Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Sinkholes in Pennsylvania

Via Geology.com:

The Pennsylvania Geological Survey has an informative publication on sinkholes that provides useful information that can be applied in areas far beyond the state. It includes information about how sinkholes form, where they might occur, how to identify them, the types of problems that they cause, remediation and lots of photos.

Archaeology Month in Alabama

Many interesting exploration ideas...

Paleo Books from Wiley

Interesting set of books for sale by Wiley.

Pottery Pieces Tell of Past Peace

Via Geology.com:

Some eight centuries ago in what is now Arizona and New Mexico, women of different cultures were brought together by the desire for peace amongst their peoples. Their artwork, known today as Salado pottery, tells a story of religious unity in the face of tribal differences....more

Epigenetics Challenges Evolution

A long but interesting report on how epigenetics can change the view of evolution.

Footage of Iceland Volcano

Pretty good video footage of Icelandic volcano from the BBC.

Archaeologists to Host Training - South East Kansas

From the Fort Scott Tribune:

The Kansas Archeology Training Program, held June 5-20, will give volunteers an opportunity to participate in salvage excavation of a well-preserved prehistoric site threatened by river erosion in Montgomery County. Professional and avocational archeologists form the Kansas Historical Society and the Kansas Anthropological Association will work together to recover as much data as possible from the site before a major portion is destroyed by a stream bank stabilization project. ...

...The deadline for the lowest registration fee is May 1. For full details and registration information, log on to www.kshs.org/research/katpcurrent or contact Kansas Historical Society Public Archeologist Virginia Wulfkuhle at 785-272-8681 ext. 266 or vwulfkyhle@kshs.org.

Copernicus as Father of Geology?

Via Discovery News:

... geology -- at least in the English and American histories of it -- is thought of as commencing with Scottish geologist James Hutton and the "Geological Revolution" of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. That's when scientists recognized that rocks and fossils told the story of a very old Earth with a complicated history.

...But in other traditions around the world, Earth science, which includes geology as well as marine and atmospheric sciences, started much earlier, and even includes voyages of discovery by the Portuguese in the 1500s, said Alvarez, whose co-author on the paper is science historian Henrique Leitao of the Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal.

Dinosaur Poop Watches

From Weird News:

If you're going to pay more than $11,000 for a watch, you'd probably want it to be made of gold and encrusted in precious gems... not poop.

But Swiss company Artya has unveiled an expensive new watch, and it's literally made of dung....

Volcano Eruptions In Iceland

From Times Online:

About 500 people were safely evacuated from the land close to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which is around 120 kilometres (75 miles) southeast of the capital, Reykjavik. The country's two airports were closed for most of the day and transatlantic flights re-routed to avoid the risk of ash blocking visibility and destroying engines.

more photos from another site..

Governmentium by Floyd Rogers

(ed. note: not necessarily the view of ESCONI or its members or comment on anything specific - political satire.)

Queens University researchers have discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.  The new element, Governmentium (symbol=Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.  These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called pillocks. 

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert.  However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.  A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that

This Weekend Activities

Archaeology Study Group Meeting. Saturday 3/27 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Building K. Rm 131.

Field trip to Jacobs Geodes in Hamilton, Illinois 9:00 A.M. Saturday, 3/27, Meet at 9:00 am at 823 E. County Rd. 1220 in Hamilton, Illinois at Jacob's Geodes. $16 for a full 5-gallon pail. Please call John Good at 630 483-2363 for reservations or e-mail at esconi@hotmail.com

Mid-America Paleontology Society MAPS Show. Western Illinois University, Macomb, Il.,  Friday - March 26 - Sunday - March 28th.

Great ESCONI Show This Year!

Thank you to all who helped to make the 2010 ESCONI Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show possible. Photographs will be added to the Show Album throughout the week that will show the  live and silent auctions, dealer exhibits, demonstrations of lapidary and jewelry making, the kids corner, the Field and the Lizzadro museum exhibits, and the geode cracker.

The goal of ESCONI is to promote interest in earth sciences including geology, mineralogy, archaelogy, micro-mounting, paleontology and lapidary.

Shopping going on...

Live auction going on right now... the photo of gear is one of the items being auctioned. Live auction tomorrow.... 1:00 p.m. too.

Still trying to post photo

Geode cracking... someone brought in their geode just to have it cracked!

LIve from the ESCONI show.... lots of excitement, activities, vendors and people and kids today!

Help Set Up Show Today

t is always fun to set up the annual show because of all the excitement and neat stuff that comes out to be displayed.

So if you have some free time, come on by to COD Building K Commons Room and help set up the show!

Amateur Fossil Find Story

From the Ottawa Citizen:

In 1997, amateur paleontologist Nathan Isotalo found a fossilized worm the ROM now says is rare and important, writes Zev Singer.

For an amateur paleontologist, it was the big find: Nathan Isotalo was chipping through a large rock from an Ottawa construction site in 1997 and found an extremely rare and significant fossil.

But when he hit this jackpot, no bells rang and no lights flashed. There was just silence -- for 13 years.... more