Thread: Current Geologists

I was wondering if there were any qualified Geologists on the forum. If so, I've a range of questions I'd like to ask.

Regards,

David.

Originally Posted by DavidT

I was wondering if there were any qualified Geologists on the forum. If so, I've a range of questions I'd like to ask.

Regards,

David.

... OUCH! ... see thread Mankind Wondered

Originally Posted by Christopher Ball

Originally Posted by DavidT

I was wondering if there were any qualified Geologists on the forum. If so, I've a range of questions I'd like to ask.

Regards,

David.

... OUCH! ... see thread Mankind Wondered

I think David is looking for a real Geologist. The thread you are pointing him to is not real Geology.

David, post your questions. There are quite a few Geologists on this forum. It helps to make the thread title as descriptive as possible.

Nevertheless my learned friend, I was pointing DavidT to the 'Fact' that geology is somewhat flawed. And that he should tread carefully in building his geological wisdom

Christopher this is not the thread for that commentary.

David feel free to post your questions, as there are a number of us who will try to give the best answers we can.

Originally Posted by Christopher Ball

Nevertheless my learned friend, I was pointing DavidT to the 'Fact' that geology is somewhat flawed. And that he should tread carefully in building his geological wisdom

Please, spare us your ignorance.

Originally Posted by Christopher Ball

Nevertheless my learned friend, I was pointing DavidT to the 'Fact' that geology is somewhat flawed. And that he should tread carefully in building his geological wisdom

Christopher, i don't see how you can turn a comment like "If so, I've a range of questions I'd like to ask." into pointing out that geology is flawed
please refrain from polluting other people's threads with your drivel or you can look forward to a ban

Thanks for the response so far,

The reason I asked for 'qualified' Geologists, was simply due to the fact my first question is regarding what drove you toward that career choice? I am deeply interested in a number of areas of science, and would love to hear any advice, or something similar, from those who have been there and done that.

Did you study Geology, and decide on a specific career during your schooling? Or did you always know what you wanted to be?

My other question, and more directly linked to the science itself, is whether there were any eruptions in recent history similar to that of the Mt. St Helens eruption in 1980. That eruption is what sparked my desire to study science, and in turn, Geology.

Thanks in advance,

David.

Hi DavidT

There have been many eruptions since 1980, non quite like Mt St Helens, but each volcano is unique.

Did you know there are some 600 volcanoes which are known to have erupted in historical time?

Mt St Helen's is a Cascade Volcano, on of a band of volcanoes that line up on the North Western shoulder of the USA (Cascade Volcanoes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). The geological situation there is quite interesting, the Juan de Fuca plate is subducting beneath the North American continent -- this also causes earthquakes!


For analogues of Mt St Helen's you might want to try to find some other examples of earthquakes that are related to subduction zones, and see if any of those have erupted since 1980.

Originally Posted by DavidT

The reason I asked for 'qualified' Geologists, was simply due to the fact my first question is regarding what drove you toward that career choice?

I wanted to be an astronomer, but believed that my grasp of mathematics was inadequate. After the universe the next largest object that had a division of science associated with seemed to the the Earth. Since I had also been fascinated by the geography of the past it seemed a natural choice. I had no particular intense desire to be a geologist, more a wish to learn about geology - I hope the distinction is clear. At that age and time I still saw science as a repository of knowledge rather than a methodology for acquiring it.

@billiards - Thanks for the detailed information. Areas such as these (pacific ring of fire etc.) make me quite thankful to be living on the generally peaceful plate I do, safely in Australia.

@Ophiolite - Thanks, I understand what you mean. I too originally wanted to be an astronomer, though the fact that our own planet is much more accessible than those around us is what drove me to choose Earth sciences. I think I would be frustrated by not being able to fly to another planet and study it directly. I have since purchased a telescope to pursue my interest in astronomy.

Thanks for the responses, they are greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by DavidT

Thanks for the responses, they are greatly appreciated.

This is off topic, but I just wanted to thank you for saying thank you. I've lost track of the number of times I've responded to a question to be greeted by a great wall of silence from the original poster. It is refreshing to receive thanks, to see others thanked and to know that ones comments have been of some use or interest.
(It's probably best if you don't thank me for thanking you for saying thanks, or we'll be here all year. )

Originally Posted by Ophiolite

Originally Posted by DavidT

Thanks for the responses, they are greatly appreciated.

This is off topic, but I just wanted to thank you for saying thank you. I've lost track of the number of times I've responded to a question to be greeted by a great wall of silence from the original poster. It is refreshing to receive thanks, to see others thanked and to know that ones comments have been of some use or interest.
(It's probably best if you don't thank me for thanking you for saying thanks, or we'll be here all year. )

You're going soft mate

Originally Posted by DavidT

Did you study Geology, and decide on a specific career during your schooling? Or did you always know what you wanted to be?

I've wanted to be a number of things in my life: writer, computer programmer, electrician, and entrepreneur, among them.

In my early 20s, working a factory job that just wasn't cutting it, I thought about what my skills and values were, and what I could hope to realistically achieve as a middle-class joe. I was tossing around geology in my head because I valued science and engineering as 'practical', 'technical' fields, and thought about how I had actually wanted to be one as a young child when I had a rock and fossil collection. It still amazes me today that my dreams as an eight year old mimic what I now do 20 years later.

When I learned that geology also had a very 'practical' side to it - in terms of economic geology - I was sold, and got all of my qualifications updated so I could go to university and get a degree. I now work in hard-rock exploration, and have a strong interest in structural geology. I love going to an outcrop, taking a look at the structure and working out clues that may point to the next big motherlode.

Originally Posted by DavidT

Thanks for the response so far,

The reason I asked for 'qualified' Geologists, was simply due to the fact my first question is regarding what drove you toward that career choice? I am deeply interested in a number of areas of science, and would love to hear any advice, or something similar, from those who have been there and done that.

Did you study Geology, and decide on a specific career during your schooling? Or did you always know what you wanted to be?

My other question, and more directly linked to the science itself, is whether there were any eruptions in recent history similar to that of the Mt. St Helens eruption in 1980. That eruption is what sparked my desire to study science, and in turn, Geology.
................................
Thanks in advance,

David.

I will not answer to the second question as I am not an expert there. However, I am geologist, real one.

There are not one single reason that drove me to be geologist. When I was kid, I wanted to be agronomist, then speleologist. I decided for geology pretty late.

I was always a "kid of nature" strongly influenced by my grand father who was a wonderful man who litterally worshipped Nature. He was a horticulturist. He was leaving me playing in forest, I was learning the mushrooms with him (tough), building bow and arrows, I was collecting fossiles and rocks, learning to graft a tree at 8, make the difference between chervil and hemlock, how to use mix of plants for catching drunk trouts etc... My dad was similar and when I was going to Guadeloupe in Caribbean, I learned the same but in tropical version. Then, we lived then in East Africa, Djibouti and it was even worst, till now, I have problem to wear shoes and my feet are like horns under: I was going in the Gabode plains to the Trou des Italiens to look for shells, corals, always walking barefeet. We were with a group of Djiboutians and Yemenis kids, selling shells to Yemenis. I learned how to play with sharks, avoid cones stings, catch octopus.
Yes, I was truly a kid of Nature. I spent my time in the "wild". And it influences me a lot to chose a job where I can read this Nature.

When I reach university, I started in Reims and I did not know what to chose. I studied for 1 year oenology but it was so boring, a lot of biochemistry. So I shifted to Natural Sciences and then went to Lille to study Geology as it was the subject I preferred, the more in contact with nature.
Later, after army time, I found a job in the oil and gas industry and started to travel left and right... That's another story.

Thanks again everyone for all your insight, I really appreciate it!

Sorry for my recent inactivity, it's been a busy few months!I'm excited to say that in only three weeks I will be beginning my studies at university. Due to not having a high enough 'rank' to enter in to my desired courses immediately, I will be studying Environmental Management for a semester, before moving in to a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Geological Science.

Your insight and advice have helped greatly with my decisions, and I'm sure this forum will continue to be a valuable learning tool throughout my studies. So I'd just like to say thanks again! I hope I can return the favour in the near future to those who may need it.

Regards,

David.

Perhaps you should also take a look on IOCG deposits they occur "brecciated" this is caused by fluid expansion and a diatreme caused which is going to happen by a super turbulent flow.