Stromatolites: Fossil and Living Cyanobacteria Algal Mounds that Resemble a Cross between a Cauliflower and a Rock

     Stromatolites are mounds of cyanobacteria and sediment that have been found in the fossil record since 3.5 billion years ago in the Archean time period. The mounds resemble a cross between a cauliflower and a rock:

      Living stromatolites were not discovered until 1956 in Shark Bay off the west coast of Australia (There's some poetry to accompany this stromatolite tour). These present-day algal mounds are also found in the Bahamas.

      "Stromatolite" is derived from stroma, Latin for layer, and it is easy to see why. The laminae are particularly well-defined, especially in thin section.

       Shark Bay is the site of discovery of 
chlorophyll f, a type form of chlorophyll that absorbs further in the infrared light part of the spectrum (red) than other chlorophylls. (Are you blue-green with envy?)

     Chlorophyll f's discovery was made by scientists at the University of Sydney led by Dr. Min Chen. It is the first discovery of a new form of chlorophyll since about the time stromatolites were discovered in Shark Bay. 

        Pop Quiz:

1) Where are these stromatolites? (They are poetically called "Petrified Sea Gardens.")

2) Based on today's post, what are these organic structures called?

3)  Where are these stromatolites? Hint: maple syrup is big here.

4) Let out your inner POETS for PEOTS: Write your best stromatolite haiku, limerick, or any other poetry form. Help celebrate two years of scientists who like to write and writers who like science. . .

Peeling those (not-always round) onion layers,
Steph

Fast and Slow Rates of Tectonic Change: New Zealand and Arizona

     I received an alert from The New York Times today with this "breaking news" about climate change. Temperatures rising slightly less than 2 ° F are certainly cause for concern but, for most scientists it is hardly breaking news. The data are important, though, especially the possible projected rise in mean temperatures by up to 10 °F by the end of this century:

        CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT

    As a focus today, I'd like to compare the relatively quickly-changing tectonic geomorphology of New Zealand to the much slower-changing tectonic geomorphology of Arizona.
Tectonic geomorphology involves the interplay of surface features with underlying tectonics.

     In this geologic map of New Zealand, rates of up to 5 mm uplift per year are noted in red:

      Areas of rapid uplift are marked by active faults, seismic activity, waterfalls, and newly developing stream systems:

     New Zealand sits at the junction of the Australian and New Zealand tectonic plates and displays the features of a rapid convergent plate tectonic zone.

      In contrast, Arizona sits within the North American plate, rather than at the convergence of two plates. The fluvial (river) geomorphology is well developed and integrated. The landscape has had long periods of time to adjust to ancient fault scarps creating well-developed alluvial fans:

     One of the most interesting parts of tectonic geomorphology to me is that features like alluvial fans may also mark places of more rapid uplift, where the alluvium is adjusting to more active uplift as in here in Iran:

     But, back to climate change (you knew I'd get back there, right?), the increased overall temperatures, torrential downpours, and periods of drought are all intimately connected to this skin of our earth. The climate we are changing will inevitably affect the tectonic geomorohology as landscapes adjust to the wide swings in temperature and rainfall.

      Looking forward to your thoughts on this interplay of climate and tectonic geomorphology, all you alluvial fans!

Tectonically,

Word Woman (aka Scientific Steph)

P.S.

Mid May in the Colorado Mountains:

Tortoises, Putnisite, John Cleese, and Better Creativity Tools, According to SCIENCE!

     This week I'd like to start with an article about creativity and writing which is, according to the Fast Company title, backed up by science! It includes tortoises and John Cleese video (With this Monty Python crowd, I imagine "according to Cleese!" may have the same effect as according to Science!)

Here's the link to the full article based on SCIENCE:

          Creativity according to SCIENCE

     Science was the top word Googled, ahem, researched, on the Merriam Webster website last year:

             Top word of 2013 is science

       I imagine editors are happy to see science thrown into a title whenever possible. A quick scan of the Fast Company homepage shows 4 articles containing "according to Science" on the main page. Do not get me wrong, I am happy to see science getting so much press. Although, at times, it seems thrown in a bit gratuitously.(Gratuitous throwing is a real thing in Ultimate Frisbee, a favorite sport for my son, his friends, and dogs):

[The frisbee player and dog in the photo are not related to me though;-)]

      Back to the article...The usual things that help creativity like exercise, sleep, moving on to something else and coming back after a percolation period are well-known, even not according to science. Writing with pen and paper has always been a creative juicer for me...There is something about the physical act of making the letters that a keyboard does not do. And now, I know, according to science, it works. . .

      Mr. Cleese notes that creativity is like a tortoise in that it pokes its head out gingerly to see if it is safe to stay out.

      He speaks of writing a funny sketch, losing the paper it was written on, and then recreating it from memory. When Mr. Cleese found the old sketch, he realized the newer one was much funnier.

      I am going to set this post aside for awhile and see how that percolating works.

      Percolating results:

     Popular Science is an oxymoron these days.

     Gilda Radnor's quote about creativity percolated through: "I can always be distracted by love, but eventually I get horny for my creativity."

      Hope you are having a wonderful Earth Day enjoying science and creativity.

Scientifically!,

Word Woman (Scientific Steph)

Newsflash: Putnisite, a new, soft mineral with an interesting composition has been discovered in Western Australia

Here's the source article from Science News:

                        PUTNISITE