Brienna Geology Blog

At first glance, the the Bible and the Big Bang Theory seem to conflict with each other. The scriptures say God created the heavens, earth, stars, land, water, animals, and man. The big bang theory says the universe developed from a hot soup of basic particles. Another common point of conflict is that people argue that something as complex as our universe couldn’t have resulted from an explosion. People also insist that the universe couldn’t be 13.7 billion years old because it was created in six days, according to a literal reading of the Bible. However, at a closer look, the two really aren’t so contradictory. First off, although it goes back to within 10 -43 milliseconds of the creation of the universe, science has limitations right now that don’t let us know what happened in that very first instant when "time begins," as it is labeled on this graphic. It doesn’t explain how the hot soup came to be, just how it evolved from a dense ball of energy into what we observ...

One metamorphic rock that is often used in construction is marble.  The parent rock of marble is limestone. It is medium to coarse grained, and is fairly soft, only being a 3 on Moh's hardness scale. However, since marble is made primarily of calcite, it is susceptible to chemical weathering by acid rain. This means that if the marble is exposed to the elements, it can erode and deteriorate quickly. There are sealants and other products available to protect from this though. It has many uses in construction. Marble can be used as the primary construction material in statues, monuments, and buildings. Some famous examples are the Lincoln Memorial, the Supreme Court building, the Taj Mahal. and the Washington Monument. It can also be used for more decorative/aesthetic purposes such as counter tops, shower walls, and staircases. I don't have marble counter tops or anything in my humble college apartment, but I'm pretty sure there is some being used in the Spori build...

 I decided to do my blog post on two different sedimentary rocks. This week has been slightly crazy, so I just snapped some pictures of some samples in the geology lab on campus, so I already knew they were sedimentary because of their labels. This first rock is rock gypsum. Rock gypsum is a chemical sedimentary rock. It is not very hard, being made of gypsum, with a hardness of 2. I was able to scratch this with my fingernail. It is nonclastic (has no clasts) and this sample didn't have any outstanding structures such as layers or ripples. Rock gypsum is formed in evaporating basins or playa lakes. It forms when gypsum precipitates from concentrated solutions and can be used in plaster. The second sedimentary rock I took pictures of was a sample of shale. Shale is formed when clay deposits get compacted. This rock has clay-sized clasts, but they are so tiny you cannot see them without a really good magnifier. (We couldn't see the clasts in lab.) The clasts are well sor...

The video I found is of Mount Tavurvur erupting in 2014. The eruption captured in this video is an explosive one. The lava is not just flowing out, there is some pressure built up which leads to the explosion. The video also captures the sound burst which I thought was very cool.  Mount Tavurvur is an active volcano in Papua New Guinea and is considered to be quite dangerous. It is a cinder cone. I think it is fairly new, but I am unsure and couldn't find the age of it. Cinder cones are built from ejected lava fragments that begin to harden in flight. It is relatively small at a height of 223 meters, with steep sides and a characteristic crater. (Map from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2747577/Holy-smokes-Watch-explosive-moment-volcano-erupts-triggers-SONIC-BOOM-sending-shockwaves-sky.html) from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/09/03/ nasa-satellite-captures-incredible-extent-of-tavurvur-volcano-ashfall/ T...

I went and walked around for a couple hours around Rexburg and couldn't really identify any minerals, so I decided to go back to my roots.I'm from a little town called Dubois. Not too far north is an opal mine in Spencer, Idaho.  Opal is a silicate mineral and can form in all rock environments, especially in igneous environments. It is a precious gemstone and can be quite expensive to buy. It can be identified by it's luster, streak, and darkening in heat. Here are some facts about opal: Chemical composition: S iO 2 · n H 2 O. Color: c olorless, white, yellow, red, orange, green, brown, black, blue, pink Streak: white Luster: subvitreous to waxy Hardness: 5.5-6 Specific Gravity: 2.15 Fracture: conchoidal to uneven Cleavage: none Diagnostic Feature: darkens upon heating The cool thing about this opal mine is that the public can go mine for just $15. You can stay as long as you like and can bring out a pound of rocks. I've seen some pretty cool opa...