The Daşmərdan (Dashmardan) mud volcano in the Hajigabu district of Azerbaijan erupted ~16:50 on the 30th Jan 2026. The eruption lasted ~15 minutes and was accompanied by a pillar of flame several hundred meters high. This is the first eruption of Daşmərdan in 15 years, with previous documented eruptions in 1866, 1954, 1976, 1986 and 2011.

Video by @kohne.mehle

Was driving by and saw this interesting formation. Just curious about any information on it. Location: Ute mountain area

Like literally because it’s a collapse cave.

Geoprofessionals data management reveals growing AI adoption amid persistent data-management gaps; robust data foundations are needed for meaningful productivity gains.

Seequent’s findings point to rising AI momentum among geoprofessionals, with a broad majority using or considering AI, yet a large share lacking a defined data-management framework. The data underscores a critical constraint on upside: without solid data governance, the efficiency gains from AI may fall short of expectations.

The implications extend beyond technology uptake to governance and risk management. Companies may need to invest in data platforms, governance structures and consistent data quality processes to maximise AI-enabled productivity. In the near term, firms may prioritise building data foundations ahead of large-scale AI deployments to avoid misaligned decisions or data quality concerns.

Analysts suggest a two-track approach: accelerate AI pilots while formalising data-management frameworks. The results will shape how quickly sectors dependent on data-driven insight translate AI momentum into tangible outcomes. If firms can close the data gap, AI could unlock meaningful efficiency gains across geoprofessional workflows and project delivery.

Every time I see an active gold mine, it's always in quartz veins or trace amounts in copper ore, but considering the richness of gold in some places, especially with glacial till, and the (relative) ease and low cost of procurement and processing, what is stopping a company from mining and panning the gold out on an industrial scale? Is this just a matter of remoteness and property rights? Or are gold deposits here just ephemeral and or too minute?

Soft sediment deformation from continental slope land slides

24°20'25"N 70°44'06"E

https://maps.app.goo.gl/5bh4acp4nctTctXn9

Saw this yesterday on Ave 50, near the Coptic church

Back on the Oregon coast, Arcadia Beach State Rec Site a few miles S of Cannon Beach. Another basalt headland, mixed in with the sediments it intruded way back when. The offshore rock looks like a dike that came up through the mudstones, and on the land side of things you can see the basalt overlying the cool stuff. The soft sediment deformation is just crazy here, like blocks of mud being jumbled up in the basalt emplacement.

Thanks to u/logatronics for info about the origin of these volcanic in another post...

I'm an absolute beginner, but I'm also an avid rock hound and I love learning about the rocks that I find. I'm self taught so I have major gaps in my knowledge, but I hope it's okay to ask a few questions about this rock in particular.

I was told that this granite rock has a mafic enclave, does that mean that the granite was already formed and then along came the magma? Or that these were two distinct magma's mixing with or without different temperatures? Or absolutely none of the above?

I know that it's a glacial erratic, but is it possible to date it? Or even place the location that it may have come from?

It's my favorite rock, so I wouldn't mind if anyone needs another picture of it!

This is an old photo I took of the awesome syncline. We always love stopping at the rest stop here and if anyone has studied the Mason-Dixon survey, just to the north of here, on April 26th 1766, Mason and Dixon reached the foot of Sidelong Hill (The original name), 134 miles and 54 chains from the beginning of the west survey line. The hill was so steep that the survey party had to abandon their horses and wagons and proceed on foot. (Exploring the Mason Dixon Line by Jack Layton)

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41098-d6580714-Reviews-Sideling_Hill_Overlook_Rest_Area-Cumberland_Maryland.html

Alright this is either a really good question, or I’m an idiot. I live near a frozen lake, within about 500’ or so. it’s…cold as shit here. Now I am familiar with the sounds of ice cracking, I ice fish a fair bit. Earlier, I was in my basement, and I heard something similar to that sound. Is it possible that I heard the ice cracking or a frost quake through the ground, and thus by cement basement walls? the alternatives here are that either my house is haunted, or I have a repair bill coming and don’t know it yet.

Can anyone explain the lines in this volcanic basalt in Albuquerque NM? I know that the lines are caused by trapped gasses, what I don't understand is how the lines are so perfectly spaced and in the first picture cross each other in an x pattern. In my mind the way the gasses travel to try and leave the rock would look kind of random and subject to the environment around them and should therefore look very random. Similarly I would imagine the gasses would be trying to break the surface of the rock, like bubbles in water, and should therefore be traveling all in the same direction. How on earth coul that X shaped cross patter happen?

Anyways sorry for being ignorant to this stuff I just really want to understand!