Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Buy Micromount on EBay

I'm sure everyone is aware of this and I know some members sell their micromounts on Ebay... but just in case... check out the listings for micromounts sold on Ebay.

Neanderthal Report

From NYTimes:

An improvement in the dating of fossils suggests that the Neanderthals, a heavily muscled, thick-boned human species adapted to living in ice age Europe, perished almost immediately on contact with the modern humans who started to enter Europe from the Near East about 44,000 years ago. Until now bones from several Neanderthal sites have been dated to as young as 29,000 years ago, suggesting there was extensive overlap between the two human species. This raised the question of whether there had been interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals, an issue that is still not resolved.

But researchers report that tests using an improved method of radiocarbon dating, based on a new way to exclude contaminants, show that most, and maybe all, Neanderthal bones in Europe are or will be found to be at least 39,000 years old....

New Field Trip Announced, 2011

There will be an ESCONI Field Trip to the Larson (Vulcan) Quarry on Barber Greene Road in Sycamore, IL on June 18th 2011, from 9 to 11:30AM. Sign up by sending me an email with the number of people and their names. I will acknowledge by return email. Dave [email protected]
 
Rules:
1. Must be an ESCONI member.
2. Must be at least 18 years old.
3. Must wear a hard hat and boots.
 
Be there by 9AM. Park by the metal office on the south side of Barber Greene Rd. We will go through site-specific training before going into the quarry area. We'll need to car-pool into the collecting area since space is limited.
 
The rock exposed here is Late Ordovician (Maquoketa Group) to Early Silurian (Wilhelmi Fm.). Hammers are usually not needed. Bring a bucket, plastic bags to hold fossils, and something to wrap them in (like TP) if they are delicate.
 
The most common fossils are brachiopods and bryozoans, but there are also trilobites, crinoids, cystoids, cephalopods and conularids.
 
I can send directions or a map for anyone who is unfamiliar with the quarry.
 

Dr. Robert Martin Lecture Tonight - Friday, May 13

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Martin, the Field Museum offers information...

In the tree of life, human evolution is a very unusual case in many ways. If the focus of study is too narrow, it is difficult to avoid special pleading. My long-term research strategy has hence been rooted in the conviction that a wide-ranging approach is essential to identify reliable general principles. Secure interpretation of our biological origins demands comprehensive study of primate evolution from its earliest beginnings. In this spirit, I have conducted sweeping comparisons across primates, covering anatomy of both living and fossil representatives, ecology, behaviour, reproduction and molecular evolution. Study of size relationships (allometric scaling) has been a pervasive theme. A synthetic approach to primate evolution has several benefits. In addition to generating sound general principles, it can reveal relationships that otherwise escape detection.

Mazon Creek Fossil Field Trip - 5/21 & 5/22

ESCONI Mazon Creek fossil collecting trip in Braceville. Check out photos of previous trips!

Photo by Marie Angkuw

Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils on private property. Meet at 8:00 A.M. Saturday at the BP Amoco in Coal City. No Age Limit.  Hard Hats not required.

Take I-55 to Exit 236 (Coal City).  Take a right onto Highway 113 (Division Street).  Go west to Broadway Street and Division in Coal City.

We will be collecting Mazon Creek concretions from an old spoil pile on private property.  Hard hats are not required.  Boots are recommended.  An Estwing rock hammer is the best tool.  A small shovel or pick is helpful.  Knee pads, backpacks, fanny packs, extra clothes (you will get wet and muddy) are also a plus.  Bring a bucket for the fossils. Also bring insect repellant.

Check the web site for details or contact John Good at 1-630-483-2363 for reservations or e-mail at [email protected].  Or, on the day of the trip, contact John Good at 630-303-2352.

Illinois State Science Agencies Given New Name

From the Chicago Tribune:

State-run scientific institutions based at the University of Illinois that study geology, water and other fields have a new name they hope gives them a stronger collective identity.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education last week agreed to change the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability to the new University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute....

Video of Salt Mining in Poland

Just what the title says....

 

Klodawa - salt mine (Poland) from Grzegorz Bijak on Vimeo.

New Mineral - krotite - CaAl2O4

From the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles via geology.com:

Los Angeles—In the May-June issue of the journal American Mineralogist, a team of scientists announced the discovery of the new mineral krotite, one of the earliest minerals formed in our solar system. It is the main component of an unusual inclusion embedded in a meteorite (NWA 1934), found in northwest Africa. These objects, known as refractory inclusions, are thought to be the first planetary materials formed in our solar system, dating back to before the formation of the Earth and the other planets....

The American Mineralogist paper is entitled “Krotite, CaAl2O4, a new refractory mineral from the NWA 1934 meteorite.” It is authored by Chi Ma (Caltech), Anthony R. Kampf (NHM), Harold C. Connolly Jr. (CUNY and AMNH), John R. Beckett (Caltech), George R. Rossman (Caltech), Stuart A. Sweeney Smith (who was a NSF Funded Research for Undergraduate (REU) student at CUNY/AMNH) and Devin L. Schrader (University of Arizona). Krotite is named for Alexander N. Krot, a cosmochemist at the University of Hawaii, in recognition of his significant contributions to the understanding of early solar system processes.

Not to be confused with the other new mineral from a meteorite - wassonite.

 

 

Indian Mounds Re-Discovered in Schaumburg

Via Daily Herald:

In 1919, a researcher for the Chicago Historical Society named Albert Scharf recorded the existence of an American Indian mound among the prairie land and farms northwest of the city, an area then best known as Palatine Township.

In 2011, Rolling Meadows resident Tom Hahn has virtually rediscovered the mound — almost miraculously undisturbed amid office buildings, apartment complexes and restaurants along bustling Algonquin Road in Schaumburg.

Read more: http://dailyherald.com/article/20110509/news/705099959/#ixzz1LuSdyd3X

 

Events This Week Ending Sunday 5/15

Fri. 5/13 am       Fri. 5/13 pm

Fossil Field Trip, St. Paul, Indiana - meet at the quarry office by 7:45 am (6:45 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 174. Exit and Exit 123 go south to Michigan Av. right to N. County Road 800 W left following signs to St. Paul. Go through the town over the railroad tracks past town, ending up on Mound Rd, to office on right. Indiana state law that no one under 18 is allowed in quarries.     ESCONI General Meeting. 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage, Building K, Rm 161. Bob Martin, The Field Museum, Lecture: Fossil Record of Primate Evolution

Sat. 5/14

Mineralogy and Micromount Study Group. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Building K, Rm 161. Topic: California Geology and Gold Mining in California.

New GeoCorps Positions Posted by GSA

From GSA GeoCorps via geology.com:

“The Geological Society of America has posted thirteen new GeoCorps America positions for fall/winter 2011-2012 on the GeoCorps website! Applications can be submitted online from now through July 1, 2011.” Quoted from the GeoCorps announcement.

Florida Fossil Collector Donates Life Work

University of Florida News:

The vertebrate paleontology division at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus recently received its largest private donation, an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 identifiable specimens.

The specimens formerly comprised the world’s second-largest collection of Florida vertebrate fossils. The museum will honor Lake Wales resident John Waldrop for the donation of his collection during the fourth annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Vertebrate Paleontology at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Paramount Plaza Hotel in Gainesville...

Varying Decay Rates

Via Discovery News:

The sun might be emitting a previously unknown particle that is meddling with the decay rates of matter. Or, at the very least, we are seeing some new physics.

Many fields of science depend on measuring constant decay rates. For example, to accurately date ancient artifacts, archaeologists measure the quantity of carbon-14 found inside organic samples at dig sites. This is a technique known as carbon dating.

Carbon-14 has a very defined half-life of 5730 years; i.e. it takes 5,730 years for half of a sample of carbon-14 to radioactively decay into stable nitrogen-14. Through spectroscopic analysis of the ancient organic sample, by finding out what proportion of carbon-14 remains, we can accurately calculate how old it is.

But as you can see, carbon dating makes one huge assumption: radioactive decay rates remain constant and always have been constant. If this new finding is proven to be correct, even if the impact is small, it will throw the science community into a spin.

Dino Lecture Tonight 5-7 pm by Tyler Keillor in Wauconda

From Fossils to Fish:

How does a Paleoartist transform a fossilized dinosaur skull into a fleshed-out life reconstruction? What are the reasons for depicting an extinct animal in a particular way, and what lines of scientific evidence are there to support the subjective, artistic choices used in the creation of a sculpture?

Using a slideshow to document his research and techniques, artist Tyler Keillor will illustrate the process of Paleoart, focusing on his model of the bizarre new dinosaur Rugops primus, and its keratin covered face. The interplay of science and art, the use of living and extinct comparative analogs, a variety of age-old and cutting-edge methods, and the path that led Tyler to this unusual profession will all be highlighted during this program. CPDUs available.

Registration is required.

Cost: 

$9 resident ($11 nonresident)

Length (time): 

2 hours, 5:00-7:00 pm

When Offered: 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Location: 

Lake County Discovery Museum, Wauconda

Events This Week Ending Sunday 5/8

The quiet before the storm... next week is very busy!

Dinosaurs That Twitter

From Smithsonian.com comes a list of twittering dinosaurs. Yep.

Mystery of How Diamond Polishes Diamond

From USNews and World Report via Geology.com:

Researchers have discovered the mystery of what produces a polish on the surface of a diamond. They believe that during the polishing process a liquid-like layer of carbon atoms forms between the gemstone and the scaife. Then sharp pieces of grit scrape through the liquid layer, exposing carbon chains to the air. Then as oxygen in the air pulls off carbon atoms to form carbon dioxide a smooth surface is left behind.

Micromount How To

From Chris's Mineral Collecting blog is an informative article on how to create micromounts.