Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Europe and America To Collide

Via the Christian Science Monitor:

... geological forces are slowly tugging Europe toward the Americas, with an estimated time of arrival of about 220 million years from now. In a study published in the current issue of the journal Geology, a team led by researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, say that they have discovered the first signs of the eventual closing of the Atlantic Ocean, in the form of an "embryonic" subduction zone off the coast of Portugal. ..

306 Carat Black Opal

From KOAT.com via Geology.com:

Jetter is talking about a 306 carat, black opal from Australia, buried in the earth for the last 400 million years. An Australian miner named Bobby discovered the stone and is now ready to share it with the world. He selected Jetter to create a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry to sell, and then share the profits.

Thirteen years ago, Bobby retired from a long and hard career in the mining industry. He sold his tools and was about to call it quits, when someone handed him one last bucket of dirt. To his incredible surprise, Bobby saw something shinny. Turns out, it was one of the world's most rare, valuable and precious stones.

Read more: http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/albuquerque/extremely-rare-precious-opal-is-in-santa-fe/-/9153728/20072670/-/kgbfkp/-/index.html#ixzz2WoaYD3FR

Muscle Tissue Preserved from Devonian in Placoderm Fish

From ESCONI Yahoo Groups via Dan Carlson:

Another case of soft-tissue preservation. A placoderm fish from the Devonian of Australia with muscle tissue preserved is described in this article.

Summary at: http://www.scienced aily.com/ releases/ 2013/06/13061314 2825.htm

Journal abstract at: http://www.sciencem ag.org/content/ early/2013/ 06/12/science. 1237275

Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkit

Via American Geosciences Institute:

Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkits are available for advance orders now! The kit contains everything you need to prepare for Earth Science Week (October 13-19, 2013), which celebrates the theme “Mapping Our World.”

To ensure that you are among the first to receive these exciting educational resources, order yours today. The Earth Science Week 2013 Toolkit includes:

• A 12-month school-year activity calendar, suitable for hanging
• The new Earth Science Week poster, including a learning activity
• National Park Service items on geologic maps of national parks
• NASA education materials on map technologies and resources
• A poster on careers in mapping and GIS from Esri
• A DVD of the Switch Energy Project documentary on energy
• A genuine field notebook from Rite in the Rain
• A poster on how GPS works from NOAA
• Educational material from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Energy4Me material on energy science
• A poster on minerals that make up our world
• A soil science poster from Soil Science Society of America
• A dinosaurs flyer from Bureau of Land Management
• Brochures, bookmarks, fact sheets, postcards, and more

The Toolkit will ship beginning in August 2013.

Homer's Odyssey: From the Badlands to Burpee GRAND OPENING!

Homer’s Odyssey Exhibit: From the Badlands to Burpee is opening this weekend, June 29th to the general public at the Burpee Natural Museum in Rockford, IL.  10:00am-5:00pm  Download Homer_Poster

The exhibit will cover a lot about Ceratopsid phylogeny (9 mounted ceratopsid skulls), Triceratops biology and ontogeny (growth series of Trike skulls), the mounted skeleton of Homer (sub-adult specimen), a beautiful new mural from Mike Skrepnick, mounted Champsosaurus and Hell Creek Crocodile, Pachycephalosaurus material and lots of microverts and Hell Creek Plant material. 

The exhibit opens at 10AM on Saturday to the general public and is part of general admission (no additional charge).  Also there will be a Burpee Member’s only night scheduled for Sunday (June 30th) from 6-9PM.  We will have a guest Speaker, Dr. Andy Farke, Raymond Alf Museum, will be giving a talk on recent research into the ceratopsids called “Growing and Pruning Homer’s Family Tree”  His talk will be approx 30-40 minutes in length.  In addition to his talk there will be paleo stations throughout the museum and the lab will be open to see us working on new finds.

Laser Finds Archaeological Site

Via Vancouver Sun:

Airborne laser technology has uncovered a network of roadways and canals in Cambodia, illustrating a bustling ancient city linking the country's famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

The discovery was announced late Monday in a peer-reviewed paper released early by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The laser scanning revealed a previously undocumented formally planned urban landscape integrating the 1,200-year-old temples.

New Paleontology Book

From ESCONI Facebook page via member Donald Baumgartner:

Lance Grande's new book on the Green River fossils and 30 years of his research is now for sale at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Lost-World-Fossil-Lake-Snapshots/dp/0226922960/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370100966&sr=1-1&keywords=fossil+lake . I just received mine yesterday hot off the presses and it is a fine book, covering not only the fish but many other animals from this deposit.

Utah State Parks

Nice map of paleontology sites at Utah State Parks.

John Day Fossil Beds

Via National Parks Traveler:

Hidden within the sagebrush covered hills and badlands of eastern Oregon is evidence of past worlds covered by ancient forests and inhabited by strange looking beasts.

Although paleontologists have been studying the area for nearly 150 years, the forces of erosion still uncover previously unknown plants and animals buried within the rocks. Many of the most dynamic finds from the John Day Fossil Beds are on display at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the Sheep Rock Unit of the monument, where visitors can peer inside the fossil laboratory as paleontologists work on new finds.

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument preserves over 40 million years in a fossil record representing nearly two-thirds of the Cenozoic Era, the Age of Mammals. It is not just the breadth of time covered that makes this area unique, but also the ability to radiometrically date the rock layers, and thereby the fossils, with a high degree of accuracy.

X-rays reveal new picture of 'dinobird' plumage patterns

Via the University of Machester:

The first complete chemical analysis of feathers from Archaeopteryx, a famous fossil linking dinosaurs and birds, reveals that the feathers of this early bird were patterned – light in colour, with a dark edge and tip to the feather – rather than all black, as previously thought.

How Did Feathers Evolve?

This is well done -

 

New Mineral Named for Seaman Museum Curator - georgerobinsonite

Via Michigan Tech News:

A new mineral discovered in the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine in Arizona has been named georgerobinsonite. The mineral is named after George W. Robinson, professor of mineralogy and curator of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. It is a lead chromate—a salt of chromic acid—that occurs as minute, transparent, orange-red crystals on cerussite, another lead carbonate and secondary lead mineral....

- See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/february/story63798.html#sthash.C5jjSKRY.dpuf

A new mineral discovered in the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine in Arizona has been named georgerobinsonite. The mineral is named after George W. Robinson, professor of mineralogy and curator of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. It is a lead chromate—a salt of chromic acid—that occurs as minute, transparent, orange-red crystals on cerussite, another lead carbonate and secondary lead mineral.

The publication Mineral News reported on the newly named mineral in its February 2012 issue.

- See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/february/story63798.html#sthash.C5jjSKRY.dpuf

A new mineral discovered in the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine in Arizona has been named georgerobinsonite. The mineral is named after George W. Robinson, professor of mineralogy and curator of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. It is a lead chromate—a salt of chromic acid—that occurs as minute, transparent, orange-red crystals on cerussite, another lead carbonate and secondary lead mineral.

The publication Mineral News reported on the newly named mineral in its February 2012 issue.

- See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/february/story63798.html#sthash.C5jjSKRY.dpuf

The Oldest Primate To Date

Via Smithsonian:

The near-complete fossil of a tiny creature unearthed in China in 2002 has bolstered the idea that the anthropoid group of primates — whose modern-day members include monkeys, apes and humans — had appeared by at least 55 million years ago. The fossil primate does not belong to that lineage, however: it is thought to be the earliest-discovered ancestor of small tree-dwelling primates called tarsiers,...

 

2 Minute Geology Video

Do You Know About The Soon To Be Announced ESCONI Scavenger Hunt?

Friday, June 14 - ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Cary Easterday, Northeastern University Illinois, Summer 2013 Options and Activities for ESCONI members, including a scavenger hunt.

The Chicagoland area offers many museums, parks, special events, and activities for ESCONI members.  I explore these places throughout the year searching for new materials or field trips for my students in Geology and Earth Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University. 

I suspect that most ESCONI members THINK they know these places very well, but will be surprised by what they may have missed, new temporary exhibits for 2013 only, or else exhibits that have changed over the years. 

I will discuss these special places and exhibits to the ESCONI members, including the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Brookfield Zoo, Magnificent Mile, Chicago History Museum, Art Institute, Magnificent Mile, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory, Oriental Institute, and Chicago Portage National Historical Site. 

At the end of the talk I will then challenge the ESCONI membership to a scavenger hunt, for which I will provide answers in Fall 2013.

Events for June 2013

Fri 6/14

ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage,  - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) Topic: Cary Easterday, Northeastern University Illinois, Summer 2013 Options and Activities for ESCONI members, including a scavenger hunt. The Chicagoland area offers many museums, parks, special events, and activities for ESCONI members.  I explore these places throughout the year searching for new materials or field trips for my students in Geology and Earth Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University.  I suspect that most ESCONI members THINK they know these places very well, but will be surprised by what they may have missed, new temporary exhibits for 2013 only, or else exhibits that have changed over the years.  I will discuss these special places and exhibits to the ESCONI members, including the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Brookfield Zoo, Magnificent Mile, Chicago History Museum, Art Institute, Magnificent Mile, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory, Oriental Institute, and Chicago Portage National Historical Site.  At the end of the talk I will then challenge the ESCONI membership to a scavenger hunt, for which I will provide answers in Fall 2013.

Fri 6/22

ESCONI Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage, Tech Ed Build. TEC 1038B  (Map)

National Trails Day!

There are many opportunities to get outside and experience your ancient America while hiking. We've listed a sample of fossiliferous hikes suggested by National Fossil Day partners. Do you have a favorite that's not listed? Let us know! Thanks to all the partners that submitted trails.

The trails listed here cross a variety of federal, state, and local lands. Fossil collecting regulations differ by management agency. It is your responsibility to know whether you can collect fossils before you hike. It is always appropriate to leave fossils where you found them for the next hiker to experience.

Use your head before using your feet. Plan ahead with these suggestions from the American Hiking Society. The links below provide hike-specific information.