iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Lil Boo-kens 👻 @paleosol.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I’m with Ken on this one. As someone who studies the East African Rift System, I frequently fear that many answers to our paleoclimate/environment/evolution questions may have answers from outside the depocenters. As we say, there’s no fossil mountain goats! 🐐 🧪⚒️ www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/s...

Because of erosion, almost no fossils from ancient alpine environments have survived. What unknown creatures dwelled there?

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Martin Hundhausen @mhundhausen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Bild einer Nebensonne. Links ein Streifen mit Farbverlauf. Rechts eine Taube im Flug und ein Flugzeug mit Kondensstreifen

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Congratulations to our Mineral Cup 2026 Champion Quartz! For #MinCup26, we collectively chose a nostalgic beauty of resilience as persistence as our champion. Please celebrate #Quartz, a friend to humans since time immemorial! www.mineralcup.org/about/2026-q...

A single quartz point, deep violet in its core and entirely clear around the outside, with ghostly traces of the crystal's former shape inside, as well as a few tiny bubbles.

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Lars Fischer @fischblog.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Naturkundemuseum Berlin. Very gneiss!

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Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Kyanite: such an amazing mineral. ⚒️

Callan's hand holding a blue bladed crystal

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Congratulations, Quartz! After a decade of #MinCup, this key rock-forming mineral of optical tricks is the #MinCup26 Champion! Due to intense manipulation attempts in the final hours, the exact winning margin is still being audited. Please join us tomorrow for celebration!

A clear double-terminated quartz crystal with petroleum inclusions. Credit: John Sobolewski

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#MinCup26 FINALS!!! We have a pair of geometric beauties as deep red #Cuprite is against versatile #Quartz. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split image of fine red needles of cuprite on one side and chunky clear quartz crystals on the other.

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Quartz is a common mineral, with some very important and uncommon properties. One is piezoelectricity. When quartz is squeezed, it generates an electric charge. Together, quartz and earthquakes can promote the formation of gold nuggets, that can be quite large. #Quartz #MinCup26

Native gold wrapped around white quartz.

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Fernando Salvaterra @salvaterra.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Semifinal 2 quartz VS graphite #mincup26 #minerals

illustration of two minerals competing on the Mineral Cup 2026 semifinals: quartz VS graphite. the first a rose crystal cluster. the latter is a dark graphite chunk.

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If you vote Julianite based on color, reconsider. #Halite already covered your bases.

green, pink, yellow, red halite crystals in a display case in that order.
Above them two pieces of colorless and blue halite

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#MinCup26 Quarterfinal 2 Both of today's minerals can be found in hydrothermal vein deposits as cobalt arsenide #Skutterudite is against classic silicate #Quartz for a spot in the semi-finals. Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... Results: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

mineralcup.org

Vote in Quarterfinal 2 — Mineral Cup & Ore Cup

Vote in Skutterudite vs Quartz Credit: Joel Williams

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Even tho I am a sucker for REE minerals, especially after monazite lost (again😑), I still stand by #graphite. Sometimes simplicity is just neat. Not only does graphite allow me to write notes and do my monazite P-T experiments, it can also be used as a geothermometer!

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Raman spectra of carbonaceous material in metasediments: a new geothermometer

Metasedimentary rocks generally contain carbonaceous material (CM) deriving from the evolution of organic matter originally present in the host sedimentary rock. During metamorphic processes, this or...

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Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

What are known causal factors behind rock-ice avalanche near Nepal–Tibet border? @wwattribution.bsky.social Vulnerable slope, potentially weakened by 2015 earthquake, definitely destabilised by climate change through glacier retreat & permafrost thaw. www.worldweatherattribution.org/rapid-warmin...

Height of the 0C isotherme in recent years around the rock-failure

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Dr Stephan Lautenschlager @palaeostephan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

New paper out today! Led by Daniel Schwarz, we retrodeformed the skull and reconstructed the cranio-mandibular musculature of the giant stem-amphibian Mastodonsaurus giganteus. Our results show that Mastodonsaurus had a powerful bite and a crocodile- like bite-and-hold feeding style.

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Henning @geohenning.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Some crinoid stem imprints in sandstone boulders. 🧪⚒️ #fossils

Finger pointing at crinoid fossils in a rock

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Welp, didn't help. Again. Although it hurts that after all these years and sometimes close calls, calcite lost against a mineral which Wikipedia article just states: dissolves in water and dyes it pink. Unbelievable. With monazite early loss I go full on #TeamQuartz which should've won 6 years ago

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Time to translate one of my biggest #TeamCalcite #MinCup2026 Threads to Bluesky. Think calcite only occurs as bland limestone? It's also an igneous rock in calcite carbonatites! These can host economic deposits of REE and other rare metal ores. The one shown here was mined for Niobium.

close up image of a calcite carbonatite.
Milky-beige massive caclite crystals embed sparse shiny red and dull black minerals - Niob-pyrochlor and Titano-magnetite respectively.

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I'm a champion for calcite since the very start and I wont stop until it gets a win. The reasons are numerous, check them out 👇 bsky.app/profile/klei...

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Hugo van Schrojenstein Lantman @hugolantman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Birefringence is such a fun optical property that I can only vote for #Calcite here. #MinCup26

A page of the book "Introduction to Mineral Sciences" by Andrew Putnis, coincidentally part namesake of putnisite. The page contains the header for the section on birefringence. On top of the text and this header is a clear, light yellow coloured crystal of calcite. Any text visible through this crystal is shown double due to the optical property of birefringence. Fun fact, the relative position of the two appearances of the text changes as the crystal is rotated.

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Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️ @spahn711.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Allow me to make the case for why calcite should not only earn your vote but win the tournament. Calcite is the mineral with the most forms, is highly fluorescent & phosphorescent, helped explain the wave nature of light, laid the foundation for optics/polarizers, and even calms an upset tummy. A 🧵:

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Benjamin Gill @sedgeochem.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Got to go with #calcite. Its utility for understanding past environments where it forms has kept me enthralled since I first started working in a lab. #MinCup26

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Henning @geohenning.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

If you need any more reasons to vote for #Calcite, just watch this video. #MinCup26 #TeamCalcite ⚒️ bsky.app/profile/spah...

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I'm a champion for calcite since the very start and I wont stop until it gets a win. The reasons are numerous, check them out 👇 bsky.app/profile/klei...

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European Geosciences Union (EGU) @egu.eu · 10/09/2026

EGU #Webinars: Topographic Analysis Using TopoToolbox in MATLAB And Python - Session 2 ⏺️ The recording is now available on YouTube! 👀 Watch NOW: egu.eu/9OVVY1 Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos: European Geosciences Union.

Image description: Keyboard in the background. Text reads: ''Topographic Analysis Using TopoToolbox in MATLAB And Python - Session 2. New recording, now available. YouTube.''

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ESA auf Deutsch @de.esa.int · 08/09/2026

🌋 Vulkanaktivität aus dem Orbit: Der Copernicus-Satellit Sentinel-3 dokumentierte den Ausbruch von Anak Krakatau in Indonesien. Solche Erdbeobachtungsdaten liefern wertvolle Informationen zu Atmosphärenprozessen, Umweltveränderungen und Naturgefahren. 🛰️🌍

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J. Brian Balta @drjbbalta.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

When you synthesize monazite with specific cations in a lab, you can make quite the rainbow. Here are La, Nd, Gd, and Yb monazites (technically xenotime for Yb, almost the same structure but different enough that it has its own name). Nd was always my favorite. #mincup26 #mincup #monazite

A sequence of synthetic monazites, each crystal made in a lab from flux growth methods. In order, La, Nd, Gd, and Yb monazites (last is technically xenotime).

Two crystals of Nd monazite, tip of tweezers for scale.

Multiple crystals of La-monazite, tweezers for scale.

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#Monazite-(Ce) also incorporates very little common lead. Resulting in a rather easy to work with geochronometer which can be utilized by EPMA. While uranium content reaches a couple wt.-%, Th can be as high as 30+ wt.-%!

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Monazite-(Ce) can also be vivid green, not dissimiliar to olivine! As it crystalises from a granitic melt (either plutonic or anatectic), it not just records its melt/metamorphic history, mnz also traps melt inclusions, giving us a direct view into silicic melt formation. #Monazite-(Ce) #MinCup2026

hundreds of olive-green monazite grains of various sizes against a white background.

A dozen green monazite grains cobbled together next to the tip of a needle, ~1 mm thick). Viewed through a binocular microscope, the grains and the needle are centred in the roughly 1 cm wide image

Two enlarged ~400 micron sized monazite grains, one at the top of thw image, the other at rhe bottom.
Tiny inclusions like bubbles are visible in the semi-transparent mineral grains

Enlarged image of a single monazite grain with a polished surface.
Image width is 300 microns, the grain takes up almost all the visible space.
Three mineral inclusions can be seen in the semi-transparent crystal.
One larger rounded and two crystal shaped ones with pointy ends

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CNN @cnn.com · 07/09/2026

Mount Anak Krakatau in Indonesia is on its second straight day of a major eruption. Volcanic ash has caused the suspension of flights out of Jakarta's main airport.

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Vergil 🌋 @kleinergeologe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

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European Geosciences Union (EGU) @egu.eu · 07/09/2026

The new #GeoLog series shares perspectives from the University of Tübingen, highlighting why acknowledging what we don't know can build #trust, improve decision-making and make #science more #accessible. Check out the inspiration ✨ behind this concept by Solmaz Mohadjer: egu.eu/2H7TIH

Image description: Students’ drawings of uncertainty in their field of studies. (L) Uncertainty in Sociology: the complexity of social identity categorization (image credit: Zisan Tosun), (R) Uncertainty in Sport Sciences; training results for different athletes following the same plan. Drawing by Felix Seibold. Text reads: ''Geolog series: Communicating uncertainty in science -Student perspectives from the University of Tübingen. Read now!''

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A cute #quartz “inclusion” before Match 6 while it’s still #Caturday. Is this FINALLY quartz’s year? Make it so. #MinCup26 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology #geosky #GIS 🍎 🪐 🔭 🌋

A small tabby kitten with blue eyes has snuggled into the cavity of a snow white quartz crystal geode.

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Nadine, Hunter of Rocks @nadwgab.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I wake up and quartz is behind? How? Look at what you can do with it! Patrick Dreher spent 500+ hours carving this octopus from a single quartz crystal. The chimps were carved from a single piece of agate by Gerd and Patrick Dreher #TeamQuartz #MinCup26 #SciArt

A very intricate carving of an octopus made from a colourless piece of quartz. It looks like it's perching on a boulder.

On display in the Natural History Museum, London.

A double terminate crystal of slightly smoky quartz next to the octopus. It's from Grisons, Switzerland.

On display in the Natural History Museum, London.

Three chimpanzees carved from a single piece of agate. Their fur is black and their hands are brown. Two chimps at the front are looking at each other while the third one has its back turned towards them.

On display in the Natural History Museum, London.

An example of the agate the three chimps were carved from. It's shaped like a V and is black on the outside and brown on the inside. An outline of the chimps is drawn on top. The agate is from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

On display in the Natural History Museum, London.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 3 Both zinc ore #Sphalerite and calcium plagioclase feldspar #Anorthite will split cleanly if you hit them with a hammer, but only one can claim a larger split of your votes! VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

A photo split between toothy translucent yellow crystals chewing on a grey rock and a blocky milky-yellow translucent crystal where every corner and edge is cut by a small oblique face.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 2: Flowery pink #Erythrite is against shiny silver #Skutterudite in this match of cobalt minerals. Will you pick the weathering product or the mineral it comes from? VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Did you get your vote in for #MinCup26 #Azurite: copper, so very blue, named for the colour (in ancient Persian modded to French) #Smithsonite: zinc, many colours, named for founder of the Smithsonian Institution VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

mineralcup.org

Vote in Round 1 Match 1 — Mineral Cup & Ore Cup

Vote in Azurite vs Smithsonite Credit: Harold Moritz and Graham Myerson

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Nadine, Hunter of Rocks @nadwgab.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Gonna start a metal band where we use the sounds of screaming moist rocks #MinCore

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Oooh, a bracket! www.mineralcup.org/2026/bracket

A sports-style elimination bracket of 32 minerals labeled "Mineral Cup 2026". Text below reads, "Daily voting takes place on www.MineralCup.org in September. Campaign on your favourite social media using #MinCup26."

The starting matches are, in chronological order in pairs from top to bottom alternating from left to right each match:
Azurite vs Smithsonite
Erythrite vs Skutterudite
Sphalerite vs Anorthite
Bournonite vs Vesuvianite
Cuprite vs Orpiment
Quartz vs Asagiite
Monazite-(Ce) vs Andalusite
Stichtite vs Talc
Hafnon vs Putnisite
Pyromorphite vs Gypsum
Calcite vs Julienite
Pyrrhotite vs Cylindrite
Arsenopyrite vs Halite
Riebeckite vs Gadolinite-(Y)
Chrysocolla vs Xocolatlite
Cassiterite vs Graphite

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Astronomy Picture of the Day 🪐 @apod.shinyakato.dev · 29/08/2026

🔭 Eclipse Pair Image Credit & Copyright: Gwenaël Blanck ap260829

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download
the highest resolution version available.

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Chance the Lawyer @chancethelawyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

say what you will about the myriad valid concerns with current LLMs but I personally will never get over the fact that Aaron Swartz was prosecuted to his literal death for downloading JSTOR and then a decade later, they downloaded & ingested the entire world and our IP laws just went ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Henning @geohenning.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The fold at Pastoratsberg in Essen, Germany is currently being cleaned and freed from overgrowth after a long time. 😍 #FridayFold #Geology ⚒️ Photo by @geoeule on Instagram.

Photo of a geologic fold in an outcrop at a street.

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Naturkundemuseum Stuttgart @smnstuttgart.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

#ScienceNews New Plattenkalk ichthyosaurs: An international team led by Dr. Erin Maxwell of the Natural History Museum Stuttgart has described Jabalisaurus tethyensis, the first new species from the region to be identified. t1p.de/appv6

Toothed ichthyosaur swimming in blue sea with small fish and ammonites; caption announces "New Plattenkalk ichthyosaurs."

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World Weather Attribution @wwattribution.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

🌊 Climate change is causing European sea surface temperatures to surge: marine ecosystems are suffering 🌊 World Weather Attribution scientists analysed the record-breaking SSTs in Europe’s waters in July. They found that the event was primarily driven by climate change. (1/5)

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CJ BROSKIN @cjbroskin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

"WWD, Ornithocheirus" (Is this one is a little awkward following the current revelations at the con(if you know, you know). But this piece was made to commemorate the passing of Ben Bartlett and to that, i hold this piece highly.) #DinoconUK #BROSKINart #art #Ornithocheirus #Paleoart

An old male Ornithocheirus stands amidst a colony of Tapejara on an overcast day with a slither of blue penetrating through. The rocks caked in pterosaur guano.

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