Wk 1 // thinking about rocks - interesting documentaries & diary notes

In an effort to be a bit more mindful of my media consumption (and to practice my cursive - sorry!) I've been trying to keep a diary around the films, TV and podcasts I'm engaging with when they feel they relate to my practice thoughts. I'll try to upload images from it when I remember to do so. Below are images from some brief notes on the Earthstorm series on Netflix relating to geological activity (volcanoes and earthquakes) and some from smaller videos and conversations I've had as a result around them.

I've also been doing some light reading into deep sea mining (which Aotearoa currently has a moratorium on) and the collection of metal- and mineral-rich concretions on the sea floor. Much like how a pearl develops in an oyster, concretions develop in sea sediment over millions of years, beginning as detritus and developing layers of sediment and metals as they are being pushed by land movement and ocean currents. Little is known about the impact their collection as it is such a new field, primarily pushed by a growing demand for rare earth metals in the production of electronics and electric vehicles, but scientists are beginning to investigate the role these rocks have in maintaining delicate deep sea ecosystems and habitats.

Growing up in Whangaparaoa and Silverdale, I can remember seeing large concretion boulders on the corner of Hibiscus Coast Highway and Whangaparaoa Road on the way to school, which are still there today (indicated in the image on the right). No one was entirely sure where they came from, and how they got to the top of the hill was always a fun thought experiment as a child, but others like them have been found north in Kaipara in and around its waterways where the ancient sea bed has been pushed to the surface of the shore.

Rumours and legends around the origin of concretions have popped up in both Māori and settler lore, and I can remember some wild theories that I heard in childhood around where they came from...

An interesting NZ Geo article on them: nzgeo.com/stories/hooligans-gallstones/ On deep sea mining: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/minerals-in-the-deep/

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More rocks - Stony batter Boulders, Waiheke

I'm hoping to return to Stony Batter in the near future to take some photos and recordings - I'm not sure entirely what for yet, but this place has an interesting feeling to it and I'd like to gather some images for point cloud works... (Vague intention I know; perhaps it has to do with the imaginative quality the place has, like the Silverdale concretions).

Of the boulders in the climbing field, many have been named based on their routes and perceived personalities by the people who have mapped them. They have interesting presence; not imposing, but definitely 'there'... Similar to Rangitoto's volcanic origin, these rocks were ejected some 8 million years ago during an eruption at the far end of Waiheke Island. Much like its scoria, the boulders have extensive lichen systems growing on them - some of which, along with the impacts of weathering and climbing, have begun to erode away at the rock surfaces. Unlike Rangitoto's, these lichens are much more territorial and obvious borders between neighbouring colonies can be seen clearly - “like states at war with all their neighbours”.