It took me way too long into this video to realize they're called superior formations because they're the kind we found around Lake Superior, not because they're necessarily better than other types.
I'm from Michigan, and I've come across the term before as well. However, I always thought it meant superior as in 'higher' in the rock formation! (I mostly studied biology, so...)
@@blackoak4978 After the largest purely freshwater lake in the world 🌎 which is immediately adjacent? WHY TF NOT?? 🌊 😉 🌊 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇲 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇲 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
Another extinct rock, speaking of lava: kamatiite. I read that this type of lava CAN'T form any longer because Earth's internal temperature isn't as high as it used to be.
My Mother once told me, "I don't know much about geology, but I know a pretty rock when I see one!" I still have part of her rock garden in my own front yard. And I also learned something new today. Thank you!
@@AlexisDahl Its refreshing to see you make geology so appealing. ( Im a geologist and museum curator and live in Scotland) maybe one day you will get over here to see the rocks and stories of scotland
Great video about one of the coolest rocks on Earth! A couple years ago I joined some family in Bessemer, MI for the 4th of July. Since I am a geologist (practicing in northern California), I did a little research before visiting. That's how I found your channel, and many other great sources of info on the unbelievable UP geology. Let's just say I had a fantastic trip! While returning to CA, I was stopped by airport security who wanted to inspect my carry-on day pack. So we emptied 30 POUNDS OF MOSTLY IRON-RICH ROCKS onto a table and I spent the next 20 minutes giving a geology lesson (and some small rock souvenirs) to a handful of TSA employees. Very cool! Based on MY research, your video, especially the animation at the beginning, did a great job of explaining banded iron formation (BIF) rocks, which the doctor basically elaborated on and confirmed. Simply put, the bands represent layers of iron, then rust and silica, then iron, then rust and silica, etc as the atmosphere pendulumed between not enough oxygen, then too much oxygen, then not enough oxygen, then too much oxygen etc. And this occurred during a time when there was still a ton of iron on the surface from the iron-rich meteor impacts that created this initially-molten planet... it hadn't all settled down into the core. So the iron, plus the shallow ocean, plus the fluctuating oxygen level gives you a condition that cannot occur ever again on this planet (hopefully not while we're here), beautifully recorded in BIF rocks! Add a little tectonic folding just to make it even more beautiful, then polish it off with continental glaciation... WOW! Nothing like it!!! On my desk here in California, I have a 6" chunk of BIF, another 6" chunk of sparkly specular hematite from that area, and a cut slab of stromatolites. So much of Earth's most interesting history captured in 3 UP rocks. Keep up the good work!!!
Just knowing fancy words and punctuation and all things their are to know doesn't make a person smart. It's the ability to adapt to different environments and learn from mistakes and seek further knowledge thereof. Now I don't know if I used thereof properly but it just sounded right.
I must disagree; wanting to learn new things and being open to changing your mind is what makes a person smart! Thinking learning is just for kids keeps adults ignorant and functioning like they are barely teens! Stay curious! 👍
I was born and raised in Ishpeming. Currently retired,living in Madison, WI. Was last in UP on summer of 2019. As kids we used to hang around on Jasper Knob. Irony (pun intended) ensues. Love your channel.
My dad was born and raised in Ishpeming, too! The last time I was there was 35 years ago after my grandmother passed. I remember family vacations driving to Ishpeming from New Hampshire to visit.
Time traveler: “I think I will go back in time to see the banded iron deposits forming.” Upon arrival he steps out of his Time Machine, takes a deep breath of fresh Archeozoic air, immediately passes out from hypoxia and wins a Darwin Award.
😆Oh yes, definitely bring oxygen tanks if you're going to pretty much any time in the Precambrian. (Though _maybe_ the later bits will have enough to do without.)
It's a melted rock you can see the pattern of flow, forget all the indoctrination start fresh with logic, don't be a monkey, fish,frog...... that stopped evolving
Lifetime Michigander. Your videos on Michigan's history are always fascinating. I'm left hungry for more each time. Thank you for these videos and God Bless you...
It's such a relief to find somebody like yourself on RUclips, someone who is willing to dig into the material, question assumptions and be self effacing about her own perspective. Thank you.
My aunt lives in Marquette & her daughters in Ishpeming, we went up there with them a couple of summers ago. When looking for it, a local said "just look for the little steps" - they kind of hide in plain sight, but they were there indeed. There are some areas of the formation that have a pretty brilliant metallic sheen when the sun hits it. Neat place, will visit again someday.
I'm a Minnesotan who has been fascinated by geology and biology for decades so the banded iron formations have always been a favorite. Thank you for another great video.
as we can clearly see in this video, she checked multiple sources and even talked to an expert on this topic. so this was a very scientific way of working on this video. well done.
Aw, hey, thanks! And I feel similarly any time I get to work with him, ha. It's always a joy to get to collaborate on something, and I always learn so much.
Got me thinking: The process is extinct on Earth, but banded iron deposits should form on other planets as we terraform them. You could argue that Mars is in the beginning stages but got stopped, perhaps we could start it back up one day. Would be cool to see happening in real time. Gota make sure we arnt wiping out indigenous life fist though.
You're extremely optimistic to think that our species might exist within the geological time scale about which you speculate! At least 99% of all life forms to have ever existed upon this planet have become extinct! 'Human exceptionalism? 🤔 🇺🇸 🤔 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 😉 🇨🇦 🍁🇨🇦
Fascinating. It's always a good day when one of your videos shows up in my notifications. Thank you for making me a little bit smarter about something that I didn't even know I wanted to know about.
I am literally a redox geochemist (I study dissolved metals in the water in Marquette County!) and my understanding of banded iron formations was the same as yours. Having the GOE as the *end* of BIF formation rather the beginning makes tons of sense!
Your videos never cease to amaze me, Alexis. I always learn so much from them. I love your zest for learning and sharing so many interesting things about this amazing state we live in.
It's amazing how much we take for granted! Thank you for this :) I had never thought about geologic processes & the features they create as having "extinction-events" too! It's amazing how much there still is for us to learn :)
Indeed! Other commenters have mentioned other kinds of extinct rocks, like lavas that aren't possible any more because the Earth's upper mantle is no longer hot enough to form them.
@@AaronOfMplsReally? Wouldn't one of the fundamental principles of geology that Alexis describes within this wonder-filled video, contradict that proposition? Thanks! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
BEcause of you, I spent September and some October 2024 in the UP. I need to go back though to see the rest!! Only had time for the Eastern end. Planning on checking out the western end and your Keweenaw area next year!! Love your videos!
The keeweenaw is super cool. You'll love it. If you have a capable SUV or truck get out to high rock Bay, and also broxkway mountain. I think any vehicle can get there. I've only been in the winter, so I really don't know what the roads are like under the snow.
I must say Alexis, this is one of the (if not the) best video you have produced so far! Very good explanations of the banded iron and detailing the fact that it is still not well understood, even after 100+ years of research. I am one of those geologists who also believe there is something to Bill's hypothesis that the Sudbury impact is related with the end of worldwide BIF deposition about 1.85 Ga.
The BIFs in Australia are considerably larger in extent than in Michigan. They are also about 4-500 million years older. The consensus here seems to be that the silica deposited when iron oxides were not available, likely from hot springs and pelagic deposition. Then iron became available again-more likely there were pulses in the oxygen availability. The iron content has been further enhanced by weathering to the point where the best quality iron ore can be arc welded. Some processes will not occur on earth again. We don't appear to have diamond bearing kimberlites much, the last major ones being from the time of the gondwana supercontinent breakup and we don't see komatiite lava younger then 90Mya
We have this unique rock, and we're selling it off overseas cheaper than any other supplier like we're desperate to get rid of it. We don't even process it into steel in Australia - just ship it out as ore.
Another excellent video with Bill Cannon! We took a trip to the UP in September, and as a Geologist, I wanted to see the various outcrops you have mentioned in your previous videos. We were able to hit a few of them, consume Pasties, leave money at "Da Yooper Tourist Trap," collect Lake Superior Agates and Yooperlites (had a blast hunting those with the UV flashlight purchased at Da Yooper Tourist Trap). Generally, we had a blast in the short time we had. Your videos definitely played an important role in deciding where to go rockhounding. Keep up the good work! It might inspire us to make the trip from Texas again!
Videos like this are one of the things that make RUclips (and the Internet) worthwhile. Possibly the only way I will ever have access to education from a highly competent geologist. Very nice video!
You didn't mention it, but there's an alternate hypothesis that the banded iron formations may have been formed by cycles of 'snowball earth', in which earth was completely glaciated and cutting off oxygen supply from the atmosphere. During those periods, underwater volcanic eruptions may have introduced huge amounts of iron to dissolve in seawater. The intial events would combine iron with all the available dissolved oxygen in the water to deplete all the oxygen, then building up a surplus of dissolved iron. Once a break in the ice sheet formed, oxygen would re-enter the ocean and immediately trigger iron oxide precipitation until all the iron was depleted. If the earth then re-glaciated the cycle would repeat. The iron bands would them mirror the glaciation cycles. We do know of many periods of cyclic glaciation due to things like orbital precession, but perhaps we have not had a completely glaciated earth since 1.9B years ago. Without a glaciated earth, perhaps the ocean can never accumulate dissolved iron in great quantities. Love your episodes!
@@DrMikeAtOtago Don't forget we not only had Snowball Earth during the Tonium/Cryogenium but also the Huronian glaciations 2.5 or so billion years ago.
I like the logical physical elegance of that “snowball earth” theory/hypothesis. I’m thinking that there’s a good possibility that both mechanisms were involved which might explain why there are several different types of Iron Bearing Ores. The action of oxygen producing life forms in a sort of parallel process still remains interesting and viable in producing such deposits although at seemingly later dates.
Yes, surface ice would restrict oxygen from dissolving into the ocean, but what about the ocean currents moving the minerals and oxygen about? I find it odd that plate tectonics are rarely considered during periods of glaciation. How many mountains existed during the first 2 billion years? How much of the planet was covered by water (or ice)? What was the average depth of the ocean when the Earth was covered with ice? Were there ocean currents that redistributed the water evenly? How much photosynthesis can occur under the ice? It is likely that water melted on the surface (possibly forming large lakes) which would eventually find a crack (possibly created from an earthquake) to flow into the ocean (like on Greenland's glaciers). This would allow a localize increase of atmospheric gases into the ocean. The transition from layer to layer is rather abrupt (maybe 1000 times shorter than each layer) and well defined. What is the ratio of reduced iron to oxidized iron in the lava formed underwater? Is there a process to reduce iron or was there very little iron in the water to settle out?
A fine video: thanks! I've heard the oxidation event described just as you related, but had to ask myself just how the describers could be so sure they understood the *complete picture* of those times. It just came across as too pat, too neatly bundled. So I was hesitant about taking it at face value. And now I've seen this, and you've wonderfully revealed a deeper picture, not with an explanation, but with simply information, which shows something more wonderful yet: a mystery! And how the science-lover in me loves a mystery! Many thanks to Dr. Cannon also for revealing something of how deeply we understand these matters, and how deeply we don't. This is where real science lives.
Amazing video … Dr. Cannon is an absolute fountain of such interesting information and I could listen to him for hours. Thanks, Alexis, keep the videos coming!
My favorite thing about Dr. Bill in general is he said about his own theory 'wasn't received very well'. He's so humble and knowledgeable and allows himself to be open to all sorts of possibilities. A true scientist imo. Great work on your channel Alexis, I've always wanted to see banded iron formations but I haven't yet. I'm pretty sure we have some in Colorado, and maybe I even walked over some without knowing. Thanks for your hard work and I really enjoy your videos, they bring a smile to my face.
Thanks for sharing much appreciated... I did a quick search to see if any banded iron here in UK... Says (BIF) in the UK, in the Loch Maree Group in Garloch, northwest Scotland. This BIF is part of the only magnetic mountain in Britain... Cool I'd not have known if not for you so big thank you
Once again, your infectious enthusiasm has lightened the Load; IF we could just get the politicians to see how important REAL science is to the next generations, perhaps the resources wasted by power mongers could be used to solve technical and medical and ecological questions, we could ALL breathe easier and feel so much better about the world we are leaving for the next generations. Kudos to you and your ability to make me feel better about these things, even just for a little while! I would gladly vote for you to lead the way ; you prove there can be hope.
Great seeing & hearing from you again. Always interesting!! I ran all over UP and areas around Boyne this summer, took your advice on things to see. Came home with lots of rocks, Petoskey gots lots of my money too. Went to Soo locks, were closed for Terrist training - boo! By the way, I applaud your addition of authorities to add to your videos. Still watch SciShow alot, so informative. 😊😊😊😊
That sounds like a great trip! Bummer about the Soo Locks, but duty calls, I guess! 🙂 Also, glad you're still enjoying SciShow! I had the opportunity to spend an hour with the editorial team over the summer, and am forever impressed by the ideas they come up with and the research they come across!
Very nice and educational video ! I was thinking about your videos when I went to Mackinac Island. Over at Arch Rock the state put a new learning center there, It showed and talked about Michigan's Geology and how Arch Rock was made.
Thank you! And oh, that sounds lovely! I've had a video idea for Mackinac Island in my back pocket for a little while now, and am hoping to make it out there after this winter. I'll look forward to checking out the new learning center!
As a former Yooper I enjoy your videos and up-beat, positive style and attitude, you gives me hope for the future. HOWEVER when listening to the time-line of geology it reminds me how tiny and insignificant I am (sigh). Keep being you....
This universe that is billions of years old, that contains black holes and galaxy clusters and things we still don't understand, also made room for you. You're not insignificant - you're awesome!
One of the very rare ones, this intellegant young woman, who smiles with her full body as she breathes and speaks. One more definition of human tenderness in person, right along with so much interesting information. Over-earned my subscription, and thanks.
I always learn something new when I watch your content. While rock hunting on the Keweenah I was told a certain rock was “jasper”. Now I know exactly what it is. Thx!!
That rock - that's not a band (LOL!) - could ever be or become 'extinct' is so new of a concept to me, I'm going to explore this further. Thanks for the lesson on something I did not know!!
I've been waiting for this video for years! It's such a beautiful place to take go on a short hike. The retaining walls on the roads around Jasper Knob are all made from Jaspillite. There's a back face to the formation that really lets you see just how big it really is. That entire hill is Jaspillite and we like to call it the world's largest gemstone.
Man I love rocks😅 . I missed the Northern San Francisco Bay area rivers and creeks you can find huge chunks of beautiful Jasper and banded iron cooked 😊 filled with layers of quartz in between the bands and regular. Also the minerals in the creek change a couple miles away from each other.
Thanks for another great vid Alexis. Always enjoy them. I've bnen a Yooper for quite awhile, but you continue to inspire and turn me on to things i didn't know.
Hey Alexis, I saw a video a while ago about a open pit iron mine in Aussie,"banded iron" so high in iron that if you banged 2 large pieces of ore Together it "clanged" like a bell!! Great video, I used to prospect for gold, Here in Nova Scotia, Canada.😀👌👍✌
Even if I don't understand a lot of the geological mumbo-jumbo, Alexis, I appreciate the passion with which you've shared the Great Lakes Region with us.
What I particularly respect 🙏 and appreciate about Alexis' channel and her wonder-filled videos is the complete absence of your so-called 'mumbo jumbo! Alexis introduces us to the requisite number of technical and geological terms, in order to understand these complicated structures and processes. However, they're always so carefully explained, as well as most often being illustrated in a very accessible manner! The viewer is only required to BE CURIOUS and to have a modicum of interest ABOUT the surface of OUR PLANET 🌎 and its crust! 'To each, her own! 😊 🇨🇦 🍁 🇺🇸 🌎 🎉 🎊 🎉 🌎 🇺🇲 🍁 🇨🇦
You're so lucky to know Dr. Cannon, a representative of a fine old professor. He reminds me of one of my old professors of fifty years ago. Thank you for a great class.
It's a misleading point since rocks don't "go extinct" at all. They're in the video are they not? You can't go out and get an extinct organism in a video.
Your videos are a great reminder of how large the time scale is here. It helps me to put current issues into perspective while also being very informative.
Craziest to me are the razor sharp contacts between the silica and iron rich facies. One might think that there would be of a gradational transition between the two facies?
It might well be gradual on a human timescale, but practically invisible on a geologic one. Something that takes years or decades or centuries to change can _easily_ look sudden when even the thinnest rock layers you can see took thousands to HUNDREDS-of-thousands of years to lay down.
The razor sharp contacts between the silica and the iron were formed over a period of days in a very turbulent period of earth’s history, that is the reason we see the folds in the rocks which were formed when the rock was still soft and pliable and then gradually solidified into solid rock.
You take what could be considered a rather "dry" subject and make it fascinating ..... that's why I subscribed many months ago . Once again, another "winner" video !!
I almost didn't click on this video because I thought I already knew the story of banded iron formations. Little did I know that the story I thought I knew was probably too simplistic! Thanks for the great video!
New subscriber. Born and raised in California. 1989 Great quake experienced. Geology needs you! What a super job. So engaging and so much information. Thank you! 🎉🎉🎉
Excellent presentation. I love geology. Over my 76 years I have spent a number of summer vacations exploring and wondering about geology. On Manitoulin Island discovering thatt it was formerly an ocean bed…..Thanks again.
I have a few hand sized Superior rocks, I found personally on the edge of the last Wisconsin glacier just south of Madison. Thank you Glacier for transporting them! We also have martian Iron oxide concreations everywhere in our woods since the glacier did not hit this part of southern wisconsin. The Sandstone and Iron is really aweseome here.
As I watched the video, I thought “Banded Iron Formation” would be a good name for a rock band. And after I posted that comment, I’m reading the rest of them and come across yours. Brilliant minds think alike, I guess! 🎸🎶 They could be called B.I.F. for a nickname.
Very interesting. I was just in the UP, stayed in Marquette working at numerous tower sites for a large utility. Being from N Florida I don’t get to see much in the form of rock. I was at a tower built on a hilltop in the Sands area just south of Marquette. Looking back at some of the pictures I took of the beautiful fall foliage, there appears to be some of this rock right there and I had no idea. I will now pay better attention when I get back up there next month. You live in quite a beautiful area, but please be very careful with the deer. I witnessed a young lady your age, total her new car just feet from me on a remote road. Waited with her until her Dad arrived. She was fine. Never found the deer.
I was confused until 18:48. Just a quick explanation of how too much oxygen in water causes the iron to fall out of the water "close to where it entered" really helped clarify this for me. The iron remains localized. Great video, really impressed!
Another wonderful video, Alexis! This old geologist (not quite up there with Dr Cannon!) learned a thing or two today. Of course, the last time I actually studied the BIFs was back in the early 80s…. As always, your enthusiasm is infectious, and your love for the region and showing it to the world bursts right out. Thank you for a delightful video!
You are a joy to watch. You are very bright and engaging with your presentation. If I had an educator like you in my youth, i might have chosen a different career path 😊. You got my sub, keep em comming.
This was a fascinating look into Michigan's iron history. Thank you for the excellent video. You are one of my favorite RUclips presenters. Your curiosity, intelligence, willingness to research and travel, and relaxed, friendly presentation style really distinguish your material. As a fellow Michigander, I really appreciate learning more about our state's hidden gems. Thanks for being so cool!
back in school I mapped BIF in a sheer zone in the Black Hills. the pressure turned the Hematite into Specular Hematite to define the foliation. the samples i took left metalic glitter in my bag that is still there
Great video, I became fascinated with BIFs after doing a forestry internship in Marquette and having the opportunity to see a few Banded Iron Formations. In college, my geology professors did not mention that the artifice of their creation was still so clouded in mystery. This video has given me a new appreciation for BIFs!
What a fascinating topic. I remember seeing banded iron formations somewhere in the yoop, probably around Ishpeming or Marquette. I was curious about them, but life gets in the way, and I have you to satiate my geology curiosity anyways!
It took me way too long into this video to realize they're called superior formations because they're the kind we found around Lake Superior, not because they're necessarily better than other types.
I'm from Michigan, and I've come across the term before as well. However, I always thought it meant superior as in 'higher' in the rock formation! (I mostly studied biology, so...)
When Alexis said that this type was the superior type of BIF, I thought, are the other types inferior for some reason? 😁
I rolled my eyes when she said it. My first thought was "did they seriously name it after Lake Superior?"
@@blackoak4978 After the largest purely freshwater lake in the world 🌎 which is immediately adjacent?
WHY TF NOT?? 🌊 😉 🌊
🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇲 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇲 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
It is the opposite of ‘anterior’
Extinction comes to all old rock bands.
Then comes the TRIBUTE BANDS.
😂😂😂 can’t stop laughing. That was one helluva side swipe 😂😂
Witness 'Spinal Tap'!
Master coment😂
@@dougclem7711 trilobite?
Another extinct rock, speaking of lava: kamatiite. I read that this type of lava CAN'T form any longer because Earth's internal temperature isn't as high as it used to be.
Oooh, cool, thank you! Since starting this video, I've wondered what other sorts of rocks might fall into this category.
@@AlexisDahl Look into Archean greenstone belts and granitoids. Thank you for this video on BIFs!
And unakite. Heck most sources says gneiss is the only metamorphic of granite but nope unakite is another extinct rock.
After all greenstone is metamorphic of basalt so it’s poorly understood since both types are extinct types of rocks.
Komatiite, from Komatipoort, South Africa.
0:30 Limes are being compressed into limestone...
Cow dung into schists?
@@RD1R 😆
@@RD1ROhman you got schist on your chert
Where does all the green color go? Is this how green mountain dew forms?
😄😄
My Mother once told me, "I don't know much about geology, but I know a pretty rock when I see one!" I still have part of her rock garden in my own front yard. And I also learned something new today. Thank you!
❤❤❤❤❤
Im not a geologist. I often wonder how they were made. What a cool video
I'm sorry for your loss
I am from odisha fourth largest iron producing region, i am glad i got to know about this.
Subscribed as soon as 5 minutes into the video, real human with no AI, channels like this are jewels
I could not agree more, any time I come across AI videos I make a comment calling them out. I would rather see real people making videos.
even if you are a bit low and life is a bit sucky you just have to watch one of your videos and the world just smiles again.
That's so sweet of you to say. Thank you!
@@AlexisDahl Its refreshing to see you make geology so appealing. ( Im a geologist and museum curator and live in Scotland) maybe one day you will get over here to see the rocks and stories of scotland
@@mikethescotsman
Obviously she can afford it.
I can not.
So you missed out.
@@robert-wr9xt
Northern Scotland is basically one end of the Appalachian mountain range (divided when the Atlantic formed).
@@hypsyzygy506
Hiking and exploring is fun.
Great video about one of the coolest rocks on Earth! A couple years ago I joined some family in Bessemer, MI for the 4th of July. Since I am a geologist (practicing in northern California), I did a little research before visiting. That's how I found your channel, and many other great sources of info on the unbelievable UP geology. Let's just say I had a fantastic trip! While returning to CA, I was stopped by airport security who wanted to inspect my carry-on day pack. So we emptied 30 POUNDS OF MOSTLY IRON-RICH ROCKS onto a table and I spent the next 20 minutes giving a geology lesson (and some small rock souvenirs) to a handful of TSA employees. Very cool!
Based on MY research, your video, especially the animation at the beginning, did a great job of explaining banded iron formation (BIF) rocks, which the doctor basically elaborated on and confirmed. Simply put, the bands represent layers of iron, then rust and silica, then iron, then rust and silica, etc as the atmosphere pendulumed between not enough oxygen, then too much oxygen, then not enough oxygen, then too much oxygen etc. And this occurred during a time when there was still a ton of iron on the surface from the iron-rich meteor impacts that created this initially-molten planet... it hadn't all settled down into the core. So the iron, plus the shallow ocean, plus the fluctuating oxygen level gives you a condition that cannot occur ever again on this planet (hopefully not while we're here), beautifully recorded in BIF rocks! Add a little tectonic folding just to make it even more beautiful, then polish it off with continental glaciation... WOW! Nothing like it!!! On my desk here in California, I have a 6" chunk of BIF, another 6" chunk of sparkly specular hematite from that area, and a cut slab of stromatolites. So much of Earth's most interesting history captured in 3 UP rocks.
Keep up the good work!!!
Wow so beautiful! I’ll try and find one again since mine is gone! ✅✌️🙏🌎🐾🌍🥸❤️😎🫡⭐️🧐😇
lol I though I was the only one who got yoinked out of the security line and asked why my carry-on was full of rocks...
What would you destroy stromatolites which have taken so long to grow and we need to look after?
Now you need a fossil from the Ediacaran, considered the time when the first animals appeared.
As someone who flew a lot for work, I loved this comment!
I'm not the smartest guy around and this is why i love your videos. You make it seem so simple yet informative. keep them coming!
Sir, you are at least smart enough to seek out knowledge. Props to you!
Smarter every day, sir.
You enjoy learning, so I suspect you may be too modest as well.
Just knowing fancy words and punctuation and all things their are to know doesn't make a person smart.
It's the ability to adapt to different environments and learn from mistakes and seek further knowledge thereof.
Now I don't know if I used thereof properly but it just sounded right.
And you're exactly the target of her nonsensical "extinct rock" term.
I must disagree; wanting to learn new things and being open to changing your mind is what makes a person smart! Thinking learning is just for kids keeps adults ignorant and functioning like they are barely teens! Stay curious! 👍
You aren't allowed to leave! This is awesome as always....YOU ROCK!
And do you know what the Rock said to the yardstick? You RULE!!
@@Svensk7119 lol..are you a Dad? LOL
@LadyYoop Why, yes, yes, I am!
How could you tell?
I actually saw that on a refrigerator magnet, though.
I was born and raised in Ishpeming. Currently retired,living in Madison, WI. Was last in UP on summer of 2019. As kids we used to hang around on Jasper Knob. Irony (pun intended) ensues. Love your channel.
Oh oʻoʻoo9o9o9oʻooʻ
My dad was born and raised in Ishpeming, too! The last time I was there was 35 years ago after my grandmother passed. I remember family vacations driving to Ishpeming from New Hampshire to visit.
Getting domed on jasper's knob, nice
Time traveler: “I think I will go back in time to see the banded iron deposits forming.” Upon arrival he steps out of his Time Machine, takes a deep breath of fresh Archeozoic air, immediately passes out from hypoxia and wins a Darwin Award.
Winning a Darwin award before there was a Darwin, now that's incredible 😂
😆Oh yes, definitely bring oxygen tanks if you're going to pretty much any time in the Precambrian. (Though _maybe_ the later bits will have enough to do without.)
With Darwin anything is possible, because he said so
It's a melted rock you can see the pattern of flow, forget all the indoctrination start fresh with logic, don't be a monkey, fish,frog...... that stopped evolving
Halo Announcer: "POSTMORTEM!"
Lifetime Michigander. Your videos on Michigan's history are always fascinating. I'm left hungry for more each time. Thank you for these videos and God Bless you...
I absolutely agree 🎉. I grew up in West Michigan, but live elsewhere now. These videos make me feel so connected to the place that I miss and love! ❤
You knocked another one out of the park! Excellent!
It's such a relief to find somebody like yourself on RUclips, someone who is willing to dig into the material, question assumptions and be self effacing about her own perspective. Thank you.
I like it when you have this man on your video. But he speaks so fast, I'm glad you added text showing his key points on the screen.
My aunt lives in Marquette & her daughters in Ishpeming, we went up there with them a couple of summers ago. When looking for it, a local said "just look for the little steps" - they kind of hide in plain sight, but they were there indeed. There are some areas of the formation that have a pretty brilliant metallic sheen when the sun hits it. Neat place, will visit again someday.
I'm a Minnesotan who has been fascinated by geology and biology for decades so the banded iron formations have always been a favorite. Thank you for another great video.
as we can clearly see in this video, she checked multiple sources and even talked to an expert on this topic. so this was a very scientific way of working on this video. well done.
Always fun to see Dr. Cannon again! You both just exude this energy and passion for the things you're explaining.
Aw, hey, thanks! And I feel similarly any time I get to work with him, ha. It's always a joy to get to collaborate on something, and I always learn so much.
@@AlexisDahlhe just kinda seems like a really fun guy to be around 🙂
Well said.
@@C.Schmidt'A ROCK 🪨 🥌 🗿 🪨 STAR!
'NOT A a FUN-GI ! 🍄 😉 🍄
@@AlexisDahl You need to learn the meaning of "extinct".
Got me thinking: The process is extinct on Earth, but banded iron deposits should form on other planets as we terraform them. You could argue that Mars is in the beginning stages but got stopped, perhaps we could start it back up one day. Would be cool to see happening in real time. Gota make sure we arnt wiping out indigenous life fist though.
..."as we terraform them." 😂😂😂😂😂😂
You're extremely optimistic to think that our species might exist within the geological time scale about which you speculate!
At least 99% of all life forms to have ever existed upon this planet have become extinct!
'Human exceptionalism? 🤔 🇺🇸 🤔
🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 😉 🇨🇦 🍁🇨🇦
That real time witnessing would involve the effort of thousands of generations, though...
Hi cody hope the chicken hole base is going well!
Love ya Cody! Good to see you around
Fascinating. It's always a good day when one of your videos shows up in my notifications. Thank you for making me a little bit smarter about something that I didn't even know I wanted to know about.
I am literally a redox geochemist (I study dissolved metals in the water in Marquette County!) and my understanding of banded iron formations was the same as yours. Having the GOE as the *end* of BIF formation rather the beginning makes tons of sense!
Your videos never cease to amaze me, Alexis. I always learn so much from them. I love your zest for learning and sharing so many interesting things about this amazing state we live in.
Only 4 years and you are 100% U.P. to me!!! You and Restless Viking have taught me so much about my new favorite places...TY
It's amazing how much we take for granted! Thank you for this :) I had never thought about geologic processes & the features they create as having "extinction-events" too! It's amazing how much there still is for us to learn :)
Indeed! Other commenters have mentioned other kinds of extinct rocks, like lavas that aren't possible any more because the Earth's upper mantle is no longer hot enough to form them.
@@AaronOfMplsReally?
Wouldn't one of the fundamental principles of geology that Alexis describes within this wonder-filled video, contradict that proposition?
Thanks! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
Dr.Cannon is a gem. thanks for sharing
Banded iron is my new favorite type of banded rock.
BEcause of you, I spent September and some October 2024 in the UP. I need to go back though to see the rest!! Only had time for the Eastern end. Planning on checking out the western end and your Keweenaw area next year!! Love your videos!
The keeweenaw is super cool. You'll love it. If you have a capable SUV or truck get out to high rock Bay, and also broxkway mountain. I think any vehicle can get there. I've only been in the winter, so I really don't know what the roads are like under the snow.
“Look on the spot you’re standing on”. Dr Cannon, my man !
As locals living in the Keweenaw "Copper island" Me and my significant other find your videos amazing :)
Thank you so much! 😊
I must say Alexis, this is one of the (if not the) best video you have produced so far! Very good explanations of the banded iron and detailing the fact that it is still not well understood, even after 100+ years of research. I am one of those geologists who also believe there is something to Bill's hypothesis that the Sudbury impact is related with the end of worldwide BIF deposition about 1.85 Ga.
The BIFs in Australia are considerably larger in extent than in Michigan. They are also about 4-500 million years older. The consensus here seems to be that the silica deposited when iron oxides were not available, likely from hot springs and pelagic deposition. Then iron became available again-more likely there were pulses in the oxygen availability. The iron content has been further enhanced by weathering to the point where the best quality iron ore can be arc welded. Some processes will not occur on earth again. We don't appear to have diamond bearing kimberlites much, the last major ones being from the time of the gondwana supercontinent breakup and we don't see komatiite lava younger then 90Mya
Actually Australia does have diamond forming rock (lamproite) - Mt Argyle…
We have this unique rock, and we're selling it off overseas cheaper than any other supplier like we're desperate to get rid of it. We don't even process it into steel in Australia - just ship it out as ore.
@ Actually Australia has one remaining primary smelter (at Whyalla).
The rest of Australian steel demand is covered by recycled steel and imports…
i was just yesterday complaining to my partner that i was in need of a video from you! thanks for this!
Excellent informative video. Great to learn something about a field of study I have no knowledge in.
Another excellent video with Bill Cannon! We took a trip to the UP in September, and as a Geologist, I wanted to see the various outcrops you have mentioned in your previous videos. We were able to hit a few of them, consume Pasties, leave money at "Da Yooper Tourist Trap," collect Lake Superior Agates and Yooperlites (had a blast hunting those with the UV flashlight purchased at Da Yooper Tourist Trap). Generally, we had a blast in the short time we had. Your videos definitely played an important role in deciding where to go rockhounding. Keep up the good work! It might inspire us to make the trip from Texas again!
Videos like this are one of the things that make RUclips (and the Internet) worthwhile. Possibly the only way I will ever have access to education from a highly competent geologist. Very nice video!
You didn't mention it, but there's an alternate hypothesis that the banded iron formations may have been formed by cycles of 'snowball earth', in which earth was completely glaciated and cutting off oxygen supply from the atmosphere. During those periods, underwater volcanic eruptions may have introduced huge amounts of iron to dissolve in seawater. The intial events would combine iron with all the available dissolved oxygen in the water to deplete all the oxygen, then building up a surplus of dissolved iron. Once a break in the ice sheet formed, oxygen would re-enter the ocean and immediately trigger iron oxide precipitation until all the iron was depleted. If the earth then re-glaciated the cycle would repeat. The iron bands would them mirror the glaciation cycles. We do know of many periods of cyclic glaciation due to things like orbital precession, but perhaps we have not had a completely glaciated earth since 1.9B years ago. Without a glaciated earth, perhaps the ocean can never accumulate dissolved iron in great quantities.
Love your episodes!
Snowball Earth episodes are about a billion years younger than Banded Iron Formations.
@@DrMikeAtOtago Don't forget we not only had Snowball Earth during the Tonium/Cryogenium but also the Huronian glaciations 2.5 or so billion years ago.
I like the logical physical elegance of that “snowball earth” theory/hypothesis.
I’m thinking that there’s a good possibility that both mechanisms were involved which might explain why there are several different types of Iron Bearing Ores.
The action of oxygen producing life forms in a sort of parallel process still remains interesting and viable in producing such deposits although at seemingly later dates.
Yes, surface ice would restrict oxygen from dissolving into the ocean, but what about the ocean currents moving the minerals and oxygen about? I find it odd that plate tectonics are rarely considered during periods of glaciation. How many mountains existed during the first 2 billion years? How much of the planet was covered by water (or ice)? What was the average depth of the ocean when the Earth was covered with ice? Were there ocean currents that redistributed the water evenly? How much photosynthesis can occur under the ice? It is likely that water melted on the surface (possibly forming large lakes) which would eventually find a crack (possibly created from an earthquake) to flow into the ocean (like on Greenland's glaciers). This would allow a localize increase of atmospheric gases into the ocean. The transition from layer to layer is rather abrupt (maybe 1000 times shorter than each layer) and well defined. What is the ratio of reduced iron to oxidized iron in the lava formed underwater? Is there a process to reduce iron or was there very little iron in the water to settle out?
Thanks, I was waiting for the video to get to the alternative hypotheses, but then it just stopped
A fine video: thanks! I've heard the oxidation event described just as you related, but had to ask myself just how the describers could be so sure they understood the *complete picture* of those times. It just came across as too pat, too neatly bundled. So I was hesitant about taking it at face value. And now I've seen this, and you've wonderfully revealed a deeper picture, not with an explanation, but with simply information, which shows something more wonderful yet: a mystery! And how the science-lover in me loves a mystery! Many thanks to Dr. Cannon also for revealing something of how deeply we understand these matters, and how deeply we don't. This is where real science lives.
Scarlet and Gray in Michigan! 😅.... Great video!
On the campus of the University of Michigan, no less!
@@ronsamborski6230 lol!
Great minds think alike!
It wouldn’t be spring in the Yoopee without flies buzzing the camera!
Great video! Good job!
Your Awesome Alexis!!!!!!
Amazing video … Dr. Cannon is an absolute fountain of such interesting information and I could listen to him for hours. Thanks, Alexis, keep the videos coming!
My favorite thing about Dr. Bill in general is he said about his own theory 'wasn't received very well'. He's so humble and knowledgeable and allows himself to be open to all sorts of possibilities. A true scientist imo. Great work on your channel Alexis, I've always wanted to see banded iron formations but I haven't yet. I'm pretty sure we have some in Colorado, and maybe I even walked over some without knowing. Thanks for your hard work and I really enjoy your videos, they bring a smile to my face.
Thanks for sharing much appreciated... I did a quick search to see if any banded iron here in UK... Says
(BIF) in the UK, in the Loch Maree Group in Garloch, northwest Scotland. This BIF is part of the only magnetic mountain in Britain... Cool I'd not have known if not for you so big thank you
Once again, your infectious enthusiasm has lightened the Load; IF we could just get the politicians to see how important REAL science is to the next generations, perhaps the resources wasted by power mongers could be used to solve technical and medical and ecological questions, we could ALL breathe easier and feel so much better about the world we are leaving for the next generations. Kudos to you and your ability to make me feel better about these things, even just for a little while! I would gladly vote for you to lead the way ; you prove there can be hope.
'Right On, Brother Charles! 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇨🇦
Great seeing & hearing from you again. Always interesting!! I ran all over UP and areas around Boyne this summer, took your advice on things to see. Came home with lots of rocks, Petoskey gots lots of my money too. Went to Soo locks, were closed for Terrist training - boo! By the way, I applaud your addition of authorities to add to your videos. Still watch SciShow alot, so informative. 😊😊😊😊
That sounds like a great trip! Bummer about the Soo Locks, but duty calls, I guess! 🙂 Also, glad you're still enjoying SciShow! I had the opportunity to spend an hour with the editorial team over the summer, and am forever impressed by the ideas they come up with and the research they come across!
I have always loved rocks! Wish I'd walked in your shoes, but life got in my way. Subscribed so maybe I will see more, thanks.
Very nice and educational video ! I was thinking about your videos when I went to Mackinac Island. Over at Arch Rock the state put a new learning center there, It showed and talked about Michigan's Geology and how Arch Rock was made.
Thank you! And oh, that sounds lovely! I've had a video idea for Mackinac Island in my back pocket for a little while now, and am hoping to make it out there after this winter. I'll look forward to checking out the new learning center!
I grew up in northern Ontario where we had two impact craters and banded iron deposits. Fun show.
Great video, as usual. Thank you!
You're doing Michigan proud, Alexis! :) Great video!
As a former Yooper I enjoy your videos and up-beat, positive style and attitude, you gives me hope for the future. HOWEVER when listening to the time-line of geology it reminds me how tiny and insignificant I am (sigh). Keep being you....
This universe that is billions of years old, that contains black holes and galaxy clusters and things we still don't understand, also made room for you. You're not insignificant - you're awesome!
Realllllllyyyyyyyy? There is another explanation. Thanks a billion Alexis and Prof. Canon. I was looking for this iron information for my theory.
I am always weirdly entertained and satisfied learning with your videos.
One of the very rare ones, this intellegant young woman, who smiles with her full body as she breathes and speaks. One more definition of human tenderness in person, right along with so much interesting information. Over-earned my subscription, and thanks.
We took a field trip to see the banded iron formations back when I was in graduate school
I always learn something new when I watch your content. While rock hunting on the Keweenah I was told a certain rock was “jasper”. Now I know exactly what it is. Thx!!
That rock - that's not a band (LOL!) - could ever be or become 'extinct' is so new of a concept to me, I'm going to explore this further. Thanks for the lesson on something I did not know!!
Dr. Cannon seems so knowledgeable. Glad you got to benefit from his extensive knowledge and experience in the field! Good video
Very interesting! I always learn something from your videos.
I've been waiting for this video for years! It's such a beautiful place to take go on a short hike.
The retaining walls on the roads around Jasper Knob are all made from Jaspillite. There's a back face to the formation that really lets you see just how big it really is. That entire hill is Jaspillite and we like to call it the world's largest gemstone.
Man I love rocks😅 . I missed the Northern San Francisco Bay area rivers and creeks you can find huge chunks of beautiful Jasper and banded iron cooked 😊 filled with layers of quartz in between the bands and regular. Also the minerals in the creek change a couple miles away from each other.
Thanks for another great vid Alexis. Always enjoy them.
I've bnen a Yooper for quite awhile, but you continue to
inspire and turn me on to things i didn't know.
I like hearing about my home state. Very interesting thanks.
Hey Alexis, I saw a video a while ago about a open pit iron mine in Aussie,"banded iron" so high in iron that if you banged 2 large pieces of ore Together it "clanged" like a bell!! Great video, I used to prospect for gold, Here in Nova Scotia, Canada.😀👌👍✌
Even if I don't understand a lot of the geological mumbo-jumbo, Alexis, I appreciate the passion with which you've shared the Great Lakes Region with us.
What I particularly respect 🙏 and appreciate about Alexis' channel and her wonder-filled videos is the complete absence of your so-called 'mumbo jumbo!
Alexis introduces us to the requisite number of technical and geological terms, in order to understand these complicated structures and processes. However, they're always so carefully explained, as well as most often being illustrated in a very accessible manner!
The viewer is only required to BE CURIOUS and to have a modicum of interest ABOUT the surface of OUR PLANET 🌎 and its crust!
'To each, her own! 😊
🇨🇦 🍁 🇺🇸 🌎 🎉 🎊 🎉 🌎 🇺🇲 🍁 🇨🇦
You're so lucky to know Dr. Cannon, a representative of a fine old professor. He reminds me of one of my old professors of fifty years ago. Thank you for a great class.
I've read lots about the banded iron formations but this is an excellent point that they're extinct
It's a misleading point since rocks don't "go extinct" at all. They're in the video are they not? You can't go out and get an extinct organism in a video.
Your videos are a great reminder of how large the time scale is here. It helps me to put current issues into perspective while also being very informative.
Craziest to me are the razor sharp contacts between the silica and iron rich facies. One might think that there would be of a gradational transition between the two facies?
It might well be gradual on a human timescale, but practically invisible on a geologic one. Something that takes years or decades or centuries to change can _easily_ look sudden when even the thinnest rock layers you can see took thousands to HUNDREDS-of-thousands of years to lay down.
The razor sharp contacts between the silica and the iron were formed over a period of days in a very turbulent period of earth’s history, that is the reason we see the folds in the rocks which were formed when the rock was still soft and pliable and then gradually solidified into solid rock.
That’s part of the mystery left n our incomplete understanding of the wonderful, useful, and gorgeous BIFs!
You take what could be considered a rather "dry" subject and make it fascinating ..... that's why I subscribed many months ago . Once again, another "winner" video !!
I love these please keep making videos you're great
I almost didn't click on this video because I thought I already knew the story of banded iron formations. Little did I know that the story I thought I knew was probably too simplistic! Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for this. I too thought this was accepted science.
New subscriber. Born and raised in California. 1989 Great quake experienced. Geology needs you! What a super job. So engaging and so much information. Thank you! 🎉🎉🎉
You are just way too talented to just be on YT. People make good money for what you do.
Excellent presentation. I love geology. Over my 76 years I have spent a number of summer vacations exploring and wondering about geology. On Manitoulin Island discovering thatt it was formerly an ocean bed…..Thanks again.
Always interesting !
As an iron ore geologist working in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, it always fantastic learning about other iron formations around the world
Skip to 3:48 for stuff about rocks
RUclips premium thanks you
I have a few hand sized Superior rocks, I found personally on the edge of the last Wisconsin glacier just south of Madison. Thank you Glacier for transporting them! We also have martian Iron oxide concreations everywhere in our woods since the glacier did not hit this part of southern wisconsin. The Sandstone and Iron is really aweseome here.
We need a rock band called Banded Iron. LOL. ok.ok. What if it was extraterrestrial iron?
As I watched the video, I thought “Banded Iron Formation” would be a good name for a rock band.
And after I posted that comment, I’m reading the rest of them and come across yours. Brilliant minds think alike, I guess! 🎸🎶
They could be called B.I.F. for a nickname.
Better check with Billy Carson at 4bidden Knowledge
I’m a southern Michigan resident. I love watching your videos to learn the geology of our state!
Very interesting. I was just in the UP, stayed in Marquette working at numerous tower sites for a large utility. Being from N Florida I don’t get to see much in the form of rock. I was at a tower built on a hilltop in the Sands area just south of Marquette. Looking back at some of the pictures I took of the beautiful fall foliage, there appears to be some of this rock right there and I had no idea. I will now pay better attention when I get back up there next month. You live in quite a beautiful area, but please be very careful with the deer. I witnessed a young lady your age, total her new car just feet from me on a remote road. Waited with her until her Dad arrived. She was fine. Never found the deer.
I was confused until 18:48. Just a quick explanation of how too much oxygen in water causes the iron to fall out of the water "close to where it entered" really helped clarify this for me. The iron remains localized.
Great video, really impressed!
Someday you will have over 1M subscribers. Your content is awesome.
Very nice serving of humble pie. Many can’t, or won’t, correct a misconception. Great job. Very interesting!
Another wonderful video, Alexis! This old geologist (not quite up there with Dr Cannon!) learned a thing or two today. Of course, the last time I actually studied the BIFs was back in the early 80s….
As always, your enthusiasm is infectious, and your love for the region and showing it to the world bursts right out. Thank you for a delightful video!
My thanks to you and to Dr. Cannon - I am a "soft rock" geologist and learned a lot about the "hard rock" of Michigan. Well done.
You are a joy to watch. You are very bright and engaging with your presentation. If I had an educator like you in my youth, i might have chosen a different career path 😊. You got my sub, keep em comming.
watching this, it made me realize that I must really love geology. Thanks for the interesting content, awesome job!
That was cool! I didn't know about the rocks there in Michigan. Thanks 👍
This was a fascinating look into Michigan's iron history. Thank you for the excellent video. You are one of my favorite RUclips presenters. Your curiosity, intelligence, willingness to research and travel, and relaxed, friendly presentation style really distinguish your material. As a fellow Michigander, I really appreciate learning more about our state's hidden gems. Thanks for being so cool!
back in school I mapped BIF in a sheer zone in the Black Hills. the pressure turned the Hematite into Specular Hematite to define the foliation. the samples i took left metalic glitter in my bag that is still there
Whoa! Great episode! I watched this with my softball-sized chonk of banded iron on hand (found here in Arizona while I was rock-hounded recently!) 🙌🏼
Great video, I became fascinated with BIFs after doing a forestry internship in Marquette and having the opportunity to see a few Banded Iron Formations. In college, my geology professors did not mention that the artifice of their creation was still so clouded in mystery. This video has given me a new appreciation for BIFs!
What a fascinating topic. I remember seeing banded iron formations somewhere in the yoop, probably around Ishpeming or Marquette. I was curious about them, but life gets in the way, and I have you to satiate my geology curiosity anyways!
Nice to have a look into something we have yet to fully understand.
I came here for the content but now I’m stuck because how absolutely adorable alexis is.