Lauren Swann

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Lauren Swann

A Geologist.

About

I am a passionate Geoscientist with interests in structural geology and stratigraphy as applied to sustainable mineral exploration. I am also passionate about science education and communication, leadership and community, and Geotourism.

I have worked as a Geologist across the Lachlan Fold Belt of VIC and NSW in Gold and Copper and I take delight in regional mapping, interpretation of potential fields geophysical data and geological models formed from drill hole data.

I am also currently studying a Master of Teaching (Primary and Secondary Science) online. I am curious about how people think and learn and where ideas come from, as well as how power dynamics in a team or classroom can impact the functioning of a team and the motivation of the diverse humans in the team. Questions are important, empowerment is important and everyone deserves ‘aha’ moments.

I am the creator and director of ‘Weekend Geology‘, the home of Geotourism in Victoria. I am also on the board of the ‘Australian Geoparks Network‘. Geotourism is a vehicle through which people can reclaim a connection with nature, a curiosity about rocks and landscapes and an appreciation for the super important role that Earth Science has in our sustainable future.

My values are: Empathy, accountability, curiosity and learning.

Latest Instagram Posts

Lake Tyrrell is the largest of many inland salt lakes in the Murray Basin of north-western Victoria. The lake formed during a sea transgression (rise) that created a gulf extending into NSW during the late Miocene. The lake is famous for its extremely reflective surface which provides scenic photo opportunities for travellers. There are a number of minerals that form at the surface, including: halite, gypsum, jarosite, alunite and other Fe-Oxides. Interestingly, many of these minerals have been found on the surface of Mars! This is a cool example of how Geology can help us understand the types of environments that may have existed on other planets in the past. | https://weekendgeology.com/2019/01/18/lake-tyrrell/ | #geology #mallee #gypsum #halite #laketyrrell #saltlake #murraybasin The Melville Caves in NW Victoria is an excellent place to learn about igneous intrusions, which form when magma cools and solidifies before it reaches the surface. The 401 Ma granite is a compositionally distinctive Quartz-Monzonite, with associated aplite (fine grained) and pegmatite (coarse grained) dykes. You can explore several erosional features including caves, tors (boulders), gnammas (natural water tanks) and tafoni (honey-comb weathering). | https://weekendgeology.com/2018/10/02/kooyoora-state-park/ | #granite #granitetor #melvillecaves #kooyoorastatepark #gnamma #rockyoutcrop #geology #rocks Daylesford, a town in the Goldfield’s region of Victoria, is an exceptional example of the significant impact geology can have on land use. The distribution of the basalt flows in the landscape (orange in map) correlates almost exactly with the fertile farming land. Basalt-derived soils are nutrient rich (Iron, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus). The Ordivician turbidite sequences (nutrient poor sandstone and shale) generally form highlands and correlate with scrubby bushland, as well as National and State Parks. The Daylesford Region is most famous for natural mineral springs (white dots in map), which are generally located in lowlands, at the contact between the turbidites and basalts and often in proximity to faults. This is because the source of the CO2 is thought to be groundwater circulating through the igneous rocks. How good is aerial geology! | https://weekendgeology.com/2015/06/23/daylesford-springs/ | #mineralsprings #landuse #basalt #turbidites #daylesford #geology Werribee Gorge is a day walk just west of Melbourne that records almost 500 million years of Victoria’s geological history! Walk among folded Ordovician turbidites, trace the unconformity with overlying Permian glacial deposits and climb rounded tors of the Devonian Islington Granite intrusion | https://weekendgeology.com/2016/03/21/werribee-gorge/ | #werribeegorge #geology #geologist #permian #granitetors #fold The history of Phillip Island begins under the sea over 500 million years ago, with spectacular outcrops of Cambrian greenstones at Kitty Miller Bay, Devonian granite at Cape Woolamai and columnar basalt at The Colonnades. Put your geologist hat on and visit Pyramid Rock not just for the iconic landscape, but to investigate how the island potentially formed - small granite islands in a shallow ocean covered by extensive flows of basaltic lava? | https://weekendgeology.com/2018/09/01/phillip-island/ | #phillipisland #basalt #capewoolamai #cambrian #greenstones #westernport #geology #geosite Fossils found by volunteers on the shore platforms surrounding The Great Otway National Park tell us dinosaurs were wondering around Victoria in the ice-cold Early Cretaceous. | https://weekendgeology.com/2016/07/11/dinosaurs-in-the-otways/ | #theotways #cretaceous #dinosaurs #fossils #museum #fossildig Studley Park - just outside the Melbourne CBD - is the perfect place to learn some of the basic concepts of structural geology! Layers of interbedded sandstones and mudstones deposited on the sea floor during the Silurian (~400 Ma) have been tightly folded during major deformation events. You can also see how the landscape has been shaped by the differential erosion along the contact of Cenozoic basalts (Merri Creek) and rigid sandstone (cliff). | https://weekendgeology.com/2017/02/06/studley-park/ | #melbourne #studleypark #geology #folds #faults #silurian #turbidites #basalt Eagle Rock (20m stack) and Table Rock near Aireys Inlet, VIC, are weathered outcrops of Oligocene (23Ma+) sub-aerial basalt flows, including pyroclastics and pillow basalt structures, overlain by shallow water limestones with numerous invertebrate fossils (oysters, sea urchins, gastropods and foraminifera). | https://weekendgeology.com/2015/05/30/eagle-rock-aireys-inlet/ | #vicroria #geology #basalt #aireysinlet #eaglerock #pyroclastics #oligocene #weekendgeology Bendigo, a regional town in Victoria, was once a bustling gold rush settlement littered with poppet-heads, mullock heaps and the deafening soundtrack of stamping batteries. Bendigo is situated within a large Phanerozoic Orogenic Gold Provence, with the largest concentration of deep shafts in the world taking advantage of high grade reefs of quartz-hosted visible gold. Bendigo geology in a nutshell is: sandstones and shales (turbidites) folded into north-south trending chevron folds with steep west-dipping faults. Photo of street view from the Victorian Heritage Database. | https://weekendgeology.com/2018/05/22/bendigo-goldfields/ | #gold #bendigo #quartz #mining #machinery #turbidites #orogenicgold #goldrush

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