Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Here’s How Earthquakes Are Measured #geology #earth #earthquake #platetectonics #tectonics

The New York Times has an interesting article that explains the moment magnitude scale used to calibrate the strength of an earthquake.  The logarithmic was proposed by Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori in 1979.  The method measures an earthquake's magnitude based on its seismic moment.  It replaced the older Richter scale because it saturates around a magnitude of 8.0 and thus can't measure larger earthquakes.  The strongest magnitude earthquake every measured is the 1960 Chilean event that had a rating between 9.4 - 9.6.  It lasted for 10 minutes and had a maximum slip of 25 - 30 meters.

Seismologists register the intensity of an earthquake in units known as moment magnitude, which measure how much energy was released when the rocks along a fault moved during the quake.

The moment magnitude scale, as it is known, replaced one developed by an American seismologist, Charles Richter, that was used until the 1970s. The Richter scale was found to be inaccurate for very large earthquakes.

The moment magnitude scale can be hard for nonexperts to decipher. It is logarithmic, meaning that each whole number of magnitude represents about a 32-fold increase in the amount of energy released during a rupture.

So, for instance, an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.0 is not twice as strong as a quake with a magnitude of 1.0. Instead, the amplitude of shaking would be 10 times as great, and it would release 32 times as much energy.

ABC's The Science Show: Opals on Mars? #minerals #fossils #mars #australia #opal

Opalized bivalve found in Coober Pedy. Photo by James St. John. Licensed under CC By 2.0.

ABC's "The Science Show" has a fascinating segment about the opals of Australia.  90% of the opals on Earth come from Australia.  Many come from the cities of Lightning Ridge and Coober Pedy.  They formed about 120 million years ago when the conditions were perfect for opal creation.  There's also a discussion about the process of opal formation.  Do you have opal fever yet?!?

It was the clue that made all the difference to the professor of geology at the University of Sydney. The quandary was about the near unique presence of opals in Australia. We knew the basic ingredient is volcanic, but what transforms the black basalt into shining, multi-coloured stones? Jonica Newby visits the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge in western NSW and meets the geology professor obsessed about opals from childhood who made it his quest to discover how opals are formed.

Mazon Monday #246: Stephanospermum konopeonus #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #seedfern #pennsylvanian #seed

This is Mazon Monday post #246.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Seeds were relatively rare in the Pennsylvanian Period.  Most plants, including the true ferns, reproduced via spores.  The only plants that bore seeds were the medullosan pteridosperms, or seed ferns.  The most common seed found in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit is Stephanospermum konopeonus.  George Langford described a few species of seed in his first Mazon Creek book "The Wilmington Coal Flora from a Pennsylvanian Deposit in Will County, Illinois" from 1958.  Some of these (Carpolithus konopeonus, Codonospermum olivaeformae, Stephanospermum akeniodes, Lagenospermum sinclairi, and Neuropterocarpus pachytesta) have since been consolidated as Stephanospermum konopeonus.  In 1990, Andrew Drinnan, Janai M. Schramke, and Peter R. Crane wrote "Stephanospermum konopeonus (Langford) Comb Nov.: A Medullosan Ovule from the Pennsylvanian Mazon Creek Flora of Northeastern Illinois, U.S.A.", which looked for evidence that this genus of ovules was related to Medullosales.

Abstract

More than 150 permineralized ovules of Carpolithus konopeonus Langford, preserved in sideritic concretions, have been recovered from the Middle Pennsylvanian (Westphalian D) Mazon Creek flora of northeastern Illinois. Ovules were borne apically on slender branching structures. The sarcotesta is bilaterally symmetrical with a pair of distinct lateral wings and, at the apex of the ovule, forms a prominent funnel that leads to the micropyle. The sclerotesta is radially symmetrical with a prominent beak and collar at the apex. The nucellus is free from the integument except at the base and extends into the basal part of the micropylar tube. The apex of the nucellus forms a distinct pollen chamber. Ovule vasculature consists of six or more bundles in the sarcotesta and a continuous sheath of vascular tissue in the nucellus. Pollen preserved in the micropyle and pollen chamber is of the Monoletes-type The Mazon Creek material is assigned to a new species of Stephanospermum Brongniart as S. konopeonus (Langford) comb. nov. and provides further evidence that this genus of ovules was produced by representatives of the Medullosales.

Jack Witty addresses S. konopeonus on page 232 of his 2019 book "A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek".

Stephanospermum konopeonus (Langford) Drinnan, Schramke & Crane, 1990

1958. Carpolithus konopeonus; Langford: p. 340, figs. 654-657
1958. Codonospermum olivaeformae; Langford: p. 328, fig. 629
1958. Stephanospermum akeniodes; Langford: p. 329, figs. 631, 632
1958. Lagenospermum sinclairi; Langford: p. 330, figs. 633-635
1958. Neuropterocarpus pachytesta; Langford: p. 334, fig. 642, non 641, 643
1958. Carpolithus; Langford: p. 339, fig. 652, non 648-651, 653
1979. Samaropsis; Janssen: p. 168, fig. 163
1990. Stephanospermum konopeonus Langford; Drinnan et al.: p. 385-401

DESCRIPTION: These seeds are radiospermic and rounded at their bases, with truncated and outwardly extended apices. The nucellus is smooth and ovate. The seed dimensions are 12 to 15 mm long and 5 to 6 mm wide. The nucellus size is 6 to 8 mm long and 3 to 5 mm wide. There are four evenly spaced wings that run down the length of the seed, though they are seldom seen in the fossils.

REMARKS: Stephanospermum konopeonus is common and the most common seed taxon in the Mazon Creek flora. It was originally described based on fossils from this area. Stephanospermum is now broken into two species in the Mazon Creek flora. Using a new technique called X-ray Micro-Tomography (XMT), a virtual 3-D reconstruction of an ovule is possible. From this method, a very similar species was discovered (Spencer et al., 2013) and named Stephanospermum braidwoodensis. Unfortunately, they are so similar that separating the two without using XMT is impossible. This may only be the beginning of discovering new ovule species. S. konopeonus was borne on a branched rachis of an undetermined medullosan pteridosperm.

George Langford's handwitten page about Stephanospermum (from George's Basement)

Specimens

Stephanospermum konopeonus - FMNH PP27766

Stephanospermum konopeonus - FMNH PP9672

Stephanospermum konopeonus - FMNH PP30416 (From Witty)

From George's Basement

ESCONI Member collection

PBS Eons: When the Amazon Flowed Backwards #fossils #paleontology #amazonriver

There's a new episode of PBS Eons.  This one is about the Amazon River.

What did life look like when the Amazon watershed flowed backwards? How did its direction shape the evolution of life around it? And what force could have possibly been strong enough to up-end one of the world’s mightiest rivers between then and now?

ESCONI Board Members for 2025

PRESIDENT:  Chris Berg

1ST. VICE PRESIDENT:  Katherine Howard

2ND. VICE PRESIDENT:  Keith Robitschek

RECORDING SECRETARY:  Valerie Anderson

TREASURER:  Andrew Jansen

PUBLICITY:  Elizabeth Magnus-Gentry

LIBRARIAN:  Andrew Jansen

CURATOR:  Chris Cozart

HISTORIAN:  Richard Holm

Assistant Field Trip Chairman: Connor Puritz

Assistant Field Trip Chairman: Jeremy Zimmerman

EDITOR:  Don Cronauer

CIRCULATION:  Rose Jansen

PAST PRESIDENT: Phil Anderson

MEMBERSHIP:  Rose Jansen

SHOW CHAIRMAN: Phil Anderson

MWF LIAISON REP: Dave Carlson

WEB ADMINISTRATOR: Richard Holm

Study Groups and Activities: (Non-Board Positions)

ARCHAEOLOGY STUDY GROUP CHAIR: Open

JUNIOR STUDY GROUP: Scott Galloway

LAPIDARY STUDY GROUP CHAIR: Open

MINERALOGY STUDY GROUP CHAIR: Dave Carlson

PALEONTOLOGY STUDY GROUP CHAIR: John Catalani

Deck the Dinos at the Field Museum! #fossils #paleontology #dinosaurs #FieldMuseum @SUEtheTrex

Deck the dinos! 🎁🦕

Stop in through the holiday season to catch a few of your prehistoric pals in their most festive attire.

Snap a pic lounging with the Quetzalcoatlus or Máximo. Then stop by and sing a carol with SUE in the Flesh, before this carnivore hits the road on January 16!

Fossil Friday #242: Mazon Creek Roachoid #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #roachoid #pennsylvanian #insectfossil

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #242.  Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website.  We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected].  Please include a short description or story.  Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!

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This week's Fossil Friday is another Mazon Creek arthropod—an insect known as a roachoid, an ancient precursor to modern cockroaches. Today, there are roughly 4,600 species of cockroaches. The earliest ancestors of the modern cockroach crown group, classified under the order Blattidae, have been traced back to Late Jurassic rocks in Russia. However, roachoids first made their appearance in the fossil record around 320 million years ago.

This specimen was collected from the Mazon River.  It opened via freeze/thaw just a few weeks ago.

Throwback Thursday #242: Looking Back at ESCONI for December 2024 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #trex #tyrannosaurusrex @SUEtheTrex

This is Throwback Thursday #242.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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25 Years Ago - December 1999

• The ESCONI Holiday Party for 1999 was held on December 5th.  Dr. John Flynn was there to talk about his exciting discoveries in Madagascar.
• The 1999 Flea Market was a huge success.  Special thanks went out to Floyd and Betsy Rogers.
• DINO NEWS highlighted the September issue of Scientific American.  There were three articles in the magazine about Tyrannosaurus rex.
• The ESCONI By-Laws were up for changes.

50 Years Ago - December 1974

• The General Meeting saw Ted and Helen Piecko do a presentaion called "The Fossils of Pit 11".  Boy, wouldn't you love to see that now!  The Pieckos have multiple Mazon Creek species named for them.
• Mineralogy did a material swap.
• Micromounting did a round robin identification content.  Members were asked to bring their microscopes!
• Wilma and William Kelly were awarded an Honorary Membership.  Both were very active in ESCONI from near the beginnng.  Bill wrote many articles for the newsletter.
• The Micro of the Month was Ostracodes - minute bivalve crustaceans.

70 Years Ago - December 1954

• The General Meeting was "Gemstones - Fancy, Fabulous, and Phony".  Jack Lund was the speaker.
• The Archaeology Study Group met at the home of Bill and Wilma Kelly to discuss the history of DuPage County.
• Bill Kelly wrote a short article about classification of plants and animals.
• Jay Farr gave presentations at both Junior Meetings - "The Earth is Born" and "Coral".
• DID YOU KNOW stated that ran that falls has been aloft fot about 3 weeks.

Paleontologists Crack Plesiosaur “Four-Wing” Mystery #fossils #paleontology #plesiosaurs

Scientists recreated plesiosaur swimming using a bio-inspired control system, revealing coordinated flipper motion and shedding light on extinct animals’ locomotion.

SciTechDaily has a piece about how plesiosaurs swam.  How did plesiosaur swim in the oceans?  A new paper in the journal Scientific Reports looked into the "four-wing problem" in plesiosaur swimming.  

A research team may have unlocked the mystery of how the ancient marine reptile, the plesiosaur, moved by developing a bio-inspired control system that simulates its motion adjustments.

Extinct animals have vastly different body shapes from animals still around today, making it difficult to determine how they moved by comparing them to living species. Additionally, fossils rarely preserve the soft limb tissues that scientists need to study locomotion and gain key insights into their lifestyles.

Plesiosaurs roamed Earth’s prehistoric oceans, propelled by their unique body structure, which featured four large, equally sized flippers. Yet how plesiosaurs used these flippers to swim has long baffled paleontologists. This so-called ‘four-wing problem’ has been a topic of heated debate for years.

ESCONI Holiday Lunch - Saturday, December 7, 2024, 12:00 noon at Warren’s Ale House #holidayparty #happyholidays #anniversary

Celebrate ESCONI'S 75th Anniversary with Luncheon and a Celebration Cake at the Club's Holiday Luncheon

ESCONI Holiday Lunch will be on Saturday, December 7, 2024, 12:00 noon at Warren’s Ale House, 51 Town Square, Wheaton. (Just north of Danada Square East.)

Website for Warren's Ale House with Map & Menu: https://warrensalehouse.com/contact/

Please note: ESCONI will be providing the cake. Attendees will be ordering off the menu. Everyone is responsible for their own bill. Warren's Ale House has a Brunch menu on Saturday along with their regular menu. Holiday attire is welcome. If you got it, wear it! Sweaters, hats, scarves, socks, lighted necklaces, jewelry; the possibilities are endless!

Katherine Howard is taking reservations: RSVP to Katherine via email with your name and how many will be attending so we have an approximate count. [email protected]

Hope to see you there!

 

ESCONI Events for December 2024 #events

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!

Sat, Dec 7th	ESCONI Holiday Party - 12:00 noon  Warren’s Ale House, 51 Town Square, Wheaton, IL
Fri, Dec 13th	ESCONI General Meeting - 8:00 PM via Zoom - Topic: "Dinosaur Dinner: How Geochemistry Can Show Us the Diets of Extinct Animals" by Liam Norris  Zoom link
	ESCONI Junior Meeting No meeting... see you next month!
	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group  No meeting... see you next month!
	ESCONI Mineralogy Study Group  No meeting... see you next month!

 

Mazon Monday #245: Annularia annulariaefolius #fossils #paleontolgy #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #calamites #pennsylvanian

This is Mazon Monday post #245.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Annularia annulariaefolius represents foliage from a shrub-like sphenophyte.  It was described as Lycopodites annulariaefolius in 1870 by Leo Lesquereux.  Lesquereux was a swiss bryologist, who lived from 1806 until 1889.  In 1970, he wrote "Report on the Fossil Plants of Illinois" in which he is credited with naming the Mazon Creek deposit by referring to the Mazon River as Mazon Creek.

Leo Lesquereux

"At Mazon Creek, the meanders of the stream have dug a broad bed through the bank of shale, and the water, washing for centuries, has uncovered great numbers of concretions and scattered them for miles from their point of origin.”

Annularia annulariaefolius is now associated with Annularia due to differences in form with Lycopodites.  Jack Wittry includes it on page 57 of his book "A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek".

Annularia annulariaefolius (Lesquereux) Wittry, comb. nov.

1870. Lycopodites annulariaefolius Lesquereux: p. 426, pl. 21, fig. 5
1870. Annularia longifolia? Brongniart; Lesquereux: p. 422, pl. 21, figs. 1, 2
1880. Annularia calamitoides Schimper; Lesquereux: p. 48
1940. Lycopodites annulariaefolius Lesquereux; Janssen: p. 19 (partial), pl. 11, fig. 4 (holotype)

Basionym; Lycopodites annulariaefolius Lesquereux, 1870. III. Geol. Surv., Vol. 4, Report on the Fossil Plants of Illinois. p. 426, pl. 21, fig. 5. Lesquereux's holotype is housed in The Illinois State Museum, cataloge number ISM 1163.

DESCRIPTION: The stems are smooth and range in width from 0.5 to 1.5 cm. From the nodes grew two opposite branches along with long, erect leaves (see Fig. 2) adpressed along the stem. The leaves of the branches are decurent, lax, generally curved outward from the base, then become straight and more upwardly pointed from the middle. Leaves are widest near the middle, acuminate or obtusely pointed at the apex, and have a well-marked midvein. Stems and branches are crowned with many tightly packed, thin leaves (see Figs. 1, 4). The leaves often can appear as nothing more than a midvein.

REMARKS: Annularia annulariaefolius is common and only reported from the Mazon Creek area. Most examples of this species are crushed, with flaccid, broken, and missing leaves. A. annulariaefolius has leaves and branches borne from nodes. The cones lack the spiral pattern found in all lycophytes. These features necessitate its removal from Lycopodites. All of the observed features of this species are best accommodated in Annularia.

Specimens

From Wittry's "A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek"

FMNH PP 26314

FMNH PP 59050

FMNH PP 42218

ESCONI member Andrew Jansen (Fossil Friday #105).

World's Largest Gold Deposit Found, Worth Over US$80 Billion #minerals #gold #china

(bodnarchuk/Getty Images)

Science Alert has a story about the discovery of a huge gold deposit in China.  The deposit may contain 1000 metric tons (1,100 US tons) and is thought to be the largest ever found.  It's located in the northeast Hunan county of Pingjiang at a depth of around 2 kilometers.

The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province announced the detection of 40 gold veins within a depth of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in the northeast Hunan county of Pingjiang.

These alone were thought to contain 300 metric tons of gold, with 3D modeling suggesting additional reserves may be found to a depth of 3 kilometers.

"Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold," says bureau prospector Chen Rulin.

Core samples suggest every metric ton of ore could contain as much as 138 grams (nearly 5 ounces) of gold – an extraordinary level of quality considering ore excavated from underground mines is considered high grade if it contains more than 8 grams.