Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

New Type of Volcano

From Sci-News.com via Nature -

Volcanic eruptions are commonly categorized as either explosive or effusive...  In explosive eruptions these vesicles expand so quickly they fragment the magma, violently ejecting lava, which cools and degasses to form solidified pumice that can be sufficiently light to float on water.

In air pumice is obviously associated with violent, explosive eruptions. Consequently underwater volcanoes flanked by highly vesicular pumice have, to date, also been interpreted as having erupted explosively.

But the results of the study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, indicate that there is a third eruptive style unique to underwater volcanoes, which is neither effusive nor explosive....

Eosinopteryx Challenges Existing Theory

Via BBC News:

A newly-discovered feathered dinosaur pre-dates those birds were thought to have evolved from, a Southampton palaeontologist claims.

The Eosinopteryx was a 30cm (11.8in) flightless dinosaur whose remains were found in north-eastern China.

Dr Gareth Dyke said the find challenged "widely accepted theories on the origin of flight".

 

 

How Ancient Is the Grand Canyon?

Via Caltech (hat tip Geology.com)  -

... Caltech research points to a Grand Canyon that is many millions of years older than previously thought, says Kenneth A. Farley, Keck Foundation Professor of Geochemistry at Caltech and coauthor of the study. "Rather than being formed within the last few million years, our measurements suggest that a deep canyon existed more than 70 million years ago," he says.

Climate Change Denial

Interesting article and graphic - Why Climate Change Denial Is Just Hot Air

Just Announced: Art Exhibit - The Art and Science of Paleontology

Rob Sula,(who is also the ESCONI Vice President) is having an art show,
Dinosaurs: The Art and Science of Paleontology, from February 22 to May 3 with the Aurora Public Art Commission, 20 East Downer Place, Aurora, Illinois 60506, Phone: (630) 256-3340, Fax: (630) 256-3349, Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Friday, Noon - 4 p.m. The opening will be Friday February 22nd from 5:00 to 7:30 pm.

Calendar of Events for February 2013

Fri 2/22	Dinosaurs: The Art and Science of Paleontology, from February 22 to May 3 with the Aurora Public Art Commission, 20 East Downer Place, Aurora, Illinois 60506, Phone: (630) 256-3340, Fax: (630) 256-3349, Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Friday, Noon - 4 p.m. The opening will be Friday February 22nd from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. ESCONI Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Tech Ed Build. TEC 1038B  (Map)
Sat 2/23	Burpee Museum of Natural History, Engineering Day – Engineering a Triceratops, 1 - 4 pm, Rockford, IL.
Sat 2/23	ESCONI Archaeology Study Group Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, - Tech Ed Building (TEC), Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Chicago Area Archaeology.  Members are asked to bring in artifacts for show and tell. We will also be selecting artifacts that will go in display for the Fossil show so anyone interested in displaying an artifact or two should bring it to be considered.
Sun 2/24	Chicago Archaeological Society - “Archaeology of Southeast Asia” by Dr. Laura Junker. Meetings are at 3:00 p.m. at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue, Evanston.
	** Coming Soon! ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, March 16-17, Dupage County Fairgrounds *** See complete 2013 Calendar

Diamond Exploration in North Dakota

Via geology.com:

This fact sheet by the North Dakota Geological Survey describes the possibility of kimberlites in North Dakota and a 2010 exploration program conducted by Kennecott.

Artisanal Mining of Gold, TV & Pollution

Via NYTimes:

... Artisanal miners succeed where large, centralized operations fail by evading regulations and targeting gold that has eroded over eons into river sediments, known as placer deposits, that are broadly distributed over vast landscapes.

But to get even an ounce of that gold, miners have to upend tons of river sediment. They pump a continuous slurry of sediment and river water over mats that trap minute fractions of gold-enriched dust, discharging their tailings back into the river.

Periodically, the accumulated gold dust is separated, and the gold isolated by amalgamating it with mercury. Invariably, the mercury is burned off into the atmosphere or, like the tailings, poured into waterways. Over 1,000 tons of mercury is dumped or burned off annually, and several large rivers have been so exhaustively mined that they simply disappear into vast mud pits ...

Manitoba on the Equator

Via Quirks and Quarks from CBC Radio:

During the Ordovician period, 450 million years ago, the continents were in very different positions than today.  The equator would have been in the same position relative to the poles, but would have traversed different regions.  Finding its exact location was the subject of a new study by Dr. Philip McCausland, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Western University in London, Ontario.  Using the fact that the equator today is a hurricane-free belt around the Earth, scientists were able to look for evidence of undisturbed trace fossils and shell beds in an equally calm Ordovician equator.  They found them in dolomite limestone deposits, in a line from Northern Greenland, through Manitoba and down into Utah and Nevada - the ancient equator....

Workday for Sunday Cancelled

It will be too cold to work outside... So the workday for Sunday is canceled.

The Sutter’s Mill meteorite

Via Science News:

A meteorite that fell where California’s gold rush began has triggered a ...similar gold rush for scientists: to study one of the freshest, most unusual space rocks around.

Climate Change and 2 MYA

Via Scientific American:

An ancient lake whose shores vacillated between lush forests and dry savannahs shows how the changing climate may have shaped humanity's dawn in eastern Africa, according to new research....

Member Dues are Due for 2013

Please send your check payable to ESCONI for $20.00 for one year of $50 for three years to Eileen Mizerk, ESCONI Membership, 2094 Windward Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60133-6183.

Paleo Study Group This Saturday

ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, - Tech Ed Building (TEC), Room Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Presentations by Tom Williams and Kathy Catalani who will speak on Fossil Finders.

Need Member Help This Sat or Sun

Work Day  Come out one and all - we need your help! We have to organize our club collection in preparation for the March ESCONI Annual show.

If you can help this Saturday in Montgomery IL from 9 am to 2 pm, call  Jim Fairchild at 630-400-0750 or John at 630-483-2363 and they can give you directions to the warehouse.

If you can help this Sunday in Naperville, please call Joe K at (630) 983-6159 for directions to Sunday's meeting place.

Take a Virtual Mineral and Fossil Trip

Can't get away for a collecting trip? Take a few moments and enjoy these photographs from SpiriferMinerals.com. 

Photo journey of field trips taken during the 2nd International Mindat.org Conference 2012 (November) in Midelt Morocco.

Dinosaur Event in Rosemont, IL

Don't know much about this event - .... but it has been appearing in advertisement on the television - Discover the Dinosaurs, Jan 18-20.  Looks like it might be interesting for younger children?

Comedy: Overly Honest Scientists

What happens when scientists get honest.

Dr. Volcano

From Georneys:

The title of this blog post, “Dr. Volcano in the Cave of Crystals”, may sound like the title of a comic book or a science fiction story, but I can assure you that both Dr. Volcano and the Cave of Crystals are very much real. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Volcano and hearing about his visit to the Cave of Crystals at the LASI V workshop back in October 2012....

ESCONI Mineralogy Meeting This Saturday

ESCONI Mineralogy Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, - Tech Ed  (TEC) Building, Room Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: Mineral Video