Category: Around the Web
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Amber Yields Clues to the History of Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere
Via geology.com: Gas bubbles trapped in amber show an oxygen-rich Cretaceous atmosphere Republished from an information release posted by USGS in June, 2009. In addition: amber in India’s Cambay area has new information too.
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Tyler Keillor’s Paleoart Exhibit
Tyler Keillor’s Paleoart exhibit will open on Saturday 11/20 at the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The exhibit demonstrates how he blends art and science to bring prehistoric creatures to life. Tyler writes to ESCONI, “One of the items on display is a plaque I sculpted at my art…
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Oldest Fossil Shrimp
Via PhysOrg: … Rodney Feldmann and Carrie Schweitzer (both Kent State University) report on the oldest fossil shrimp known to date. The creature in stone is as much as 360 million years old and was found in Oklahoma. Even the muscles of the fossil are preserved. The study will be published soon in Journal of…
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New Book on S. IL. Coal Mining
Via Coal Geology: “Southern Illinois Coal: A Portfolio” contains coal mining photographs by C. William Horrell, taken across the southern Illinois Coal Belt over a twenty-year period from 1966 to 1986. … “In cool documentary style, Horrell’s photos detail the miners, the methods, and the artifacts of Illinois coal. From giant surface shovels to self propelled…
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Geothermal Map of US
Via geology.com: Google says that there is a “Googol of heat beneath our feet” and has prepared a geothermal heat map of the United States that displays in the Google Earth program. The map is interactive – you can click on any state to get a statistical summary of that state’s geothermal resource. If you…
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Cannibal Tyrannosaurus Rex?
From The Guardian: …The discovery of giant tooth marks in Tyrannosaurus rex bones has led fossil hunters to declare that the king of the dinosaurs was a cannibal. The lumbering beast was at the top of the food chain in North America 65 million years ago, but until now there has been little evidence to…
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Fossil Explains Origin of Sunflowers
From BBC via geology.com … Finding this very well-preserved flower confirms that the family came from the ancient southern landmass, Gondwana, about 50 million years ago. The researchers, headed by Dr Viviana Barreda from the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, published their results in Science magazine… photo: By monteregina
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Rare Earth Minerals On Moon?
NASA Via Geology.com: … Here on Earth, China recently blocked the export of rare earth elements to Japan for use in an array of products; from wind turbines and glass for solar panels to use in hybrid cars, and even guided missiles and other defense-oriented creations. China is increasingly putting the pinch on quotas of…
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Geology of National Parks
The UNC Geological Sciences Librarian put together this helpful reference about the geology of national parks. Also of interest is the resource, Views of the National Parks, hat tip geology.com Photo: the_tahoe_guy
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Latest Research on Moon Rocks
Via UCLA: The moon is more geologically complex than previously thought, scientists report Sept. 17 in two papers published in the journal Science. Their conclusion is based on data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), an unmanned mission to comprehensively map the entire moon. The spacecraft orbits some 31…
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New Herzog Film on Upper Paleolithic Art
Roger Ebert’s review of “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” by Werner Herzog: About 32,000 years ago, in a limestone cave above the Ardèche River in Southern France, humans created the oldest cave paintings known to exist. They spring from the walls with boldness and confidence, as if the artists were already sure what they wanted to…
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Rare-Earth Metals: Not Rare, but Critical
From The Economist: … What makes the rare earths so special is the way they can react with other elements to get results that neither could achieve alone. They are used, a pinch here and a pinch there, to make powerful permanent magnets for lightweight electric motors, phosphors for colour television and flat-panel displays,…
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1.4 Million Yr. California Fossil Find
Via AP Yahoo News: RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A utility company preparing to build a new substation in an arid canyon southeast of Los Angeles has stumbled on a trove of animal fossils dating back 1.4 million years that researchers say will fill in blanks in Southern California’s history. The well-preserved cache contains nearly 1,500 bone…
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North Dakota Fossil Fact Poster
Via geology.com: A neat poster of North Dakota Fossil Facts from the Dept. of Mineral Resources Geology group.
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Fossils of Saltville Virginia
“…Saltville has been known for its Ice Age fossils since Thomas Jefferson reported large bones from the valley in 1782, and excavations have occurred there on a sporadic basis ever since. ETSU became involved when Dr. Steven Wallace, associate professor of Geosciences, led digs at the site in 2003 and 2004. Schubert took over the…
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The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes
Interesting video: In this short documentary from conservationist Bill Mason, he illustrates that although the Great Lakes have had their ups and downs, nothing has been harder to take than what humans have done to them lately. In the film, a lone canoeist lives through the changes of geological history, through Ice Age and flood,…
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Ashfall fossil park has new digs for visiting scholars
Via JournalStar.com: Student scholars who dig fossils at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park will now have a place to stay. Three cabins were built for those participating in paleontology research at the park. Photo: Wide open space characterises Ashfall State Historic Park, Creighton, Nebraska/–Mawhamba 13:11, 1 May 2005 (UTC)
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New Fossil Find at Stanley Glacier Site
Via PHysOrg: During an expedition into the Canadian Rocky Mountains in 2008, a Canadian-led team including Swedish researchers from Uppsala University found a new site with exceptionally preserved fossils. The site and its fossils have now been made public in this month’s issue of Geology. The discovered fossils, including a new form of giant predator,…
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Obituary for Harry Whittington
Via Telegraph: Professor Harry Whittington, who died on June 20 aged 94, was the former Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge and the world’s leading authority on fossil trilobites; in later life he led painstaking research which revealed a “Cambrian explosion” and raised disturbing questions about the processes of evolution….
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Geology Videos On Line
Via Arizona Geology: There are scores of science channels on YouTube and a fair number of geology-themed ones. Here’s a sampling of geo channels with a fair amount of high-quality content. Do you have any others you’d like to recommend?
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ESCONI Facebook Page
On Facebook? Come over to the ESCONI facebook page and visit! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/ESCONI-Earth-Science-Club-of-Northern-Illinois/120623877970391?ref=ts
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Mineral of the Month
GAUDEFROYITE Ca4Mn3+3-x(BO3)3(CO3)(O,OH)3 specimen and photo – J de Jongh Crystal system: Hexagonal Hardness: 6 Density: 3.35 – 3.50 Cleavage: None, brittle. Streak: Brown Colour: Black, charcoal, bronze Occurrence: An uncommon hydrothermal mineral in manganese deposits. Habitat: Needle-like to stubby hexagonal crystals up to 5 cm long, with pyramidal terminations. Composition: Borate…
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Rare Print Geology Books
This site sells rare and out of print geology and earth science books… interesting stuff.
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maps, maps, maps
And a link to free Topo maps thanks to Carlos! And a web site that lists other map sites.
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Lapidary Art
The DesPlaines Rock and Gem show took place this weekend. Good silent auction and booths. Enjoyed seeing a minature rock shop and the lapidary artistry of Bernard Sobczak. Click on the photos to see larger photos.
