Earth & Environmental Sciences Blogs

Belemnites (Belemnitida) were squid-like organisms that belonged to the mollusk phylum's cephalopod class and were thus linked to ancient ammonites as well as modern squids, octopuses, and nautiluses. Their fossils can be found in rocks from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, with a few species surviving until the Tertiary period. The soft sections of the animal rarely fossilize, leaving us with only the guard and the phragmacone. Unlike nautiloids and ammonites, belemnites had a rostrum, which was a very rigid internal skeleton. Many people are familiar with belemnite rostra, which are cylindrical and resemble bullets. Paleontologists have discovered belemnite fossils that illustrate their interior structure and soft components in addition to their shells. These fossils reveal a lot about how these creatures lived. Belemnites possessed huge eyes and used jet propulsion to swim swiftly. They could certainly shoot clouds of black ink at their enemies to avoid the attack, jus

A hydrated copper oxalate with an orthorhombic crystalline structure, Moolooite is an uncommon blue-green mineral. Cu++(C2O4)n(H2O) (n<1) is the formula for this mineral (copper oxalate hydrate). It was named after the original location on Australia's Mooloo Station. It's a hydrated copper oxalate from Western Australia that occurs naturally. In 1986, Richard M Clarke and Ian R Williams discovered it in Bunbury Well, Mooloo Downs ranch, Murchison, Western Australia. Figure 1 Physical appearance of Moolooite rock Information in general Minerals containing oxalate have Formula 10. AB.15 Strunz classification shows crystal class of Dipyramidal (mmm) and Orthorhombic Crystal Class. Properties It is formed by the interaction of bird guano with weathering copper sulphides and has an orthorhombic crystalline structure. It's used to give plastics a blueish-green hue. • Color: Blue, Green. • Density: 3.43 • Diaphaneity: Transparent • Habit: Microscopic Crystals – Crystals

The Rio Tinto (red river) is a river in southwestern Spain that begins in Andalusia's Sierra Morena Mountains. It flows south-southwest until it reaches the Gulf of Cadiz in Huelva. Copper, silver, gold, and other minerals have been mined along the riverbank since ancient times. Iberians and Tartessians began mining the site around 3,000 BCE, followed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. The mines were rediscovered in 1556 after a period of abandonment, and the Spanish government resumed operations in 1724. Figure 1 Flowing channel of Rio Tinto in Spain. Ro Tinto is known for being very acidic (pH 2) as a result of the mining and its deep reddish tint is owing to iron dissolved in the water. Because of the high quantities of heavy metals in the river, acid mine drainage from the mines causes serious environmental problems. The Rio Tinto Company was founded in 1873 to operate the mines, and by the end of the twentieth century, it had grown to become one of the

 Introduction Alba Mons (also known as the Arcadia ring; formerly and still occasionally known as Alba Patera, a word that has since been restricted to the volcano's top caldera) is a volcano in Mars' northern Tharsis region. In terms of area, it is the largest volcano on Mars, with volcanic flow fields extending for at least a kilometer from its summit. Despite having a span equivalent to that of the United States, the volcano barely reaches an elevation of at its greatest point. This is roughly one-third the height of Olympus Mons, the world's tallest volcano. Alba Mons' flanks have extremely gentle slopes. The average slope along the volcano's northern (and steepest) face is 0.5 degrees, which is more than five times lower than the slopes on the other great Tharsis volcanoes. Alba Mons appears in wide profile to be a massive but scarcely elevated welt on the planet's surface. It's a one-of-a-kind volcanic edifice that doesn't exist either on Earth or

Introduction A marine invertebrate belonging to the Crinoidea class (phylum Echinodermata) with a cup-shaped body and five or more flexible and active arms. The reproductive organs are housed in the arms, which are bordered with feathery projections (pinnules) and hold many tube feet with sensory functions. Cilia (minor, hair-like projections) whisk food particles toward the mouth through open grooves in the tentacles. Figure 1  Periechocrinus, a Silurian crinoid. BGS © UKRI. They are an early fossil group that originally arose 300 million years before dinosaurs in the mid-Cambrian oceans. They thrived during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic periods, and some still exist now. Living forms provide insights regarding how prehistoric crinoids must have lived, even if they differ in appearance from their fossil predecessors. Anatomy A ring of branching arms (brachia) wraps around the top of a globe-shaped, cup-like structure (calyx), which houses the animal's primary body. The calyx

Introduction Petra was founded in the 4th century BC by the Nabataean Arabs and was known in Arabic as Sila'a, Ar Rakeem, or biblically as 'Rqm,' all of which imply 'carved in the rock.' The Romans captured the site in AD 106, and it was dubbed Petra in Greek, or Al Betra in Arabic, both of which mean "carved in the rock." Several earthquakes are thought to have wreaked havoc on Petra, leading to its total ruin and eventual exodus in the 6th century AD. Figure 1  The Kasneh (Treasury) shining in the sun at the end of the long dark canyon known as the Siq – surely one of the most impressive and iconic sights in the world. Source: Anne Whaley Sousou. Locality Petra is situated in the middle of southern Jordan's rugged desert, halfway between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, but it was also next to an ancient highway leading eastwards from the high plateau to Wadi Araba. The site is also accessible from Ma'an, which is located to the east. Abu Mous