Happy almost Friday! The AAPG editorial team is stepping in for Cate today, as she is feeling a bit under the weather. But not to worry! We’re still kicking off the morning with plenty of ways in which geology meets everyday life.
Let’s look at a few fun facts combining geology and the Olympic games.
The Geology Behind Key Olympic Structures
Noriox/ Shutterstock.com
The summer Olympic Games are currently going on in Paris, France, and many of the current—and historic—key sites and facilities contain interesting geological elements.
Key sites and structures:
Several events are taking place at renowned Parisian sites such as the Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower, which are both great examples of the city’s longtime use of local geological resources.
The limestone used in many of Paris’ historical buildings, including the Notre-Dame Cathedral, is sourced from the Lutetian limestone quarries located in the Paris Basin.
The Eiffel Tower itself is a marvel of engineering and geology, but it's also a bit of a brag for France. It was built with puddle iron, an extremely refined ore considered to be of the utmost quality of its time.
Historical origins and locales:
The original Olympics occurred in Olympia, Greece 2,800 years ago, but the first modern Games were held in Athens in 1896, reviving both the ancient traditions as well as natural resources.
Ancient Greek structures such as the Parthenon were built with Pentelic marble, prized for its durability and pure white color with a slight golden tint from iron oxide.
The Panathenaic Stadium, reconstructed for the 1896 Olympics, prominently featured this marble, connecting the modern games to Greece's rich geological resources.
But buildings and facilities aren’t the only Olympic elements with some fun geo ties…
A message from IPT Well Solutions
How does seismic interpretation and advanced computer applications enhance geologic reservoir characterization?
Find the answers in IPT Well Solutions latest whitepaper.
Turns out the precious medals🥇won by the world’s top athletes at the Olympics aren’t always made entirely with precious metals (See what I did there? 😉) Here are some fun facts about how the gold, silver, and bronze medals are made.
Composition:
The first Olympic medals were given to top athletes at the 1904 games in St. Louis, but the last fully gold medals were awarded in 1912. It’s too expensive and resource intensive to do this today for the hundreds of Olympic gold medalists.
The gold medals are made mostly from silver. Regulations stipulate they must contain 92.5 percent silver, 6 grams of gold (1.34 percent), and the remainder should be copper.
Silver medals are also 92.5 percent silver, with the remainder being copper.
Bronze medals are a blend of 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.
Value:
So, how much are the medals worth? Estimates by NBC Sports put the value of a 2024 gold medal between $750 and $850, while CNN reported a silver medal to be worth about $450 and a bronze medal to be worth about $5.
Over the years, however, when former Olympic athletes have sold their medals during financial hardship or to donate to charity, they’ve fetched upwards of $70,000.
Design:
The host city is responsible for creating a unique design for medals awarded during that year’s games.
The Parisian medals’ design features an extra fun tidbit: each medal includes a hexagon-shaped piece of iron from the original Eiffel Tower—what the designers called the most precious metal of Paris. A promo video for the medal design said: “In 2024, dreams are a jewel, and Paris is the setting.”
The back side showcases a depiction of the rebirth of the Olympic games in Greece in 1896, which has been a traditional design element on Olympic medals since 2004.
This year’s take features the Greek goddess of victory, Athena Nike, the Acropolis, the Eiffel Tower, and the Panathenaic Stadium.
The ribbons are dark blue and depict the lattice work from the Eiffel Tower.
Sustainability:
In recent years, sustainability and metals recycling has been top of mind when designing medals.
The gold medals at the games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016 were made with recycled silver from mirrors, X-ray plates, and solders. The silver and bronze medals were made from 30 percent recycled materials sourced from the country’s mint. Even the ribbons were made from recycled plastics.
Thank you for reading this week’s GeoLifestyle! As I’m writing this, more than 200 Olympic medals have already been awarded in Paris. I hope you are enjoying watching the various events and rooting for your favorite athletes!
👍 If you enjoyed this edition of GeoLifestyle, consider supporting AAPG's brand of newsletters by forwarding to a friend or colleague and signing up for our other newsletters here.
➡️ Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up for GeoLifestyle here.
AAPG thanks our advertisers for their support. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. If you're interested in supporting AAPG digital products, reach out to Melissa Roberts.
