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Beiträge, die mit MinCup23 getaggt sind
What the heck am I gonna read campaigns about for the next 11 months?...
Thank you, MinCup team, you are the best! 😊
This story has us diving into the Adriatic Sea to look at some very small creatures called foraminifera. Foraminifera are these amazing single-celled organisms that feed with strands of ectoplasm from their cell wall and often build a small shell around themselves from various materials. The microscopic shells can be important markers in the sedimentary record for time and environmental conditions. (I still fondly remember a University undergrad assignment being amazed by the diversity of shell types while spending hours picking through a collection of foraminifera shells under a microscope. It was also a very Zen exercise and pretty everyone in the class spent extra time doing it…).
Somewhere, right now, in the Adriatic Sea there is a species of benthic foraminifera called Psammophaga zirconia that are literally surrounding themselves with #zircon grains. P. zirconia’s specialty is picking zircon grains in the sediment to make it’s shell (see the Sabbatini et al 2016 paper at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299381635_Selective_zircon_accumulation_in_a_new_benthic_foraminifer_Psammophaga_zircona_sp_nov). Not quite sure why, perhaps it’s a buoyancy thing to pick denser minerals stay anchored on the sea floor, but P. zirconia is going to a lot of trouble to select #zircon in particular which isn’t common in the surrounding sediment.
It also has interesting implications for the microfossil record because foraminifera like P. zirconia may have been here since the Precambrian and may have left little accumulations of zircon in ancient sedimentary rocks if we know to look for them. I also think there may be some interesting implications in understanding *how* a single-celled organism is able to differentiate minerals…
So, if Psammophaga zirconia is working hard to pick #zircon, so can you! Vote #zircon in the #MinCup23 final
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-5-match-1
Vote in the Finals
You’ve narrowed the list down from 32 minerals to just these finalists. It’s a study of contrasts between a pair of powerhouse minerals as you select which one will join the elite list of Mineral Cup champions.Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
32 minerals have battled for your hearts, but only one can claim the Championship. Will it be #Zircon, the eternal timekeeper, or #Perovskite, the cubical rain on brown dwarf stars?
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-5-match-1
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-5-match-1
Vote in the Finals
You’ve narrowed the list down from 32 minerals to just these finalists. It’s a study of contrasts between a pair of powerhouse minerals as you select which one will join the elite list of Mineral Cup champions.Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
Ancient eyeliner & antimony ore #Stibnite bewitches with its iridescent blades, while futuristic #Perovskite rains on stars & tantalizes technological possibilities.
Every vote counts in which makes the Finals!
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/campaigns/round-4-match-2
Results:
https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-4-match-2
#MinCup23
It’s a semi-final match for the ages! #Zircon is the undisputed Time Lord of geochronology and #Calcite whispers secrets of ancient climate hidden in the matte part of seashells. Which will it be?
Vote:
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/round-4-match-1
Results:
https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-4-match-1
By IP addresses, we saw on-campus door-to-door campaigns. Nice hustle!
Every #zircon fan knows it has remarkable resilience. It forms as molten magma cools to form igneous rocks and can survive the subsequent exhumation and erosion of that rock to become sand grains to be carried thousands of kilometres down streams and rivers to the oceans.
You may have even seen some. Ever noticed a streak of darker sand on a pale beach? Sometimes it can just be a wisp, sometimes a deep and well-defined layer. This is a placer deposit of resistant minerals like #zircon and companions rutile, magnetite, tourmaline and others. Because these minerals have a higher density (‘heavier’) than the bulk quartz and carbonate sand grains with them, in the right wave conditions they become concentrated as lighter minerals are washed away (think of it like a giant naturally occurring gold pan). In parts of Australia these concentrations of minerals are large enough to be mined as a source of zirconium and titanium oxide.
Simple formula have striking results in this match. Are you cheering for the Borg cubes of #Perovskite (CaTiO3) or indulging in the vibrant pink and red roses of #Rhodochrosite (MnCO3)?
Vote:
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-3-match-4
Results:
https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-3-match-4
Will you dribble acid on bubbly #Calcite or test for directional hardness scratching #Kyanite? Both can't wait to whisper stories of their past, but only one will tell its tale in the semi-finals!
Vote:
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-3-match-3
Results:
https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-3-match-3
Giant-killer #Stibnite grinds against the Mohs hardness 9 #Corundum. Will your love of beauty lead you to the original kohl or the colourful gem?
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-3-match-2
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-3-match-2
#MinCup23
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-3-match-1
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-3-match-1
I posted about the Roses in the Mountains legends here in the last round:
https://ohai.social/@TarkabarkaHolgy/111073175038609971
Vote for underground rose gardens full of rhodochrosite flowers, and legendary Dwarf kingdoms 😄
#folklore #folktales #legends #minerals
Dr. Zalka Csenge Virág (@TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social)
Today's #MinCup23 vote has my favorite: Rhodochrosite! #Thread There's a legend from South Tyrol about King Laurin's Rose Garden. (That part of the Dolomites is actually called Rosengarten).ohai.social
Arsenuranospathite has radioactive uranium nestled in a deadly cocktail of arsenic, while Rhodochrosite is a brilliantly-pink carbonate gem.
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-2-match-8
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-2-match-8
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-2-match-7
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-2-match-7
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/campaigns/round-2-match-6
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-2-match-6
It’s a legendary pair of minerals with a unique set of properties: quicksilver Mercury that tests the definition of a mineral, and double-refracting effervescent Calcite. One is found within thermometers, the other can be used to track the temperatures of ancient seas. Which will rise to the occasion?
Vote:
https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/campaigns/round-2-match-5
Results:
https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-2-match-5
If you thought last round featured some hard battles, we were just getting started! Who wins in the battle of beauty and brawn between #Topaz (Mohs 8) and #Corundum (Mohs 9)?
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/campaigns/campaigns/round-2-match-4
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-2-match-4
I already shared one legend about it (read here: http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2022/04/q-is-for-quartz-crystals-gemstone.html ) but there is also the legend from the Cairngorms about a giant, brilliant smokey quartz crystal on a cliff over Loch Avon. People can see it from afar, but no one can locate it...
#folklore #folktales
It’s a tale involving bear-driven serendipity and some really old #zircon…
Geological mapping in northern Canada is challenging. There are no roads. No coverage. Only a few summer months free of snow and ice. Lots of lakes. 𝙇𝙤𝙩𝙨 of bugs. And bears. They need to fatten up quickly to get through the winter so are always looking for food.
This is a problem for geologists because…
http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com/2016/10/epic-lovers-reunite.html
Basically it is a story of cultures clashing, prejudice, revenge, regret, and reconciliation. The human knights trample King Laurin's rose garden, and get into a battle with the king defending his honor and his property. The story unfolds from here, but the point is, I always imagined King Laurin's kingdom full of rhodochrosite roses...
#MinCup23 #folktales
Epic-Lovers Reunite!
At the end of my one-year mentorship with Cathryn Fairlee, we celebrated with a storytelling concert showcasing some of our favorite epic...multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com
Match 16 pits unashamedly pink #Rhodochrosite against scaly green #Lizardite. Even if the rose-tinted glasses make the grass look greener, you can only pick one!
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-16
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-1-match-16
Round 1 Match 16
It’s your final choice for which mineral continues on to Round 2!Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
I will give Rhodochrosite the art vote. It does appear in jewelry, but really it’s for strictly aesthetic “forbidden bacon” reasons. I mean look at it! #MinCup23
#MinCup23
Pick one: newbie #Sapphirine vs returning #Kyanite.
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-15
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-1-match-15
Round 1 Match 15
Stare into the deep blue depths. Which minerals is staring back?Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
Vote for your favourite here: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-14
Round 1 Match 14
This match is all about friendship: Arsenuranospathite flirts with danger by wrapping radioactive uranium, poisonous arsenic, and touchy fluorine in its watery embrace, while tall, dark, and opaque Neptunite lurks in the shadows with its BFF, 2019 Mi…Mika McKinnon (Mineral Cup)
It’s the glowing party of dangerous elements #Arsenuranospathite against the dark & opaque #Neptunite. You only get one.
Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-1-match-14
Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-1-match-14