As far as most of us know, pumice is the only rock that can float on water. Pumice is a porous, volcanic rock. It is porous because it is highly vesicular, due to the gases enclosed and effervescing through during the explosive eruption.

However, I recently came across a reference to another rock that floats in water. Here is a short excerpt from the article in Geology Today on the geology of Denmark's inland islands (in the Kattegat):

"As already noted, the Mo-clay consists of diatoms, although it may be up to one-third clay admixture. When dry, it can float on water; apart from pumice, probably the only stone that can. In the 1800s it was shown back [sic] that these diatoms are all marine forms, whereas many diatomite deposits (i.e. those of Kentmere in Cumbria) lived in fresh water".

This diatomaceous clay is located in what is known as the Fur Formation, named for its type locality at Knudeklint on the north coast of the island of Fur (Kattegat). It only floats on water when dry because the pore spaces are interconnected. It becomes saturated with time and sinks.

- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/29/2006 03:26:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

Newly Renovated Energy and Mineral Web Sites Better Serve Users

The websites of the USGS Energy Program and the Minerals Resources Program have been made faster, more intuitive and more user-friendly. On the energy website there is an easily-locatable list of scientific ventures organised according to commodity, research topic, project topic and study region. The Energy Program website address is http://energy.usgs.gov. The updated minerals website supplies current information on news, activities and products, as well as background information about the Program. The Mineral Resources Program website is located at http://minerals.usgs.gov. Both sites have a new, clean & tidy look.

- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/29/2006 03:11:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

Notebooks on Geology posted a new article (CG2006 A04) on 21.09.2006

Emig C.C. (2006).- Schmidtites celatus (Obolida, Brachiopoda) from the "Obolus sands" (Upper Cambrian - Lower Ordovician) of Estonia.

- Carnets de Géologie - Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Article 2006/04 (CG2006_A04), 12 p., 8 fig., 1 table.

http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/uk-index.html#NEW
[English version only]

Un nouvel "Article" (CG2006 A04) est en ligne depuis le 21.09.2006 :

Emig C.C. (2006).- Schmidtites celatus (Obolida, Brachiopoda) des grès à "Obolus" (Cambrien supérieur- Ordovicien inférieur) en Estonie.

- Carnets de Géologie - Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Article 2006/04 (CG2006_A04), 12 p., 8 fig., 1 tableau.

http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/fr-index.html#NEW
[Cet article n'est disponible que dans sa version anglaise]

Abstract: "Large collections of the brachiopod obolid Schmidtites celatus have been gathered from Upper Cambrian-Lower Ordovician strata in four northern Estonian localities. The morphological features and the taxonomic characters of the genus and of the single species representing it are re-described and illustrated. New diagnoses are proposed based on characters of the shell and morphological traits that permit Schmidtites celatus to be compared with and distinguished from the other obolid genera occurring in the same samples or areas, i.e. Ungula ingrica, Oepikites, and Obolus apollinis which now includes specimens formerly described as Ungula convexa. Schmidtites celatus differs from them mainly in the arrangement of its musculature."

Résumé: "De très nombreux exemplaires du brachiopode obolide Schmidtites celatus ont été récoltés dans quatre localités du Nord de l'Estonie, dans des couches appartenant au Cambrien supérieur et à l'Ordovicien inférieur. L'étude des caractères morphologiques et taxinomiques du genre et de l'unique espèce a permis de redécrire et d'illustrer Schmidtites celatus ; de nouvelles diagnoses sont proposées pour le genre et l'espèce. Les caractères ont été comparés avec ceux des autres genres d'obolides présents dans les mêmes strates ou dans la région, i.e. Ungula ingrica, Oepikites, et Obolus apollinis à laquelle est rattachée Ungula convexa. Schmidtites celatus s'en distingue notamment par l'arrangement musculaire."

- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/21/2006 08:27:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

After a number of weeks absence, the Hartlepool Marina Sea Lock webcam is back online:

http://www.digital-hartlepool.com/webcams/upload/dock.jpg

Must've been summer hols...

- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/21/2006 08:19:00 PM 3 comments links to this post

It was five years ago yesterday (OK, I'm a day late already). I was working on an abandoned oil refinery with a couple of colleagues in Misburg Hafen, Hannover (that's how the German's spell it, like it or not), northern Germany, for an international company. We had been drilling all day, collecting samples for environmental testing. No radio, no news (we wouldn't have heard a radio even if we had one). We left the site in the evening in our battered pickup, the flatbed stacked with drilling equipment and sample cases, and because it was a beautiful summer day, we had all the windows down. Driving down what passes as Misburg high street, some guy shouted at us whether we'd heard the news. Aircraft had attacked the WTC, the White House and the Pentagon. I sort of said "Oh, really" and told my colleague in the pickup to watch the news before listening to wild-eyed pedestrians.

I got home and turned on the TV immediately. At the time the only English-language channels I could receive were the American NBC and CNN news channels. That didn't bother me, all I wanted was news. when I turned on the TV in the early evening in Germany, the towers had not yet collapsed. I sat for hours in utter disbelief, holding back the tears. At one stage, I even told my wife it was a fake, it just could not be real.

Five years on. Where has the solidarity gone? Where has our freedom gone?

- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/11/2006 06:51:00 PM 1 comments links to this post

Les Carnets sont fier"S" d'annoncer la parution d'un nouveau mémoire : le "Glossaire illustré de termes utilisés dans la recherche sur les Foraminifères" par Lukas HOTTINGER. Nous sommes désolés de ne pouvoir vous offrir une version française (mais considérez la difficulté de l'ouvrage : 650 entrées, 83 figures et plus de 2000 liens hypertextes!).

Carnets are proud to announce the publication of a new memoir: "Illustrated glossary of terms used in foraminiferal research" by Lukas HOTTINGER (it is available in an English version only).

Hottinger L. (2006).- Illustrated glossary of terms used in foraminiferal research.- Carnets de Géologie - Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Memoir 2006/02 (CG2006_M02), 126 p., 83 fig. Format [HTML] or [PDF Text 739 KB + PDF Figs. 2-27 8,827 KB + PDF Figs. 28-46 7,391 KB + PDF Figs. 47-68 6,805 KB + PDF Figs. 69-83 6,454 KB]

Abrégé : Ce glossaire des termes utilisé dans l’analyse de l’architecture des tests récents et fossiles de Foraminifères, complété par une sélection rigoureuse de ces termes, facilite la compréhension de leur biologie et leur utilisation en écologie et en biostratigraphie. Il comporte près de 650 entrées accompagnées par 83 figures, souvent composites, dont de nombreuses images stéréographiques ou modélisations en 3D. Un index taxonomique répertorie les 140 taxons illustrés.

Summary: An illustrated glossary of terms used in the analysis of the shells of recent and fossil foraminifera supplemented by a rigorous selection of terms that facilitate an understanding of their biology and their use in ecology and biostratigraphy. The glossary includes some 650 entries illustrated by 83 - often composite – figures many of which are stereographs or 3D models. A taxonomic index lists the 140 taxa illustrated.

Nous vous laissons découvrir et apprendre à gérer l'interactivité de ce "nouveau produit" (comme nous l'avons dit précédemment il y a plus de 2000 liens à tester) : allez d'une citation à sa référence et retour en cliquant sur l'année ; aller à une entrée à partir d'un lien (bleu) et retour en cliquant sur l'entrée (rouge) ; appeler une figure miniature à droite en cliquant sur le lien (Fig.) ; ouvrir une nouvelle fenêtre avec la figure agrandie en cliquant sur l'icone à droite du lien ; agrandir les miniatures en cliquant dessus ; retourner à la miniature en cliquant sur l'image agrandie ... Nous espérons que vous saurez apprécier tout celà ...

You will have to explore and learn how to deal with this dynamic "new product" (there are more than 2,000 hypertext links to browse): jump from one publication quote to its reference and go back where you started by clicking on the year link; jump from one entry from a (blue) link and go back by clicking on the entry (red) itself; call a figure in the right column by clicking on a figure link; open a new window with the enlarged figure by clicking on the icon next to the figure; enlarge thumbs (small-sized images) by clicking on them; go back to the thumb by clicking on the enlarged figure... We hope you will enjoy it all ...

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- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/08/2006 07:31:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

Les Carnets de Géologie sont fiers d'annoncer la parution de leur premier livre électronique !
(bien plus encore à venir prochainement)

Notebooks on Geology are proud to announce the publication of their first e-book!
(more to come very soon)

BERGER Sigrid (September 4, 2006).- Photo-Atlas of living Dasycladales.- Carnets de Géologie (2006: Livre 2 - Book 2), ISBN 2-916733-01-9, 448 p., 332 micrographs.

Foreword of Prof. Filippo BARATTOLO, Università degli Studi di Napoli «Federico II»: "Dasycladales, from whichever point of view they are observed, biological or paleontological, never lack in surprises for their elegant structural simplicity is associated with an extraordinary morphological plasticity.

This is why their study is so exciting and compelling for those who have a regard for these algae. During 540 million years of evolution periods of crisis or stagnation followed others of sudden diversification at both generic and specific levels. Their persistence in the paleontological record as autotrophic marine organisms linked to well-defined ecological conditions make Dasycladales a potentially valuable tool for the recognition of global changes on Earth during the whole of the Phanerozoic. On the other hand, the preservation and occurrence of dasycladaleans as fossils depend strictly on the presence of a calcified envelope which varies in occurrence or degree of development from species to species as well as from one growth stage to another. It is a common experience for the paleophycologist that parts of the fossil alga cannot be observed because they have not been calcified. As a consequence the systematics of fossil Dasycladales leaves open to interpretation (the function of laterals, vestibules, etc.). It is only through a continuous comparison to living counterparts that cannot be disregarded, and becomes more and more delicate on moving from the Cenozoic to Paleozoic, that can provide a measure by which the reliability of an interpretation can be judged. This is why the Sigrid BERGER’s Photo-Atlas of living Dasycladales is most welcome. This contribution not only adds useability to the previous elegant BERGER & KAEVER’s (1992) volume, but integrates that work with new spectacular photos and details as well as an updated systematic scheme and a selected bibliography. The Photo-Atlas of living Dasycladales is an helpful, easy-to use tool to introduce biologists and paleontologists to the Dasyclad-world and to stimulate their interest in it. Moreover the electronic format will surely allow a broader public to become familiar with the extant dasycladaleans or to update their databases.

I think that I express the sentiments of all phycologists and paleophycologists in thanking sincerely the Author for having made available to the scientific community her rich photographic documentation and Bruno GRANIER for his precious, steadfast efforts to promote the knowledge of Dasycladales through his employment of the web."

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- posted by Affenhänger @ 9/08/2006 07:20:00 PM 0 comments links to this post