Monthly Archives: November 2009

A bit of the Jurassic in southern California

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA–A nice geological interlude for this Wooster geologist during a family Thanksgiving.  This afternoon we visited Los Peñasquitos (meaning little cliffs) Canyon Preserve in San Diego County.  We walked about two miles along a trail to an exposure … Continue reading

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Wooster Geologist in California

CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA–The peak above is part of the San Gabriel Mountains just north of Claremont.  Today is one of the best southern California offers: brilliant sun, temperatures in the 70s, and very clear skies.  Apparently this view of the mountains … Continue reading

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Mineralogy of Mars

As promised, here’s another digital presentation. The Mineralogy of Mars is presented by Colin Mennett (’10).

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A very bored Permian brachiopod

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS–I never get tired of that too-obvious joke. I found the above productid brachiopod on the last outcrop of our little Texas expedition. It has been drilled by barnacles, which leave a distinctive slit-shaped hole with a tiny … Continue reading

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Two West Texas outcrops: which looks more inviting?

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS–The upper one is the base of the Valera Formation on US Highway 84 (N31.88196°, W99.47115°) and the lower one is the lower Bead Mountain Formation on Route 6 near Albany; both are Permian and both have delicious … Continue reading

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The puzzle of gypsum

Our Permian sections on this Texas trip have had thick beds of gypsum only a meter or three beneath our fossiliferous limestones and shales. Gypsum (calcium sulfate) is an evaporite mineral, indicating when the Permian shallow sea in this case … Continue reading

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A new family of fossil clams from the Triassic of Israel

The latest issue of the journal Palaeontology has an article describing a new family of large clams from the Triassic of southern Israel. The authors include Allison Mione (’05), who pursued this project as part of her geology Independent Study. … Continue reading

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You’re never alone on an outcrop

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A West Texas outcrop

BROWNWOOD, TEXAS–It was nearly a five hour drive from College Station, Texas, through the Hill Country to our first Permian exposure in West Texas. (We passed, by the way, through Killeen and Fort Hood.) It was worth the trip for … Continue reading

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Wooster Geologist in Texas

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS–I arrived this afternoon in beautiful central Texas to give a talk at Texas A&M University on bioerosion.  If you click the link you can see my PowerPoint slides.  The talk went well enough and there were many … Continue reading

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