Monthly Archives: July 2016

Team Minnesota finishes its work (in Iowa, funny enough)

Mark Wilson July 31, 2016 7:31 am

Rochester, Minnesota — We returned to Decorah, Iowa, today to measure and sample the Decorah Shale (Upper Ordovician) in its type locality. It was much drier here than on our last attempt! Above is the gray Decorah Shale topped by … Continue reading →

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Paleontological fieldwork in southeastern Minnesota

Mark Wilson July 30, 2016 7:30 am

Rochester, Minnesota — It was a good day for fossil collecting on the Minnesota prairie. Above you see a handful of articulated orthid brachiopods collected by Nikki Bell at a quarry exposure near Rochester. This quarry has long been abandoned … Continue reading →

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The work begins

Mark Wilson July 29, 2016 7:29 am

Rochester, Minnesota — Today we started collecting specimens and data for the Team Minnesota student Independent Study projects. We began with a long drive south to Decorah, Iowa, to measure a thick section of our Upper Ordovician target units at … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A new Late Ordovician bryozoan from Oklahoma

Mark Wilson July 29, 2016 12:01 am

I am very pleased to introduce a new bryozoan genus and species recently described in the First View section of the Journal of Paleontology. Paul Taylor (Natural History Museum, London) and I present: “A new runner-like cyclostome bryozoan from the … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologists tramping through the brush of southern Minnesota

Mark Wilson July 28, 2016 7:28 am

Rochester, Minnesota — The middle of the summer is not the best time to do fieldwork in southern Minnesota. The thick and diverse plants make each journey to an abandoned quarry wall or roadcut a jungly adventure. It doesn’t help … Continue reading →

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Team Minnesota visits the Upper Ordovician of Iowa

Mark Wilson July 27, 2016 7:27 am

Rochester, Minnesota — Team Minnesota traveled south today to visit exposures of our three favorite formations: the Platteville Limestone, Decorah Shale, and Cummingsville Limestone. Where best to see the Decorah Shale than in Decorah, Iowa? Above the crew is scattered … Continue reading →

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Team Minnesota Assembles!

Mark Wilson July 26, 2016 7:26 am

Rochester, Minnesota — The first Team Minnesota of Wooster Geologists has now gathered for its work in this beautiful state. Above from the left is Rachel Wetzel (’17), Dean Thomas (’17), Nick Wiesenberg (Geological Technician), Nikki Bell (’17) and Etienne … Continue reading →

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Keck GSA Abstracts

mpollock July 25, 2016 9:00 am

Wooster, OH – The summer portion of the Keck Iceland project is officially over, but our research isn’t finished. We’ll be working together throughout the academic year and will synthesize our final results at the Keck Symposium at Wesleyan University in April … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A bored rhynchonellid brachiopod from the Middle Jurassic of France

Mark Wilson July 22, 2016 12:01 am

Another beautiful brachiopod this week from our friend Mr. Clive Champion in England. His donations to our collections have considerably enriched our teaching program, especially for brachiopods! This specimen is the rhynchonellid Kutchirhynchia morieri (Davidson, 1852) from the Middle Jurassic … Continue reading →

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Black Mountain GSA Abstract

mpollock July 21, 2016 10:11 am

Wooster, OH – If you’ve been following our summer research adventures, you know that Amineh AlBashaireh (’18) has been hard at work studying the compositions of soils around abandoned mines in Black Mountain Open Space Park in San Diego, CA. She … Continue reading →

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