Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

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

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 miles above the moon's surface.

The new data reveal previously unseen compositional differences in the moon's crustal highlands and have confirmed the presence of material surprisingly abundant in silica — a compound containing the chemical elements silicon and oxygen — in five distinct lunar regions.

Every mineral, and therefore every rock, absorbs and emits energy with a unique spectral signature that can be measured to reveal its identity. For the first time ever, Diviner is providing scientists with global, high-resolution infrared maps of the moon, which are enabling them to make a definitive identification of silicates commonly found within its crust...

Photo: NASA

New Field Trip for St. Paul Indiana Oct. 30

We will meet at the quarry office BY 8:00 am (7:00 am Chicago time). Normal safety equipment is needed--hard hat, protective boots, eye protection. To get to the office take I65 south around Indianapolis to I74. Exit at Exit 123 go south to Michigan Ave right to N County Road 800 W left following signs to St. Paul. Go through the town over the RR tracks past town, ending up on Mound Rd , to office on right. Remember, it is an Indiana state law that no one under 18 is allowed in quarries.

New Field Trip for Friday, Oct. 8

Update as of Oct.1: The mine engineer has requested that we change the starting time from 1PM to 12 noon. He has also provided a map of the mine area showing traffic flow. I will send this to those who sign up so you'll know where to park. Remember to bring hard hats and safety vests if you have them. I found that Lowe's carries safety vests. Underground temperature is always between 50 and 55 deg F - dress accordingly.

We have permission to take a small group into the LaFarge South Elgin ("Fox River") Mine on Friday, Oct 8th, starting at 1 PM. This is more of a mining/geology trip, and not a fossil trip. You can keep any fossils you find, if you find any at all. This is a working, room-and-pillar (shaft) mine in the Platteville and Galena Group Ordovician rocks. They produce dolomite for road rock and cement. They do not work Fridays, so the mine will be relatively quiet (and dark).

Rules: MUST be at least 18 years of age, and an ESCONI member. MUST wear hard-toed shoes and bring safety glasses. If you have a hard hat and safety vest, bring them. Limited to 15 people. Sign up by sending me an email including names of people interested in going - first come, first served. I'll acknowledge by return email. I've asked for about 45 minutes underground. We will be walking in, down the slanted shaft. They normally drive in, but our group size makes that impractical. You will get training on mine rules, safety and emergency breathing equipment.

Location: The LaFarge Fox River Stone Quarry/Mine is located on the north side of Rt 31 south of South Elgin, immediately west of the intersection with McLean Blvd. Due to construction McLean Blvd is closed. I'd suggest checking a map for the part of Rt 31 that runs more or less E-W just south of South Elgin. I believe there is a forest preserve on the other side of 31, and Vasa Park is just east of there.

Other info: Bring a hammer if you wish, and of course a flashlight. When I was there last year we did manage to find a few very small gastropod fossils. I had a camera with me and took some pictures. The blackness really eats up the flash. Did I say it is dark in there? Really, really dark. If you're claustrophobic this may not be the place for you. That being said, it is a big underground mine which seems to go on forever into the blackness.

If there are any questions let me know. Dave
fossil54@att. net

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 paint and how to paint it. Perhaps 25,000 years ago, a child visited the cave and left a footprint, the oldest human footprint that can be accurately dated. At some time after the child's visit, a rock slide sealed the entrance to the cave. In 1994, French archeologists, searching for air plumes that might reveal the presence of a cave, found it again.

They had to descend a narrow opening to its floor, far below on the original entrance level. It is their entry route that Werner Herzog follows in his spellbinding new film, " Cave of Forgotten Dreams." which had its first screening Monday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. Herzog filmed in 3D, to better convey how the paintings follow and exploit the natural contours of the ancient walls...

Also, check out the comments on Ebert's review... interesting comments.  Photo: Carla216

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, catalysts for cars and chemical refineries, rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric cars, generators for wind turbines, as well as numerous optical, medical and military devices. To give just one example, every Toyota Prius has over 25 pounds of lanthanum in its nickel-metal hydride battery. 

A misnomer if ever there was one, the rare earths may be strategic and in short supply but they are certainly not rare....

... With worldwide demand for rare-earth metals amounting to 134,000 tons last year, and only 124,000 tons being produced, the difference has had to be made up from dwindling stockpiles. By 2012, demand is expected to reach 180,000 tons, which could exhaust the world’s remaining inventory. The result has been panic throughout industrial countries....

... the richest source of rare-earth metals in America. The Mountain Pass mine, on the Californian high plateau, lies on restricted land close to the Nevada border. The discovery was made by prospectors looking for uranium, only to be disappointed when the radioactive samples sent for analysis turned out to contain nothing more than worthless lanthanides along with traces of thorium. That was in 1949. Today, some of the more valuable rare earths can fetch $1,000 a pound ($2,200 per kilogram)....

Also: USGS Fact Sheet on Rare Earth Metals. Photo of Mountain Pass Mine: USGS.

In other news.... China blocks shipments of all rare earth minerals to Japan.

Need Various Help for Sat. Show

Sat. Oct. 2, ESCONI will be having a Rockhound Flea Market show from 10-4. Bargains galore - ideal for kids, parents and teachers.

We need help in the following areas:

1. Need shallow or small boxes and bags to use for customer purchases.

2. Need help setting up at 8:00 am

3. Need help taking down at 4:00 pm

4. Need help running booths, live auction, silent auction....

Call John Good at 630 483-2363 or e-mail at esconi@hotmail.com with questions.

The workday at the storage facility went really well.... thank you to all who helped out that day!

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 fragments, including a giant cat that was the ancestor of the saber-toothed tiger, ground sloths the size of a modern-day grizzly bear, two types of camels and more than 1,200 bones from small rodents. Other finds include a new species of deer, horse and possibly llama, researchers affiliated with the project said....

Hat tip: Rich K.

North Dakota Fossil Fact Poster

Via geology.com: A neat poster of North Dakota Fossil Facts from the Dept. of Mineral Resources Geology group.

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 Saltville project after joining the ETSU faculty in 2006 and has been taking a group of students there for the past three years...."  via TriCities.com

Prehistoric Rock on Baffin Island

 Via Futurity.org:

Geochemical evidence from volcanic rocks collected on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic suggests that a region of mantle beneath the Earth’s surface has largely escaped billions of years of melting and geological churning. 

The discovery appears to offer clues to the early chemical evolution of the Earth.

The newly identified mantle “reservoir” dates from just a few tens of millions years after the Earth was first assembled from the collisions of smaller bodies....

Events This Weekend

Friday, Sept. 24: ESCONI Board Meeting, 7:30 pm, College of Dupage, Bldg. K, Rm. 142 (note room change)

Friday, Sept. 24: Family Science Night: Paleontology, 6-8 p.m., Elgin Public Museum.

Saturday and Sunday, Sept, 25 & 26: Braceville Mazon Creek Fossil Collecting Trip, 8:00 am, meet at BP Amoco in Coal City

Saturday, Sept 25, Archaeology Study Group, 7:30 pm, College of Dupage, Bldg. K, Rm 142 (note room change). "Indian Mounds in Chicago" Members will talk about the Winfield mounds and other Indian mounds in area

The Brandberg Massif

The Brandberg Massif in Namibia is a granitic intrusion which forms a dome-shaped plateau.  The geology of the area is littered with eroded mountains and hills which are made up of granite boulders.  One basic ingredient found in granite is the mineral feldspar.  Feldspar is often a pinkish color that during sunrise and sunset can sometimes take on an almost blood red color.  'The Brandberg' is a perfect example of this and is one of the reasons why Damaraland is a main contender for the "most beautiful region in Namibia".

Web Alternative to Peer Review

Via NYTimes:

... Now some humanities scholars have begun to challenge the monopoly that peer review has on admission to career-making journals and, as a consequence, to the charmed circle of tenured academe. They argue that in an era of digital media there is a better way to assess the quality of work. Instead of relying on a few experts selected by leading publications, they advocate using the Internet to expose scholarly thinking to the swift collective judgment of a much broader interested audience..

Dangers of Drilling for Environmental Consulting

Via Dave Schumaker's blog:

... While working on a project in Ukiah a few years ago, we marked a series of spots to drill and had a survey company make sure our spots were clear of any subsurface obstructions. Then we had a drill rig come out and start putting down boreholes.

Midway through the first day of drilling, we were sitting at our logging table when we heard a loud rushing sounds followed by frantic shouts...

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, only to find himself in the end trapped in a sea of scum.

Photo: NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

48 Million Year Old Zombie Ants

Via Science Daily:

A 48-million-year-old fossilised leaf has revealed the oldest known evidence of a macabre part of nature -- parasites taking control of their hosts to turn them into zombies....

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)

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, are equivalent in age to the world-famous Burgess Shale. However, the sediments of the new site have been deposited in an entirely different environment...

Image: By brilang

Bulgarian Archaeology Find

Via Novinite.com:

... A burial site with three funeral mounds is researched by Bulgarian archeologists near the southern city of Yambol.

The site is located in an area known as “Baalar Kayryak” in the vicinity of the village of Boyanovo.

In one of the mounds, where the excavations are near conclusion, the archeologists have uncovered four burials from the late bronze age, around the time of the Trojan War, 1 300 BC....