What are These Patterns?

It’s been said that the pattern recognition skills of the human brain are second-to-none. A colleague and friend is out doing field work in the western Northwest Territories of Canada and sent this photo from the Upper Devonian (~360 million yrs old) Imperial Formation.
What’s going on here?
UPDATE — Note about commenting: I’ve removed a few [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/what-are-these-patterns/

matter & energy molecules materials science