Color, minor geology

Geology: pencils for drafting cross-sections, hard hat and books, conglomerate.

The Road to Majuba: The First Stop

The first stop on the second field trip day: RR xing in Imlay.

Same shot, looks too yellow and too saturated on my new computer.

I'm wondering how the two photos compare on other computers. On my new Thinkpad 440S with Windows 8.1, all the photos I enhance on the old computer — where I still have the programs I like to use until I get everything set up over here in the 8.1 world — look too saturated and too yellowish or greenish until I modify them with the new Photos app, a strange contraption of a program that works alright with a touchscreen. Any opinions?

Wave Clouds

Some classic wave clouds, or lenticulars, from the front that went through a couple days ago.

The wave clouds in this photo indicate that winds aloft are blowing swiftly to the east (left). Note the iridescence in the brightest and thinnest parts of the clouds in the upper left. Also note the low rotor clouds below the wave, dark and scud-like, especially the one on the right, which may show hints of the rotation typical of these clouds, and which shows a classic ragged form. When conditions are right—when the wave is strong and the rotor is hitting the ground—winds on the ground will move opposite to the winds aloft, typically back to the west in Nevada (right in the photo). These "backwards" ground winds can be strong, erratic, and turbulent, and can cause unexpected damage to street signs and the like. In Nevada, when the rotor is blowing, it's a good idea to keep an eye out for flying sheet metal.

Lenticulars—which are sometimes described as unique, or even rare—are fairly common in Nevada, in the lee of the Sierra Nevada and the many mountain ranges of the Basin and Range.

Understanding lenticular clouds and mountains waves

Lenticular cloud with irisation (cloud iridescence) at Atmospheric Optics

Lenticular clouds at APOD

Photo taken 23Oct2012, Sparks, NV, from the Sheels parking lot.

Rock Color Links

Here are a few links I find useful in comparing RGB, HEX, and UCL or Munsell colors, though these don't all match the original Rock Color Chart, which is no longer available. The new Rock Color Chart colors do not match the old chart completely, and is organized in a way that I find difficult for real world use.

Geological ROCK-COLOR CHART - online pdf version (new)

The original - no longer available, though QCQA says, "Discontinued...Check with us later," and "Usually ships within 24 hours" — NOT.

RGB Chart & Multi Tool: HEX, RGB, Munsell.
Universal Color Language, Level 3: Munsell and HEX.
NBS/ISCC Color System: Munsell and HEX

Color Theory: Completed Munsell Color Charts - Gnomicon blog - 5R page.

http://colors.bravo9.com/nbs-iscc-rc-rock-color-chart/swatch/: This site is *still* down (permanently?), and my notes don't tell me what it was.

More About Colors:
Color-Name Dictionaries

Robert Krimen > Color-Library

Also:
The Michel-Lévy Interference Color Chart - although the colors look a little washed out

Report on an Afterwork Field Trip

This will be a brief field trip report from an undisclosed place and an undisclosed time. In fact, other such field trips over the years, whether during or after work, might be worth reporting on occasionally, mostly sans photos.

It was a sunny afternoon, approaching early evening, and several colleagues and I passed by some broken and brecciated road cuts while on the way to our various evening destinations, wherever they might have been. The purpose of the rather spontaneous mini field trip was to shoot the bull about the meaning of the road cuts and see if we could figure anything out—in other words, to get our creative thoughts flowing. Lines and crude cross-sections were drawn in the dirt on the side of the road, with less crude versions drawn in some field books.

Our first stop was essentially a mess of fractured, broken, and shattered rocks showing varying degrees of iron-staining and oxidation. Some jarositic-looking, weakly clayey limestones formed a possibly arched, upper zone above more typically calcite-veined dark gray Devonian limestone cut by hematitic seams and hematitic fracture-fill fines. Discussions ensued about what iron-oxides were staining the rocks and filling in fractures. A reddish coloration—reddish brown to reddish orange brown—in a batch of rocks, sometimes present in broad areas or even over whole mountains, is supposed to be a good sign when one is looking for the upper oxidized to leached portion of a porphyry copper system — at least according to a few old-timers who told me about such things back in the late 1970s when porphyry copper exploration had come to a standstill after what turned out to be a long-term decline in the price of copper.

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An Aside: A long time ago, Bear Creek or Minefinders developed a color triangle for determining the composition of various limonites or generic to mixed iron-oxides. Powdered pure or nearly pure jarosite (a sulfate containing iron that can form as a weathering or oxidation product of pyrite) was placed in a circlular spot in the upper corner of the triangle, powdered pure goethite was placed in the lower left corner of the triangle, and powerdered pure hematite was placed in the lower right corner of the triangle. Three other circles were placed between the three corners, each composed of 50-50 mixes of the appropriate two of the three main powders, and one circle in the center contained the three end members mixed together. To summarize the triangles main colors, jarosite is pale yellow to white when powdered or scratched, goethite is the typical dark golden brown of the average "limonite," and hematite is its typical reddish brown. I've looked high and low for an online version of this field cheat sheet that consisted of stiff cardboard with clear plastic- or cellophane-covered circles of powders with appropriate labeling, but have yet to find anything resembling the original. Perhaps I'll draw up something similar to the original and go further into this little exercise in crude field determinations sometime at a later date. For now, back to the field trip.

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I developed a question or two as we were standing beneath the large fractured to brecciated mass of structurally complex reddish to yellowish brown pile of carbonate rocks: (1) were we looking for copper and (2) doesn't the same guide to ore (red rocks and reddish color anomalies) also apply to finding porphyry molybdenum deposits? I also wondered (3) haven't red rocks been considered a guide to ore in at least some disseminated gold districts, for example at and around Florida Canyon? The answers: (1) maybe [seriously, what we were looking for was actually in question], and it is good to define what you are looking for without getting so stuck on what you've decided to look for that you can't see the possibility of finding something else, (2) yes, for sure, something I first learned from other not-quite old-timer types, also back in the late 1970s, and (3) well, of course, but not everywhere.

Our impromptu field trip then moved down the road to stop number two, where a breccia of unknown origin was exposed in a particularly hairy road cut on a tight curve with narrow shoulder and the occasional speeding vehicle. The breccia reminded me of the Titus Canyon megabreccia: mostly angular fragments of dark-colored carbonate rock were cemented by white, crystalline calcite. I thought it looked like a breccia of possible hydrothermal origin, one in which fragments had shattered but not moved far. It also looked a bit like a tectonic breccia, though no faulting surfaces were exposed. The expounder leading this part of our field trip said it could be a collapse breccia that formed over an oxidized massive sulfide deposit. Oxidation of sulfides produces volume loss, leaving a potential collapse waiting to happen. I'm not sure how the calcite gets into position to cement the breccia together, it somehow having to push the fragments apart to exploit the collapsed zone, but some long, thin beds of shaly limestone could be seen to be sagging downward in a couple places, testifying to possible collapse. Perhaps the breccia was really fragment supported instead of apparently matrix supported, in which case the calcite could have moved in later with groundwater or low temperature hydrothermal waters of some kind.

Resulting major questions arose from the two field trip stops and all the bull that was being shot around. One major one that was oft repeated: Should we drill here? Or there? Or over there? Everyone wanted to choose their own drill hole or two and locate them in specific favored spots. Another question: Should we sample here? The answer to that question? If you have to ask the question and don't just pile in with your bags, labels, and rock hammers, the answer is an automatic yes. Conclusion: get on with it! ASAP.

And so ended a spontaneous early evening field trip to two undisclosed field trip stops, along an undisclosed highway, at some vague undisclosed time within the last 10 to 30 years.

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Torrent, José, and Barrón, Vidal, 2002, Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy of Iron Oxides (see page 1441 for Munsell color of some iron oxide minerals).

Somewhat Related Posts:
Some Thoughts on Weirdness, and A Picture (or Two) (or Three)
Megabreccia II: More Photos
Megabreccia III, the Continuing Saga

Light and Color on a Cozy Indoor Day

It's cloudy and threatening snow outside, and I'm staying indoors, pretending we have a warm stove radiating heat, drinking coffee mixed with cocoa. This one corner of our little house usually looks fairly uncluttered, and sometimes the plants even get a bit of light. Not today. The upper shelves are stacked with various books, mostly geology or travel related, though not entirely. Titles I can read from here include A Garden of Bristlecones, Blue Highways, Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land, Topo! for Nevada, and Nevada Off the Beaten Path. I recommend all these books, though I can't comment about the Topo! program, as I haven't used it.

I'd say that it's probably cabin fever that's keeping me indoors, but that's not right: surely cabin fever would send me outside despite the dreary weather. It must be something else.
Over near the front door, a door used only to retrieve mail, the plants look bright and cheery, even as if the sun were shining through the clouds, but their color has as much to do with the camera setting as anything else.
Um, maybe it's time for more coffee.

Hydrogeology Dream: Paddling Upstream

This isn't quite a geology dream, perhaps it's a little more like a hydrogeology dream. The dream begins in a small town in the northerly part of a westerly state, downtown near a restuarant known for it's historical artifacts, semi-unusual food or style of serving said food, and dark, knotty wood inside and out. Possibly we walk around for awhile, MOH and I, and maybe others, like one or both of my parents, are there in the beginning.

MOH and I go up a road where one branch or side creek of a major local river comes down out of the northerly mountains, perhaps walking or driving at first. After a short while, we are going up the side branch in a boat, possibly a canoe. We paddle. This is uphill in real life and uphill in the dream, but we are not really paddling upstream. It's kind of a null current, or something undefined, the way things are in dreams sometimes. Possibly impossible in real life, our paddling is not at all impossible in the dream. The area is all golden colored., as though hydrothermally altered by nearby hot springs.

And so, after paddling uphill a ways, we come to the place where there is a little park or side creek in real life. In the dream, this area is covered with a large building. We go into the building, possibly still paddling our little boat. I'm not clear about paddling to go inside, but it is as though the river goes through the building (or under it?) and then contninues out on the other side.

Oh, did I forget to say that all this time we have been going almost due north? Well, not quite due north, just a hair east of north.

The building consists mostly of one large room with a high ceiling. Tables and chairs are set out like it's a large dining area. The place is brown; everything has a brown tone, although I suspect it's mostly that the walls are made of dark brown paneling, somewhat rough-cut wood, probably stained or painted dark brown. Dark brown like this: BROWN.

The woman there - possibly there is a man, also, but he is not as clear to me - is also kind of brown: brown hair, vaguely olive skin - and she reminds me of someone, someone friendly and helpful, possibly overly helpful. L! Well, not helpful IRL, but friendly, rather rough cut herself, and of Italian descent.

It seems that she wants us to stay, possibly she has set a meal out or has one ready to set out. But we are having none of that. We didn't come here to stay, we came becuase the river brought us here, we will now follow it onward.

So we move on, leaving out in our canoe through an opening like a broad door on the northeast side of the large room. The river goes downhill, and we go with it, still in a generally northerly direction, perhaps a bit more to the northeast than to begin with. The area is still golden colored, maybe even more so.

From the morning of 08Sep2010.

Two Years Ago Today: Things in My Truck

Two years ago today, I was on my way to work one early and frozen morning, having the usual things in my truck: coffee mug with hot coffee in a nearly worn out turquoise "cool cup;" old bottle found somewhere in the field; plastic acid bottle with white lid; bright orange and yellow safety vest with multiple pockets; a "Life is Good" bag filled with miscellany including an extra fleece overshirt; a blue day pack, hidden behind the LIG bag; and brown winter jacket, long and warm for cold days. A roll of duct tape sits around the shift lever. An inverter lies part way under the seat, easy to reach from either side of the truck. Binoculars are in the glove box. A small ice chest carrying my lunch is on the floor below the glove box. Extra shoes and boots, a folding chair, a fire extinguisher, and a first aid kit all live behind the seat. My hand lens is probably dangling from the rear view mirror. There are untold, countless items in the back of the truck, enough things to camp with for a couple days if need be.
When I got home that night, two years ago today, I felt like fiddling around with colors and came up with these two versions of part of the early morning interior view.

One Year Ago Today: A Stop in Baker, NV

One year ago today, after a rousing snowshoe trip, MOH and I stopped at this establishment in Baker, Nevada (one of very few establishments in Baker, Nevada).
I love the colors of the place, and could probably spend all my time taking pictures.
If you ever stop by, be sure to notice that you can see the Snake Range detachment fault from the front of the building, just under and north of the main sign. The fault can also be seen on the banner of this blog and in a couple other posts. (And the fact that you can see the fault in this photo makes this One Year Ago post also qualify as a Friday Fault Photo post.)
After going inside, you can have a meal in a cheery room...
...or, if you've a mind to, you can have one of a couple fine draft beers. Mmm... makes me thirsty. Bye!

Disclosure: This is not a paid-for restaurant review, just a random blog post.

A Walk: Across Town and Back

It was sunny, yesterday, for the first time in several days, and cooler than is normal for early June. Rather than hiking up the hill, I walked around town, thinking that I'd do a few minor shopping errands. Instead, I meandered around and looked at things.
The backyard of a nearby old house - the one we sometimes call "our house" though we don't live there and probably never will - is a bit overgrown with lots of cheat grass. Two yellow roses bloom on the bush overhanging the shed roof. (Look closely, or enlarge!)

Pink.

Paint.

The wind was strong enough to almost knock me over at times, and blustery clouds came up before I had gone more than two blocks.
Semi-wild yellow climbing roses adorn the stairs of an old house.
Red climbing roses - an old variety brought west by settlers or miners - are often found growing wild or semi-wild in western towns.

Sign: If You Can Read This, You're In Range. (Watch out, it's Nevada!)

As I meandered around, I more or less followed the old railroad tracks, which lead to the Nevada Northern Railway depot. I don't really know what the tall, cylindrical, concrete thing above is, but it's close to the railroad and looks a lot like a smokestack. I found nothing about it or it's history online, other than one unlabeled photo. (The wide angle setting on the camera distorted the 90° angle where the lower, bridge-like structure meets the tall cylinder.)

A railroad car in front of the "Safety First" building.

Having made it that far, I moseyed over to the only stand-alone espresso shop in town. I had a mocha frappuccino, then a brisk walk back across town into the wind.

One Year Ago Today: Rainbows

These are photos from last year (as you might have guessed from the post title) - a full-sky double rainbow over our little house in eastern Nevada. The afternoon had been cloudy with rain, and I came back from work to find a dark sky and this wonderful, long-lasting rainbow. The sky was a strange color, kind of yellowish gray - it reminded me of a color I remember mostly from the East Coast, a color that during thunderstorms can precede tornadoes, although it often doesn't.

One Year Ago Today: Fall

These photos were taken last year in the Duck Creek Range and southern Schell Creek Range of eastern Nevada. This year, the trees seem to be changing color slowly, more slowly than last year. The aspens on Austin Summit, for example, were green just a few days ago. So I don't expect to find very good examples of our local Nevada color before my next days off, maybe some distant ones. For other inspiring autumn photos see Wayfarer Scientista (Colorado, I think) and Apparent Dip (Alaska).

Yellow Sage

The sagebrush is in full bloom these days, and the pollen is flying around everywhere! The blooms are a light golden yellow to golden brown. Where the blooms aren't as intense or not as fully open, their color is more a light greenish yellow.

NOTE: This plant is formally known as Artemisia tridentata, or big sage, several subspecies of which are listed at the bottom of the linked-to USDA page. I've never tried to tell any of these subspecies apart. The phrase "yellow sage" is merely the title of this post, not a common name for any sagebrush or Artemisia that I am aware of. The Artemisia genus occurs throughout the United States and Canada, and includes plants like tarragon and wormwood. [Update 7-23-2009.]

Trilobite for Sale

ReBecca at Dinochick Blogs has already pointed this one out, but being a consummate trilobite lover, I just had to pass this on to anyone who might have missed her excellent post.

Besides being able to purchase a neat, colorful trilobite - for play, for teaching, or for decorating one's house or improving upon one's otherwise dull-looking collection of rocks and minerals - you can get a collection that includes replicas of 500 million-year-old animals of the Burgess Shale from the Royal Ontario Museum online. (The trilobite comes with the collection - see ReBecca's photos replete with scale bars, like this one, or go to the ROM webpage directly for your purchase.)

Trilobite for sale or rent
Olenoides makes a nice present.
Burgess Shale toys all around,
That's as much as I will propound...

Thoughts from Today: Mine Dumps

Coeur Rochester Mine, Nevada
USGS photo by Alan R. Wallace, 2005.





I work in a place that has a lot of mine dumps, and that's because I work at a mine.

Mine dumps come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Often, younger material is dumped on older material, creating patterns of multiple unconformities: different ages of dumped material dipping in different directions, and all of it sitting on bedrock.

When the bedrock below dumped material is broken, faulted, sheared, shattered--as is often the case in mining districts because structural preparation of the rocks often plays a significant role in the location of the ore deposit in question--sometimes a quick glance will not distinguish overlying dump material from underlying broken and shattered rock.

There and Back Again

I have been "there and back again" - to the Casino Restaurant, for a Starbuck's Grande Americano with room, a grilled cheese sandwich with fries,and a chocolate milkshake with whipped cream. The coffee has picked me up some, though I've gone into lounge mode, at least for the time being. The sun came out for a bit, and bright colors were noticeable here and there, which seemed cheering.