DL Whitney
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sorosilicate.bsky.social
DL Whitney
@sorosilicate.bsky.social
92 followers 110 following 25 posts
Metamorphic petrologist who also does some tectonics and teaches mineralogy. I love rocks and minerals and field work. Also reading, art, and cats.
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sorosilicate.bsky.social
Epic #kyanite crystals reveal their colors when split open. We are tracking variation in extent of kyanite to sillimanite transformation in a metamorphic dome — it varies from 0-100% with structural location in the dome: one of the many geo-useful and fun things you can do with kyanite. #MinCup25
October 1, 2025 at 6:22 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
These white #kyanite crystals in a biotite-gedrite schist from central Australia somehow missed out on the titanium, iron, and other trace elements that kyanite typically contains to give it the iconic blue and other colors. #MinCup25
October 1, 2025 at 4:16 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
This rock in western Norway originated as basalt in an ancient ocean, then it was buried (subducted) tens of kilometers and heated over 800 C to create this beautiful #kyanite. The alignment of the kyanite indicates deformation. #MinCup25
October 1, 2025 at 1:17 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
Chromium-rich #kyanite blood, as seen with cathodoluminescence imaging. #MinCup25
October 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite party (Roan, Norway) #MinCup25
October 1, 2025 at 2:27 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
I’m very excited that #tugtupite made it to the finals but can it do this? Folded #kyanite in a high-pressure quartzite, western Türkiye. #MinCup25
October 1, 2025 at 1:23 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
Hematite is red,
#kyanite is blue,
And also green, white, black, and orange
too
#MinCup25
September 29, 2025 at 9:29 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite (blue) replacing or being replaced by pink #andalusite. Bonus: there is also #sillimanite, so this a rare locality containing 3 Al2SiO5 minerals (polymorphs). Lesjaverk, Norway. #MinCup25
September 29, 2025 at 7:15 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite wave (Western Gneiss Region, Norway) #MinCup25
September 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite fields forever, or until the next orogeny #MinCup25
September 23, 2025 at 6:17 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite in biotite gneiss from the Entia Dome, central Australia. Kyanite forms deep in the crust before it makes its way to the Earth’s surface, a slow and much more challenging journey than taenite’s fall through space. #MinCup25
September 23, 2025 at 1:04 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite volcano (not really a thing but a nice way to display the different colors of kyanite) #MinCup25
September 13, 2025 at 1:44 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#Garnet swimming in a sea of #Titanite in a Franciscan Complex metamorphic rock, as seen in plane and cross polarized light. Photo by Sarah Brandt. #MinCup25
September 11, 2025 at 6:09 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#Titanite from the Franciscan subduction complex, California, as seen under plane and cross polarized light in a petrographic microscope. Field of view about 2 mm. Photo by Sarah Brandt. #MinCup25
September 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#kyanite is beautiful at all scales, #MinCup24
Kyanite in a matrix of quartz under crossed polarized light Kyanite in a matrix of quartz under plane polarized light
September 28, 2024 at 5:37 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
Pink #corundum with green #clinopyroxene in thin section (plane light, 2 mm FOV), Berit metaophiolite, Türkiye, #MinCup24
Pink corundum, green cpx
September 19, 2024 at 1:26 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#corundum in a petrographic thin section (plane light), with green #clinopyroxene, field of view ~2 mm, Doğanşehir, Türkiye, #MinCup24
Pink corundum with green cpx
September 19, 2024 at 1:18 AM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#Titanite from gneiss from Finnøya, Norway, as seen in thin section. Clear, rounded inclusions are apatite. Field of view ~0.5 mm. #MinCup24
Diamond shaped titanite, plane light Diamond-shaped titanite, crossed polars
September 13, 2024 at 6:01 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#Kyanite in blue, green, white, and black. #MinCup24
Different colors of kyanite
September 12, 2024 at 5:41 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
A heap of #quartz. Go ahead and try this with mercury. #MinCup24
Quartz
September 11, 2024 at 8:01 PM
sorosilicate.bsky.social
#omphacite #MinCup24
Eclogite Eclogite
September 11, 2024 at 2:06 AM