This article is going to very briefly explain what constitutes a "Big Extinction" and sum up in an easily understood manner the causes and effects of the five (or six!) events. Click on the extinction title to go to Wikipedia page where you can find more information, including sources. Note that the simplicity of this article means it excludes important details, controversies, and caveats. Google is your friend. Read more
Easy science: the 5 Big Extinctions explained
Cortney Science & Technology + Easy Science, extinctions, geology
Leave a reply
Easy Science: simple timeline of pre-Cambrian earth and life
Cortney Science & Technology + ancient earth, Easy Science, evolution, fossils, geology, precambrian, zircons
Understanding the formation of the earth can be overwhelming. I've simplified and condensed the big events into an easy-to-follow timeline. Obviously, the list is not meant to be exhaustive and probably isn't 100% accurate. Clicking on the links will take you to Wikipedia that lead to journal articles (a few links directly to sources). Read more →
Geology of Hawaiian Coral Reefs
Cortney Science & Technology + calcium carbonates, coral, geology, hawaii
HAWAIIAN CORAL REEFS
Cortney Cameron
EOS 402S, Duke University
I. Introduction
He pūko‘a kani ‘āina.
A coral reef grows into an island (from small beginnings come great things).
Part animal, part plant, and part mineral, corals sit at the crossroads of biology and geology. In the Hawaiian Islands, geographic isolation and hot spot volcanism have created a uniquely trying environment for coral reef development. This paper will summarize the biology and ecology of Hawaiian corals, as well as their economic and cultural importance, in order to understand the geologic contributions that corals make in producing carbonate and aiding the interpretation of igneous features. Read more →
Structure and formation of recent limestone (Miami & Key Largo) of Southern Florida
Cortney Science & Technology + bryozoans, calcium carbonates, corals, florida, geology, limestone, ooids, sea level, southern florida
This post provides a brief overview of the formation and characteristics of recent limestone deposits in Southern Florida, the Miami Limestone and Key Largo Limestone. Most of this material was collected as part of a presentation for EOS 404S: Geology of Tropical Marine Environments in Spring 2013, but has been expanded and re-formatted here. Read more →
Best trick for learning the seven crystal systems
Cortney Education, Science & Technology + crystals, earth science, geology, minerals
You can find various websites discussing the crystal systems (see my short list below), but in all honesty, the best way to mastering these systems is to deal with them in 3D. Read more →
12 great intro to optical mineralogy resources [updated]
Cortney Education, Science & Technology + earth science, geology, minerals, optical mineralogy, petrographic microscope
The following list contains the websites I visited most often when I studied optical mineralogy; these sites saved my butt on more than one occasion! A lot of the sites overlap in information, but sometimes a particular site had that key picture or explanation that was essential for me in understanding a concept. I've organized the sites into two groups depending on whether they focus on explaining mineralogy properties or identifying specific minerals. (Image from Geoffrey Clarke.)