| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
|
| ocean levels | 7/13/2009 | Keith Patton |
Q: Was there even an epoc time when the ocaen levels at the north pole were minimal or non existant?
A: Jeff: I want to make sure that you understand that The ontinents have moved a lot in the past. It ...
|
| Mountains and stability of the earth (crust) | 7/12/2009 | Dr D.Venkat Reddy |
Q: If the mountains doesn't exist or they have not been made at first, and there was no ability for ...
A: Farhad You have to read general geology to understand the crustal configuration.Earh is fored from ...
|
| Boulders | 7/12/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: This may be odd...but I want to use a red surface boulder, what I would describe as rounded, not ...
A: There are many minerals that are red but you probably won't find any large enough for a headstone. ...
|
| unknown rock | 7/11/2009 | Dr D.Venkat Reddy |
Q: I have a 14" almost perfectly round rock, found 500 feet underground in a mine. I have been to ...
A: Rock ur collected at underground mine site appears to be weathered rock.Original rock under the ...
|
| Magnetism? | 7/11/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: I was wondering if some places on earth have more magnetism than other places? Like kind of other ...
A: James, I encourage you to look at the sites I recommended. It is obvious that the strength and ...
|
| Geophysics | 7/11/2009 | Farrukh Qayyum |
Q: and using which software the hydrocarbons flow lines can be found. furthermore would tell me some ...
A: This is a category of Basin Modeling. Broadly speaking, it is a fluid flow modeling within a limited ...
|
| Strange feature | 7/11/2009 | Keith Patton |
Q: I saw this while looking at a Google Earth view of Mozambique. I do not have a clue as to what it ...
A: I believe what you are seeing is a dome formed by the emplacement of a circular granite intrusion ...
|
| heat resistent rock | 7/10/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: I am looking for some rock that can withstand heat. I am building an outdoor fireplace and looking ...
A: Carmen, The problem you are trying to solve is an old one. Long before recorded history a few ...
|
| Iron Minerals | 7/10/2009 | Joe Norris |
Q: Does all stones contain iron minerals to some extent?
A: No, in fact iron (Fe) is rather far down on the scale at number 4 and composing about 5% of the ...
|
| Geodes | 7/8/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: We have a cottage in the tip of the thumb of Michigan on Lake Huron - sunrise side. There are LOTS ...
A: The short answer is, I would not expect to find geodes on your beach. Although they can be found in ...
|
| Bimodal vocanic rocks | 7/7/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: Would you please explain how bimodal vocalnics formed?
A: Bimodal volcanic rocks are formed when both felsic and mafic material is emplaced from a single ...
|
| Magnetism? | 7/7/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: I was wondering if some places on earth have more magnetism than other places? Like kind of other ...
A: James, Our planet's magnetic field varies in intensity and direction everywhere on Earth and both ...
|
| MSc specializing in geothermal | 7/7/2009 | Fraser Hamilton |
Q: Greetings from Malaysia! Dear Mr. Hamilton. I am interested in pursuing my studies in USA; ...
A: Greetings: If your research indicates that SMU is indeed at the forefront of the technology, then ...
|
| South-Eastern Missouri Rock / Mineral ID | 7/6/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: Dr. Bell, I'm hoping you can help me determine the composition and age of this specimen. I found ...
A: Brad, I can't be sure from the picture and description you sent but it looks like a fragment of ...
|
| continental drift | 7/4/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: I would like to know if modern GPS has accurately measured the rate of separation of Europe and ...
A: Glenn, I've done a little research on your question and the answers come as a complete surprise to ...
|
| Pangaea Mountains | 7/4/2009 | Keith Patton |
Q: Let's jump into a time machine and go back to the Carboniferous Period as Pangaea was forming. The ...
A: Mike, First, the Carboniferous only saw the formation of the Southern Appalachians and the ...
|
| Moon Rocks | 7/3/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: Today I had a debate with a co-worker regarding whether or not the United States successfully landed ...
A: Tom, I doubt that you can convince your adversary of the authenticity of the Apollo program and I ...
|
| continental separation | 7/2/2009 | Fraser Hamilton |
Q: Has the GPS system been accurate enough or operating long enough to measure how fast America is ...
A: Glenn: I believe that GPS is accurate enough to make the measurements you refer to, and I am sure it ...
|
| Petroleum Geology | 7/2/2009 | Farrukh Qayyum |
Q: What are reservoir characteristics and what is science of reservoir characterization?
A: The reservoir characteristics are physical and chemical properties that define a reservoir. In order ...
|
| ocean | 7/1/2009 | Farrukh Qayyum |
Q: what factor could cause sea level to rise? and to fall
A: There are tectonic, climatic and astronomical elements that control the changes in a sea level. ...
|
| Limestone | 7/1/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: what do we use limestone for????
A: Bob, Limestone is composed of the mineral calcite which is composed of the elements calcium, ...
|
| mineral identification | 6/30/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: I'm always difficult to tell the difference between biotite amphibole and pyroxene from a rock ...
A: This is a difficult question and, unfortunately the best way to tell the difference is just through ...
|
| Rock | 6/29/2009 | Dr D.Venkat Reddy |
Q: I have this rock and would like to more about it. Found in in Southern California.
A: Rock looks like-conglomerate- Conglomerate rocks are sedimentary rocks. They are made up of large ...
|
| petrified wood | 6/29/2009 | Fraser Hamilton |
Q: I was investigating an area of disrupted ground and found a rock with with a plant growing out of ...
A: Troy: Where did you find this? That is always one of the first things a geologist wants to know. ...
|
| Field Geology | 6/29/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: I often go in the field but I can not recognize the thrust fault. Please explain that how "thrust ...
A: A thrust (or reverse) fault is one in which one side of the fault is pushed up over the other side. ...
|
| Mineral Resources | 6/29/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: How do geologists in the field find clues about the distribution of rock types if they are buried ...
A: Annette, Soil and vegetation obscure bedrock over most of the continents. Never the less, ...
|
| precious minerals | 6/28/2009 | Joe Norris |
Q: My son lives in a rural part of connecticut. He and my grandsons have found rocks, soil,etc. that ...
A: For me to even make an attempt at telling you what kind of rocks that you have, you need to do a few ...
|
| ID rock | 6/28/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: Can you tell me what this rock is? I've never seen one on any of the rough rock sites yet I have ...
A: Nice rock you have there. You don't mention where you are from but I am pretty sure you have a type ...
|
| Rare Earth elements | 6/27/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: Bell. My question concerns Rare earth elements. What are they and are they considered "rare". I ...
A: Tony, Rare Earth elements are not particularly rare at all. Take a look at the chart about half ...
|
| Radiometric Dating | 6/26/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: Bell, I'm an undergraduate student who is working towards a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary ...
A: Tom, The theory upon which radiometric dating is well established and it sounds as if you have a ...
|
| mantle | 6/23/2009 | Keith Patton |
Q: why are some parts of the lower mantle hotter than other parts
A: We don't fully understand why mantle hot spots form. It is believed that thermal plumes develop in ...
|
| Structural Geology | 6/23/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: What is a limb and hinge line?
A: Kashif, These two terms are used to describe geometric elements of folded rocks. To help you ...
|
| rock or meteor | 6/22/2009 | Fraser Hamilton |
Q: i have a rock? i found hiking in the aj az desert and its black and looks melted its about half of a ...
A: Carla: It looks like a piece of volcanic magma, but that would not make sense for where you found ...
|
| depth | 6/22/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: If I dug a 6 foot deep hole in my yard how far back in time would the layers of dirt be. I guess I ...
A: Mark, If you live at the mouth of the Mississippi River, you could have six feet of new 'dirt' in ...
|
| soil temperature | 6/21/2009 | Dr Thomas Bell |
Q: What would the temp be at a ten feet below the surface in zip code area 12134 which in Northville, ...
A: Eric, At that shallow depth, the temperature will vary by season. In general, if the water table ...
|
| Grad school choices for Coastal Geology | 6/19/2009 | Keith Patton |
Q: Our daughter is going to be a senior at Mt Holyoke College where she is a geology major (3.72 gpa), ...
A: Like I mentioned. There is not much money in it. The Corps of Engineers and consulting engineering ...
|
| Grad school choices for Coastal Geology | 6/18/2009 | Keith Patton |
Q: Our daughter is going to be a senior at Mt Holyoke College where she is a geology major (3.72 gpa), ...
A: Don: There are a lot of them. Unversity of South Carolina is one, Old Dominion University in ...
|
| Strange rock | 6/18/2009 | Fraser Hamilton |
Q: I just found a dark green glassy rock, similar to the one Allison found in Tennessee, but I found ...
A: It could be a byproduct from steel making or some other process like that requires very high ...
|
| Strange rock | 6/18/2009 | Fraser Hamilton |
Q: I just found a dark green glassy rock, similar to the one Allison found in Tennessee, but I found ...
A: Enrika: I would guess that what you have is some sort of volcanic glass. I do not know the geology ...
|
| How common is it to find lava rock | 6/18/2009 | C. Robert Reszka, Jr. |
Q: I was gardening in my yard and just below the surface I found what appear to be lava rocks. Now, I ...
A: Your description, jet black, glassy, and hard, could be a couple of things. I would first suspect ...
|
