I’m 17 and starting university soon. I want to major in Geology/Earth Science because I love nature and the sea, but I plan to self-study Python, GIS (digital mapping), and Data Science on the side to work in environmental data analytics or satellite mapping.

My parents think geology has no future here and that I'll just end up as a teacher.

Are there decent jobs in Lebanon for this combo (UN, NGOs, consultancies)?

Can I get remote work or move to the Gulf with an Earth Science degree + strong self-taught coding skills?

Should I just major in pure Computer Science instead and self-study the science stuff?

See also: The publication in Scientific Reports

I've had a great love for geology since my adolescence, I'm 26 now; it was my first choice for college and I'm currently in my fourth year. But recent health complications led me to undergo some procedures, and the results revealed a brain tumor, caused by a type of cancer. I know that my condition will completely change my lifestyle, my routine, my way of living, and with that I imagine it will no longer be possible to continue my studies and finally become a geologist. The demanding and challenging conditions a geologist faces, I believe, would be overwhelming for someone in my situation. I've already had the tumor completely removed, and I'll begin cancer treatment, which will last more than a year, depending on my response to the treatment. I don't know if I'll ever have a life like I did before. This ended up being a bit of a rant, sorry if it breaks the rules of the sub, but it's a delicate moment, giving up something I love so abruptly. Well, I'll finish here, I hope you all find lots of euhedral crystals in the field haha.

TL/DR: Discovered I have a serious illness; don't know if I can be a geologist anymore

Just out of curiosity, would anyone be able to describe how exactly chemical weathering mainly forms karst topography within certain regions? Like was that kind of surface feature a product of the time when sea level was higher and had been made up of a different level of oxygen or something?

I'll start:

1. The aptly named Elephant Arch of the Ennedi Plateau in northeastern Chad. I think "Elephant" is one of the most common zoomorphism used to describe rock features, but this likeness is uncanny. I promise it's real lol.

2. Naissa/Naysar Brakk in the Charakusa Valley of Pakistan. This massive pyramid is nearly 4,000ft tall. Its shape appears to be perfect (from this angle).

3. God's Eye Mountain in Cao Bang Vietnam. A beautiful dripping limestone arch through the middle of a "gumdrop" mountain.

Please excuse my ignorance. I’m not much of a geology buff myself. I’m posting on behalf of my father, who earned a geology minor in college and has collected rocks and minerals for many years.

One of his prized possessions is this large piece of petrified wood that he has owned since his college days. Unfortunately, he recently suffered a stroke, and we’ve been moving him into assisted living. During the move, some of his belongings were damaged, including this piece of petrified wood.
It broke roughly in half, and the broken edge is now very fragile. Small pieces keep chipping off whenever it’s handled, so I’m worried that moving it again will cause even more damage.

I have a couple of questions.

1. Is this something that can be repaired or stabilized? For example, could the broken face be cut and polished so it has a smooth finish again and won’t continue to chip apart?

2. Does this piece have any collectible or monetary value, or is it primarily a decorative specimen? (Would it be worth the cost to fix it)?

He would really like to keep it because it has sentimental value, but he’ll have very limited space in assisted living. I don’t want to give him something that’s going to keep deteriorating every time it’s moved.

I’ve attached a photo with a water bottle for scale. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I’m at a lake in Ontario right now, south of Ottawa (Bob’s Lake), and I found this “delineation” on an outcropping of what seems like granite from the Canadian Shield. I was wondering if anyone might know what could’ve caused this line to extend all the way across the rock? It presumably continues under the water as well.

My thoughts are some sort of volcanic eruption that laid down a different composition of tephra from the rock underneath? Or possibly a meteor impact maybe? The rock seems to be very, very old, and the “line” is almost pointing directly up at the sky now, so the terrain must have shifted if it is in fact a tephra lair.

Thank you so much for any insight!

This is the trailer for an art science movie called Boris Wartenbe's Sing-Along HydroGeological Survey. A work in progress to be released in three parts. Commercial Free !

Part One (released) way back in 2014

Part Two (unpublished) is also available on wartenbe.com

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my dream is to live somewhere in the country then walk like a mile from my house into a forest and there's just a hot spring waiting for me

I was thinking instead of me slugging through buzzfeed listicles I'd rather have someone excited about the topic talk to me about it. So please talk to me about sand.

While flying a domestic comercial route in Brazil between São Paulo and Belém I've noticed a circular structure from the plane window, it looked a lot like a meteor impact crater, but I haven't found anything online about it.

It's located in the state of Goiás, near the border with Tocantins, and there's a city called Minaçu nearby, it's a sparsely populated region.

-13.614078,-48.067640

TLDR: I agree with the premise of having the BGS for networking and professional validation, but not that they require you to do almost 2 years of unpaid work over the course of a career to maintain your chartership. And that they can revoke your chartership if you don’t do it.

For background I’m an all round geo with 8 years of consulting experience in multiple countries. The biggest issue I have with the BGS is the ongoing requirements for continued professional development (CPD).

As part of their requirements for chartership you’re required to do 90 hours of CPD per year. If anyone asks a professional outside the UK for 90 hours a year of their time, you can bet they’re going to charge for that time.

However if you don’t do it then the BGS can hold your career to ransom by pulling your chartership, regardless of how much experience or your qualifications within the field. Most jobs roles in the uk at or above senior require you to be chartered anyway.

I understand the value in having a professional body to validate other professionals and act as a networking hub. But over a full professional career of 40 years it equates to 3600 hours, or close to 2 full years of unpaid work (after you’ve spent however many tens of thousands of pounds getting your degrees).

I’ve not mentioned the membership fee as it’s part of running/maintaining the organisation, and agree it is needed. And most companies pay for it anyway.

Also a personal gripe, they need to get their act together and put up to date salary ranges on their website. As a professional body it should be aiming to encourage university students to study geology, and posting starting salaries on their website that are below current minimum wage is incredibly stupid/easy to fix.

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geology-Career-Pathways/Careers/Salary-Information.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqinPDnd0cXlTn-SOONoE0Re8BNd_FC9cqS1mtNjiK8xzE7wYzU