Desert Stars -- Strikingly Curious Fe-Oxide Pseudomorphs of the White Desert, Farafra, Egypt
Department
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Major
Geology and Geophysics
Research Advisor
Hogan, John Patrick
Advisor's Department
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Funding Source
National Science Foundation
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to determine the original and current mineralogy of the strikingly curious "Desert Stars" of Farafra, Egypt. The Desert Stars are Fe-oxide pseudomorphs. A pseudomorph is a crystal with the composition of one mineral with a crystal form that mimics a different mineral. The Desert Stars display spectacular crystal forms, including cubic, bladed, and stellate, thus the name Desert Stars. Once the mineralogy of these pseudomorphs has been established the conditions that led to the deposition of the original minerals followed by their replacement by another mineral need to be determined. Polygonal faulting, chalk lithology, and ionized fluids are considered depositional condition factors in Desert Star formation, which need to be investigated in this project.
Biography
Stephanie is a senior in Geology and Geophysics from St. Louis, Missouri. She is President of the C.L. Dake Geological Society and founder of French Club. Stephanie became in involved in this project in Fall 2012, when she was invited to join the Desert Eyes team, a multi-university geology research project in Egypt focusing on structural geology, sedimentology, tectonics, and mineralogy (funded by NSF). Stephanie's area of expertise is in mineralogy, and she will study the stellate crystals.
Research Category
Research Proposals
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Upper Atrium/Hallway
Presentation Date
03 Apr 2013, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Desert Stars -- Strikingly Curious Fe-Oxide Pseudomorphs of the White Desert, Farafra, Egypt
Upper Atrium/Hallway
The purpose of this project is to determine the original and current mineralogy of the strikingly curious "Desert Stars" of Farafra, Egypt. The Desert Stars are Fe-oxide pseudomorphs. A pseudomorph is a crystal with the composition of one mineral with a crystal form that mimics a different mineral. The Desert Stars display spectacular crystal forms, including cubic, bladed, and stellate, thus the name Desert Stars. Once the mineralogy of these pseudomorphs has been established the conditions that led to the deposition of the original minerals followed by their replacement by another mineral need to be determined. Polygonal faulting, chalk lithology, and ionized fluids are considered depositional condition factors in Desert Star formation, which need to be investigated in this project.
Comments
Joint project with Reid Herndon