Capturing Australia’s Outback in 3-D: Part 2

Intro: Arguably the most famous landscape of Australia, I got to venture into the heart of the outback “red centre” as part of a geology-photography project (AusGeol). Our journey captures multiple meteor impact craters (!!), the famous Uluru (aka Ayer’s rock), Kata Tjuṯa (aka the Olgas), King’s Canyon and more! This post is Part 2 of 2, which goes from Alice Spring to Uluru and back, you can check out my first post here (Capturing Australia’s Outback in 3-D: Part 1), which covers from Darwin to Alice Springs.

Outlined path of part 2 through the Northern Territory, Australia

The project is part of the University of Tasmania, led by Dr. Michael Roach, with funding from the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching and partner institutions. Every captured geological outcrop is made freely available on the website http://www.ausgeol.org/, with an extensive virtual library that has a diverse selection of well-documented examples of important geological features to assist in the development of student geological field skills. For examples of my sites in the N.T. as well as others through Australia, check out the atlas http://www.ausgeol.org/atlas/.

How this was done was using a regular DSLR camera and a UAV (drone) to basically take multiple photos from different angles of a rock outcrop or feature of interest. Then, as long as a GPS point was recorded and a scale with a north direction evident, we can turn these mosaics of images into a 3-D model (using a program called AgiSoft photoscan), or into full spherical panoramas (e.g., Google street-style stuff). Unfortunately drones aren’t allowed in some areas (like around Uluru), so we had to just capture full spherical panoramas or outcrop-scale examples there.

“Un-rolled” full-spherical panorama of Uluru (Ayer’s rock) and Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas) – Northern Territory, Australia

Unfortunately some areas were “no drone zones” at Uluru – Northern Territory, Australia

The trip – part 2 (Alice Spring to Uluru and back)

Outline of path from Alice Spring (middle) to Uluru (southwest), and back again, on a simplified geological map of the Northern Territory – Australia (Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2006)

For a brief into the Northern Territory and its geology, check out my first post (Capturing Australia’s Outback in 3-D: Part 1), which has a nice summary of Ahmad and Scrimgeour (2013). Following the adventures in part 1, we headed from Alice Springs and went south toward Ulura, along the Stuart Highway (i.e., #1/#87), into the Amadeus Basin.

Henbury Meteorite Craters

A pretty incredible side trip to the west along the highway is a large hole in the ground called Henbury. This is actually a 180 m wide crater formed 4,000 years ago by a meteor travelling at 40,000 km/hour. Pretty neat eh?! The area is known as the Henbury Meteorite Craters* in the Northern Territory, Australia (*craters because it is a coalescence of multiple small meteorite impacts, rather than just one big one). Below is the 3-D aerial photo I took from a UAV which lets you see the crater quite well. Click on the “play” button to check it out (but wait a few seconds while the HD resolution loads).

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Henbury meteorite crater – Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of the Henbury meteorite impact crater, Northern Territory, Australia (HENBUAV1, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

Uluru (also known as Ayer’s rock)

Several more hours along the highway you enter the “Red Centre”, and Mt. Connor is there to greet you as a red heron (lots of people are fooled by this initially on the horizon, I was even fooled by it as we drove up from the distance). Nevertheless, in about 100 more kms you reach the true Uluru (also known as Ayer’s rock), Australia’s most famous rock.

Mount Conner, a red heron on the way to Uluru – Northern Territory, Australia

Uluru (aka Ayer’s rock) glowing at sunset – Northern Territory, Australia

Uluru is made up of the Mututjulu Arkose geological unit in the Amadeus Basin Province (i.e., fine- to medium-grained sandstone to arkose). You can see the sub-vertical layers and ribs that have been amplified by years and years of erosion.

Uluru is actually tilted on its side by 90°, and is only the tip of a huge body of rock that continues for possibly 5 to 6 km below the surface! Uluru is the remnant of an 550 million year old sandy fan from an ancient mountain range. The sand was covered by a sea ~ 500 m.y. and the weight compressed the sand to form sandstone. Some millions of years later, after the ancient sea was gone, immense tectonic forces caused areas of Australia to be folded and tilted. Thus what we see today is Uluru tilted 90° from its original position.

The actual colour of Uluru is grey sandstone, but it has turned to orange/red on the surface due to iron in the sandstone that oxidizes (rusts) overtime.

Uluru (aka Ayer’s rock) is tilted 90° from its original position – Northern Territory, Australia

“The wave” (aka a sub-vertical trough cross-beds in Mutitjulu Arkose) Uluru, (aka Ayer’s rock) – Northern Territory, Australia

“The wave”, the actual colour of Uluru is grey sandstone, but it has turned to orange/red on the surface due to iron in the sandstone that oxidizes (rusts) overtime.

Linked 3-D image of “the wave” (aka sub-vertical trough in Mutitjulu Arkose) at Ulura (aka Ayer’s rock), Northern Territory, Australia (ULURU3, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

Kata Tjuta (also known as the Olgas)

Beside Uluru are a series of large “bumps” called Kata Tjuṯa (also known as the Olgas). They are the lesser-known cousins of Uluru, and consist of several large outcrops composed of coarse-grained conglomerate (as opposed to the typical fine-grained sandstone of Uluru). Kata Tjuṯa literally meaning “many heads”, and it isn’t hard to imaging seeing the conglomerate domes. They, like Uluru, have been subjected to millions of years of erosion in the Northern Territory “red centre”.

Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas) at sunset – Northern Territory, Australia

Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas) – Northern Territory, Australia

The coarse-grained conglomerate of the Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas) – Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of the coarse-grained conglomerate of the Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas), Northern Territory, Australia (OLGA1, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

King’s Canyon, Watarrka

Heading north from Uluru is the Watarrka National Park. Herein lies King’s Canyon, which is a stunning sandstone canyon that has the most spectacular cross-beds and ripple marks. There was once a shallow sea ~ 440 million years ago at King’s Canyon. Eventually the sea retreated and land was uplifted, changing the environment to a desert with windswept plains and sand dunes at ~ 400 million years ago. Now what we see exposed along King’s Canyon are remnants of these environments, with the stunning cross-bedded 400 Ma Mereenie sandstone overlying the 440 Ma Carmichael sandstone.

Sunset near King’s Canyon, Watarrka National Park – Northern Territory, Australia

A glance over the canyon toward beautiful cross-bedded sandstone cliffs at King’s Canyon, Watarrka National Park – Northern Territory, Australia

Cross-beds exposed on the cliffs at King’s Canyon, Watarrka National Park – Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of cross-beds in Mereenie Sandstone at King’s Canyon, Watarrka National Park, Northern Territory, Australia (KINGS1, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

Linked 3-D image of ripple marks in Mereenie Sandstone at King’s Canyon, Watarrka National Park, Northern Territory, Australia (KINGS5, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

Gosse Bluff (Tnorala)

A (sketchy) 4-wheel drive north up the Mereenie road leds you to the West MacDonnell Ranges. On the way to the ranges is another hole in the ground. Except this one is enormous!! It is known as Gosse Bluff (Tnorala). It is the remains of a giant comet* impact (*note it was a comet, and not a meteorite like Henbury was). Gosse Bluff is a 5 km wide crater which is the remnant inner core of a massive comet impact that occurred ~ 143 million years ago. It is best to see it from way above actually (i.e., Google Earth). Inside the crater is the remnants of this impact, including shatter cones and rocks that have been tilted sub-vertical from their original position due to the impact.

Gosse Bluff comet impact crater – Northern Territory, Australia (source: Google)

Inside Gosse Bluff comet impact crater – Northern Territory, Australia

Gosse Bluff comet impact crater from afar – Northern Territory, Australia

West MacDonnell Range

The West MacDonnell Range features some pretty gorgeous gorges, such as Ormiston Gorge with exposures of the Heavitree quartzite and complex folds and thrust faults. Along the ranges is also the Ochre Pits. These are layered sediments with stunning colours due to oxidation (i.e., exposure to the surface/oxygen) of the fine-grained clays (red = hematite, yellow = limonite and white = kaolinite). Ellery Creek Big Hole offers some neat sedimentary units and structures, such as stromatolite and great examples of de-watering structures in the red sandstone. Lastly, we went to Simpson Gap, just west of Alice Springs. Exposed here is the ever-so-abundant Neoproterozoic Heavitree quartzite rock unconformably overlies the Paleoproterozic metasediments.

Ormiston Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia

Oxidised clays/fine-grained sediments of the Ochre Pits, Northern Territory, Australia. Red (hematite), white (kaolinite) and yellow (limonite) layers.

Linked 3-D image of oxidised clays/fine-grained sediments of the Ochre Pits, Northern Territory, Australia. Red (hematite), white (kaolinite) and yellow (limonite) layers (OCHRE1, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

Linked 3-D image of de-watering structures in red sandstone. Ellery Creek Big Hole. West MacDonnell National Park, Northern Territory (ELERY13, by AusGeol.org, on Sketchfab).

Simpson Gap, Northern Territory, Australia

Final thoughts: The Northern Territory is a very huge place, and it gives a new meaning to things being “not-far”… For such a flat country, it sure does have some very diverse rocks and landscapes. The red centre has an enchanting aurora, and it is no wonder that Uluru is so famous, it is a glowing statue in a vast, flat plain. Getting to see and capture some of the extraterrestrial impact crater sites was truly “out of this world” (sorry!), and both King’s Canyon and West MacDonnell Range offer stunning exposures.

Overall, being a part of the 3-D photography project was an awesome experience, and hopefully now anyone can at least see and learn a bit more about Australian geology in the Northern Territory.

Cheers,

-Stephanie

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Walking toward Kata Tjuṯa (the Olgas) at sunrise – Northern Territory, Australia

A selfie in the Northern Territory, just ’cause…

Last day in the outback, Northern Territory, Australia, with the gear truck in the distance

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Capturing Australia’s Outback in 3-D: Part 1

Intro: I recently got to take part in a neat project, called AusGeol, which provides a repository of digital geological teaching and learning resources that documents the diverse geology of Australia. A colleague and I were assigned the task of visiting the Northern Territory (N.T.) to document (through photography) some interesting and important geological sites. In this 2-part blog post I will be sharing some of the geology of the Northern Territory with regular photos and embed links to the 3-D examples.

Outlined path of part 1 through the Northern Territory, Australia (Google Earth, 2017)

The work was done using a regular DSLR camera and a UAV (drone) to basically take multiple photos from different angles of a rock outcrop or feature of interest. Then, as long as a GPS point was recorded and a scale with a north direction evident, we can turn these mosaics of images into a 3-D model (using a program called AgiSoft photoscan), or into full spherical panoramas (e.g., Google street-style stuff).

Myself in the Northern Territory, Australia, outback with some of our camera equipment.

Our vehicle and campsite for the night – Northern Territory, Australia

Making the most out of one campsite with a power outlet to charge… everything (haha)

The program is part of the University of Tasmania, led by Dr. Michael Roach, with funding from the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching and partner institutions. Every captured geological outcrop is made freely available on the website http://www.ausgeol.org/, with an extensive virtual library that has a diverse selection of well-documented examples of important geological features to assist in the development of student geological field skills. For examples of my sites in the N.T. as well as others through Australia, check out the atlas http://www.ausgeol.org/atlas/.

Brief intro to Northern Territory

Geology, Northern Territory, Australia, Simplified map, map, NT

Geological map of the Northern Territory, Australia (Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2006)

The N.T. comprises ~ 13% of the Australian continent. It is underlain by the North Australian Craton, and it is dominantly Palaeoproterozic in age (~ 1.8 billion years old), with some Archean basement ‘inliers’ (Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2013). Along with the Palaeoproterozoic basins and orogens (i.e., North Australian Platform Cover and Orogenic Domains), there are large Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic sedimentary basins (i.e., Central Australian Platform Cover and Younger basins). Geological regions of the N.T. are broken into “provinces” or “basins” which are areas with distinct geological characteristics and ages; they are separated from one another by major structures and/or unconformities (Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2013).

Outline of path from north (Darwin) to south (Alice Spring) on a simplified geological map of the Northern Territory - Australia (Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2006)

Craton boundaries of Australia (from Ahmad and Scrimgeour, and references therein, 2006)

The trip – part 1 (Darwin to Alice Springs)

Outline of path from north (Darwin) to south (Alice Spring) on a simplified geological map of the Northern Territory – Australia (Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2006)

The Northern Territory is a big place… in total we drove over 4,000 km in ~ 3 weeks! Thus I will only go through some places in these posts, with some of my favorite digital captures! This was largely done going down the Stuart Highway (known as “the track”) until just before Alice Springs, in which several detours were then taken to the west and east.

“The Track” (i.e., Stuart Highway, Northern Territory, Australia)

Katherine Gorge

Starting from the north, not too far south from Darwin, is the Katherine Gorge, a popular destination for tourists as it is quite beautiful and offers lots of hiking, swimming, sightseeing, etc.! Though I didn’t do any of this though (haha), as we had to move fast to cover the N.T., we still managed to capture some of the stunning coarse-grained conglomerates of rounded boulders and cobbles that make up the gorge, as well as views of the banded sandstones along the riverside (~ Paleoproterozic 1.7 billion years old).

Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia

Coarse-grained conglomerate rocks of the Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of the coarse-grained conglomerate rocks of the Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia (Kath1,by AusGeol.org on Sketchfab)

Davenport Range

Continuing further south is the Davenport Range. This is best seen from the sky actually, and with geophysical goggles on! The range is part of the large Wauchope Fold Belt. It is composed of folded succession of shallow marine sedimentary rocks and volcanics that have gone under greenschist metamorphism. The mafic amphiboles units and very magnetic, which can be seen quite well in an air-magnetic photo!

Satellite and geophysical magnetics image of the Davenport Range, Northern Territory, Australia (modified from Google, 2017, and Ahmad and Scrimgeour, 2006)

Devil’s Marbles (Karlu Karlu)

Some odd, round boulders in the middle of the N.T. outback (along the “track”, i.e., Stuart Highway) are known as the Devil’s Marbles (Karlu Karlu), and are a popular stop. The Devil’s Marbles are a “nubbin”. That is, they are residual boulders and blocks from the top “layer” of a large granite body that has undergone exfoliation weathering.

Basically, molten magma solidified and formed granite beneath and within thick sandstone layers ~1.7 billion years ago. Joints and crack formed within the granite when it was uplifted closer to the surface and the sandstone was eroded away. Water penetrated the cracks and preferentially weathered them creating more prominent blocks. The curved, domal surface is a characteristic feature of granites called “onion skin” weathering (for more info on this features, check out my Freycinet, Tasmania or Rio, Brazil posts).

Devil’s Marbles, Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of the Devil’s Marbles taken from a UAV (DEVMUAV1, by AusGeol.org on Sketchfab)

Alieron Station and Reynold’s Range

Nearby the Alieron Station is the Paleoproterozoic Reynold’s Range (part of the Aileron Province). Some pretty spectacular folds and structures are found here! Some examples included parasitic folds, mixed felsic-mafic orthogneiss, coarse-grained granitic augen gneiss and cordierite granulite!

“Gniess” rocks of the Reynolds Range near Alieron station, Northern Territory, Australia

Harts Range

Next we headed east, pass Mudtank (a famous gem fossicking area), into the Harts Range and Etna dome. Here some of the river-bed sands in the Harts Range are composed of gemstones! That is, they are full of garnet from eroded rocks of the Harts Range Metamorhpic Complex, which is full of garnet-biotite gneiss. Rocks here are part of the Irindina Province and are quite younger (i.e., Neoproterozoic in age) than surrounding provinces.

Gemstone river-bed sands (i.e., garnet) in the Harts Range, Northern Territory, Australia

Cross-section of a garnet porphyroblast in a biotite-garnet gneiss, Harts Range, Northern Territory, Australia

Ross River D’hala Gorge

Leaving the metamorphic Harts Range, we entered the extensive Amadeus Basin on an east to west transect towards Alice Spring. Rocks here are of a more sedimentary flavor, with the ~ 800 Ma Bitter Springs formations dominating the landscape with beautiful overturned folded mountain faces, and synformal layers of interbedded sandstone/siltstone and dolostone/limestone of the ~500 Ma Goyder Formation, near Ross River D’hala Gorge.

Apparent synform of sandstone/siltstone and limestone/dolostone rocks of the Goyder Formation, N’Dala Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of overturned folded rocks of the Bitter Springs Formation, Northern Territory, Australia, taken from a UAV (AMADUAV1, by AusGeol.org on Sketchfab)

Trephina Gorge, Gaps… and Mordor!

Lastly, we approached Trephina Gorge which is full of the Heavitree quartzite (~ 700 million year old). The Heavitree formation composes a prominent range around Alice Springs and with a handful of narrow openings in the range known as “gaps” (such as the Emily and Jessie Gap and The Gap).

Sunset illuminates teh quartzite bluff at Trephina Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia

Emily and Jessie’s Gap near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Linked 3-D image of the Heavitree quartzite at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, taken from a UAV (AMADUAV2, by AusGeol.org on Sketchfab).

From a high point in Trephina Gorge you can look to the south and see the Mordor Pound (which is a small mafic igneous complex). I really wanted to go to it in person, but apparently “one does not simply walk into Mordor”…

One does not simply walk into Mordor… (i.e., Mordor Pound/mafic igneous complex, Northern Territory, Australia)

Final thoughts: The journey from Darwin to Alice Spring (with major side detours) offers a surprising diverse range of landscapes and geology for land that is relatively big and flat. This was my first experience in the true Australian outback, and coming from Canada and Tasmania it was definitely something completely different and I’m lucky that I was able to experience this unique Australian landscape and capture it digitally for others along the way. Don’t forget to check out www.ausgeol.org/atlas for more sites in the Northern Territory and throughout Australia, and stay tuned for part 2 of this post which will be Alice Spring to Uluru and beyond!

Cheers, Stephanie

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Sunset in outback Northern Territory, Australia

A hidden lake in the mountains of Tasmania

Intro: Hidden away in the southwest of Tasmania is one of the most beautiful places, Lake Rhona. This is a little lake (~ 300 m²) in the mountains surrounded by some neat rocks, in a pretty interesting geological area. It takes a bit of a bushwalking (i.e., hiking) effort to get to, but is well worth it if you predict the weather and choose your days wisely!

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Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

Reflections on Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

Getting there

Location of Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia (source: Google)

The hike to Lake Rhona starts well in the temperate rainforest setting of the Florentine Valley. I won’t describe how to do the trek to Rhona in detail (lots of other websites do this already!), but some highlights include:

(1) A substantial crossing of the Gordon River (with a conveniently placed fallen down tree that allows a dry-sock crossing).

(2) A never-ending marsh (that will ensure your dry socks now are wet and muddy).

(3) A breathtaking (literally) ascent up a never-ending moraine.

(4) A breaktaking (not-so-literally) glimpse of Lake Rhona at the very end right before you descend to the white-sand beach for camp.

A conveniently placed, fallen down tree that allows a dry-sock crossing of the Gordon River, Tasmania, Australia

Science spiel

Large, folded structures encompass the surroundings of Lake Rhona, Tasmania, Australia (source: Google)

Lake Rhona sits in a pretty neat geological place. From an aerial view (i.e., check out Google) it is contained within a large folded structure. These structures are from the Tyennan Orogeny, which was a complex, multistage deformation event that affected most of western Tasmania (Crawford and Berry, 1992; Crawford et al., 2003; Crawford, 2005). The underlying rocks of Lake Rhona are Pre-Cambrian quartzites, like that exposed at Frenchman’s Cap (check out my post “A Tasmanian “bushwalk” to a sturdy Frenchman’s Cap” for more info on them). They belong to the Tyennan block, equivalent to the Rocky Cape Group in the northwest (which has seen less degrees of metamorphism). The quartzites aren’t seen at the lake, but the beautiful white quartz sand is derived from these rocks.

Reflections of Reeds Peak (1290 m) on Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

A good perspective of the eastward-dipping conglomerates that make up the mountains, Bonds Craig (1260 m), Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

The lake itself is a tärn (or corrie loch), which is a small bowl-shaped pool formed in a cirque (i.e., an amphitheatre formed by erosion via glaciers). The surrounding mountains of Lake Rhona are eastward-dipping conglomerates. In particular, they belong to the Owen Group and are mostly a fluvial to shallow marine succession that was derived from uplifted Precambrain quartzites in the Ordovician. The conglomerates make up the peaks that surround the lake, such as Reeds Peak (1290 m) and Bonds Craig (1260 m). This peak make a fun day walk to do at Lake Rhona, and since they are over 1100 m high they are classified as Abels (i.e., a classification of the highest mountains in Tasmania (i.e. over 1100 m), named after the discovered of Tasmania, Abel Tasman; check out “The Abel mountains of Tasmania” for more info).

A peek of Reeds Peak (1290 m) from Bonds Craig (1260 m), Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

A sort-of lonely mountain in the distance (Frenchman’s Cap – 1443 m), as seen from the top of Reeds Peaks (1290 m ), Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

Final thoughts

While it may be a long, tough and muddy walk to get there, the destination is definitely worth the effort. It’s pretty neat to be able to camp on a beautiful white quartz sand beach in the middle of the mountains with basically no one else there! Waking up in the morning and seeing the striking conglomerate mountains reflecting off the glass lake is truly breathtaking, and swimming in the lake after a long hike is quite the reward seldom given by mountain hikes. Lake Rhona is a neat and unique place in Tassie, and I had it on my list for a while. I snuck it in on my last days in Tassie, and it didn’t disappoint and was worth the effort and wait.

-Stephanie

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Some flora taking the focus away from Reeds Peak (i.e., Lake Rhona) in the distance – Tasmania, Australia

The flora is still trying to take the focus away from Reeds Peak/Lake Rhona it seems!

…and again! View from the top of the moraine right before you ascend to Lake Rhona – Tasmania, Australia

Lake Rhona, Tasmania, Australia

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Scientific communication and “diamonds” on Flinders Island, Tasmania

Intro: Science is pretty cool, and so is being a scientist. This is what I (and most other scientists) think at least. However, the further you continue your studies in science, the more specialized you get… and the more specialized you get, the harder it becomes to explain all the neat and cool science to people (whether it be the general public, scientists in other fields of study, and sometimes even scientists in your own field). This is thus the purpose and importance of scientific communication!

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Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia

I try and do this consistently with my blog, and recently I was involved in a local program called Young Tassie Scientists. I, along with a number of other young PhD students and post-docs, got to visit various schools throughout Tasmania and share a bit about myself and my science to kids. As part of this I also got to visit Flinders Island. In this short blog I will briefly share some scientific communications experience, and a bit of the background and how to find the infamous Killiecrankie “diamond” of on the beaches of Flinders Island.

Young Tassie Scientists, 2016!

Science Spiel: Communication and “Diamonds”

Communicating science is all about knowing who the audience is… in other word, “who are the people you are trying to convey your science to?”. This will help you decide what kind of background concepts you can skip over, and what sort of jargon you should use. For example, in this blog I try to be quite general and explain things so you don’t need to know much about geology to follow along.

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Examples of some of my presentation slides for the kids, as part of the Young Tassie Scientists

When I was visiting schools I had to deal with both young and old kids (i.e., kindergarten to year/grade 10s), thus my presentations had to be modified accordingly. For the older kids I went through my powerpoint presentation and into detail more about the rock cycle, geology and minerals, with an emphasis on the profession of geologist and how neat it is in terms of allowing you to explore and travel the earth and understand it as you go. For younger kids, will I still had a presentation, I mainly relied on interactive stuff like showing rock hand samples and demonstrating properties of certain minerals/rocks. Little kids love minerals and always have lots of questions!

Young Tassie Scientists, Science, Scientific Communication, Flinders Island

Myself (back-right row wearing the hat), and three other “Young Tassie Scientists” on the way to Flinders Island – Tasmania, Australia

I got to do this in various schools around mainland Tassie, but we also got a treat in visiting the one school on Flinders Island. Not only is Flinders Island home to stunning granite landscapes and some pretty bright kids, it also has “diamond”-laden beaches!

Devonian granites (fore- and background) at Strzelecki national park in Flinders Island – Tasmania, Australia

The Killiecrankie diamond are misleadingly named, as they are not actual diamonds. They are in fact the mineral topaz (Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂). Topaz is also a precious gem, but not quite as rare and valued as diamonds (not to mention formed in a completely different way). The Killiecrankie topaz is from pegmatitic, or ultra-fractionated granites on Flinders. The dominant rock of Flinders Island is granite, and is part of the same Devonian (~ 360 Ma) granite belt that composes the Bay of Fires and Freycinet. The most famous granite mountain on Flinders is Mt. Strzelecki.

Close-up view of the megacrystic granite of Flinders Island – Tasmania, Australia

Devonian granites (fore- and background) near Strzelecki National Park in Flinders Island – Tasmania, Australia

Killiecrankie Bay, Flinders Island – Tasmania, Australia

With time, the granites and coarse-grained pegmatites get weathered and eroded, and thus the Killiecrankie diamonds get concentrated in gravels and sands along Flinders Island. Since the “diamonds” are actually topaz, they are heavier than most other minerals and rock fragments. So in order to collect them, all you need in a sieve or pan to concentrate the heavy minerals at the bottom (i.e., just like panning for sapphires). The Killiecrankie Bay in the north of Flinders Island is a designated fossicking area, so it is open to the public to go and try your luck!

Examples of Killiecrankie diamonds (from visitflindersisland.com.au/).

Final Thoughts: Scientific communication not only is important, but also can be very fun! It is rewarding to be able to inspire kids to go into the field of science and to keep them curious, and also educate the young and old of some neat stuff that isn’t always in the mainstream media. Being of part of the Young Tassie Scientists was a great opportunity to do this in my home-away-from-home state of Tasmania. Getting to visit Flinders Island was also an amazing bonus! The island is beautiful, wild and rugged, with very lovely locals; I would recommend anyone to visit it given the chance. You may even find some “diamonds” while you’re there…

-Stephanie

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Sunset over Mt. Strzelecki – Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia

Myself on Flinders Island as part of a visit of the Young Tassie Scientists

How to explore Iceland through the eyes of a geologist: Part 3 – Glaciers and volcanoes of the centre and south

Intro: The last part of my Iceland geology blog series ventures from the centre to the south of the island. These areas contain the youngest rocks in Iceland (i.e., Nornahraun 2014/15 lava field), glacier-covered volcanoes (i.e., Vatnajökull), geothermal altered mountains (i.e., Landmannaluagar) and the scar of one of the most violent eruptions ever (i.e., Laki)!

This post is part 3 in the continuation of my series “How to explore Iceland through the eyes of a geologist” which is based on the field trip to Iceland that I co-organized as part of our university’s SEG student chapter. For an intro to the geology and tectonic setting of Iceland, check out my first post here and my second post here.

Areas outlined in my 3-part blog post series “How to explore Iceland through the eyes of a geologist”

Part 1: A Land of Ice and Fire

(Intro to Iceland, Reykjavík, the Golden Circle, Snæfellsnes Peninsula)
Part 2: Volcanic Landscapes of the North

(Mývatn, Dimmuborgir, Krafla, Námafjall, and Askja)
Part 3: Glaciers and Volcanoes of the South

(Nornahraun 2014/15 lava field, Central Highlands, Landmannaluagar, Laki, Vík)

Part 3: Glaciers and Volcanoes of the South

There are some pretty hairy river crossings when traveling through the north centre of Iceland. The main road is F88 and requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle… and a bit of courage. These roads are also frequently closed due to floods and bad conditions, so make sure to check ahead of time if it’s good to go.

River crossing on the F88 road, on the way to the central highlands area of Iceland.

Holuhraun (aka. Nornahraun) lava field

The Bárðarbunga volcanic system (Jóhannesson and Sæmundsson, 1998)

The most recent eruption in Iceland was part of the 190 km long Bárðarbunga volcanic system, located in the rift zone part of the Eastern Volcanic Zone. One third of the volcanic system lies below the Vatnajökull ice cap. On August 16^th 2014, intense earthquake swarms associated with magmatic activity and deformation were detected at the Bárðarbunga system (Sigmundsson et al., 2014). Over the next 13 days dykes propagated 45 km northeast to the Holuhraun lava field where it breached the surface and formed a small 4 hour effusive eruption (Dumont et al., 2015). A couple days later, more intense gas-rich eruptions started and continued until February 27^th 2015. What remains now is a tholeiite basalt lava field that is more than 84 km². Textures of the lava vary from a’a to slabby pahoehoe (Lavallee et al., 2015).

Steam from the contact of the Holuhraun lava field with a river – Bárðarbunga volcanic system, Iceland

Walking over the Holuhraun lava field of the Bárðarbunga volcanic system – Iceland

A’a texture of the Holuhraun lava field of the Bárðarbunga volcanic system – Iceland

The volcanic eruption also produced large amounts of wind-spun, thread-like tephra known as Pele’s hair. In Icelandic, Pele’s hair is known as Nornahár, which means “witches’ hair”, and thus the new official name of the lava field is Nornahraun or “witches’ lava” (Thordarson, 2015).

Pele’s hair, known as Nornahár in Icelandic, which means “witches’ hair” – Holuhraun lava field of the Bárðarbunga volcanic system, Iceland

People walking in the geothermal water from the contact of the Holuhraun lava field with a river – Bárðarbunga volcanic system, Iceland

Ice caps and glaciers

Heading south through the interior of Iceland reveals some of the most amazing glaciers and ice caps. The largest glacier, which covers a fair bit of Iceland, is Vatnajökull. Two of the other large glaciers are Mýrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull. Active volcanoes are often underneath these ice caps. Eyjafjallajökull (a tongue twister of a name to pronounce), for example, is where the infamous 2010 eruption occurred. This dispersed volcanic ash into the atmosphere which eventually reached Europe and caused a shut down in air traffic for a week! Recently there have been reports on some rumbling at the even larger neighboring Katla volcano…

Vatnajökull ice cap in the highlands region of Iceland. it extends as far as the eye can see, and can quite possibly be mistaken for the sea if you didn’t know better!

An outlet glacier from the Vatnajökull ice cap, in the central highlands area of Iceland

Further along south is the 8 km long Sólheimajökull temperate outlet glacier, which descends from ~ 1500 m at its parent glacier Mýrdalsjökull, to ~ 100 m (Russell et al., 2010).

Sólheimajökull temperate outlet glacier – south Iceland

Landmannalaugar

Landmannalaugar (yet another Icelandic name that is a mouthful to pronounce), is a geothermally active area in Iceland know for its amazing colourful mountains. Whereas most of Iceland is composed of mafic rocks, the Landmannalaugar area (i.e., within the Torfajökull central volcanic complex) has the most silicic rocks in Iceland. It has been active for ~ 1 million years, and more than 250 km³ of rhyolite has been erupted in numerous, mostly sub-glacial eruptions (Sæmundsson, 1972; McGarvie, 1985). An example of one of the rhyolitic mountains is Bláhnjúkur. Bláhnjúkur formed by a sub-glacial rhyolitic eruption, which overlaid older rhyolite.

Hydrothermally altered rhyolitic mountains of Landmannalaugar, southern Iceland

Driving toward Landmannalaugar, Iceland

Bright colours on the geothermally altered Landmannalaugar mountains – southern Iceland

The Námshraun lava flow at Landmannalaugar is an interesting mixed compositions lava flow. It is a mixed rhyolite-basalt composition. It is volumetrically dominated by metaluminous rhyolite, with sub-decimetre scale inclusions of icelandite and basaltic icelandite, which may have increased the temperature of the original magma and influenced its rheology (Wilson et al., 2007).

Námshraun lava flow entering the lake – Landmannalaugar, Iceland

Close up of the mixed composition (i.e., rhyolite-basalt) Námshraun lava flow at Landmannalaugar – Iceland

Neat Icelandic moss growing over the mixed composition (i.e., rhyolite-basalt) Námshraun lava flow at Landmannalaugar – Iceland

Laki

Geological map of the Laki lava field (Hamilton et al., 2010)

Laki is one of the most impressive sites in Iceland, as here remains the preserved scar that really gives you a sense of how destructive these volcanic eruptions can be. The Laki fissure eruption occurred over an 8 month period in 1783 to 1784. It occurred along ten en-echelon fissure segments that opened toward the northeast to form a 27 km long cone row. There were over 140 eruption sites which include scoria cones, spatter cones, and tuff cones. The most common features are the scoria cones (40 to 120 m high) which consist of several thick (2 to 15 m) scoria fall layers, and capped by a thin (0.5 to 1.5 m ) spatter layer (Thordarson and Self, 2003).

Overview of the Laki fissures from the 1783/84 eruption – Iceland

…and one with me 😉 Overview of the Laki fissures from the 1783/84 eruption – Iceland

The Laki eruptions were the second largest basaltic lava flow in historic times. It produced 10 to 13 km high columns of volcanic ash and SO₂ that dispersed into the westerly polar jet steam to then be dispersed over Europe. The produced sulfur emissions casted a veil over Europe and caused climate perturbations, including a drop in temperature of 1.3°C for 2 to 3 years (Thordarson and Self, 2003). The noxious fumes emitted by the eruption also stunted grass growth and killed more than half of the livestock in Iceland through fluorine poisoning. The consequences ultimately resulted in the disastrous ‘Haze Famine’ that killed 20% (10,000 folks) of the Icelandic human population (Thordarson and Hoskuldsson, 2002).

View from inside the Laki fissures scoria cones from the 1783/84 eruption – Iceland

Eerie moss and fog from inside the Laki fissures scoria cones from the 1783/84 eruption – Iceland

South coast

Lastly along the south coast, near Vik, there are more beautiful examples of columnar basalt… as well as puffins you can spot if you get lucky!

South Iceland coast line with flying puffins, near Vík – Iceland

Icelandic puffins at the south coast of Iceland near Vík

Some of the major waterfall in the area are Fagrifoss “beautiful falls” and Skogáfoss. Skogáfoss is sourced from both Mýrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull glaciers and travels down the Skóga River (Jóhannesson and Sæmundsson, 2009). The cliffs that Skogáfoss fall over (60 m tall) represent the former shoreline of Iceland before sand-rich deposits from recent jökulhlaup (i.e., catastrophic floods) extended the islands length to the south.

Fagrifoss “beautiful falls” – Iceland

Skógafoss falls over cliffs that represent the former shoreline of Iceland

Morning sunrise in Þakgil valley in southern Iceland

Final Thoughts: Iceland’s precarious position on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has lead to a constantly changing landscape formed from violent volcanism. This post concludes my 3-part geology series of Iceland. I hope I have shed a bit of “geological” light on this dramatic, volcanic, island country that is Iceland! Even though I covered a fair bit of ground, there is still so much more to see and explore in Iceland (hence I would love to return one day). I regard Iceland as one of the neatest places I have ever travelled to, and I reckon that anyone who travels there would have a similar feeling, whether you are a geologist or not!

-Stephanie

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Table of Icelandic Geology Terms

á (s) ár (pl), fljót (large river)	River
askja	Caldera
aur (glacial outwash)	Sandur
bergkvika	Magma
berg	Rock
bjarg (s), björg (pl)	Cliffs/Rocks/Crags
borg (s), borgir (pl)	Rocky hill
bunga	Rounded hill
dalur	Valley
díabas	Dolerite
eldar (pl)	Fires/Eruptions
eldborg (s), eldborgir (pl)	Lava ring
eldgjá	Lava fissure
fjall (s), fjöll (pl)	Mountain
gjall	Scoria
hellir	Cave
hraun	Lava flow
jökull	Glacier
móberg	Tuff/Hyaloclastite
vatn (s), vötn (pl)	Lake
víti (also used for explosive volcanic craters or maars)	Hell
völlur (s), vellir (pl)	Field/plain

Exploring the Earth

The earth science behind some amazing places

Capturing Australia’s Outback in 3-D: Part 2

The trip – part 2 (Alice Spring to Uluru and back)

Henbury Meteorite Craters

Uluru (also known as Ayer’s rock)

Kata Tjuta (also known as the Olgas)

King’s Canyon, Watarrka

Gosse Bluff (Tnorala)

West MacDonnell Range

Capturing Australia’s Outback in 3-D: Part 1

Brief intro to Northern Territory

The trip – part 1 (Darwin to Alice Springs)

Katherine Gorge

Davenport Range

Devil’s Marbles (Karlu Karlu)

Alieron Station and Reynold’s Range

Harts Range

Ross River D’hala Gorge

Trephina Gorge, Gaps… and Mordor!

A hidden lake in the mountains of Tasmania

Getting there

Science spiel

Final thoughts

Scientific communication and “diamonds” on Flinders Island, Tasmania

How to explore Iceland through the eyes of a geologist: Part 3 – Glaciers and volcanoes of the centre and south

Part 1: A Land of Ice and Fire

Part 2: Volcanic Landscapes of the North

Part 3: Glaciers and Volcanoes of the South

Part 3: Glaciers and Volcanoes of the South

Holuhraun (aka. Nornahraun) lava field

Ice caps and glaciers

Landmannalaugar

Laki

South coast