Thursday 17 January 2013

A challenging way to write



I was inspired by Ann and Chris over at HighlyAllotchthonous to try to write up what I study using a text editor which limits one to using only the 1000 most commonly used words.

Here follows my attempt to describe metamorphic petrology and 3D models of hydrothermal alteration systems using none of those words:

I study rocks that have changed because they got hot or because too many other rocks were on top of them. The bits that make up rocks can change quite a lot because of just how hot it is, and also because of how much stuff is on top of it.  Different bits of rock like to give away some the stuff they are made of when they get hotter (and/or they go deeper under other rocks), and instead take different stuff from other rock bits.  Studying which stuff appears more in one rock bit than another rock bit can tell us just how hot or how deep the rock must have been. 

Another thing which can make rocks change is water. When hot water moved through the cracks in rocks it can help carry stuff between the rock bits.  My job today studies rocks that had water help them to change, and I am trying to make a drawing that shows all of the changes as they happened-a drawing that one can look at from any side: top, bottom, left, right, front or back. When the drawing is done you will be able to turn it any way you want and see how the rocks have changed.