From geology.com a list of field camps by college.

Via BBC News: A newly-discovered feathered dinosaur pre-dates those birds were thought to have evolved from, a Southampton palaeontologist claims. The Eosinopteryx was a 30cm (11.8in) flightless dinosaur whose remains were found in north-eastern China. Dr Gareth Dyke said the find challenged “widely accepted theories on the origin of flight”.    

Via Caltech (hat tip Geology.com)  – … Caltech research points to a Grand Canyon that is many millions of years older than previously thought, says Kenneth A. Farley, Keck Foundation Professor of Geochemistry at Caltech and coauthor of the study. “Rather than being formed within the last few million years, our measurements suggest that a deep canyon existed more than 70 million years ago,” he says.

Interesting article and graphic – Why Climate Change Denial Is Just Hot Air

Via geology.com: This fact sheet by the North Dakota Geological Survey describes the possibility of kimberlites in North Dakota and a 2010 exploration program conducted by Kennecott.

Via NYTimes: … Artisanal miners succeed where large, centralized operations fail by evading regulations and targeting gold that has eroded over eons into river sediments, known as placer deposits, that are broadly distributed over vast landscapes. But to get even an ounce of that gold, miners have to upend tons of river sediment. They pump a continuous slurry of sediment and river water over mats that trap minute fractions of gold-enriched dust, discharging their tailings back into the river. Periodically, the accumulated gold dust is separated, and the gold isolated by amalgamating it with mercury. Invariably, the mercury is burned…

Via Quirks and Quarks from CBC Radio: During the Ordovician period, 450 million years ago, the continents were in very different positions than today.  The equator would have been in the same position relative to the poles, but would have traversed different regions.  Finding its exact location was the subject of a new study by Dr. Philip McCausland, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Western University in London, Ontario.  Using the fact that the equator today is a hurricane-free belt around the Earth, scientists were able to look for evidence of undisturbed trace fossils and shell…

Via Science News: A meteorite that fell where California’s gold rush began has triggered a …similar gold rush for scientists: to study one of the freshest, most unusual space rocks around.

Via Scientific American: An ancient lake whose shores vacillated between lush forests and dry savannahs shows how the changing climate may have shaped humanity’s dawn in eastern Africa, according to new research….

Can’t get away for a collecting trip? Take a few moments and enjoy these photographs from SpiriferMinerals.com.  Photo journey of field trips taken during the 2nd International Mindat.org Conference 2012 (November) in Midelt Morocco.

What happens when scientists get honest.