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DL Whitney

@sorosilicate

Metamorphic petrologist who also does some tectonics and teaches mineralogy. I love rocks and minerals and field work. Also reading, art, and cats.

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02.09.2024
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Latest posts by DL Whitney @sorosilicate

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International Women’s Day march in Berlin

08.03.2026 20:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Epic #kyanite crystals reveal their colors when split open. We are tracking variation in extent of kyanite to sillimanite transformation in a metamorphic dome β€” it varies from 0-100% with structural location in the dome: one of the many geo-useful and fun things you can do with kyanite. #MinCup25

01.10.2025 18:22 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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These white #kyanite crystals in a biotite-gedrite schist from central Australia somehow missed out on the titanium, iron, and other trace elements that kyanite typically contains to give it the iconic blue and other colors. #MinCup25

01.10.2025 16:15 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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This rock in western Norway originated as basalt in an ancient ocean, then it was buried (subducted) tens of kilometers and heated over 800 C to create this beautiful #kyanite. The alignment of the kyanite indicates deformation. #MinCup25

01.10.2025 13:17 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Chromium-rich #kyanite blood, as seen with cathodoluminescence imaging. #MinCup25

01.10.2025 02:30 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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#kyanite party (Roan, Norway) #MinCup25

01.10.2025 02:27 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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I’m very excited that #tugtupite made it to the finals but can it do this? Folded #kyanite in a high-pressure quartzite, western TΓΌrkiye. #MinCup25

01.10.2025 01:23 πŸ‘ 38 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I bought these! I’m not sure where they are from.

30.09.2025 19:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Hematite is red,
#kyanite is blue,
And also green, white, black, and orange
too
#MinCup25

29.09.2025 21:29 πŸ‘ 31 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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#kyanite (blue) replacing or being replaced by pink #andalusite. Bonus: there is also #sillimanite, so this a rare locality containing 3 Al2SiO5 minerals (polymorphs). Lesjaverk, Norway. #MinCup25

29.09.2025 19:15 πŸ‘ 167 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 2
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#kyanite wave (Western Gneiss Region, Norway) #MinCup25

29.09.2025 14:30 πŸ‘ 46 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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NOTE: MSA Inaugural Annual Meeting: Feb, 16-18, 2026, Tucson, AZ, USA
This will follow the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. On Feb. 17 and 18 there will be a series of talks and poster sessions. Abstracts due: Oct. 31. Registration will be through the MSA website at www.msaweb.org

25.09.2025 12:50 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Central Australia!

24.09.2025 21:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This is in central Australia. I was fortunate to have permission to do field work in the area as part of a project to understand the geologic history, but the kyanite-rich sites are in a β€œno fossicking” (collecting) zone.

24.09.2025 19:08 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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#kyanite fields forever, or until the next orogeny #MinCup25

23.09.2025 18:17 πŸ‘ 45 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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#kyanite in biotite gneiss from the Entia Dome, central Australia. Kyanite forms deep in the crust before it makes its way to the Earth’s surface, a slow and much more challenging journey than taenite’s fall through space. #MinCup25

23.09.2025 01:04 πŸ‘ 135 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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#kyanite volcano (not really a thing but a nice way to display the different colors of kyanite) #MinCup25

13.09.2025 01:44 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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#Garnet swimming in a sea of #Titanite in a Franciscan Complex metamorphic rock, as seen in plane and cross polarized light. Photo by Sarah Brandt. #MinCup25

11.09.2025 18:09 πŸ‘ 66 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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#Titanite from the Franciscan subduction complex, California, as seen under plane and cross polarized light in a petrographic microscope. Field of view about 2 mm. Photo by Sarah Brandt. #MinCup25

11.09.2025 16:35 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Magnetic and Crystallographic Fabric Analyses of Amphibolite: A Proposed Methodology Applied to a Migmatite Dome Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility provides an efficient, first-order characterization of amphibole-dominated rock fabrics Rapid, simple methods open applications to structural field studies i...

Magnetic and Crystallographic Fabric Analyses of Amphibolite: A Proposed Methodology Applied to a Migmatite Dome - Hamelin - 2025 - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth - Wiley Online Library agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

05.08.2025 18:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Kyanite in a matrix of quartz under crossed polarized light

Kyanite in a matrix of quartz under crossed polarized light

Kyanite in a matrix of quartz under plane polarized light

Kyanite in a matrix of quartz under plane polarized light

#kyanite is beautiful at all scales, #MinCup24

28.09.2024 17:37 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Pink corundum, green cpx

Pink corundum, green cpx

Pink #corundum with green #clinopyroxene in thin section (plane light, 2 mm FOV), Berit metaophiolite, TΓΌrkiye, #MinCup24

19.09.2024 01:26 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Pink corundum with green cpx

Pink corundum with green cpx

#corundum in a petrographic thin section (plane light), with green #clinopyroxene, field of view ~2 mm, Doğanşehir, Türkiye, #MinCup24

19.09.2024 01:18 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Diamond shaped titanite, plane light

Diamond shaped titanite, plane light

Diamond-shaped titanite, crossed polars

Diamond-shaped titanite, crossed polars

#Titanite from gneiss from FinnΓΈya, Norway, as seen in thin section. Clear, rounded inclusions are apatite. Field of view ~0.5 mm. #MinCup24

13.09.2024 18:01 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Different colors of kyanite

Different colors of kyanite

#Kyanite in blue, green, white, and black. #MinCup24

12.09.2024 17:41 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Quartz

Quartz

A heap of #quartz. Go ahead and try this with mercury. #MinCup24

11.09.2024 20:01 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Eclogite

Eclogite

Eclogite

Eclogite

#omphacite #MinCup24

11.09.2024 02:06 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0