iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

If you’re a #geology nerd like me, maybeee you might want to check out my new Etsy page for some #geoart? 🤗💌 👉 www.etsy.com/shop/DrAnnab...

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Working on some fun #geology prints by studying the visual language of 20th century geology papers ⭐️

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Illustration I did last year to show the many resources AI data centres consume! It’s kinda scary actually 😮‍💨 #sciart #AI #geology #scientificillustration #geoscience

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Wow it’s a while since I’ve actively been on Bluesky! So hi 👋 I’ve been doodling again 🌍⛰️🔨🥾 #geology #sciart #hiking

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Colossal @thisiscolossal.com · 08/10/2025

From Parth Kothekar's M.C. Escher-inspired series of papercuts www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/10/part...

a hand holding a trippy white paper cut to distort perspective

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Another illustration for NatReviews Earth & Environment that came out last month, on Anthropogenic impacts on the Yellow River Basin. Love seeing them published! #sciart tinyurl.com/w4h3bdxb

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Jamie Farquharson @farquharson.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Once upon a time, the platform formerly known as Twitter was a vibrant meeting-place where scientists, the public, official orgs and more besides could exchange knowledge. I set out to find out how effective it could be for disseminating geoscience info Skip to the paper ☛ doi.org/10.1038/s432...

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

My second PhD paper has *finally* come out of preprint. 🙌 Breathing a massive sigh of relief… Have a read here! 🔗🌋 tinyurl.com/kmfy7pek

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VolcaKnowledge Podcast @volcaknowledge.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

We're halfway through season 3 now! Be sure to catch up on the past episodes and sign up! open.spotify.com/show/3KgvDuu... @dykanite.bsky.social @scottishgeologist.bsky.social @vojtahybl.com @geologytalk.bsky.social @smitchellscience.bsky.social #podcast #stem #geology #art #science #volcano

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Big news (& a little late in posting)…last month I defended my thesis and I’m now Dr Foster! 🩺🌋

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VolcaKnowledge Podcast @volcaknowledge.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

🚨 NEW EPISODE OUT! 🚨 It's time to talk scientific illustration in the world of volcanoes and geology with @geologytalk.bsky.social , Annabelle Foster! Full episode available to watch or listen now! (Link in bio) #geology #art #artist #stem #steam #illustration #science

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Some fun news: the first Nat Reviews Earth & Environment article I illustrated is available online! Always fun and a privilege to work on science illustrations 🎨 Go check it out here: t.co/QlsirytqV4 …The evolution of Earth’s early continental crust 🌍

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Nooo I hate AI. Use me, I’m a scientific illustrator, I would never glitch like this 😉🤗

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Samuel J. Mitchell 🌋🌊 @smitchellscience.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

We're back for a third season! And now with a new logo and 10 new episodes coming each week over the next few months. @volcaknowledge.bsky.social has just joined #BlueSky So please give a share and a follow to help us spread the good 🌋 word! Tomorrow we take you to country FULL of great geology!

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Mike Cassidy @mikevolc.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

We think applying to grad school should be free. App fees create barriers to equity in academia—especially in the US, where students can pay $1,000+ just to be considered. Even waivers don’t fix this. We make the case in our Nature piece: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

It should be free to apply to graduate school

Letter to the Editor

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Rock Lab Strasbourg @rocklabstrasbourg.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Science artist @geologytalk.bsky.social drew Figure 14, which highlights our ideas about the structure and evolution of submarine lava domes! 🌋

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Thank you, Sam! Such a fab paper and team to work with! So happy to see this published 🌋🎨

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Rock Lab Strasbourg @rocklabstrasbourg.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Cristobalite and diktytaxitic textures are common in lavas. Do they influence rock properties? We try to answer this question by measuring rocks from submarine volcano Havre 🌋 With @smitchellscience.bsky.social, Rebecca Carey, @alteringrocks.bsky.social It's open access 👇 doi.org/10.1016/j.jv...

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

🚀New paper -> doi.org/10.1088/1361... A fun, left-field project with the Earth Sci crew at @durhamearthsci.bsky.social: we built & tested projectile motion datasets for teaching physics, complete with experiments & code. Lovely to see my illustrations published too!

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Back from an incredible #EGU25! Huge thanks to everyone who came to my workshop yesterday. Seeing your scientific worlds in map form reminded me how much we share—same journeys, same ups and downs. Grateful to be part of this amazing community 🗺️ 💛

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Thank you so much for coming! Your map looks amazing 🤯🥰

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European Geosciences Union (EGU) @egu.eu · 02/05/2025

Starting soon! Join us for: Scientific worldbuilding: create your own scientific fantasy map 📍 Room: E1. 👉 See you there: meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/sessio....

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Paper sculpting short course at #EGU25 by Liliane Burkhard! I tried to make a representation of how I perceive the conference layout as a first time EGU-er! #EGUart

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

My #EGU25 World of Research map is filling up! Add yours if you’d like your work to be represented in my final art piece! 🎨 #EGUart

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Thank you so much for dropping by Penny! Was lovely to see you! 🎨🌋

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

‼️ New paper alert! Putting my research hat back on… here’s a pre-print about the sintering of small glass particles. We think it demonstrates what’s going on in the shallow sub-surface of silicic #volcanoes! Ash + sintering = lava = hybrid eruptions! #Geology Paper here —> tinyurl.com/kmfy7pek 🌋

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Want a (*slightly* inaccurate) geological field notebook sticker for your actual geological field notebook? I’m giving them out at #EGU25 📖🌍 #sciart #EGUart Find me on the purple level near the poster hall!

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"Capt" Trevor Sloughter, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 @thelogicman.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

My friend Tamina drew this adorable sketch from my photo! 😭 It's so cute.

A drawing of a tiny triceratops, smaller than a piece of paper, holding a pen that is much larger than it while trying to write in a notebook.

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Bex V M Robertson @rockbertson.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

My first post on bluesky will be shameless self promotion for my #EGU talk tomorrow on seismicly induced reactions in fault cores. Please enjoy the compulsory pic infront of the welcome sign. See you there 👋

A blury picture of someone jumping in front of the EGU welcome sign

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Coffee stains on my @egu.eu badge… feels on brand for this week #EGU25 #EGUart

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

So glad you like it! Love all the name suggestions 🤗🦕

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I may be away from my art booth rn — but I’ve brought some of it with me! If you see me wandering (probs looking lost) stop me and grab a free sticker/bookmark 🫶🌎 #EGUart #Sciart #EGU25

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Sketches from @drlperezdiaz.bsky.social workshop ‘Draw them in’! I loved her messaging that you can learn a lot from others, as an artist/illustrator too, this is very important to me! #EGU25 #EGUart

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I’m getting Night at the Museum vibes…

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Have a bit of free time in #Vienna before #EGU25 —> straight to the natural history museum 🌋🦖

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Last min packing chaos for #EGU25 as one of the artists in residence! It’s my first ever time at #EGU (throwing myself in at the deep end)… please come say hi and talk to me 🤗

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

A week tomorrow you can attend my science-art workshop at #EGU25! It’ll be the perfect way to wind down after a busy week, plus you can go home with hand-drawn art to decorate your offices! 🌍🌎🌏 #sciart #EGUart

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European Geosciences Union (EGU) @egu.eu · 23/04/2025

Who said #EGU25 is only about scientific sessions? At EGU, we value the role of #creativity and #art in helping you create the best piece of research! In this #GeoLog, we have collected a variety of creativity-related sessions at #EGU25 to inspire your scientific journey. 👉: egu.eu/2D28O2

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Attending #EGU25 next week? Come say hi! I’ll be at my art stall on the Purple Level—swing by for science-inspired art and good chats! 🎨🪨 #SciArt

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Dr Fabian Wadsworth @fabianwadsworth.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Sintering of volcanic ash often occurs over similar timescales to degassing of volatiles by diffusive loss from the particles. These two processes are coupled, and so our full models for viscous sintering have to account for both. Forthcoming work from @geologytalk.bsky.social, myself, and others!

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Prepping for #EGU25 as one of the artists in residence! Taking the canvas off the frame so I can travel with it (surprisingly worked out ok) 🎨🙏 #EGUart

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

After a [very] long hiatus I have a #geoart themed print available in my new shop! So excited to be getting back into this 🌍🫶 You can find the print here annabellefoster.com/shop !

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Annabelle Foster @geologytalk.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I’m SO excited and grateful to be one of the artists in residence at @eurogeosciences.bsky.social this year! Looking forward to lots of discussions about #geoart 🌋🦖 You can read more about it here t.co/hNC8fnU13N and introduce yourself to Liliane, another artist in residence!

A picture of a fantasy-style map of Vienna, a photo of Annabelle and a series of geoart sketches

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Nick Barber 🌋 @volcannick.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

For #thinsectionthursday, an artistic treat: One of my students, Augusta Weaver, prepared 12 paintings of rocks under microscope for her Studio Art minor project. To say I'm proud is an understatement 🤩 Augusta took my Earth Materials class last Fall, and she fell in love with thin sections

Mars on Earth
Inspired by the research of Dr. Karena Gill
This is Figure 2E from “A Mars-analog sulfate mineral, mirabilite, preserves biosignature,” a 2023 geoscience paper with Karena K. Gill as the first author. It shows cyanobacteria inside an inclusion in a mineral, which was inside a rock found in a lake. As described in the paper, this figure shows “suspect green algae with carotenoid in helical and ribbon-like structure” and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) light was used to test for fluorescence.(Gill et al.)
Abstract
“Various sulfate minerals exist on Mars; except for gypsum, they are understudied on Earth. Extremophiles have been documented in modern gypsum and halite and ancient halite, but other chemical sediments have not been evaluated for biosignatures. Here, we present the first observations and analysis of microorganisms and organic compounds in primary fluid inclusions in the Mars-analog mineral mirabilite, Na2SO4·10H2O, from Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA. Microscopy by transmitted light and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) light, and Raman spectroscopy, show abundant bacteria and/or Archaea, algae, fungi, diatoms, protozoa, and organic compounds such as beta-carotene. This discovery expands our current knowledge of biological materials trapped in salt and aids the search for life on Mars, both for sample selection by rover and for analyses of return samples on Earth.”
Citation: Karena K. Gill, Elliot A. Jagniecki, Kathleen C. Benison, Martha E. Gibson; A Mars-analog sulfate mineral, mirabilite, preserves biosignatures. Geology 2023;; 51 (9): 818–822.

Stretched Quartz
Dr. Jeffrey Raul collected this rock in the Blue Ridge, along the Blue Ridge Parkway east of Glasgow. The large white grains are quartz crystals that have been elongated as this rock was squeezed and stretched deep in the Earth. The rock is called a mylonite, meaning that it has been recrystallized during an intense deformation. Dr. Raul says this rock has two distinct features of interest: the elongated shape of the quartz crystals and a planar fabric element. The quartz crystals have their long axes inclined down and to the right. They often show “tails” at their ends that are oriented roughly horizontally. A more subtle feature, but equally as important, is a planar fabric element that is inclined down and to the right. This feature can be seen at a rotation of about 25° south from the horizontal along which there was motion when the rock was deformation. This motion would have been down and to the right along this feature. These two features together, the inclined elongated quartz and the oppositely inclined zones of offset, tell us that this rock experienced shear, such that the top of the sample was moving to the right relative to the bottom.
Description written by Dr. Jeffrey Raul, who is the first author of the paper about this rock
Citation: Rahl, J.M., McGrew, A.J., Fox, J.A., Latham, J.R., and Gabrielson, T., 2018. Rhomb-dominated crystallographic preferred orientations in incipiently deformed quartz sandstone: A potential paleostress indicator for quartz-rich rocks. Geology, v. 46, p. 195-198.

Folded Rock
This is an outcrop of the Middle Ordovician Edinburg Fm. The outcrop is composed of interbedded limestone and mudstone that were originally formed in a shallow sea as horizontal layers. The rock was subsequently deformed by tremendous stresses in the Earth into the folded or bent shape that we see today.
Description written by Dr. Christopher Connors, who teaches structure geology

Snowflake
A redrawn rendition of Wilson A. Bentley's iconic "Dendrite Star" captures the intricate beauty and symmetry of snowflakes, a subject Bentley devoted his life to studying. Using a bellows camera outfitted with a microscope, Bentley pioneered photomicrography in 1885, immortalizing more than 5,000 snow crystals over his lifetime. Each snowflake's unique hexagonal structure invites thought-provoking questions, such as whether ice qualifies as a mineral. These fleeting wonders of nature remind us that even the smallest and most transient forms can hold profound lessons, beautifully blending the realms of science and art to inspire curiosity and discovery. This art pays homage to Bentley’s work.
Citation: A "Dendrite Star" Snowflakes Photomicrographed by Wilson A. Bentley, by Bentley, W. A (Wilson Alwyn) 1865–1931, c. 1890, Smithsonian Archives - History Div, SIA2008-1395.
Description written by Dr. Madhamita Chakraborty, professor of hydrology and water resources

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Frankie Butler @frankiebutler.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

I am reaching out to the #geoscience community - I need help. My MSc thesis was curtailed due to being unable to even access the building @ my previous university♿️ they provided no alternative. They’ve taken no responsibility for this #discrimination after I submitted an appeal.

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Dr Fabian Wadsworth @fabianwadsworth.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Work in review: here's a result from @annabellef.bsky.social's PhD, where she measured the sintering rate of obsidian with some supersaturated dissolved water. She modelled the diffusive water loss during sintering, to arrive at an overall sintering curve that describes the data very well.

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onecoolplanet @onecoolplanet.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Sad outcome. Deep ocean drilling has changed our fundamental understanding of geology, geophysics, oceanography, marine biology, as well as climate and fundamental life processes...the list of impacts for many decades is enormous #JoidesResolution #JR #Oceanography www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

With venerable ship’s retirement, U.S.-led ocean-drilling program ends

JOIDES Resolution stripped of equipment after budget gap left unfilled

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