Hi! My son, Jim, has been selected for the England Men's #Volleyball U22s in the CEV Qualifiers in Italy! Unfortunately, volleyball receives v. little funding & so players have to self-fund. If you want to help Jim on his volleyball journey, that would be great! gofund.me/2181bfc2 Much appreciated!

Hyalinea balthica (Schröter, 1783) x 200 (v small, usually larger) from Loch Sunart. This planispiral evolute #foraminifera is easily distinguished by its thick glassy walls separating the chambers & thick glassy periphery. Likes organic rich seds & cooler waters. (Nearly!) #ForamFriday.

Hi folks! If you are willing & able, please subscribe to my son's #volleyball Youtube channel!! We need 50+ subscribers before we can livestream games. Really useful for those who can't attend (like me sometimes!) and to keep a recording for his profile! Thanks! 😍🏐 www.youtube.com/@JamesMCVoll...

I did say there would be some personal life posts! Proud mum moment! Well done to my boy, James Cox! Top Setter in @volleyballengland Super Series #3 (play offs between the top 8 teams in England). Also, England U17 Men's #volleyball captain in the 2024 NEVZA tournament in Denmark! Go Jim! 🏐 👏

Beautiful views with the cold weather in #newcastleunderlyme #staffordshire. 😍🌨 Doggo is enjoying it too!

One for @janeearland.bsky.social! Like the intricate ice crystals in our sub-zero temperatures here in Staffordshire, here is the delicate Textularia earlandi Parker, 1952 (x 130) from Loch Sunart. I love this fragile, little agglutinated benthic #foraminifera. #ForamFriday

A pretty bauble for the Christmas tree! Favulina hexagona (Williamson, 1848) (x160) from Loch Sunart, NW Scotland, UK. (Used to be Oolina hexagona). #ForamFriday #Festivefossils

Last day in the office today before the Christmas break and I wanted to post somethign upbeat - but first your obligatory #NIghtmareBeforeChristmas thread - it's surprisingly funny...

This benthic #foraminifera always reminds me of an upside down Christmas tree! Bulimina marginata d'Orbigny, 1826 (x 100, shown aperture down for tree-ness!) from Loch Sunart. Found in stratified waters in Sunart. Also linked to high organic matter. #ForamFriday #Seasonsgreetings!

It's nearly time! Christmas tree candidate #1! Spiroplectinella wrightii (Silvestri, 1903) (was Spiroplectammina wrightii) x 55 from Loch Sunart. A common UK shelf benthic #foraminifera species; groups with other taxa that suggest saline waters & higher energy environments. #ForamFriday

One of my fave agglutinated #foraminifera Recurvoidella bradyi (Robertson, 1891; superseded Haplophragmoides bradyi) x180 from Loch Sunart, Scotland. Amazes me how #forams are so particular about grain mineralogy & size. This one has a smooth, shiny test of tiny grains & is usually a browny-orange.

They are heading out of the weather now, but yesterday my PhD student, Ally, was in the middle of the Celtic Sea on RV Tom Crean with Dr Mark Coughlan (UCD) and his team, collecting samples and data for #bluecarbon studies in shelf seas. What a great experience for him! Thanks Mark & team!

Recurvoides trochamminiformis Höglund, 1947 (x 200) from Loch Sunart, NW Scotland. I like the way agglutinated #foraminifera can select different grain sizes - here the grain size is much finer around the aperture, giving a distinct edge/lip. #ForamFriday (Ignore the '10' - that's from my plate!)

I've not posted here for a while but here is a late #ForamFriday! Cassidulina obtusa Williamson, 1858. x250. Loch Sunart, Scotland. Usually found in more temperate waters. Signature characteristic - that little indent at the top of the aperture.

A warm welcome to @mattrpharris.bsky.social! Follow Matt for ice chat, contamination discussions and some stats loving! 🧊

Applications are open for the 2024 Gordon Research Conference on Ocean Mixing!

Ahhh! I love being back in my home town! Where talking to random folk and being called 'love' is normal, getting life stories in shops from people you've never met is frequent, and 'cock/cocker' is a term of endearment! 😂 #northernlass #lancashire #manchester

Come and join us at Keele University! We're looking for a (permanent) Lecturer in Geology with a view to expand our research and education in applied petrology, sustainable extraction or mineral resources - see findajob.dwp.gov.uk/details/1333... for more details!

A warm welcome to @simondhaenens.bsky.social - I'm looking forward to more #foraminifera fans joining us over here for more #ForamFriday content and discussion!

No #ForamFriday from me because I was busy getting my lad ready for this! Super proud of my boy, and of the hard work & commitment these kids & their coaches at #Volleyball England and club level have put in to make this happen! What a fantastic set of boys and girls too! Enjoy yourselves! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏐💪😍

For #ForamFriday: Revisiting our TMS JM paper which aims to help #foraminifera workers identify tricky, similar-looking species of Cassidulina, Paracassidulina & Islandiella more easily using figures, descriptions and a decision tree. Find it here - jm.copernicus.org/articles/40/...

Revisiting previous 🐦 posts to share the #foraminifera love here and on 🟦! Melonis affinis (Reuss, 1851) x 80 from Loch Sunart, Scotland. Loves food! Was Melonis barleeanum in my PhD thesis. Species name checked in marinespecies.org/index.php - are really useful resource! #ForamFriday

Last year, I thought this might be my last #ForamFriday Twitter post, so happy to have it here as my 1st 🟦! Eggerelloides scabrum (Williamson, 1858) - a dominant #agglutinated #foraminifera in the inner basin of Loch Sunart. x85 for both images. Images show microspheric and megalospheric growth.