Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Meet the New Tyrannosaurs

Scientific American has a video of Dr. Stephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh.  In it, he charts the thrilling ascent of the tyrannosaurs.  The May issue of Scientific American has a story called "Rise of the Tyrannosaurs", which is highlighted on the cover of the magazine.

 

CBC Quirks & Quarks - Blueprint for a Woolly Mammoth

The week's episode of CBC Quirks & Quarks has a segment on the sequencing of the full genome of the Woolly Mammoth.  Dr. Hendrik Poinar, and evolutionary geneticist and Directory of the Ancient DNA Centre at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues extracted DNA from two mammoths, one is 45,000 years old and the other one is 4,000 years old.  The original paper appeared in Current Biology.

The giant, hairy elephants that used to roam the grasslands of the Arctic have been extinct for thousands of years, but thanks to DNA preserved in permafrost, the genome of the Woolly Mammoth lives again.

Dr. Hendrik Poinar, an evolutionary geneticist and Director of the Ancient DNA Centre at McMaster University in Hamilton, and colleagues extracted DNA from the remains of two mammoths, one 45,000 years old, and one only 4000 years old.

Careful analysis of the DNA has allowed them to understand how mammoth populations waxed and waned through history, before their ultimate extinction.  Dr. Poinar suggests that having the genetic sequence does mean, at least in theory, that bringing the mammoth back could be possible.

There is another interesting segment on the Supervolcano at Yellowstone.  This story covers a paper that is in this week's Science.

 

Palaeocast Episode 43: Ancient DNA

The new palaeocast episode is about ancient DNA.  Over the last few years, more and more biologic material is being found associated with fossils.  The main reason why we find it now is because we weren't looking previously.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule that encodes the genetic information within every species of life on earth. The information contained within the sequence of base pairs determines how any given organism develops and biologically functions.

DNA is not just limited to the biological study, but is also now being utilised in palaeontology. But why is DNA not normally preserved? What’s the oldest DNA we can recover? And what can we learn about fossil animals from their DNA? We spoke to ancient DNA expert Dr Ross Barnett in order to get answers.

 

Science Daily: New evidence adds the Capitanian extinction to the list of major extinction crises

Credit: Photographer: Dierk Blomeier. For David P.G. Bond and colleagues, GSA Bulletin, 2015.

Science Daily  has a story about the Capitanian Extinction event.  This event occurred in the mid-Permian, around 10 million years before the end Permian mass extinction, otherwise known as the "Great Dying".   At first it was thought to be a more local event, but now evidence from the high latitudes shows it to be global.  The original paper appeared in the journal Geological Society of America Bulletin.

Until now, this Capitanian extinction was known only from equatorial settings, and its status as a global crisis was controversial.

David P.G. Bond and colleagues provide the first evidence for severe Middle Permian losses amongst brachiopods in northern paleolatitudes (Spitsbergen).

Their study shows that the Boreal crisis coincided with an intensification of marine oxygen depletion, implicating this killer in the extinction scenario.

The widespread loss of carbonates across the Boreal Realm also suggests a role for acidification. The new data cements the Middle Permian crisis's status as a true "mass extinction." Thus the "Big 5" extinctions should now be considered the "Big 6."

Today is Earth Day 2015

This is the 45th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970.  Many events are planned.  Check the website for an event near you!

 

CBC Quirks & Quark - Gigantic Marine Lizards Had Live Births

Artist's conception of Mosasaur giving birth (Yale/Julius T. Csotonyi)

CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks has a segment on Mosasaurs.  After re-examining fossils found over 100 years ago, researchers now believe that Mosasaurs probably gave birth to live young - similar to their cousins the Ichthyosaurs.  The original paper is in the journal Paleontology.  There is a Yale University press release here.

Mosasaurs were giant marine lizards that lived in the oceans of the world during the Cretaceous period. They were part of the mass extinction that marked the end of that era, 65 million years ago.

It was thought that, similar to some other lizards, they came ashore to lay eggs. But fossils found over 100 years ago were recently re-examined by Aaron LeBlanc, a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.

He found they were new-born mosasaurs, and not a toothed bird as previously thought. Because these fossils were found in what was once an ocean, it is believed that mosasaurs gave birth to live young - similar to whales - and did not lay eggs at all.

 

May General Meeting: Rob Sula, The Hell Creek Formation: The Twilight of Non-Avian Dinosaurs

The Hell Creek Formation: The Twilight of Non-Avian Dinosaurs

 

Take a trip 66 million years back in time and explore the late Cretaceous Hell Creek formation with Rob Sula.  We'll explore interpretations of fossils of Triceratops, Edmontosaurus and, of course, the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex.  We'll also examine some of the more obscure flora and fauna that shared the Hell Creek formation with these behemoths.  Using actual fossils, excavation photos and site maps, Rob will examine this remarkable ecosystem that included the last non-avian dinosaurs to walk on earth.


 

 

Miner Safety Training, South Bend, IN, Saturday, April 25th

The Michiana Gem & Mineral Society of South Bend, IN will be hosting a MSHA class this year. The class will be instructed by Joel Vicary on Saturday April 25th, 2015 from 10 am to 4 pm. An instruction book is included in the course. The cost of the course is $30 if you don't have a book, $15 if you do. The location is, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 805 S. 29th St. South Bend, IN.

If you have any questions, feel free to call John Davis at (574)-232-8823, email: [email protected]

Web Site: www.michianagms.org

 

IAAA and Iowa Archaeological Society Annual Meeting, May 2-3, 2015

ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION for ADVANCEMENT of ARCHAEOLOGY

IOWA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

JOINT ANNUAL MEETING - MAY 2 – 3, 2015

Black Hawk College - Building 1

35th Avenue and 70th Street

Moline Illinois

 

Be sure to attend the joint IAAA and Iowa Archaeological Society annual meeting this year – Saturday will include separate business meetings, followed by talks on Quad Cities and Iowa City archaeology. Following lunch (included with registration) we will have a series of talks on ancient and post-contact Native American sites in the Midwest. After a break with refreshments, our featured speaker Dr. Douglas Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution will summarize Kennewick Man investigations.

To cap off the day, following supper (on your own) we will have an evening tour of two prominent recent American Indian sites: Saukenuk Village and Black Hawk’s Home site in Rock Island, Illinois. Continue the experience by joining us on Sunday morning for two tours, on of Moline chert quarry sites, the other of Albany Mounds State Historic site and the Lauren Young mound group.

For more info, www.museum.state.il.us/iaaa/events.htm or contact Ferrel Anderson at [email protected] or telephone 563-324-0257.

Membership in I.A.A.A. (ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION for ADVANCEMENT of ARCHAEOLOGY) is $20 a year. Cost of the meeting is $25.

 

Field Trip: Braceville, IL, Mazon Creek Fossils May 16-17, 2015

Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils on private property

Meet at 8:00 AM Saturday or Sunday 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 repellent

Here are pictures from a previous trip.

Check the web site for details or contact John Good at 1-630-303-2352 for reservations or e-mail at [email protected].

 

Palaeocast Episode 42: Pterosaur aerodynamics

‘Generic’ azhdarchid pterosaur, similar to Quetzalcoatlus. Image courtesy of Mark Witton.

Paleocast has a new episode.  The topic is Pterosaur Aerodynamics.

Palaeontology is more than just going out into the field, digging up bones, and putting them back together. A good understanding of biology, geology, and even engineering can help to figure out how extinct animals lived and especially how they moved around.

To further comprehend how we can use knowledge of engineering in palaeontology, especially with respect to understanding extinct animal flight, we spoke to Colin Palmer from the University of Bristol, and the University of Southampton. His background in engineering provides a unique set of skills and angle to studying pterosaur flight.

Greatest mass extinction driven by acidic oceans, study finds

Science Daily has an article about the Permian mass extinction, the worst in Earth's history.  It's termed the "Great Dying" and perhaps 90-95% of species on Earth went extinct during the event about 252 million years ago.  The original paper appeared in the journal Science.

It happened when Earth's oceans absorbed huge amounts of carbon dioxide from volcanic eruptions, researchers say.

This changed the chemical composition of the oceans -- making them more acidic -- with catastrophic consequences for life on Earth, the team says.

The study, co-ordinated by the University of Edinburgh, is the first to show that highly acidic oceans were to blame.

The findings are helping scientists understand the threat posed to marine life by modern-day ocean acidification. The amount of carbon added to the atmosphere that triggered the mass extinction was probably greater than today's fossil fuel reserves, the team says.

However, the carbon was released at a rate similar to modern emissions. This fast rate of release was a critical factor driving ocean acidification, researchers say.

The Permian-Triassic Boundary extinction took place over a 60,000 year period, researchers say. Acidification of the oceans lasted for around 10,000 years.

Lapidary Classes at Cicada Pi Art Studio

Cicada Pi Art Studio and Gallery in Oak Park teaches several adult lapidary classes including silversmithing.  Contact them, if you have interest in learning the art of setting stones.  They also host private parties (custom projects can be designed with the organizer of the party).

 

Their website is at www.cicadapi.com.  The most recent class flyer is here.

 

Sarah Taylor

Cicada Pi Art Studio

177 S Oak Park Ave

Oak Park, IL 60302

www.cicadapi.com

(708) 628-3199

 

Scientists To Dig Deep Into Chicxulub

Credit: Painting by Donald E. Davis.

Live Science has a story of how scientists are planning to dig 5000 feet (1500 meters) deep into the Chicxulub crater to bring up a giant core.  The core will be used to study the formation of the crater.  The project is in the planning stage and is slated to begin in the spring of 2016.

Why now? "The Chicxulub impact crater has been a remarkable scientific opportunity for the 20 years since it's been discovered," said Sean Gulick, of The University of Texas at Austin Institute for Geophysics. And, for the first time, scientists have subsurface images from the offshore part of the crater, so they can pinpoint a spot for sampling. They chose a spot along the crater's peak ring — a ring of mountainlike structures around the center of the crater.

By sampling there, the researchers can get a clearer picture of ancient biological and geological processes.

Scientists think that, when a big rock smashes into Earth at high enough velocities, the collision causes the crust temporarily to act sort of like a liquid, first forming a so-called transient crater (like the indentation that forms on a lake surface after a rock is thrown in), and the center rebounds, or splashes, upward and then outward. "We think the peak ring is the record of the material that rebounded and splashed outward," Gulick told Live Science.

CBC Quirks & Quarks - The Romeo and Juliet of Dinosaur Fossils

Artist's reconstruction of oviraptor mating displays (Sydney Mohr/University of Alberta)

Lots of good stuff in this week's Quirks & Quarks show.  The segments include:

Canada's Disappearing Glaciers: Most glaciers in BC and Alberta are predicted to disappear by the end of the century.

The Romeo and Juliet of Dinosaur Fossils: Two bird-like dinosaurs were fossilized together, and might have been mates.

Comet Dust Makes Mercury a Dark Planet: Carbon from dissolving comets has stained Mercury black.

Tambora - The Eruption that Changed the World: Mount Tambora erupted 200 years ago, and transformed the planet, killing 100,000 people, and having far reaching consequences.

Question Period - Learning from a Living Dinosaur: What would we learn from a living dinosaur?

Enjoy!

 

 

Public Auction - Boone County Fairgrounds, Saturday, April 18th, 2015

PUBLIC AUCTION

LAPIDARY

Boone County Fairgrounds

8791 Rte 76 (Fairgrounds Rd)

Belvidere, Illinois

Saturday April 18th

at 9 am

 

TERMS: Cash or Check with proper I.D NOT responsible for accidents or items after purchased. All items sold “as is”.

Any questions call Gary at 815-871-9212

Download the Flyer

 

 

Brontosaurus Is Back!

Science Daily has an article about a peer reviewed paper that shows that Brontosaurus (the 'thunder lizard') is distinctly different than Apatosaurus.  The authors, a group of paleontologists from Portugal and the UK, think they have conclusive evidence.

The history of Brontosaurus is complex, and one of the most intriguing stories in science. In the 1870s, the Western United States formed the location for dozens of new finds of fossil species, most notably of dinosaurs. Field crews excavated numerous new skeletons mostly for the famous and influential palaeontologists Marsh and Cope. During that period, Marsh's team discovered two enormous, partial skeletons of long-necked dinosaurs and shipped them to the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, where Marsh worked. Marsh described the first of these skeletons as Apatosaurus ajax, the "deceptive lizard" after the Greek hero Ajax. Two years later, he named the second skeleton Brontosaurus excelsus, the "noble thunder lizard." However, because neither of the skeletons were found with a skull, Marsh reconstructed one for Brontosaurus excelsus. Brontosaurus was a massive animal, like Apatosaurus, and like another long-necked dinosaur from the Western United States, Camarasaurus. Because of this similarity, it seemed logical at the time that Brontosaurus had a similarly stout, box-like skull to that of Camarasaurus. However, this reconstruction was later found to be wrong.

Shortly after Marsh's death, a team from the Field Museum of Chicago found another skeleton similar to both Apatosaurus ajax and Brontosaurus excelsus. In fact, this skeleton was intermediate in shape in many aspects. Therefore, palaeontologists thought that Brontosaurus excelsus was actually so similar to Apatosaurus ajax that it would be more correct to treat them as two different species of the same genus. It was the second extinction of Brontosaurus -- a scientific one: from now on, Brontosaurus excelsus became known as Apatosaurus excelsus and the name Brontosaurus was not considered scientifically valid any more.

The final blow to "Brontosaurus" happened in the 1970s, when researchers showed that Apatosaurus was not closely related to Camarasaurus, but to yet another dinosaur from the same area: Diplodocus. Because Diplodocus had a slender, horse-like skull, Apatosaurus and thus also "Brontosaurus" must have had a skull more similar to Diplodocus instead of to Camarasaurus -- and so the popular, but untrue myth about "Brontosaurus" being an Apatosaurus with the wrong head was born.

But now, in a new study published in the peer reviewed open access journal PeerJ and consisting of almost 300 pages of evidence, a team of scientists from Portugal and the UK have shown that Brontosaurus was distinct from Apatosaurus after all -- the thunder lizard is back!

Project Hyena: The Brain Scoop Needs Your Help!

From the Field Museum and their excellent YouTube channel The Brain Scoop:

We’ve got some awesome taxidermy hyenas from 1899 that we want to restore and put into a brand-new diorama in the Hall of Asian Mammals.

But we need your help!

We’ve teamed up with our in-house YouTube channel, The Brain Scoop, to launch an Indiegogo campaign in order to get the hyenas to their new home.

So, what can you do?

Spread the word! Share #projecthyenadiorama and let's make the hyenas go viral.

And get yourself some sweet swag - donate and show your hyena pride with a Project Hyena tote or tee - or you can land a Google Hangout with The Brain Scoop's own Emily Graslie! Check out the whole list here, and follow along with us on Twitter to track the campaign's progress and be in the know when we drop flash perks.

Want see these guys in real life? The hyenas are currently living in (of all places) our Reptile Hall. Come pay them a visit before their big move!

Support #projecthyenadiorama to make the move a reality and be a part of Field Museum history.

 

Reminder: MAPS EXPO Is April 10-12, 2015

MAPS has their EXPO this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 10-12, 2015.  The theme is the "Cenozoic Era".

Friday, April 10: 08:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 11: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 12: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (NOTE: extended Sunday hours)

It is being held at Sharpless Auction House, Iowa City, IA.   All of the details are here.

For those of you interested in the Pre-EXPO show.  It will be at the TravelLodge in Iowa City, IA all day and evening on Thursday, April 9th, 2015.

 

CGMA 39th Annual Show - MWF 75th Anniversary Convention, May 23-24, 2015

CGMA'S 39th Annual Gem, Mineral, Jewelry and Fossil Show and

MWF's 75th Anniversary Convention

One of the Midwest region's largest events for rockhounds by rockhounds - and Illinois largest!

Where:  DuPage County Fairgrounds, 2015 W. Manchester Rd., Wheaton, IL

When:  Memorial Day  weekend, May 23 and 24, 2015

Retail and wholesale show hours, Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (wholesale till 3 p.m.); 

special tours on Friday, May 22, Sat., May 23, and Sun., May 24

Who and What: More than 30 nationally known dealers, amazing exhibits by museums and private collectors, great educational guest speakers, special tours of Lizzadro Lapidary Museum (Elmhurst, IL) and   Wheaton College - Home of the Mastodon, Dept. of Geology (Wheaton, IL), competitive displays,

door prizes, silent auction, Kids' Room, hands-on demonstrations of jewelry making, geode cracking, gold panning, opal cutting, sliver smithing, wire wrapping, gem trees, beading, glass fusing, fossil preparation, and more.