captured by my macro lens during a morning walkabout.

A bit o' the solar system...

arrived in the mail yesterday, a sizable fragment of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite, a generous gift from the Bu bro. I am anxious to cut, polish and acid etch the specimen once I return to the university in order to expose the Widmanstätten pattern typical of this class of iron meteorites. I will be sure to share the results.

Thanks, bro.

Potash salt evaporation ponds...

used for the concentration of potassium chloride southwest of Moab, Utah. From left (north) to right (south) that's the Kane Creek anticline with the high La Sals looming in the distance, Hurrah Pass, Anticline Overlook and the Needles Overlook (on far plateau at rightmost edge.)

Water from the Colorado River is pumped ~3,200 ft underground where a brine develops due to the solution of evaporites in the Paradox Formation (Pennsylvanian.) The brine solution is pumped back to the surface and allowed to evaporate in these man-made lined ponds. The salts eventually crystallize, then are subsequently harvested with large loaders.

Thank E.T. for saving Earth...

if this Russian scientist is to be believed: UFO Collided with Tunguska Meteorite to Save Earth. Not!

Unfortunately this chap is unfamiliar with Widmanstätten pattern that is developed in some meteorites. It usually takes an acid etching to expose the interesting geometric lineations he describes as alien symbols (read the linked article and examine the photograph, then compare it to images at the second link) but I suspect prolonged weathering could do something similar.

Emerald Creek Garnet Area...

near Clarkia, Idaho is featured in the Spokesman-Review today. Though I've not been there I hear it's a fun activity and most diggers leave with nice finds.

Hematite crystals...

in Australian rocks hint that photosynthesizing life may have existed earlier than previously thought: pushing back the development of an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

My two favorite cellular substances? Chloroplasts and hemoglobin, of course.

Gypsum megacrystals...

beyond belief are shown in this slide show about the Naica Crystal Cave in Mexico. Silver miners broke into this deep fluid-filled chamber more than eight years ago, and once the grotto was drained, found this astonishing mineral deposit. This video includes an excellent interview with a NASA scientist that is studying the unique occurrence.

Link to technical abstract describing the geochemistry of these enormous gypsum/selenite crystals.