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Conophyton amantourartensis Stromatolite Fossil

New collection piece.

This is a rare and scientifically significant specimen of Conophyton amantourartensis, a stromatolite fossil from the Upper Tachgagalt Formation, Ouarzazate Province, Souss-Massa-Draa, Morocco. Dating back to the Late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran, Precambrian, approximately 635-541 million years ago), this stromatolite represents one of the earliest complex microbial reef-building structures in Earth's history. Fossils from this period provide a direct window into pre-Cambrian life and the early biological processes that shaped Earth's ecosystems.

Stromatolites are layered bio-sedimentary structures formed by communities of cyanobacteria (like algae) and other microorganisms. Over time, these microbial mats get trapped fine sediment, creating distinctive laminated domes, cones, and columns. Stromatolites are among the earliest evidence of life on Earth, with examples dating back over 3.5 billion years. By the Ediacaran, stromatolites like Conophyton had reached a high degree of morphological diversity and ecological importance, contributing to carbonate reef development long before corals evolved

#fossil #Ediacaran #Conophyton #Stromatolites #cyanobacteria #Precambrian #pre-Cambrian #rare fossil #rare #rare fossils #unique #geology #sea minerals #science #history #gorgeous #coral #coral reef #coral reef formation

This stunning gypsum selenite baclava/lasagna belongs to Phillip Rendina, it was shared on Facebook, and boy aren't we jealous! We thought you needed to see it too.

#selenite #selenite gypsum #gypsum selenite #gypsum #geology #minerals #unique #baclava mineral #lasagna mineral #unique mineral #stunning #stunning mineral #amazing mineral #orange Mineral #spike #spikes #colour #yellow #gorgeous

My first cave.

Armed with nothing more than my non-expensive basic instant film camera, a hard hat, coat and a torch. Aged 8, I descended into the heart of the Blue John Cave in Treak Cliff Cavern at Castleton in Derbyshire.

This is where I discovered my love of geology and minerals.

Photos are ones I took back in 1998 of the underground limestone cave formations. No one knows who the tour guide is but I like the photo I took of him. He has magnificent nostrils from this angle.

I tried to go back to the Treak Cliff Cavern in 2024 but unfortunately, I was unable to as an adult because I have worse acrophobia than I ever had as a kid, so I couldn't face the exit height on the way out and had a panic attack at the cave entrance and never made it in.

For now my cave days are over until I get a grip of my acrophobia, I they're not over for good as I love caves and seeing all the cool formations. I'd also like to see if I could spot any small details that have changed in the almost thirty years since I went as a kid.

Speleothems (stalactites and stalagmites) will typically grow between 0.13 mm to 3.0 mm per year. So over three decades, this adds up to about 4 mm to 9 cm of growth, which would have been really cool to see.

One day.

#geology #cave #Treak Cliff Cavern #blue John #fluorite #British caves #English caves #90s #90s kid #instant camera

Mammoth Cave Data Centre

There are plans to put a 1000 acre data center in Kentucky.

This isn’t just any space they're planning either, it’s planned for the exit of Mammoth Cave National Park. The world’s longest cave systems, with more than 400 miles explored, diverse unique and protected wildlife and it's one of the oldest tour attractions in North America.

As of Monday 18th May, Cave City leaders voted four- to-one, approving the first of two required readings of a moratorium that would block data center permit applications for one year. Now there is a year's long moratorium in process. Be loud, make noise, get more and more Cave City people to show up to town hall meetings than there are already (which is a good number).

The cave network began forming roughly 330 million years ago. Indigenous people began exploring and mining minerals from the cave's dark depths at least 5,000 years ago.

Because the cave is pitch-black, it is home to uniquely adapted eyeless and colorless creatures, including the Kentucky cave shrimp and the southern cavefish.

This data centre also affects one most biologically diverse water systems in America, The Green River, which flows into the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and supports wildlife and millions of people with drinking water and farming.

There is also concern that the lack of power and surface water, as well as vibrations over the sinkhole plain makes this area even more dangerous, yet they're desperately pushing for it.

What about Mammoth Caves dark sky certification? Data centers are bright and loud. This would completely ruin the brilliant stargazing opportunities there.

The data centre will harm and potentially kill the bats that live in that cave which are essential to the ecosystem and protected under the endangered species act, all bats are federally protected.

For a video on how dangerous and disruptive sound from these data centres can be check out this video from Benn Jordan here.