Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Archaeopteryx Not Oldest Bird

From MSNBC via geology.com:

The newfound fossil of a 155 million-year-old feathered dinosaur has led scientists to claim that Archaeopteryx, the species long held forth as the "oldest bird," is no bird at all.

Chinese researchers made the claim in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, and an outside expert says the study "is likely to rock the paleontological community for years to come." Ohio University paleontologist Lawrence Witmer noted that the latest research, focusing on a fossil species dubbed Xiaotingia zhengi, comes 150 years after the discovery of Archaeopteryx, which marked a milestone in the study of the origin of birds.

"It's fitting that 150 years later, Archaeopteryx is right back at center stage," Witmer told me.

 

Argonne Lab Increases Knowledge of Rock Porosity

Via PhysOrg:

New information about how most of the Earth’s crust formed has been uncovered by investigators who utilized the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory to obtain unprecedented, three-dimensional x-ray images of melted rock. Their results, published in the journal Science, offer a more sophisticated picture of rock porosity and a resolution of the discrepancy between permeability and melt velocity.

National Fossil Day Art And Photography Contest

The National Fossil Day partners are sponsoring an art and photography contest to celebrate the second annual National Fossil Day. National Fossil Day is scheduled for Wednesday, October 12, 2011, during Earth Science Week. The theme for this contest is “Fossils in My Backyard.”

The age groups are 5-8, 9-13, 14-18, and an adult group, which includes people 19 and older. The winning artworks and photographs will appear on the National Fossil Day website starting on or after October 12th, 2011. All submissions must be postmarked by October 5, 2011

 

 

Videos from Scientific American

Scientific American's web site offers interesting videos - example of interview with illustrator of Dinosaur Death Trap, how to create meteor crater sites in your kitchen, interview with the director of Cave of Dreams ...

Paleobiology Database

The Paleobiology Database seeks to provide researchers and the public with information about the entire fossil record.

You can use the site to find out about fossil collections, individual plants and animals, taxonomic groups, references to publications, stratigraphic units, time scales, and time intervals.

All of our data can be downloaded, including collection, occurrence, or specimen records, taxonomic names and opinions, measurements of specimens, and Neptune occurrences.

Tools on the site also let you generate paleomaps, data summary tables, lists of common taxa, first appearances, diversity curves, ecological statistics, time scale confidence intervals, stratigraphic confidence intervals, and (just for fun) paper title stats.

Students may want to see our paleogeographic animations, virtual globes, and lists of dinosaur facts and figures, or learn about a random species.

Professional researchers are encouraged to join the Database and students may want to apply for the 2011 analytical methods workshop.

National Fossil Day, Wed. Oct. 12

ESCONI web site received this request for our involvement in creating a local event of our choosing for National Fossil Day from Eva Lyon, the National Fossil Day coordinator. 

Since the day is Wednesday, October 12, and coming up soon, I wanted to see if anyone was interested in this idea. While I could have waited till the General Meeting or the Board Meeting to bring up, by then it would have been almost too late for organizing some activity. So adding this post to the Yahoo ESCONI Gropu Discussion Board.Thoughts? Anyone interested in doing? 

Exoskeleton Remnants Found in Paleozoic Fossils

Via Science Daily -

Surprising new research shows that, contrary to conventional belief, remains of chitin-protein complex -- structural materials containing protein and polysaccharide -- are present in abundance in fossils of arthropods from the Paleozoic era. Previously the oldest molecular signature of chitin-protein complex was discovered in 25-million-year-old Cenozoic fossils and remnants of structural protein have also been discovered in 80 million-year-old Mesozoic fossils...

Arkansas Banning Injection Wells?

Via geology.com :

Hundreds of earthquakes have occurred near the communities of Greenbrier and Guy, Arkansas. The earthquakes started to occur when wastewater from Fayetteville Shale drilling operations was injected into deep rock formations and their frequency immediately declined when injection activities were halted. Now the state is considering a ban on injection wells in that area....

Events in August, 2011

August 26–28—South Bend, IN. Michiana Gem and Mineral Society's 48th Annual Jewelry, Gem, and Mineral Show and Sale, St. Joseph Cnty. 4-H Fairgrounds, Esther Singer Bldg., 5177 S. Ironwood Rd. Info.—Marie Crull, 574/272-7209, or [email protected], or sauktown.com/Michiana.

Friday, August 26 - ESCONI Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. NOTE! ROOM CHANGE! College of Dupage, Student Resource Center, Room 1450A - (find in the back of the  cafeteria!)

Sat., August 27 “Fossil Collecting Field Trip” Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, Ages 8 yrs. to Adult, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Fee: $43.00 per person, Museum Members $38.00, Reservations Required,
(630) 833-1616

Sat, Sun? August 27th & 28th - Mazon Creek Fossil Tour - hosted by I & M Canal Corrider Association. (not an ESCONI-hosted trip)  1:30 p.m. Saturday for introductory session; 1:30 p.m. Aug. 28 for advanced session. Read more: http://www.pantagraph.com/entertainment/go/article_e55c7e4e-cac1-11e0-a782-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1W8yqFdhe  Email: [email protected], Phone: 815-223-1851, Website: http://www.lasallecanalboat.org, Saturday 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Sunday - ? call for info.All proceeds will go to the Canal Corridor Association to help preserve I & M Canal history, protect its environment, and create tourism.  $150 per person, Reservations required.

Friday, Sept 2 - Behind the Scenes Tour of Field Museum. 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. $74, includes entry to museum, class code - YEMS-0010-010. All ages. Sign up through College of Dupage's web site or call Georgia Madden at (630) 942-2063.  Less than 1% of the Field Museum's specimens are actually on display - so sign up for this unique class! Rob Sula will lead the tour of the fossil preparation labs and the dermestid beetle room and then the fossil exhibits.

Ancient Source of Earth's Biggest Eruptions Found

From the ESCONI Yahoo Group, Dave Carlson posts:

Ancient Source of Earth's Biggest Eruptions Found

See http://news. discovery. com/earth/ ancient-earth- volcanoes- 110728.html

Dave

Researchers believe that several of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth's history were fueled by magma from a primitive reservoir in the mantle that has remained unchanged for 4.5 billion years, a remnant of the material that formed the early Earth...

 

USGS Free Textbook on Hydrology

Via Geology.com from USGS:

To learn about basic ground water concepts you can download and print a free copy of USGS Water Supply Paper 2220, Basic Ground-Water Hydrology by Ralph Heath.

This is a large .pdf file but worth the download wait. A great free textbook for a college course.