the i've got nothing to say thread

i started a new musical project. it's called the i may die project and it's about experimental hardcore. if you want to check it, please visit http://www.imaydie.mp3.ms and click on each pic to have each song.

peace,
mehdi
 
Snails are hemaphrodites, so it could be an interesting subject :err: More interestingly however snails evolved from underwater gastropods develpoing lungs and moving onto land. Now some species are evolving back to live unerwater and developing their lungs back into gills :eek: Backwards evolution - thats some crazy shit! :D The ammonites did something similar! Crazy I tell you! :err: Anywho:

Planning

Aim: To examine the Fossil Forest site and explain the formation of the overlying Broken Beds.

Background Information: I know from a map that the predominate rock types in this area are the Portland Stone and the Purbeck Beds. These consist of the Hard Cap at the base (4.7 m thick) and beds of laminated Oolitic Limestones with some pseudomorphs of gypsum. Above these is the Great Dirt Bed (0.15 - 0.3m), a black gravelly seat earth with roots and clasts from the Portland beds in which the fossil trees were rooted. This is underneath the Soft Cap (0.6 - 1.5m), a Stromatalitic Limestone that encloses the tree fossils. Above this sequence lie the Broken Beds (5-7.5m) which consist of limestones of a grey-cream colour, all fissile and of brittle fracture. These have broken up into small fragments and blocks of up to 0.9 by 1.5 metres. The full succession is shown below:


I know from a website that the appearance of the Broken Beds is probably due to the dissolution of the salt minerals within them. They are thought to have formed in lagoons subject to intense evaporation, allowing salt minerals to accumulate as part of the rock. These were later dissolved, leading to the collapse of the layer, still set within the normally bedded Purbeck Beds.

There are of course, other possible causes of brecciation, as detailed in Michaels House’s “Geology Of The Dorset Coast”. These structures could be caused by the collapse of overlying beds following the decay of vegetation, not solution of evaporites. Another suggestion is that penecontemporaneous brecciation occurred because of faulting associated with the pre-mid Cretaceous growth fault along the axis of the foresyncline of the Purbeck fold (a monocline), a diagram of which is shown below:



The final hypothesis is that the brecciation was a result of tectonic accommodation of the more competent Purbeck beds in relation to the incompetent Portland Beds and chalk during the main mid-Tertiary folding that caused the stairhole, shown below.


A clue to this interpretation of the past environment is supplied by clasts of salt crystals that can be found in the rubble around the forest beds.

Plan: Upon arriving at the site, I plan to take macro observations which I can record with photos and labelled field sketches. These will include looking for faulting in overlying beds (Cypris limestone), as this would indicate movement in the Broken Beds as well. Faulting in the limestones, however, cannot be followed through because of the unconsolidated beds in-between. I can also look for folding as this would indicate pressures high enough for brecciation of the Broken Beds. Other features to try and notice would be slickensides, anomalous dip, displacement of beds, pseudomorphs and fault gouge.

From micro observations (looking through a hand lens) I can try and tell the rock type, and using a grain size card I can record the grain size, shape, sorting and arrangement, angularity and mineral content. I will have to look for decayed vegetation indirectly by finding areas with high numbers of fossil trees and seeing if the Broken Beds are more brecciated near here. I could also look for clay in the bedding planes of the Purbeck Beds as this would make it more incompetent, and less likely to break due to faulting. Halite crystals in the Broken and surrounding beds would support the theory of evaporites dissolving.

I will have to wear a hard-hat in case of rock falls, be aware of the tides and should also be careful in case of stormy weather. I should not climb loose rocks and it would be advisable to work in pairs to ensure no one is hurt. As this is in an army firing range I have to watch in case the red flag is raised.

The sources of information I have used all seem reliable. The website I have used, Ian West’s guide to the “Geology of the South Coast of England” covers this area in great detail, providing a complete bibliography of its sources. I used several books published on the geology of Dorset which are also trustworthy.

Implementing

I worked safely at the fossil forest, wearing a hard hat and staying away from the edge of the outcrop as this was a sheer drop to the sea. I also avoided climbing on loose rocks. I recorded information about the beds systematically, and I followed my plan so as not to miss any information. I recorded all features I saw and thought important in as much detail as possible, using field sketches and photos.

To obtain the most accurate reading possible, I found the best way to record the grain features was to scratch off the surface of the rock (with a penknife), and put some of the grains on a piece of paper. I could then study them with the hand lens, holding it close to my eye and moving the paper to get them in focus. I could also do this on the grain size card when trying to find the grain size. The ranging pole was very useful to give scale to photos and field sketches. I used the tape measure and metre stick to measure the thickness of the beds, and provide scales for diagrams and photos.

To test for a calcite cement or limestone I could just drop hydrochloric acid on the beds having removed the surface with a penknife - fizzing would indicate these rock types. The nail was useful to scratch each rock and see which was harder.

I modified my plan in several areas. It was extremely difficult to take macro observations due to the location. I recorded the details of the rock not in a table initially, but among my other notes and diagrams from the field. I only entered my observations in a table once I had them all written.
Analyzing

I recorded the following data about the beds at the fossil forest:

Rock Rock Colour Grain Size Grain Shape Grain Sorting
Broken Beds Grey 250ìm Sub-rounded Well sorted
Fossil Forest beds Grey 187-250ìm Sub-angular Well sorted

HCl Reaction Possible Minerals Other Features
Fizzing Calcite, halite Highly brecciated, halite crystals in places, no fossils, some faulting and folding – limestone, sandy appearance
Gentle fizzing Calcite cement Stromatolites, many fossils


Numerous explanations exist for the brecciation of the Broken Beds, some of which were supported by my evidence. There seems to be no relation between the brecciation and location of the trees, so decaying vegetation can be ruled out. The presence of Halite crystals (as shown in the photographs) supports the theory that the brecciation occurred because of the solution of evaporites within the beds. I could find no pseudomorphs of gypsum, probably due to their very small size. The faults and folds I found suggest the brecciation could be due to local tectonic movement. There were no clay minerals in the broken beds, which would have made folding easier and therefore a less likely explanation.

There were Stromatolites present in the Fossil Forest beds, suggesting that when the trees were preserved/ buried, they were surrounded by water. For evaporites to form in the overlying bed this must have been highly salty - such a sudden rise in hyper saline water could be lagoonal, due to a lake, or a flood. Both lagoonal or flood seem a likely explanation. The trees would be surrounded by water, buried and rapidly replaced by silica (indicated by the low compaction of the trunks). The height of the casts seems a good indication of the depth of the water which flooded them - between one and two metres. The climate, hyper saline but with trees, is reminiscent of modern day Mediterranean climates.

The evaporite would hail from the hyper saline lagoon or lake that preserved the trees before they could rot. Silicification of the initially carbonaceous submerged forest would be helped by the high pH of the lagoonal water (silica is very soluble at high pH). The tree stumps would have provided more acidic conditions, helping precipitation. The upper layers of the limestone have more joints and less matrix. Also present were ripple-laminated layers in both beds, suggesting this is in fact a lagoonal environment.

Another possible contributing factor is that the Chert (immediately below the Broken Beds) is super alkaline, indicating that it could have drawn out silica from the Broken Beds, aiding collapse. However, this alone could not have caused brecciation.

Both faulting and folding are present in this area, as shown in the photos I took. This suggests the brecciation of the Broken Beds could be at least partly due to the tectonic movement in the area. This put increasing pressure on the rocks causing fracturing. When the pressure was released the beds could have collapsed due to the fracturing and solution of evaporites, leading to their present appearance.

As evaporites, faulting and folding are present, it seems the brecciation here was caused by all of these to a greater or lesser extent. The evaporites would make the rock easier to fault and fold, and when dissolved the Broken Beds would collapse, become re-cemented and brecciated.

Evaluation

There were no clear anomalies or contradictions in my results. However, there were several features in my plan which I was unable to find. A good example would be the gypsum pseudomorphs, which are too small to be seen with the naked eye. I only had a relatively small outcrop to work on, so cannot be sure this represents the beds in their entirety (there could be much variation as you move along them). This could account for misinterpretations when analyzing, as I could not see the best outcrops of all the beds.

Apart from this I think my data was reliable. Even through the hand lens it was hard to be completely accurate with features like grain size and shape, but I was close enough to draw reliable conclusions. When in the field I recorded everything as accurately as possible with photos and field sketches, and I tried not to analyze the data in the field which could lead to false conclusions.

My plan worked well but there was not a great deal of evidence I could find for the origin of many of the beds. Any features I could have missed were not significant in the analysis, and while they could have been helpful, I found enough information to draw conclusions. The techniques I used (such as the hand lens for fine detail), were not perfect but were the best I could use in the field, and any finer details of the grains would not have affected my analysis greatly. It was very hard at this site to take macro observations as the outcrop was situated on a ledge and it was not possible to stand back from it. This made spotting faults much harder, but as I found some smaller ones this was not a major problem.

My results could have been made more reliable by taking samples of the rocks for further analysis such as viewing under a microscope, which would aid the identification and the search for evaporites and pseudomorphs. Such evidence would have made my analysis much more reliable.

Uncertainties in my evidence are quite significant. This is due to the high number of interpretations and the fact that many of the features in my plan I could not find. I think my analysis of the origin of the beds is quite reliable, but I could find no conclusive evidence to point to a reason why the Broken Beds are brecciated. However, a mixture of several causes seems more likely than just one, so while I cannot narrow these down, I can quite reliably say which explanations are supported by the evidence. I think the uncertainties, while having a reasonably large effect on my analysis, only fail to rule out certain theories (not suggest incorrect explanations), and hence do not affect my conclusions greatly.
 
Originally posted by Russell
Snails are hemaphrodites, so it could be an interesting subject :err: More interestingly however snails evolved from underwater gastropods develpoing lungs and moving onto land. Now some species are evolving back to live unerwater and developing their lungs back into gills :eek: Backwards evolution - thats some crazy shit! :D The ammonites did something similar! Crazy I tell you! :err: Anywho:

They also belong to the family of the Mullusca. The most of them live in the water and some on the land (even in deserts).There are two main groups, the Concifera and the Aculifera. A. actually don't have a shell (well some of them do but it's reduced to a little scale which is "hidden" in the body). They have two parts, the Cephalopodium and the Visceropallium. With the Cephalopodium they can swim, dig or crawl. The biggest snail is the Aplysia which's 65cm long and weights about 32 pounds.
The shell (has three layers) is growing from the Viscerapodium to the outside and that's why you can see "rings" on it.
:D I have the exam about the biodiversity of the animals on Tuesday :D

BTW did you know that there's a kind of orchids which makes flowers that looks like the female of a fly? The male fly comes to the flower and thinks it's a female and starts (well tries *gg*) to copulate with it. The flower (very smart) glues it's pollen on the males back. After a few minutes the male realises that this "female" is not willing and so flyes away. It sees another female (of course an orchid again ;) ) and again it tries to copulate. Of course this flower is as smart as the first one and takes the pollen from the males back :D
 
Does anyone of you know the good old Lucas Arts / Lucasfilm Games adventure games on Amiga and Commodore 64 like Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken, Indiana Jones, Monkey Island??
I could give you a walkthrough if you're stuck somewhere in the game...
 
Originally posted by CLARET
Does anyone of you know the good old Lucas Arts / Lucasfilm Games adventure games on Amiga and Commodore 64 like Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken, Indiana Jones, Monkey Island??

hey man these games ruled. i played to this stuff when i was a young child on my good old Atari ST. very happy memories :D

peace,
mehdi
 
Originally posted by Ghostie
And how slow does a 65 cms long snail move ? It could cause traffic jams I think :D

Are these species still exist ? I think not they have all been eaten up :eek:

I think those live in the sea, somewhere veryvery deep where no traffic jams exist and nobody cares about how an insect breaths :D :D :lol: :lol: