Qu'est-que ce?
Highly Allochthonous
News and Commentary From the Wide World of Earth Science
Search
The Authors
Chris Rowan is a geologist specialising in the dark arts of paleomagnetism, and getting people to pay him to travel to exotic destinations for fieldwork. Having drilled up New Zealand during his PhD, and South Africa in his first post-doc, he now works at the University of Edinburgh.
Anne Jefferson has a love of all things water-related and blends hydrology, geomorphology, geology, and climate change in her work. She has a Ph.D. from Oregon State University and is now an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
What the heck does 'Highly Allochthonous' mean?
Blog Facebook Page
Ye olde blog
Geoblogosphere latest
Sb/DonorsChoose Drive
Thanks!
Recent Comments
- Chris Rowan on Stuff I linked to on Twitter last week
- Lab Lemming on Stuff I linked to on Twitter last week
- Marcel Waldvogel on Earthquake hazard mitigation the Iranian way
- Max Tardiveau on Could an iPhone be a useful field tool?
- Harold Asmis on Earthquakes within plates: we don't know when, and we may not know where
- Chris Rowan on Earthquakes within plates: we don't know when, and we may not know where
- Brian Shiro on Earthquakes within plates: we don't know when, and we may not know where
- Jr on To our amazing readers, we are humbled. Post requests are now open.
- Harold Asmis on Earthquakes within plates: we don't know when, and we may not know where
- Anne Jefferson on Earthquake hazard mitigation the Iranian way
Recent Posts
- Stuff I linked to on Twitter last week
- Earthquakes within plates: we don't know when, and we may not know where
- Earthquake hazard mitigation the Iranian way
- Advice and Advocacy
- To our amazing readers, we are humbled. Post requests are now open.
- ScienceOnline 2010: geobloggers required
- Hydrogeology and geomorphology: Notes from GSA Monday and Tuesday
- The Hydrology and Evolution of Basaltic Landscapes: Notes from GSA Sunday
- Stuff I linked to on Twitter last week
- Blogging, tweeting and conferences
Blogs I read
-
Geology (rotating)
- Head In a Cloud
- James' Empty Blog
- Open Mind
- RealClimate
- Stoat
- According to Colwell
- Bad Astronomy
- Bad Science
- Centauri Dreams
- Panda's Thumb
- Am I a woman scientist?
- Minor Revisions
- Propter Doc
- Rising to the Occasion
- Sciencewoman
- The Accretionary Wedge
- The Boneyard
Fossils (rotating)
Climate
Misc. Science
Scientists
Carnivals
Categories
- academic life
- bloggery
- by Anne
- climatology
- deep time
- environment
- fieldwork
- general science
- geohazards
- geology
- geomorphology
- gifts and gadgets
- hydrogeology
- paper reviews
- past worlds
- photos
- science education
Archives
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
« Napalm is not a good fire extinguisher | Main | One year in the Evil Empire »
Geopuzzle #7
Category: geology • geopuzzling
Posted on: February 29, 2008 11:58 AM, by Chris Rowan
Find more posts in: 
Environment
Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More
Comments
Where did you find that exhaust pipe from a 1954 Studebaker?
Posted by: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD | February 29, 2008 12:03 PM
Seriously though, a trace fossil from an animal burrow?
Posted by: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD | February 29, 2008 12:04 PM
Fused sand caused by lightning coursing through the ground?
Posted by: Divalent | February 29, 2008 12:44 PM
Looks a bit trace fossil-y to me too. But it's BIG!!
Posted by: Julia | February 29, 2008 12:44 PM
I second the nomination for fulgarite.
Posted by: cope | February 29, 2008 1:03 PM
Is that your hand? long nails, and nail varnish. Nice manicure
Posted by: Propter Doc | February 29, 2008 1:22 PM
I second the nomination for animal burrow (held upside-down?) and apparently a bit geod-ified (is that a word?) on the interior...
Posted by: Callan Bentley | February 29, 2008 1:25 PM
Fulgurite.
Posted by: Dioktos | February 29, 2008 1:35 PM
My first instinct was fulgurite but I can't imagine the bends and twists being so rounded. The diameter seems to be too uniform for a bone or and antler.
I'm going to have to go with a petrified animal burrow...
Posted by: jim repka | February 29, 2008 1:42 PM
I'm with fulgurite...mine twists and turns a bit too.
Posted by: Garry Hayes | February 29, 2008 1:53 PM
Fulgurite, but it looks hydrated. Possibly pseudomorphing a tree root.
Posted by: Ron Schott | February 29, 2008 2:13 PM
Another vote for a fulgurite.
Posted by: Ellery | February 29, 2008 3:00 PM
I vote for trace fossil as well. But, before I saw the whole thing the outside texture reminded me of coral. I still vote for a burrow of some sort though. (Especially after reading about Daemonelix at http://eobasileus.blogspot.com/2008/02/odd-prehistoric-rodents-part-iii-devils.html).
Posted by: Mel | February 29, 2008 3:50 PM
My first guess was fulgurite, and I'm sticking with it.
Posted by: ScienceWoman | February 29, 2008 4:13 PM
fossil from where wood was trapped in a slow moving lava flow such as one sees in hawaii?
Posted by: tbell | February 29, 2008 4:23 PM
Sea vent carbonate tube?
Posted by: dave X | February 29, 2008 4:23 PM
I think that the wavy shape at the lower end make it look rather fossil-like.
Posted by: Silver Fox | February 29, 2008 10:10 PM
The cross-section at the bottom end absolutely pins it down as a fulgurite. Otherwise it could be one of those mineralizy things that forms around old roots.
Posted by: Andrew | March 1, 2008 1:01 AM
tu veux dire "qu'est-ce que c'est", je croix
Posted by: racaille | March 1, 2008 1:58 AM
Hmmm...
Looks too smooth for fulgurite, even too smooth for some sort of fossilized branch or root (in highly reactive environments, like White Sands, these'll form in a few years), my money's on a burrow.
Posted by: Sam Wise | March 1, 2008 8:37 AM
Yeah, I see that wavy look over at Andrew's about.com -- I might have to change my vote!
Posted by: Silver Fox | March 1, 2008 9:11 AM
I found a web site with the same exact photo....so I know what it is! All because I had no idea what you guys were talking about with all of this fulgurite stuff.
Posted by: Jason Fox | March 1, 2008 2:44 PM
The Fulgurites were a Utopian religious colony in western New York state in the mid-19th century (see Burned-Over District). Their leader, James Fulgur, was shot by an outraged father of a 13-year old girl in a neighboring town. I have no idea what all this has to do with trace fossils.
Posted by: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD | March 2, 2008 2:43 PM
Fulgurite is also "an irregular glassy tube or crust produced by the fusion of loose sand by lightning, and found esp. in dune areas. Etymology: Latin fulgur, "lightning" (from the Dictionary of Geological Terms, Third Edition, published by the American Geological Institute).
It's also called "fossilized lightning", which is not quite correct, but good for a conceptual description.
Posted by: Tuff Cookie | March 3, 2008 10:38 AM
Posted by: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD | March 4, 2008 11:02 AM
I'll go with fulgurite.
Posted by: Pete | July 2, 2009 9:00 PM