Cin-Ty Lee
@cintylee.bsky.social
geologist, critical minerals, geopolitics | Rice University | Princeton Field Guides to Flycatchers of North America | OM Systems | https://press.princeton.edu/our-authors/lee-cin-ty
Basaltic dike crosscutting Precambrian granites and arc cumulates. Arabian Shield on the flank of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia.
November 26, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Basaltic dike crosscutting Precambrian granites and arc cumulates. Arabian Shield on the flank of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia.
A Western Willet flying over me. In the fall, the Eastern Willets along the coast fly south to their wintering grounds and are replaced by Western Willets returning from the north. Willets are here year round, but the two species trade places every season. And yes, they are different species.
November 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM
A Western Willet flying over me. In the fall, the Eastern Willets along the coast fly south to their wintering grounds and are replaced by Western Willets returning from the north. Willets are here year round, but the two species trade places every season. And yes, they are different species.
We r having a panel discussion on critical minerals Dec 8 @riceuniversity.bsky.social in conjunction with the French Consulate of Houston.
November 26, 2025 at 1:18 AM
We r having a panel discussion on critical minerals Dec 8 @riceuniversity.bsky.social in conjunction with the French Consulate of Houston.
After seemingly disappearing for 5 days, our Allen's Hummingbird @riceuniversity in Houston, TX has returned. Where did to go to all this time?
November 18, 2025 at 4:55 AM
After seemingly disappearing for 5 days, our Allen's Hummingbird @riceuniversity in Houston, TX has returned. Where did to go to all this time?
so I've been playing around with AI (GPT), asking it how Pt-bearing sulfide layers form in layered intrusions. I asked critical questions, prompted it to think about physics, and after many iterations, it came up with this model. Utter nonsense, violating physics! Be very careful of AI.
November 18, 2025 at 3:55 AM
so I've been playing around with AI (GPT), asking it how Pt-bearing sulfide layers form in layered intrusions. I asked critical questions, prompted it to think about physics, and after many iterations, it came up with this model. Utter nonsense, violating physics! Be very careful of AI.
Galveston, upper Texas coast this am. What appears to be a Vega Gull, the recently split Siberian counterpart of the Herring Gull complex. We had a good gull day.
November 17, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Galveston, upper Texas coast this am. What appears to be a Vega Gull, the recently split Siberian counterpart of the Herring Gull complex. We had a good gull day.
Another Allen’s Hummingbird @riceuniversity.bsky.social in Houston. Amazing we’ve now had two. Our garden is working!
November 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Another Allen’s Hummingbird @riceuniversity.bsky.social in Houston. Amazing we’ve now had two. Our garden is working!
I need help! Scaly-breasted Munias. How many birds in this photo? Trying to estimate how many birds we have, but they keep moving around. Curious how much variance there might be between observers. So first, give me your quick estimate and then count them carefully. How do your numbers compare?
November 13, 2025 at 4:48 PM
I need help! Scaly-breasted Munias. How many birds in this photo? Trying to estimate how many birds we have, but they keep moving around. Curious how much variance there might be between observers. So first, give me your quick estimate and then count them carefully. How do your numbers compare?
Billion year old shallow water stromatolitic carbonates contact metamorphosed. Green layers with diopside and occasional grossular garnet. Sedimentary layers are preserved, including ripples! Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas.
November 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Billion year old shallow water stromatolitic carbonates contact metamorphosed. Green layers with diopside and occasional grossular garnet. Sedimentary layers are preserved, including ripples! Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas.
A view of the mid-Tertiary andesitic porphyry of Cristo Rey in El Paso, straddling the Mexican-US border. The laccolith intruded into Cretaceous sediments, pushing them apart. @riceeeps.bsky.social @riceuniversity.bsky.social geology field trip to west texas
November 11, 2025 at 4:21 AM
A view of the mid-Tertiary andesitic porphyry of Cristo Rey in El Paso, straddling the Mexican-US border. The laccolith intruded into Cretaceous sediments, pushing them apart. @riceeeps.bsky.social @riceuniversity.bsky.social geology field trip to west texas
In search of pegmatites in the Precambrian Arabian shield. These dikes show the more fine-grained nature of the dike margins and the coarse-grained nature of the dike core due to differential cooling rates. Saudi Arabia.
November 7, 2025 at 1:37 PM
In search of pegmatites in the Precambrian Arabian shield. These dikes show the more fine-grained nature of the dike margins and the coarse-grained nature of the dike core due to differential cooling rates. Saudi Arabia.
Here in Houston @riceuniversity our soccer fields attract migrating meadowlarks in late October and early November. One might assume they are the expected Easterns but most have turned out to be Westerns. They r difficult to identify: subtle differences in face, tail and tertial patterns and vocals
November 6, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Here in Houston @riceuniversity our soccer fields attract migrating meadowlarks in late October and early November. One might assume they are the expected Easterns but most have turned out to be Westerns. They r difficult to identify: subtle differences in face, tail and tertial patterns and vocals
And it continues. a winter wren in our urban little patch. One cannot restore urban spaces to their original state, but one can build a diversity of microhabitats that provide cover for migrating birds.
November 4, 2025 at 3:48 PM
And it continues. a winter wren in our urban little patch. One cannot restore urban spaces to their original state, but one can build a diversity of microhabitats that provide cover for migrating birds.
Our little bird habitat @riceuniversity is still on fire. And migration is still on. Yesterday, an Ash-throated Flycatcher showed up. First record for my local patch, making this the 276th species documented for an urban hotspot.
November 4, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Our little bird habitat @riceuniversity is still on fire. And migration is still on. Yesterday, an Ash-throated Flycatcher showed up. First record for my local patch, making this the 276th species documented for an urban hotspot.
Birds, birds, birds. Showing Christian Cooper the birds of Houston Audubon’s Bolivar flats bird sanctuary on the upper Texas coast and learning from him how to tell stories.
October 24, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Birds, birds, birds. Showing Christian Cooper the birds of Houston Audubon’s Bolivar flats bird sanctuary on the upper Texas coast and learning from him how to tell stories.
Cedar waxwings are not here yet. But I’m waiting for them. When they come, I know it’s winter. Pen and ink.
October 23, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Cedar waxwings are not here yet. But I’m waiting for them. When they come, I know it’s winter. Pen and ink.
800 Wood Storks flew over @riceuniversity.bsky.social at noon today. on their way back south to Mexico for the winter. A magical sight that happens every year, but largely unnoticed because they fly high.
October 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
800 Wood Storks flew over @riceuniversity.bsky.social at noon today. on their way back south to Mexico for the winter. A magical sight that happens every year, but largely unnoticed because they fly high.
I have emptied out my lab. 25 years. We will soon tear it all down and rebuild for new faculty. The lab looks much bigger without the mass spectrometer. Some of the most critical parts are in my office now. A new chapter awaits.
October 22, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I have emptied out my lab. 25 years. We will soon tear it all down and rebuild for new faculty. The lab looks much bigger without the mass spectrometer. Some of the most critical parts are in my office now. A new chapter awaits.
A little rain in Texas would be nice. It’s been quite dry.
October 22, 2025 at 3:29 AM
A little rain in Texas would be nice. It’s been quite dry.
The sidewalk in front of my house, I’ve lined with rocks from all over the world, from two billion years ago to the present, from all types of geologic environments. I wonder how many people pass by and never know they are walking back in time. LOL
October 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The sidewalk in front of my house, I’ve lined with rocks from all over the world, from two billion years ago to the present, from all types of geologic environments. I wonder how many people pass by and never know they are walking back in time. LOL
When a rare bird shows up, especially one as cool as a calliope, birders flock. @riceuniversity.bsky.social
October 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
When a rare bird shows up, especially one as cool as a calliope, birders flock. @riceuniversity.bsky.social
Still don’t know what is going on. This morning I stumbled across a rare Calliope Hummingbird in my hummingbird garden @riceuniversity.bsky.social. Last week, an Allen’s hummingbird.
October 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Still don’t know what is going on. This morning I stumbled across a rare Calliope Hummingbird in my hummingbird garden @riceuniversity.bsky.social. Last week, an Allen’s hummingbird.
Allen’s Hummingbird @riceuniversity.bsky.social, our 274th species for this urban hotspot. Long overdue.
October 17, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Allen’s Hummingbird @riceuniversity.bsky.social, our 274th species for this urban hotspot. Long overdue.
Shatter cones in a recently discovered Precambrian impact site near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Shatter cones are the result of shock waves generated by the energy of a point source impact. These shockwaves radiate outwards from the point of impact, fracturing rock along the way.
October 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Shatter cones in a recently discovered Precambrian impact site near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Shatter cones are the result of shock waves generated by the energy of a point source impact. These shockwaves radiate outwards from the point of impact, fracturing rock along the way.
All hands on the great unconformity in the Sandias, New Mexico. Pennsylvianian limestones on 1.4 billion years A type granites. @riceuniversity.bsky.social geology trip.
October 12, 2025 at 3:47 AM
All hands on the great unconformity in the Sandias, New Mexico. Pennsylvianian limestones on 1.4 billion years A type granites. @riceuniversity.bsky.social geology trip.