Coursera is offering a course from the American Museum of Natural History: The Dynamic Earth: A Course for Educators  by Edmond Mathez, Ph.D., Ro Kinzler, Ph.D. The course is still open, so check it out if you are interested in taking this free online course for earth science educators.  

Via ScienceyThoughts: In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 23 July 2013, Chongda Wang and Dong Ren of the College of Life Sciences at Capital Normal University in Beijing describe a new species of Cockroach from the Jehol Biota of the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation Liaoning Province, China.

Via Live Science: Researchers may have just scratched the surface of a major new dinosaur site nearly inside the Arctic Circle. This past summer, they discovered thousands of fossilized dinosaur footprints, large and small, along the rocky banks of Alaska’s Yukon River.

Via WGN: The eyes of the world will be on Stockholm, September 27th, 2013, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change- I.P.C.C. releases it’s latest findings.  Five years ago, that panel won a Nobel Prize for it’s climate work.  And Atmospheric Science Professor Don Wuebbles from the University of Illinois, shared in that high honor.  Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling traveled to Urbana last week to catch Dr. Wuebbles for a preview of their report before he left for Sweden. Read more: http://wgntv.com/2013/09/26/tom-skilling-reports-on-climate-change/#ixzz2gRC206xh

From National Geographic via Geology.com: Jade Mystery Remains September 7, 2013—Jade bi (discs), from China, that resemble modern-day CD’s or donuts, and date to the late Neolithic Period, Liangzhu culture (ca. 3300-2250 BC) remain a mystery.  Click here to see video.

From SciNews: An international team of scientists has announced the discovery of a 6.1-million-year-old relatively complete and largely undistorted juvenile cranium of the fossil ape Lufengpithecus lufengensis at the Miocene site Shuitangba in Yunnan Province, China.

From the Atlantic Magazine: A Database of 3D Fossils, Ready for You to Explore and Print Beyond their beauty, fossils are also physical objects, with heft and depth, contours and textures. These qualities are not easily conveyed across the Internet, which tends to resolve on screens, brightly colored and flat.   This shortcoming is being addressed by a new database launched by the British Geological Service, which contains not just thousands of images of fossils held in a host of British collections, but also 3D models of many of those fossils, which can be viewed, rotated, and enlarged in an interactive display…

Via One of the biggest canyons in the world has been found beneath the ice sheet that smothers most of Greenland. The canyon – which is 800km long and up to 800m deep – was carved out by a great river more than four million years ago, before the ice arrived. It was discovered by accident as scientists researching climate change mapped Greenland’s bedrock by radar. The British Antarctic Survey said it was remarkable to find so huge a geographical feature previously unseen. The hidden valley is longer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I BBC:

Governor Quinn Signs Recreation Liability Bill  At a press conference this morning, Governor Pat Quinn signed SB1042 into law as Public Act 98-0522.  This new law will give private landowners that open their land to the public for recreation, conservation, and education liability protections.  The Governor was joined by representatives from Openlands, The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Environmental Council, Environmental Law and Policy Center, and many other land and conservation organizations.  We are very grateful to the Governor, the staff in the Governor’s office, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for their support and hard work to enact this important…

The world’s oldest tree lives in Utah – the Pando – 80,000 years old. This and more interesting information is beautifully presented:  http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/07/7-graphics-of-earths-coolest-phenomena-from-rainbows-to-earth-wobble/  

Gem and Mineral Coffee Table: “We visited the rock show on Friday and Saturday and purchased some slabs. Back in Caldwell, the fun began. I started with the butterfly in the middle, using two slabs of petrified wood. I cleaned up the edges on the 6-inch by 1½-inch 100 grit diamond wheel, glued them in place, and then formed the body out of tiger’s-eye.  …

Rock and Gem Magazine’s Rock of the Month: Rutile … Although it usually occurs in small amounts, rutile is widespread in plutonic igneous rocks (those formed by magma cooling deep within the earth) and metamorphic rocks that formed at high pressure and temperature. Rutile is often associated with quartz. When needlelike “Venus hair” crystals of rutile become encased in other minerals, such as clear quartz, the resulting crystals make stunning display specimens and can be cut into attractive gemstones….