LightNews LightNews
stonegecko.bsky.social
@stonegecko.bsky.social
48 followers 41 following 180 posts
Geologist with an interest in stratigraphy, vertebrate palaeontology and geoscience education and outreach.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted
amnh.org
This #FossilFriday, meet Dunkleosteus, which lived ~360 million years ago. Scientists think it was one of the first large jawed vertebrates in the ocean & was an aggressive predator. The bones in its jaws served as cutters, rubbing against each other like self-sharpening shears.
A photo of the skull of Dunkleosteus visible in profile. The animal has massive jaws and sharp bones inside which acted as shears.
November 21, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted
badwolfgirl93.bsky.social
On this day 62 years ago, two curious teachers followed their mysterious young pupil into a junkyard, where they would find a police box and an old man with so many secrets...
November 23, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted
stevetypesstuff.bsky.social
On my way to the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social tonight and in the Grand Arcade shopping centre I noted some lovely fossils in the floor: an ammonite in section showing the chambers and a belemnite in section showing the phragmocone.

#UrbanGeology
#fossils
An ammonite showing the chambers and body chamber in cross section. A belemnite in cross section showing the phragmocone.
November 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted
tweetisaurus.bsky.social
Geology and palaeobiology at the University of Leicester are under threat, with at least 14 staff expected to be made redundant. Support them, their postdocs, and their students by signing this petition: c.org/SK8Xm8dhqK
Sign the Petition
Save Geology at the University of Leicester
c.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted
sedhead402.bsky.social
Nice work!
vanhinsbergen.bsky.social Douwe van Hinsbergen @vanhinsbergen.bsky.social · 13d
This is the reconstruction that comes with our new Nature Communications Earth & Environment paper on Caribbean biogeography.

With Leny Montheil, Mélody Philippon, Franck Audemard, Lydian Boschman, Richard Wessels, Sylvie Leroy et al

#UtrechtPaleogeographicModel

www.nature.com/articles/s43...
November 15, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted
🧪⚒️Just posted Keith Klepeis on how plutons form. He identified conduits, feeder dikes, and mushroom-shaped sheets that form as magma rises from the base of the crust to the upper crust. A tilted batholith in NZ provided him with a rare continuous exposure of 20 km of crustal section. #geology
Block diagram showing the internal components of the Misty pluton, which is one of the plutons of the Southern Fiordland batholith. A conduit rising through the lithospheric mantle feeds a sheet-like basalt structure, which in turn connects to steep-sided granitic bodies in the middle and upper crust (colored in mauve and pink). Schematic cross section of an active continental margin subduction zone, showing the dehydration of the subducting slab, hydration and melting of a heterogeneous mantle wedge (including enriched sub-continental lithospheric mantle), and crustal underplating of mantle-derived melts. Remelting of the underplate to produce tonalitic magmas and a possible of crustal melting are also shown. As magmas pass through the continental crust they may differentiate further and/or assimilate continental crust. Winter (2001) An Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, Prentice Hall Western coastline exposure of the deepest, lower-crustal level shows steep feeder zones and conduits where mafic, crystal-rich magma was injected into lower-crustal diorites. Most of the rocks in the feeder zone here are hornblendites, which are composed almost entirely of hornblende. The hornblendites are thought to be modified products of mantle-derived melt. Outcrop of fully-fledged dikes and thick pegmatites that occur away from the base of the Misty pluton. The coherent structure of the intrusion suggests the magma was emplaced into a fairly well-crystallized host capable of exhibiting brittle-like breaking. A crystal-rich host results from fractional crystallization and the progressive removal of the remaining melt. The horizontal alignment of the crystals suggests that the host mush has been compacted and enough melt has been removed to enable the crystals to align. At the same time, the undulose margins of the dike and the exchange of the dark hornblende crystals across its margin indicate that, although crystal-rich, the host was not fully crystallized and could still exhibit ductile behavior. This supports the general picture that as the host mush becomes increasingly crystal-rich as melts are gradually extracted, the dikes that move magma through the crystallizing mush become more organized and regular in shape. The dyke here is about 30 cm across.
November 13, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted
rgleadow.bsky.social
Well reasoned and new information - “Rosalind Franklin has been reduced to the “wronged heroine” of the double helix. She deserves to be remembered not as the victim of the double helix, but as an equal contributor to the solution of the structure.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted
bgs.ac.uk
It’s #RadonAwarenessWeek.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) recommends that radon levels should be reduced in homes where the annual averages is at or above 200 becquerels per cubic metre.
UKSHA, BGS and GSNI radon awareness map.
November 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted
jokulhlaup.bsky.social
"Geologists are very pleasant companions, especially for geologists. It’s their art, to stop at every stone, and carry out an investigation at every layer of Earth"

Swiss author Rodolphe Toepffer (1799-1846)
November 4, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted
drsmith.bsky.social
This is awesome news! Congrats Dr. Morawska!

(Thanks @ziadfazel.bsky.social for the heads-up)

www.abc.net.au/news/science...

#CovidIsAirborne #CleanAir
World expert in air quality and COVID wins Australia's top science prize
Lidia Morawska, an internationally renowned expert in air quality and its impact on human health, has won Australia's most coveted prize for scientific research.
www.abc.net.au
November 3, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted
scottishgeology.bsky.social
Siccar Point is one of the most important geoheritage sites in the world; we think visitors deserve to hear why.

Help us install a Deep Time Trail - donate to the Crowdfunder now. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/siccar-point

youtu.be/OeHsVJiO9gE
Help us build a Deep Time Trail at Siccar Point
YouTube video by Scottish Geology Trust
youtu.be
September 15, 2025 at 9:32 AM
stonegecko.bsky.social
A nice straight nautiloid given to me by a friend after their trip to Morrocco. #FossilFriday
A small straight nautiloid found in Morrocco.
October 30, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted
arctomet.bsky.social
Ebert, M., Kölbl-Ebert, M. Jurassic fish choking on floating belemnites. Sci Rep 15, 16095 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Jurassic fish choking on floating belemnites - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Jurassic fish choking on floating belemnites
doi.org
May 8, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reposted
scienceanu.bsky.social
Plant scientists Professor Graham Farquhar and Professor Susanne von Caemmerer transformed the world's understanding of photosynthesis, and now they have been jointly awarded the Royal Medal (Biological) from The Royal Society, at a ceremony in London.

science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
Professor Susanne von Caemmerer and Professor Graham Farquhar are receiving an award.
October 27, 2025 at 4:45 AM
stonegecko.bsky.social
A Devonian mollusc from Queensland Australia, with chamber infill including a nice geopetal feature. #FossilFriday 🧪 #EarthScience #geoscience
A Devonian mollusc from Queensland Australia, with chamber infill including a nice geopetal feature.
October 24, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Reposted
rgleadow.bsky.social
Beautiful photos of fungi around the world from Tom May www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
The amazing world of fungi – in pictures
Dr Tom May, a mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens and an expert witness at the Erin Patterson trial, has collaborated with renowned fungi photographer Stephen Axford and writer Catherin Marciniak ...
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted
julieelliott.bsky.social
⚒️🌋
olamb245.bsky.social Oliver Lamb @olamb245.bsky.social · Oct 20
We are hiring! If you're passionate about volcanic fluid geochemistry, this is the job for you. Come join our awesome team to contribute to volcano monitoring and research in Aotearoa!
Volcanic Fluids Geochemist
At Earth Sciences New Zealand, we power a better future through science. Formed from the merger of GNS Science and NIWA, we bring together over 1,200 passionate people united by a shared purpose: to d...
nzcris.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reposted
natureportfolio.nature.com
Researchers analysing data from Cassini's fly-by of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, report that ice grains from its plume contain a variety of organic compounds, indicating complex subsurface chemistry. The findings are described in Nature Astronomy. go.nature.com/47j3pSj 🧪 🔭
This image is figure 3 from the paper showing archetypal CDA mass spectra of two individual plume ice grains containing an ester/alkene group and corresponding EI spectra.
October 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted
kennarubin.bsky.social
🧪🌋⚒️No current US federal funding (thanks, shutdown), but the cameras are still rolling!🔥Huge gratitude for #USGS_HVO keeping the live feed up:

Early morning spatter & glowing surface flows today from #Kilauea’s Episode 35 in Halemaʻumaʻu crater are putting on a show. Catch it on the V1 & V3 cams.
A near-vent surface lava flow glowing orange in the early AM hours at Kilauea volcano on 17-Oct-25, as captured live on the USGS V1 camera. source: https://www.usgs.gov/media/webcams/v1cam-kilauea-volcano-hawaii-west-halemaumau-crater Glowing hot surface lava flow apron issues from low spattering at the active vent in the early AM hours at Kilauea volcano on 17-Oct-25, as captured live on the USGS V3 camera. source: https://www.usgs.gov/media/webcams/v3cam-kilauea-volcano-hawaii-south-halemaumau-crater
October 17, 2025 at 12:19 PM
stonegecko.bsky.social
It is Earth Science Week. I don't regard myself as an artist but I do like the intersection or art and (geo)science.. Here is a contribution I made to the Consilience Journal that might inspire a few artists and a celebration of Earth Science. www.consilience-journal.com/conciliarte-...
#sciart 🧪
Birefringent thinking in a polarised world — Consilience
www.consilience-journal.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:45 AM
stonegecko.bsky.social
🧪It's #fossilfriday and I feel fine! Here's one of my favourite 'almost' fossils, from the flood plain of the famous Snowy River Victoria, Aust. Did they make it? Unlikely. Are they are good example of process in action, absolutely. Ditto mud cracks & younging indicator. #geoscience #earthscience
Post-flood mud on the banks of the Snowy River, Victoria Australia, featuring animal footprints (future trace fossils) and mudcracks (future palaeoenvironment & younging indicators. Open mudcracks also capturing plant debris prior to infill.
October 17, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Reposted
davidho.bsky.social
The wet tropical rainforests of Queensland are now a carbon source because CO₂ emitted from trees dying and decaying outstripped the CO₂ taken up by trees growing. 😕
Australia's tropical trees emit more carbon than they absorb: study
Climate change is killing trees faster than they can be replaced leading to greater carbon emissions, according to a new study.
www.abc.net.au
October 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted
compoundchem.com
I put this to the test with Copilot and yeah, I think it's fair to say that it struggled with the structure of caffeine
A Co-pilot created drawing of a molecule that is definitely not caffeine
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted
kosmi.bsky.social
Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka.

Image taken today by Sentinel-2.
October 13, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Reposted
biodivcouncil.bsky.social
Australia’s only shrew has been declared extinct. Australia leads the world in mammal extinctions and ranks second for loss of biodiversity. We need better funding for conservation action and stronger environmental laws to uphold our international commitments to prevent further extinctions 🧪
A photo of a small, black-furred shrew climbing on a branch with text overlay that says "Australia’s only shrew declared extinct. Australia continues to lead the world in mammal extinctions."
October 13, 2025 at 4:25 AM