Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-07-30DOI: 10.1111/gto.70027
Olev Vinn
{"title":"The Silurian of Saaremaa Island, Estonia: a window into ancient symbiosis and Palaeozoic ecosystems","authors":"Olev Vinn","doi":"10.1111/gto.70027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70027","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Silurian rocks of Saaremaa Island, Estonia, provide an exceptional record of ancient marine life, not just as individual fossils but as evidence of how organisms lived together. Around 430–420 million years ago, this region was a tropical sea where corals and stromatoporoid sponges formed thriving reef ecosystems. What makes Saaremaa unique is the frequent preservation of endobiotic relationships—organisms living inside the skeletons of others. Worms inhabited tabulate corals, cornulitid tubeworms embedded themselves in stromatoporoids and solitary rugose corals grew within coral colonies and sponges, using them as stable shelters and feeding platforms. These associations show that Silurian reefs and shelves were crowded, competitive, and highly interconnected environments where organisms coexisted through tolerance rather than destruction. Now exposed in coastal cliffs, these fossils offer a rare and detailed glimpse into early symbiosis and community structure in Palaeozoic seas.</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 4","pages":"200-202"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148617052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1111/gto.70020
Justin A. Holcomb, Beth L. O'Leary, Rolfe D. Mandel
{"title":"The geoarchaeology of planetary exploration: new approaches to space heritage preservation","authors":"Justin A. Holcomb, Beth L. O'Leary, Rolfe D. Mandel","doi":"10.1111/gto.70020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<p>On 21 May 2015, the United States passed the ‘Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act’, also known as the SPACE Act, encouraging a competitive commercial space exploration industry and effectively ushering a new space race, or even space age. Unlike the former space age of the 1950s–1970s which was characterized by intense competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, the new space race involves at least 70 different countries and hundreds of private companies pursuing space exploration enterprises. One reason for this renewed interest lies in the Moon's potential for providing key natural resources capable of being mined, also known as <i>in situ resource utilization</i> (ISRU), such as rare earth elements for consumer electronics, water ice containing hydrogen necessary for rocket fuel and helium-3, a valuable nonradioactive isotope that is rare on Earth. Along with the hundreds of private companies, three major ongoing multi-government space initiatives aimed at ISRU are underway: the NASA-led ARTEMIS Program (which saw its first crewed mission launch on 1 April 2026), the ESA-led moon base initiative and China's Lunar Exploration Program. These initiatives have major implications for the future management of natural and cultural resources preserved within extraterrestrial environments, and it is imperative that researchers, including geologists, archaeologists and planetary scientist work together to discuss strategies to mitigate risk to these resources. While natural resources such as those mentioned above represent the main foci of space interest, cultural resources are equally important to consider for protection as we enter the new space race.</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 3","pages":"129-133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gto.70020","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148160765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1111/gto.70023
Kent Brooks
{"title":"Andesites and their associates","authors":"Kent Brooks","doi":"10.1111/gto.70023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70023","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Andesites are volcanic rocks with an intermediate silica content. They are a feature of mountain chains like the Andes, from which the name is derived, and island arcs. Andesite and its associates, such as basalt, dacite and rhyolite (which belong to the so-called calc-alkaline rock series), occur in zones where tectonic plates are subducting (converging, so that one plate is forced down under its opponent).</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 3","pages":"154-160"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148160779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1111/gto.70021
Benedikt M. Steiner, James S.K. Barnet
{"title":"Evolving late Triassic–Jurassic environments of western Europe: the Schwäbisch Gmünd geological path in southwest Germany compared to the ‘Jurassic Coast’ of Dorset, southern England","authors":"Benedikt M. Steiner, James S.K. Barnet","doi":"10.1111/gto.70021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70021","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The geology of southwest Germany is dominated by continental to marine sedimentary rocks deposited within Mesozoic sedimentary basins which have yielded economic hydrocarbon deposits. This stratigraphy has formed the focus of geological and stratigraphical research for centuries, with world-famous exposures becoming type sections and lending their name to some stages of the Jurassic. Studying geological transects in southwest Germany is not only interesting from a palaeontological and hydrocarbon perspective, but also allows us to reconstruct the evolution of depositional environments over time. One such transect is the ‘Geological Path’ curated by the Geological Association of Schwäbisch Gmünd, which guides the public through the local Late Triassic to Jurassic stratigraphy. In this feature, we provide an overview of this transect, contextualize the dominant changes in depositional environments and fossil assemblages, and compare these to coeval stratigraphy exposed in coastal cliffs on the ‘Jurassic Coast’ in southern England.</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 3","pages":"134-146"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gto.70021","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148160777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1111/gto.70022
Despoina Dora, Georgios Lazaridis, Panagiotis Tokmakidis, Konstantinos P. Trimmis, George Veni, Konstantinos Tokmakidis, Konstantinos Vouvalidis
{"title":"Low-cost smartphone LiDAR for 3D cave mapping: comparing mobile and terrestrial laser scanning methods","authors":"Despoina Dora, Georgios Lazaridis, Panagiotis Tokmakidis, Konstantinos P. Trimmis, George Veni, Konstantinos Tokmakidis, Konstantinos Vouvalidis","doi":"10.1111/gto.70022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70022","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article demonstrates how a built-in mobile-device LiDAR sensor can be used to produce practical and reliable 3D cave models. Using Agios Georgios Cave in Kilkis, Greece, as a real field example, an iPhone 13 Pro Max equipped with the Polycam app was used to document cave passages, chambers and the vertical connection between levels. The results were directly compared with high-resolution data from a FARO Focus3D laser scanner. The workflow presented here shows how a non-specialist can collect, process and evaluate LiDAR data using only a smartphone and highlights where such an approach performs well and where it encounters limitations—particularly in vertically complex spaces. These results illustrate the value of smartphone mobile-device LiDAR as an accessible tool for cave documentation and geoscience field work while also providing a step-by-step example that practitioners can replicate.</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 3","pages":"147-153"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gto.70022","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148160778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-04-08DOI: 10.1111/gto.70014
Erik Sturkell, Axel Sjöqvist, Lennart Björklund, Andreas Johnsson
{"title":"Geologists on the silver screen—the sequel","authors":"Erik Sturkell, Axel Sjöqvist, Lennart Björklund, Andreas Johnsson","doi":"10.1111/gto.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As geologists, our interest is piqued when geological processes—with varying degrees of accuracy—are portrayed in movies and especially when a geologist unexpectedly appears on screen, even in a minor role. More than a decade ago, during a coffee break, we started talking about movies that feature geologists. We counted a dozen different movies and began to wonder: how is our profession portrayed in the popular mass media?</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 2","pages":"82-86"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gto.70014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-04-08DOI: 10.1111/gto.70017
James S.K. Barnet
{"title":"Unravelling the 800-million-year geological history of the Nevis and Mamore ranges, Fort William, Scotland","authors":"James S.K. Barnet","doi":"10.1111/gto.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Nevis and Mamore ranges near Fort William comprise some of the most popular and spectacular of all Scotland's mountains including the highest peak, Ben Nevis. The beauty of this mountainous region is the product of a long and complex geological evolution, spanning 800 million years of Earth's history. This complex geological evolution featured the formation and break up of multiple supercontinents, continental collisions and uplift of Himalayan scale mountain ranges, formation of active volcanoes, continental drift from high southern latitudes to mid northern latitudes and finally sculpting of the mountain peaks and glens by Arctic ice sheets and glaciers during the most recent Ice Age. Here I describe this fascinating geological evolution and how it has shaped this spectacular landscape.</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 2","pages":"97-111"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gto.70017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geology TodayPub Date : 2026-04-08DOI: 10.1111/gto.70015
Darren Naish
{"title":"Monsters of the Deep","authors":"Darren Naish","doi":"10.1111/gto.70015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sea monsters are mostly associated with pre-scientific views of the world or with fiction. Despite this, various writers—select scientists among them—have interpreted sea monsters as real, often arguing for a connection between them and animals known as fossils. Efforts to bring sea monsters into mainstream science have mostly failed, but despite this they remain embedded in culture and imagination. In a recent show at Aberdeen Art Gallery, <i>Monsters of the Deep</i> explored the history of sea monsters and how scientific discoveries and popular culture have combined to keep the subject very much alive.</p>","PeriodicalId":100581,"journal":{"name":"Geology Today","volume":"42 2","pages":"87-93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}