Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Update on St. Paul, IN Quarry

St. Paul quarry management informed us that, instead of organized club trips on Fridays, a series of Saturday open collecting opportunities have been initiated. At this time, there are two dates available with more possibly to follow. Those dates are: May 21st and July 16th. Those interested in collecting need to show up at the quarry office between 7:30 am and 8:00 am (Eastern Time) to sign waivers and probably receive on-site training.

This quarry is in the Silurian Waldron Formation composed of shales that can be broken to release fossils. In areas that have weathered longer, the shales often turn into muds with fossil on the surface. Fossils available are corals, brachiopods, sponges, rare nautiloids, and, the most desirable, trilobites and crinoids.

Directions to the quarry: I-74 travelling southeast from Indianapolis and exit at Exit 123 (Love’s Travel Shop with McDonald’s and Subway at SE corner); at first stop sign turn right (west) on Michigan Street; at the next stop sign turn left (south) towards St. Paul and continue through the town, across the RR tracks; continue south on same road (it has several names: County Rd 800, County Line Road, Mound Road) out of town until you see the gravel piles. The office (this is the office, NOT the quarry) is on the right (west) past the first set of piles around the bend in the road.

If the quarry informs us of additional dates, they will be announced on the ESCONI website. Good Luck!

 

Field Trip: Trask Bridge (Farm) Quarry West of Rockford on June 18th, 2016

There will be a field trip to the Farm (Trask Bridge) Quarry west of Rockford on Saturday June 18^th from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. The trip is limited to 20 and participants must be at least 18 years old and members of ESCONI on or before the June General Meeting. If interested, e-mail John ([email protected]). There will be a waiting list, in case some drop out. Please arrive a bit early to sign waivers.

The quarry is located on SR 70 (Trask Bridge Rd) some 10-12 miles west-northwest of Rockford.

As usual for quarry trips, safety gear is required, hard hats, safety vest, and steel toed boots.

 

Reminder for this Weekend: 40th Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show, May 28 & 29, 2016

 

CGMA's annual "Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show" will be held May 28 and 29, 2016.  It is the 40th anniversary.  There will be nationally-known dealers, demonstrations, exhibits, lapidary arts, jewelry exhibits, faceting, cabochon cutting, polishing gemstones, silversmithing, beading, wire wrapping, prospecting, geode splitting, a silent auction, childrens' rock area, jewelry repair and much, much, more!  Come on out.  All the details are here.

Saturday, May 28, 2016 10am - 6pm
Sunday, May 29, 2016 10am - 5pm

Ticket Pricing (*cash only):

One Day Show Pass
$5.00  Adults
$3.00  Seniors & Students (ages 13-18)
  Children (Under 13) Free
 
Two Day Pass
$8.00  Adults
$5.00  Seniors & Students (ages 13-18)
  Children (Under 13) Free
 
Note: Service Personnel w/Id, Scouts in Uniform are free

FREE PARKING
INDOORS - AIR CONDITIONED - FOOD AVAILABLE 
Camping Available - Call (630) 377-0197(630) 377-0197

The 3^9th show was great! Check out the photos in the Photo Gallery. Hope to see you this year!!

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

 

Archaeologists in Greece Think They Found Aristotle's Tomb

AtlasObscura has a post about the possible discovery of the tomb of Aristotle.  A group of archaeologists have been digging at a site in the ancient northern Greek city of Stageira, where Aristotle was born in 384 BCE.  He died 62 years later in Chalcis, which is about 50 miles north of Athens.

The Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reported Thursday that the finding will be announced at a press conference, as a capstone to a Aristotle-themed conference in Thessaloniki.

Ahead of the official announcement, the Greek Reporter has some more details on the tomb, saying that "literary sources" say that Aristotle's ashes were transferred there after his death. It is located near the ancient city's agora, apparently intended to be viewed by the public.

From the Greek Reporter:

The top of the dome is at 10 meters and there is a square floor surrounding a Byzantine tower. A semi-circle wall stands at two-meters in height. A pathway leads to the tomb’s entrance for those that wished to pay their respects. Other findings included ceramics from the royal pottery workshops and fifty coins dated to the time of Alexander the Great.

Not much is known about Aristotle's life, aside from what he left in his own writings. It took over 2,300 years, but at least we're starting to learn more about his death.

The Fantastically Strange Origin of Most Coal on Earth – Phenomena : Curiously Krulwich

Carboniferous Forest Diorama. Photograph by John Weinstein, Field Museum Library, Getty

 

Robert Krulwich has a good post about the origin of 90% (yes, 90%!) of the coal on Earth.  It seems that back during the Carboniferous Period the fungi needed to break down "wood" hadn't evolved yet when "trees" started making cellulose and lignin.  Because of that, the wood piled up and was eventually converted to coal by pressure and heat.  Oh, and by the way, those "trees" are they same ones we find in the Mazon Creek fossil biota.

So imagine, then, these stands of towering, fernlike plants mostly growing in swamps. The air is warm and moist, and the land (Europe, the Americas, and Africa were at the time one continuous mass) is covered by millions—no, billions—of trees that are sucking carbon from the air, growing, aging, dying, falling, and releasing oxygen. This is a world littered with dead trees piling on top of each other.

But when those trees died, the bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that today would have chewed the dead wood into smaller and smaller bits were missing, or as Ward and Kirschvink put it, they “were not yet present.”

Bacteria existed, of course, but microbes that could ingest lignin and cellulose—the key wood-eaters—had yet to evolve. It’s a curious mismatch. Food to eat but no eaters to eat it. And so enormous loads of wood stayed whole. “Trees would fall and not decompose back,” write Ward and Kirschvink.

Instead, trunks and branches would fall on top of each other, and the weight of all that heavy wood would eventually compress those trees into peat and then, over time, into coal. Had those bacteria been around devouring wood, they’d have broken carbon bonds, releasing carbon and oxygen into the air, but instead the carbon stayed in the wood.

Happy Birthday, Mary Anning! May 21st, 1799 - March 9th, 1847

Mary Anning was an English fossil collector, dealer, and amateur palaeontologist who became famous her finds in the Jurassic fossil beds along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county Dorset in Southwest England.  Her discoveries contributed to scientific thinking about prehistoric like and the history of the Earth.

Additionally, it is said that she was the inspiration for the 1908 tongue twister, "She sells seashells", by Terry Sullivan.

She sells seashells on the seashore
The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure
So if she sells seashells on the seashore
Then I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

 

 

New Frilly-Necked Dinosaur Identified

Spiclypeus shipporum (shown here in an artist's illustration) would have plodded along a 76 million years ago in what is now the Judith River Formation of Montana.
Credit: copyright Mike Skrepnick

Livescience has yet another story about a new ceratopsian dinosaur.  That's two on the same day.  This one is called Spiclypeus shipporum,  and lived around 76 million years ago in Montana.  The scientific name comes from the latin words for "spiked shield" combined with the surname Shipp, after Bill Shipp, a retired physicist who discovered the bones more that a decade ago.  The animal was nicknamed Judith, from the Judith River geological formation, in which it was discovered.  All of the dinosaur's vitals appear on it's website at judiththedinosaur.com/.  The animal is described in a paper which was published in PLOS ONE, on May 18th 2016.

"This is a spectacular new addition to the family of horned dinosaurs that roamed western North America between 85 and 66 million years ago," said study researcher Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Analysis of Judith's bones revealed that she was at least 10 years old when she died. The upper bone of one of her front legs showed evidence of infection and arthritis in the joint.

Spiclypeus appears to have been unique to Montana, paleontologists reported, which suggests that dinosaurs were highly differentiated and localized in the Late Cretaceous period in western North America. Eight other dinosaur species have been found in the Judith River Formation, they said in a statement. None of those specimens have been found farther south than Canada.

Judith "provides new evidence of dinosaur diversity during the Late Cretaceous period from an area that is likely to yield even more discoveries," Mallon said in a statement.

Dinosaur with 'Bent Sword' Head Spikes Unearthed in Utah

An artist's interpretation of Machairoceratops cronusi, a newly identified horned dinosaur discovered in southern Utah.
Credit: Mark Witton

Livescience has a story about a new ceratopsid dinosaur.  It's named Machairoceratops cronusi and lived about 77 million years ago in prehistoric Utah.  Pieces of it's skull were first discovered in 2006.  At 1 to 2 tons, it measured about 20 to 26 feet long.  The original paper appeared on May 18th in the journal PLOS ONE.

Each curved head spike measured about 4 feet (1.2 meters) long, and though their function isn't clear, they may have been used to attract mates, said study lead author Eric Lund, a graduate student of biological sciences at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The "horny" finding fills in an important gap in the fossil record of southern Laramidia, an area that included Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico during the Late Cretaceous period, Lund said. [Photos: Oldest Known Horned Dinosaur in North America]

Researchers first unearthed pieces of the dinosaur's skull in 2006, and returned to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, in southern Utah, for a total of three field seasons to look for more of the remains. But they couldn't locate the rest of the body, and instead concentrated on studying what they could find: pieces of its curved head spikes, cheeks, head frill, braincase and the two almost 8-inch-long (20 centimeters) horns it had over its eyes.

Despite its impressive head spikes and horns, the dinosaur wasn't a giant compared with other dinosaurs, reaching about 20 to 26 feet (6 to 8 m) in length. At 1 to 2 tons (0.9 to 1.8 metric tons), the herbivorous beast weighed less than an African elephant. (Male African elephants can weigh up to 7.5 tons (6.8 metric tons), according to the San Diego Zoo.) It was also lighter than its relative Triceratops, which weighed between 3 and 4 tons (2.7 to 3.6 metric tons) and lived about 10 million years after it, Lund told Live Science.

40th Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show, May 28 & 29, 2016

 

CGMA's annual "Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show" will be held May 28 and 29, 2016.  It is the 40th anniversary.  There will be nationally-known dealers, demonstrations, exhibits, lapidary arts, jewelry exhibits, faceting, cabochon cutting, polishing gemstones, silversmithing, beading, wire wrapping, prospecting, geode splitting, a silent auction, childrens' rock area, jewelry repair and much, much, more!  Come on out.  All the details are here.

Saturday, May 28, 2016 10am - 6pm
Sunday, May 29, 2016 10am - 5pm

Ticket Pricing (*cash only):

One Day Show Pass
$5.00  Adults
$3.00  Seniors & Students (ages 13-18)
  Children (Under 13) Free
 
Two Day Pass
$8.00  Adults
$5.00  Seniors & Students (ages 13-18)
  Children (Under 13) Free
 
Note: Service Personnel w/Id, Scouts in Uniform are free

FREE PARKING
INDOORS - AIR CONDITIONED - FOOD AVAILABLE 
Camping Available - Call (630) 377-0197(630) 377-0197

The 3^9th show was great! Check out the photos in the Photo Gallery. Hope to see you this year!!

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

 

CBC Quirks & Quarks - Dung beetles diversified by dining on dinosaur droppings

CBC's Quicks & Quarks has a segment on the evolutionary connection between dung beetles and dinosaurs.  Dung beetles first appeared in the lower Cretaceous, 115 to 130 million years ago.  The timing of their emergence and diversification coincides with the rise of the flowering plants, or angiosperms.

In a new study by Dr. Nicole Gunter, the Invertebrate Zoology Collections Manager at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, she hypothesizes that the incorporation of flowering plants in the diet of herbivorous dinosaurs resulted in the first dung source that provided nutrition for the beetles, allowing them to diversify into thousands of species.

By the time dinosaurs went extinct, some dung beetles had already adapted to mammalian dung. These are the ancestors of the dung beetles we have today.

The original paper was published in PLOS One.

Other interesting stories in this weeks episode include:

• Early modern humans in Europe had a rocky road
• Invasive earthworms threaten forest diversity
• Kepler confirms a thousand planets

And more.  Get the whole episode here.

 

 

 

The Brain Scoop: The Tully Monster

 

The Field Museum's Brain Scoop YouTube Channel has an episode about the Tully Monster.  Yes, it may be a repeat of previous information, but it's the Tully Monster...  and they open some concretions!

Lecture: “The End of Water As We Know It”, May 18th, 2016 6:00 PM

The End of Water As We Know It”

Wednesday, May 18, 2016
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
International House at the University of Chicago Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th Street, Chicago, IL (directions)

 Event Agenda
6:00 – 6:30 p.m.: Reception
6:30 – 7:30 p.m.: Presentation and Q&A

Abstract

We are witnessing the end of the golden age of water. Freshwater was once abundant, cheap and safe for humans, but that is changing rapidly. Couple that with the fact that over the next 35 years, the world’s demand for water will rise by 55 percent, and it’s no wonder that water technology and management figure to shape the 21st century much like oil conflicts influenced the 20th century.

Access to clean water will affect everything from how our food is raised to how our economies function.

So how can we reshape a better future for water?

In his talk, Dr. Seth Darling will discuss how we got to this point, what lies ahead, and what can be done now to respond and adapt. He will also give an overview of the research Argonne and the University of Chicago are doing in this space, including innovative approaches to water treatment.

Free Lecture: Prehistoric Dogs in Illinois, May 22nd 2016 at the Evanston Public Library

Free Lecture - Chicago Archaeology Society

Sunday, May 22, 2016, 3:30 pm

 

The Archaeology of Man's Best Friend:  Recent Studies of Prehistoric Dogs in Illinois

Dr. Steven Kuehn

 

Evanston Public Library

1703 Orrington

Evanston, Illinois

 

Field Trip: Braceville, IL for Mazon Creek Fossils, May 21st and 22nd, 2016

May 21-22, 2016 Braceville - Mazon Creek Fossils

Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils on private property.

Meet at 8:00 A.M. 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. Gardening tools such as a hand rake work also. 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 1-630-303-2352 for reservations or e-mail at [email protected].

 

ESCONI Events May 2016

Sat, May 7	Field Trip - Irene Quarry
Fri, May 13	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 p.m. College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Mid-continent rift system of North America” by Carol Stein of UIC
Sat, May 14	ESCONI Mineral Study Group Meeting 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: "Indian Mountain, Alabama”
Sat, May 21	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting - 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Topic: TBA
Sat & Sun, May 21 & 22	Field Trip - Braceville, IL for Mazon Creek Fossils
Sat & Sun, May 28 & 29	Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, Jewelry, and Fossil Show, 40th Anniversary.  Memorial Day Weekend - DuPage County Fairgrounds (Map)
	ESCONI Archaeology Study Group Meeting, 7:30 p.m. College of Dupage - Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map) - Open at this time, seeking a chair

Milwaukee Public Museum May 10th: Coal, Shale, and Ironstone: the Geology and Paleontology of Mazon Creek

​Annularia stellata plant found in the Mazon River strata, Morris, Illinois. Collection Marie Angkuw

ESCONI member Andrew Young will be giving what is sure to be an interesting lecture at the Milwaukee Public Museum's "Lunch & Lecture" on May 10, 2016.

May 10, 2016 - Coal, Shale, and Ironstone: the Geology and Paleontology of Mazon Creek
Andrew Young, Visual Artist

Located in northeastern Illinois, Mazon Creek, is an incredible fossil array of associated Upper Carboniferous plants and animals. Considered to be among the world’s great Lagerstätten, or Mother Lodes, this site’s numerous and delicately preserved soft-bodied animals are rarely seen in the fossil record, and many species have been singularly described from the deposit. Magnificent plant impressions, many of them ferns (to some, the quintessential prehistoric floral form) are beautifully preserved in iron carbonate nodules. The importance of Mazon Creek to understanding the story of our planet, and specifically the Pennsylvanian Period, was realized by science only in the mid-nineteenth century. Considerable research has been done since then, perhaps providing the most comprehensive picture of life in the Late Paleozoic. Come hear the narrative of its geologic and biological history: how it came to be and what lived there.

Docent Tour - Third Planet exhibit, Carboniferous

Lunch & Lecture Schedule
Optional Docent Tour – 10:30 a.m., meet near the circular desk across from the Cafe
Lecture in Gromme Lecture Hall –11:30 a.m.
Optional buffet lunch in Garden Gallery – 12:30 p.m.
Read the Lunch & Lecture buffet menu

Lunch & Lecture Tickets
Cost: $20; $17 for members
Lecture Only: $5; FREE for members and students
Registration required - call (414) 278-2728 to register

 

​Andrew Young at the Grand Canyon, 2014.

Andrew Young is a visual artist who studied biology, art history, and studio art at the University of California, Berkeley. His interest in science furthered his affinity for natural history which, combined with philosophy and art, eventually brought him to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he earned an M.F.A. in painting and drawing. Young’s work has been featured in numerous national and international exhibitions, often with accompanying workshops. Some of his projects have taken him to Italy, Germany, Ecuador, Hungary, and Pakistan, to name a few. In 2006, he received an invitation to join an expedition to Antarctica to study the wildlife and document studies of the earthquakes and ice movement in the region. A continued fascination with the human relationship to the natural world led him to curate an exhibition in 2011 entitled, Indexing the World: invention, abstraction and dissonance, the 2012 publication of a book on Mazon Creek fossils of Illinois, and a solo painting show with the Chicago Academy of Sciences. Young’s work is represented by several galleries and many of his paintings are in the permanent collections of museums nationwide.
andrewyoungart.com