1

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / How to change colour of Milk Quartz

« on: 07/06/2009 06:05:59 »

Hello,

This is just an idea - but IF the white quartz stringers had some potassium in its makeup and IF the sandstone matrix was potassium poor - then a K-spar test would change the color of the stringers exclusively. Is there a petrologist reading this who can say whether or not potassium is ever carried in silica solution?

Mike

2

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Where in the world?

« on: 29/10/2008 04:08:25 »

Hi Bass,

I see your earlier post. I live on the South Coast of British Columbia. It's beautiful here, but rather soggy. I've been watching your "Epithermal precious-metal prospect" with interest and wonder when we'll get another update.  The end of the field season shouldn't stop the ideas from forming.

Mike

3

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 08.11.03 - Does time go faster as you age?

« on: 29/10/2008 03:39:38 »

Hi Jarad, I've got a theory about this. Lets consider our opinions on the subject we held as six year olds.

Our earliest memories go back to the age of 2, maybe 1.5 years, right? Lets say we were 2 years old when we started our "conscious life experience" clock.

Since 6yrs - 2yrs = 4 yrs of memorable awareness, it could be argued all of us at the age of six, that the time span of 4 years is equal to a "Lifetime". Do you follow?

The year I was six, spring lasted forever and summer vacation went on and on. Halloween would never get here, and "How many days 'till Santa comes?!". The chronological distortions we suffered were not due to impatience; they were truly long periods of time to endure. The year I was 6 (don't forget, 4 years = a Lifetime) represents 1 quarter of my whole life! That is 25%!

So 25% of a six year old's "Lifetime" time, is represented by 1 year.

Now I'm 42. It is already the end of October! This year is flying by so fast! But my chronological measuring stick is longer. 25% of everything I know about a "Lifetime" is spread over 10 years! I perceive 1 year as a 6 year old perceives 5 weeks.

If there were a magic potion that kept me alive for 10000 years, I might perceive the last 10 years between my 9990th and 10000th birthday to whiz by as fast as a 15 minute coffee break seems to today.

Mike

4

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Where in the world?

« on: 12/09/2008 06:30:57 »

So a landslide looks correct?

The river's flow was dammed by the hillside debris and a new lake formed. The raising water drowned the trees.

Still don't know where it is but I can think of four beautiful examples here in British Columbia.

Mike

5

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Where in the world?

« on: 12/09/2008 06:07:35 »

Looks like a major event, but rather local.

I can see the fresh exposure of a landslide at the top of this valley's draw, and the muck piled on the opposite bank. The dead trees and scoured outer banks are he result of a very serious "rinse cycle".

Mike

6

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Why Do Rivers Bend ?

« on: 14/06/2008 23:51:23 »

Oh, one more thing that I think is kind of neat;

Doubling the speed of water, increases it's ability to carry sediment 6 times!

Mike

7

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Why Do Rivers Bend ?

« on: 14/06/2008 23:40:20 »

Fast moving water carries sediment in suspension and when we slow that moving water, the sediment drops out of suspension.

So, I think mechanism of stream building goes something like this;

Water speeding around the stream's outer bank causes erosion, exaggerating the bend. (Liberating and carrying away sediment). Simultaneously, water creeping around the inner bank slows down, deposits new material(Building a bar), and exaggerates the bend further. As more material gets deposited on the inner bar, more of the stream's volume gets forced to the outside. As the channel narrows, the water speeds up, and the outside bend suffers even more. 

Geographic and geologic factors aside, wherever the flow of water slows enough to drop it's load out of suspension, would be the start of a stream's change in direction.

Mike

8

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Did clouds change over China before the earthquake?

« on: 07/06/2008 16:20:08 »

All of this reminds me of something too. Is your original question referring this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7435324.stm
 
"The ionosphere is distinguished from other layers of Earth's atmosphere because it is electrically charged through exposure to solar radiation." They're suggesting that this high altitude, ionic activity increases (or maybe just fluctuates) just before a shallow quake.

It's a rather spotty connection, but a pattern is a pattern. My hat is off to those researchers who've noticed it.


Mike

9

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Identify this rock/mineral?

« on: 13/10/2007 05:33:07 »

Hi Bass,

Sort of a layered and somewhat metamorphosed sample. Nickel can stain green when oxidized.

Is this from a familiar deposit model?

Mike

10

New Theories / Tectonic plates, how do they move?

« on: 26/09/2007 14:16:39 »

Oops,

I stand corrected about the expansion of water being 30%. But I don't want to discuss admixtures either. Please stop lashing out at people and explain your idea.

Questions raised about your theory make you uncomfortable. Face them and don't feel insulted. Just look at each doubt as one of the checks and balances which need to be overcome for any theory's acceptance. 

Please re-address my previous post.

Mike

11

New Theories / Tectonic plates, how do they move?

« on: 24/09/2007 06:39:31 »

Hello Mr. Margiani. Describing a force that drives and even directs tectonics has been a hobby of mine for a couple of years. I read your item titled "Geoevolution of the Earth in the Space".

It sounds like you're leaning toward a form of Expansion Theory as our tectonic mechanism. Specifically, you've written that as molten material at shallow depths solidify, it's volume increases 10%. Forgive me please, and I hope I'm mistaken, but most materials actually shrink a bit when solidifying. The exception is water. It's volume increases 30% at it's change of state from liquid to solid.

I'll assume that the volume does increase as you suggest.

The tension exerted from within a sphere that suffers this simple expansion would be in the form of increased strain. Inside gets big. Brittle surface heaves outward (90 degrees from the geometric center; up to most of us) Surface rifts open in sympathy.

I see no stress. No subduction, and no mountain building. Surface features on this model would be a handful of gigantic spreading zones. (Rather dull geology.)

I don't mean to seem arrogant, but you've left triumphant posts in many threads and none of what I've read satisfies me.

Mike

12

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / do i have gold, or fools gold?

« on: 15/09/2007 20:07:36 »

Stressing over identification takes a lot of the fun out of recreational panning. (Since examples of possible gold are so small, field tests are impractical.) Someone can stare at a flake of chalcopyrite with a 10x glass and for hours. Hours better spent shoveling and washing more material that might host real gold.

Just try to remember this;
There is no "I wonder if?", about gold. Any doubt for even an instant means that it's not.

It sounds like foolish advice, but you'll agree after a successful experience gold panning and wonder how you ever could have mistook something so unique as gold for biotite or sulfides.

Mike

13

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Where in the world?

« on: 13/05/2007 06:00:57 »

Sooooo, along with the obvious free trip to Lake Louise, do I win the luggage too?

Mike

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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Where in the world?

« on: 12/05/2007 19:11:43 »

If I'm right, then JimBob is very warm. Looks like Lake Louise to me. Lake Louise is a beautiful resort in Banff National Park, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies.

And I'm sure that's a Spruce tree in the forground.

Mike

15

The Environment / Flat Cloud Bottoms - Temperature or Air Pressure?

« on: 07/01/2007 01:22:46 »

I've just discovered the general consensus says that the flat bottoms of clouds are governed by the air's temperature.

Now, the trouble is I've seen eagles soaring on warm thermals even on overcast days. Days overcast with flat-bottomed clouds. Having observed this, I suspect that temperatures are not constant enough over large areas and that they are in fact, quite variable. Temperature fluctuations like these would make for lumpy and boiling looking cloud bottoms.

The only constant with respect to the flat bottom seems to be the altitude. (More curious since the "flattnessness" always appears level too.)

Now I've never read this anywhere, but it seems to me the drop in pressure with increasing altitude (not air temperature) is why clouds have flat bottoms. The air pressure at the cloud's base marks the level where water vapor finally saturates and condenses back to it's liquid state. A visible cloud with a well defined lower boundary at a uniform altitude.

Is this right or have I had it backwards all these years?

Mike

16

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Why is the Earth fatter around the middle?

« on: 30/12/2006 20:28:43 »

This thread has become embarrassing and nearly depressing to follow, but I can't ignore some comic irony in the ranting.

I'm not interested in arguments from authority, real or supposed.

Heliotrope's same post suggests politely that JimBob should;

Read this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_bulge

Another unreferenced and un-sourced article carrying with it all the credentials of the most recent author's (self-appointed) expertise.

(To be fair, the fellow that wrote this most recent version for Wikipedia does seem passionate about rotational physics but he doesn't reference any geologic background. This version has stood up for years but is overdue for a rethink.)

So after many milliseconds of critical thinking about Hoola-Hoops and Equatorial Bulge, and many minutes of unsportsmanlike ranting, Heliotrope finally states;

The oceans have almost nothing to do with it.

We're only looking for 26 odd miles of extra girth about the equator. My money is on Nasa's understanding of the model. The oceans have everything to do with it.

Mike

17

General Science / Re: Is Glass A Solid Or A Liquid ?

« on: 27/12/2006 04:22:27 »

Could a metastable substance behave hydraulically in a state of confinement? That is, if it can no longer be compressed, can if flow?

Mike

18

Just Chat! / Re: ELGIN MARBLES - should they be returned to greece.

« on: 20/12/2006 08:20:41 »

It sounds like the Greeks have really lost their marbles. []

Mike

19

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Re: Central Andean Rotation Pattern

« on: 10/12/2006 19:08:12 »

Hi Jimbob,

I hope your plumbing is acting right, and in just the one direction. Doesn't sound like you underwent a pleasant procedure.

The paleomagnetic data is new to me too, but it's been often referred too. Myrl Beck Jr. of U of C, Riverside was trying to make sense of it as recently as 2004.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/gji/2004/00000157/00000003/art00029;jsessionid=edshh5nomnl8.alice

The Nazca Plate is approaching that point of S/America with seemingly uniform forces to the North and South. The deformation of the entire S/American continent is astounding.

As you suggest, a deep root system under the Amazon Basin is a possibility, but I'm skeptical if that root system alone could resist movement so staunchly without actually being anchored down.

I don't subscribe to Bolivia being a passive element. I think that the whole continent must suffer westward movement with origins at the Atlantic Rift Spreading Zone. Having said that, I don't think that any perceived movement of Bolivia complicates of simplifies the model anyway.

Please do check this out the next time your at the university library. You'll see it's not so simple. I'm interested on your take of the problem.

Mike

20

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Why does the moon always show us the same face.

« on: 05/12/2006 04:40:13 »

Thank you for your explanation Daveshorts

Mike