Gem-O-Rama

This month I had the opportunity to meet up with some friends and visit Searles Dry Lakebed in Southern California for the 75^th annual Gem-O-Rama.  Gem-O-Rama is a two day gem and mineral collecting festival hosted by the Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society every year during the 2^nd weekend in October.  During this event there are three field trips to collect rare and beautiful minerals from the lake bed.  My friends and I participated in all three of the trips and were able to collect some pretty cool stuff!

About Searles Dry Lakebed:

Searles Dry Lakebed is what remains of an ancient lake that existed during the last ice age.  The climate during this time was cooler and wetter causing many large lakes to form in the American southwest.  Because of the geologic formations in this area the lakes had no outlet rivers to take water out of the lake.  With no outlet rivers to ‘flush’ the lakes they became very concentrated in certain minerals, especially salts, which were dissolved in the water.  Later, when the climate became hot and dry again, the lakes evaporated leaving the minerals behind.  In the case of Searles Dry Lakebed, the conditions were perfect to form a variety of amazing mineral specimens.  Today, the lake bed is mined by Searles Valley Minerals for these minerals which are used in a wide range of common items such as detergents, glass, cosmetics, anti-fungals, fire-retardants, and fiberglass.  Once a year, for Gem-O-Rama, the mining company allows participants onto the lakebed to collect their own minerals.

View from the lakebed 

The Mud Field Trip:

For the first field trip almost 200 tons of sticky black mud are dug up from 10-20 feet below the surface of the lakebed and spread out into piles on the surface.  The 800 participants then get to dig through the mud looking for mainly Hanksite among a few other minerals.
 

People from all over the world come out for Gem-O-Rama.  Searles Dry Lakebed is where Hanksite was first discovered and is only found in a few other locations in the world.

My friends searching through the mud for crystals. 

The mud makes it hard to tell if you have a good specimen.  However, you can’t simply wash them off with water.  Because they’re a type of salt they end up dissolving! In order to clean them you have to use brine.

Troughs of brine are available to wash off specimens. 

Hanksite, which is a sodium potassium carbonate sulfate chlorite, is shaped like a cylindrical hexagon with two hexagon pyramids on each end.    

The Hanksite found here is called ‘barrel’ Hanksite because it looks like a barrel.

The Blow Hole Field Trip:

A week before this field trip multiple holes are drilled 25 to 40 feet below the surface of the lake bed and explosives are set to loosen the minerals making it easier to bring them to the surface.  A couple days before the trip pumps are used to bring the brine containing the minerals up to the surface and are spread out for participants to search for Hanksite, Sulphohalite, Borax, Halite, and Trona. 

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Pumping the brine and minerals to the surface.

Searching through the debris.

Close-up of the debris, can you spot anything cool?

The Hanksite from this depth is called ‘doubly terminated’ because the two pyramids on the end terminate at a point

Sulphohalite is another mineral that was first discovered at Searles Dry Lakebed, it forms two pyramids

Borax, commonly used in detergent, reacts with air to form a chalky white coating over time.

Halite, also known as table salt, forms cubes.

Trona forms in large clumps of little ‘blades’.  If you ever participate in Gem-O-Rama be sure to wear gloves to prevent the Trona from cutting you! 

The Pink Halite Field Trip

During the final field trip there is only one mineral to be found and as the name suggests it’s pink Halite!  Halite, which is regularly clear, can be tinged pink by salt-loving bacteria that turns red when it dies.  This field trip is located at the south end of the lakebed where rain water from the previous winter collects.  The water (also known as brine) contains a lot of dissolved salt and is the perfect home for salt-loving bacteria.  During the summer the water evaporates making the water saltier and saltier. Eventually, the bacteria die turning the water red.  At the same time large salt crystals begin to grow around the edges of the brine pools, like ice on a lake.  The salt incorporates some of the dead bacteria turning it pink.    

The best crystals are found on the bottom side of the salty crust that covers the brine pools, it can be hard work to break through!

After some trial and error we finally found a good pool.

Pink Halite, like regular Halite, grows in cubes but sometimes the crystals aren’t well formed because they grow very quickly.

If you like rocks and ever get the opportunity to go to Gem-O-Rama I would definitely recommend it! My friends and I had a blast and were able to add a bunch of new minerals to our collections.  Even if you aren’t a geologist or don’t know what you’re doing there’s sure to be someone who will be more than happy to give you pointers.  Plus, no matter your age or experience, you’re almost guaranteed to find something cool!  Be prepared to get dirty and have a lot of fun!  I also want to give a huge thank you to Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society and Searles Valley Minerals for all the work they put into making this happen! 

What is Geology?

Geology.  Some have referred to it as the “Kardashians of Science”.  Others know it as an easy way to fulfill their science general education requirement in college.  But what is geology?  I feel that many people don’t fully understand what geology is.  Many people think of it as simply the study of rocks, which, while partially true, is not the whole story.

Geology, also known as Earth Science or Geoscience, is the study of our Earth.  This includes a wide variety of topics such as:

-          Seismology, the study of earthquakes.  Seismologists use field study and computer modeling to understand where and why earthquakes occur and how they travel through the earth.  This allows them to predict the locations and magnitudes of future earthquakes which can be used to create safety guidelines for high-risk areas.

-          Field Geology, the study of the relationships between different rock types in a natural setting through observation and mapping. Field Geologists spend time in the field making maps of the locations of different rocks.  These maps can be used to locate mineral resources or understand the geologic evolution of an area.  With the technology available today field geologists can also use satellite images and drones to be more effective.

      

  

Here are some pictures from my field geology class, on the left is the area I was studying and on the right is the map I made.

-          Hydrology, the study of the movement of water through Earth.  Hydrologists use modeling and direct observations to understand the movement of water above and below ground.  Using these tools they can make predictions about how much water is present in an area and how fast and far it will travel.  This information is especially helpful in times of drought or during a chemical spill that could affect drinking water.     

During my hydrology class field trip we installed seepage meters to determine how fast water was draining out of this pond.

-          Geochemistry, the study of the chemistry of rocks and minerals.  Geochemists study the chemical make-up of rocks, minerals, and even magma to understand their physical properties.  Using this information they can explain how a rock formed, what temperature it will melt at, and how it will cycle through the earth.   

-          Glaciology, the study of large-scale ice on earth.  Glaciologists use field study, imaging, and modeling to understand how ice formed, moves, and melts.  Their work often gives them the opportunity to spend time in the arctic or even Antarctica!    

-          Structural Geology, the study of how rocks deform.  Structural geologists use field study and physics to determine how rocks have been squeezed, folded, or fractured during their existence.  Structural geology has been able to explain how mountains form and tectonic plates move. 

My structural geology class took a weeklong trip to Death Valley to study how the valley and surrounding mountains formed.

-          Geophysics, the study of the physics that control Earth.  Geophysics use math, physics, and modeling to try and understand the Earth’s magnetic field, the convection of heat and material inside Earth’s mantle, and the structure of the interior of the Earth.    

-          Geomorphology, the study of land features and how they form.  Geomorphologists study the properties and evolution of features present on the surface of the Earth.  They try to understand how hills form, rivers move, and mountains erode.  Using this information they can make predictions about natural hazards such as landslides and floods.    

In my geomorphology class we studied how rivers transport sediments.  It was the middle of January and the professor lectured us for two hours while we were standing in this river! Brrrr!

-          Geochronology, the study of determining ages of rocks.  Geochronologists use field work to obtain their samples and then lab work to determine how old they are.  They have a variety of techniques to determine ages which have been used to date significant events in Earth’s history.   

-          Paleoclimatology, the study of Earth’s climate in the past.  Paleoclimatologists use biology, chemistry, and modeling to understand how climate has changed over Earth’s history.  To do this they study anything that might have recorded past conditions such as gas bubbles in ice or tiny fossils on the sea floor.      

This list covers only some of the topics that fall under geology.  Some fields of study include a combination of two or more. For example, my own area of study, mineral physics, is a combination of both geophysics and geochemistry.  This means that geoscientists need to understand a variety of different sciences such as math, chemistry, physics, and sometimes even biology to do our work.  The principles we use don’t only apply to the Earth, they apply throughout the Universe.  This allows geoscientists to study other objects in our Solar System.  For example, a geomorphologist can look at a picture of a landform taken by a rover on Mars, compare it to a similar feature on Earth, and by understanding how the feature on Earth was formed can determine similar processes are likely responsible for the feature on Mars.  This had led to the belief that in the past there was actively flowing water. We call this application of geosciences on other objects in our solar system Planetary Science.

Geology is a complex and diverse science that uses many different fields to understand the past, present and future of our Earth other bodies in our solar system.  You can bet you’ll find a geoscientist pondering the many mysteries of our home: from how the molten outer core churns to the causes of a landslide all the way to how the frozen plains on the dwarf planet Pluto formed.  If you’re interested in the processes that shape our planet and others then geology might be for you!

Welcome!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Geology Jots!

My name is Krista and I am a 1^st year geology graduate student at UCLA.  Geology Jots is a place where I share my experiences as a young graduate student and my love for the science of geology.  This blog has three goals which are:

-          To inform and excite the public about an often overlooked science.

-          To document life as a graduate student

-          To inspire people (especially young women and girls) to get engaged in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.

I became interested in geology when I was very young.  For as long as I can remember I have loved to collect rocks, wondering what they were made of and how they formed.  In 3^rd grade I presented a science fair project on the rock cycle.  Despite this, geology was not always an obvious path for me. I encountered many preconceived notions which almost prevented me from being where I am today.  I almost didn’t major in geology because a teacher in high school discouraged me from taking classes in the subject stating geology wasn’t a ‘real’ science.  It wasn’t until I happened to take a geology class my freshman year of college (the class I had wanted to take was full) that I realized how wrong my high school teacher was.  Geology was complex and fascinating and I was excited to study it.  Once I realized this I encountered another problem.  Geology required chemistry, physics, and math.  I constantly struggled in math leading teachers, classmates, my parents, and even myself to believe I simply wasn’t a math or science person.  Guidance from a geophysics professor showed me that nobody is born with an ability or inability to do well in subjects like math.  They are skills that need to be practiced and learned.  With this new mindset I became more open-minded about learning and relished the challenges presented to me in classes.  As I approached my final year I found I wanted to learn more, especially about the unsolved mysteries of the interior of the earth.  I began thinking about graduate school.  However, I was afraid I didn’t have what it takes to pursue a PhD.  Support from my classmates and advisers encouraged me to give it a try anyway and here I am today!  I hope that by sharing my experiences I can disprove  the assumptions I faced and create a clearer path for young scientists.        

I look forward to sharing my adventures with you!