Dr. Mary Peterson tells us about basaltic glasses from the Galápagos Islands, and why they might have originated deep within the Earth’s mantle. She also describes her lab work, which involves cool lab coats, security badges, and meticulous sorting of samples.

Dr. Andrea Donnellan stops by the show to talk about GeoGateway, a website that combines different datasets to help geologists. She explains how rocks move like silly putty, and recounts the time a lone cloud masqueraded as tectonic motion.

Bonus music at the end is “Glorious Dawn” by Colorpulse. Hear more rad science tunes at www.symphonyofscience.com.