Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Many Upcoming Events!

Friday, 9/10, 8:00 p.m., General Meeting, College of Dupage Building K, Room #131, Dale Gnidovec, curator of Ohio State University's Orton Geological Museum will speak on the Morrison formation.

Saturday, 9/11, 9:00 a.m., Work day at the storage facility in preparation for the ESCONI Flea Market on October 2. Contact John Good at 630-483-2363 to sign up and get directions.

Saturday, 9/11, 7:30 p.m., Mineralogy Study Group Meeting, College of Dupage, Building K, Rm 131.

Saturday, 9/18, 7:30 p.m., Paleontology Study Group Meeting, College of Dupage, Building K, Rm 131. Will be photographing Problematica ...

Friday, 9/24, 7:30 p.m., Board Meeting, College of Dupage, Building K, Rm 142 (note - room change)

Saturday, 9/25, 7:30 p.m., Archaeology Study Group Meeting, College of Dupage, Bldg., K, Rm 142 (note - room change).

Saturday & Sunday, 9/25 and 9/26  Field trip to Braceville for Mazon Creek fossils.

Saturday, 10/2, ESCONI Flea Market, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. (set up at 8:00 am), College of Dupage, Building K - Commons.

The Mother of All Humans

Via Science Daily:

The most robust statistical examination to date of our species' genetic links to "mitochondrial Eve" -- the maternal ancestor of all living humans -- confirms that she lived about 200,000 years ago...

New research on Earth's oldest reptiles

Podcast via Minnesota Public Radio:

Paleontologist Kristi Curry Rogers talks about her work on a new species of long-necked dinosaur, and how the discovery of the animal's "brain case" in Madagascar is the key to its identity. She also discusses recent developments in the world of paleontology...

Study on Badlands Erosion

Via Argus Leader:

... two researchers - Badlands National Park paleontologist Rachel Benton and Larry Stetler, a professor at the South Dakota School of Mines - will begin a three-year study this fall to answer the question, "Just how fast are the Badlands eroding?"...

Coprolites and Sharks

Via Brian Switek's site:

... Exactly what species produced the coprolites is unknown, but after analyzing a third specimen of the same composition found nearby the scientists determined that it had been produced by a carnivorous vertebrate other than a shark. A crocodile seemed to be a likely candidate, but the thing that made the paleontologists undertake this analysis in the first place was that the fossil feces showed characteristic tooth marks; one of the coprolites had been bitten into and the other had been severed. (You don't often see lines like "This tooth penetrated the feces to a depth of about 3 mm." in the literature.) A shark had bitten into these feces, but what kind of shark, and why?...

Paleontological Resources Preservation Act

Via National Park Service:

... H.R. 146, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, as Public Law 111-11. Title VI, Subtitle D of the act directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to implement a comprehensive paleontological resource management program on federal lands...

CCA Invitation for Mazon Field Trip 8/28

The Canal Corridor Association, which helps to preserve I & M Canal history, protect its environment, and create tourism, has invited ESCONI members to join their Mazon Creek field trip this Saturday, August 28.

Here are the details of their event:

Learn about the environment, ecosystems, and climate of Northern Illinois as it was 300 million years ago by collecting fossil specimens at the Mazon Fossil Beds.  You will be led through the most famous fossil site of the Midwest by Dave Dolak, Geologist from Columbia College Chicago.  The adventure begins with a hayride to the original site of the discoveries along the Mazon Creek as it was in the mid-1800s and the opportunity to collect the unique concretions such as ferns and horsetails.  Bring a bucket, rock hammer, shoes to wear in the creek, and casual clothing.  Everyone will have specimens to take home to remember the day.  Afterwards, more fun is to be had with cocktails and a barbeque to celebrate your finds.

1:30 pm Meet and Greet

2:00 pm Brief Overview of Geological History

3:00 pm-5:00 pm Creek Excursion

5:00 pm Cocktails

5:30 pm Barbeque

To R.S.V.P. please call the Canal Corridor Association at (815) 223-1851.

Reservations are required with a fee of $150.00 per participant.

The location is 70 miles from the Chicago Loop, 3 miles Southeast of Morris.  Details of the location will be provided upon reservation.

All proceeds will go to the Canal Corridor Association to help preserve I & M Canal history, protect its environment, and create tourism.  To check out our other events sponsored by the organization, log on to lasallecanalboat.org.

On-line Geology Courses

Geology.com lists some on on-line geology courses.

Arctic Shipwreck

Via Geology.com

Cold Arctic waters have preserved a ship that was trapped in Arctic ice – 1000 km north of the Arctic Circle – and abandoned 150 years ago. The remains of the HMS Investigator now rest on the bottom under about ten meters of water.

Collaboration Power

Via Mercury News:

In a stunning example of the power of the Internet to attract and connect the smartest minds on earth around the most difficult problems, scholars at UC Berkeley and Stanford have created a free website, called MathOverflow, which is transforming math research.

The format is simple. By linking questions and answers from hands-on participants, each small solution builds toward a larger understanding, accelerating research. And it proves that mass collaboration can greatly expand human problem-solving abilities.

Tennessee Red Panda

Via Aol:

Now, according to recent fossil findings, it appears the enigmatic red cousin to the black-and-white panda once roamed the long-ago forests of Tennessee.

Mica As Life

Via Discovery:

Helen Hansma, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, developed the "life between the sheets" hypothesis.

The idea explains how the compartments between layers of mica -- a class of minerals that cleaves into smooth, flat planes -- provides a favorable chemical and physical environment for the development of biological molecules, such as RNA.

And another article from Science Daily.

Evolutionary Role of Shoulder

Via NPR:

It turns out that the shoulder altered the course of human evolution by giving us survival skills we never could have imagined without it.

Bermuda Triangle Solved

Via Salem-News:

According to two research scientists the mystery of vanished ships and airplanes in the region dubbed "The Bermuda Triangle" has been solved.

Step aside outer space aliens, time anomalies, submerged giant Atlantean pyramids and bizarre meteorological phenomena ... the "Triangle" simply suffers from an acute case of gas.

Newest Oldest Fossil

From Princeton via geology.com:

...Princeton scientists may have discovered the oldest fossils of animal bodies, suggesting that primitive sponge-like creatures were living in ocean reefs about 650 million years ago...

Under the Sea River

From Telegraph:

Researchers working in the Black Sea have found currents of water 350 times greater than the River Thames flowing along the sea bed, carving out channels much like a river on the land.

The undersea river, which is up to 115ft deep in places, even has rapids and waterfalls much like its terrestrial equivalents.

Scientific American's 165 Anniversary

Scientific American's 165th anniversary edition contains great articles, including an on-line, interactive article about archaeology in South Africa - When the Sea Saved Humanity - and a informative podcast - "When Humans Almost Died Out."

Oldest Evidence of Stone Tool Use

From PhysOrg:

These two bones from Dikika, which have been dated to roughly 3.4 million years ago, provide the oldest known evidence of stone tool use among human ancestors.

Meat Eating Hominid Debate

Good discussion on ScienceFriday:

A new study in the journal Nature suggests that the butchering of animals with tools by hominids occurred nearly a million years earlier than anthropologists thought. Study author Zeresenay Alemseged and anthroplogist David DeGusta discuss the finding and explain what it might add to our understanding of human evolution.

Kansas Rocks

Via Journal World:

“The basic purpose of that book is to dispel the notion that Kansas is flat and boring,” Buchanan says. “I don’t think Jim and I make the argument that Kansas is the scenic equivalent of Colorado. But we’re saying people should slow down and appreciate some subtleties. The more you know about a place, the more you’ll appreciate it, and the more you’ll take care of it.”

“Roadside Kansas” is a good primer for anyone wanting to learn more about the state, says Marci Penner, director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, which promotes tourism and preservation in the state....