ASPIRE 2025 Image Contest Winners

Md. Zayed Abdur RazzakAn eroded cliff, preserving evidence of past events within its layers, was the focus of a field expedition in 2021. The team consisted of geology students from the Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, and professionals from Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX). Conducted in the Teknaf region of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the expedition combined approaches such as sequence stratigraphy and seismic stratigraphy in an effort to reconstruct the stratigraphic framework of the area

 

David Giovannetti-Nazario

Cathodoluminescence (CL) imagery of calcite (CaCO3) pseudomorphs after ikaite in Miers Valley, Antarctica. These carbonate minerals were once a hydrated calcium carbonate (ikaite, CaCO3•6H2O) that formed in a paleolake, Lake Trowbridge, under frigid temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum. As these conditions changed and the paleolake receded, the ikaite decomposed into a stable calcite phase, losing its structural waters. This thin section photomicrograph under CL looks at the presence of reducing Mn and Fe in the carbonate, where chemical variability can be seen from the hexagonal dimly lit core, a non-luminescent ellipsoidal overgrowth, and a brightly luminescent rim. Blue and green colors represent detrital sediment components within the sample. The CL imagery highlights the ability of these minerals to act as records of fluid evolution throughout the lifespan of Lake Trowbridge in Miers Valley. White scale bar is 0.5cm.