The Wild Rhyolite Chase

The Woo-Crew has been working feverishly on their Iceland I.S. projects. Rob and Todd have been climbing the northern end of Vatnsdalsfjall for days, searching for zeolites. The last day was spooky as the thick fog cover came in and out with the wind direction, making it impossible to see at one moment and clear blue skies the next. Rob and Todd accomplished so much that they have been able to help Yexary, a Syracuse geology major, in her field area.

Yexary, Todd, and Rob mapping gabbro by the shore in Skagastrond.

Yexary, Todd, and Rob pausing to pose while mapping gabbro by the shore in Skagastrond.

Not only does the Iceland crew excel in Mineralogy and Petrology, but also in Invertebrate Paleontology (much like the Estonia group). We’ll see your unaltered hard parts and raise you an zeolite-filled olivine basalt!

Todd and Rob in the fossil-crouching position on the Skagi shore.

Todd and Rob in the fossil-crouching position on the Skagi shore.

The same day that they hunted fossils, Rob and Todd saved a baby duck that was struggling in a net on the shore. They are genuine heroes.

Adam, meanwhile, is on the hunt for the elusive rhyolite. After some early success, he has run into basalt where rhyolite has been mapped. Unfortunately, all of the rhyolite is mapped at the top of the mountains, so Adam has made several trips to the top just for the fun of it.

Adam at the top of Vatnsdalsfjall.

Adam at the top of Svinadalsfjall.

At the top of Svinadalsfjall, Adam, Rob, and Todd found a word spelled out in rocks: L-i-e-t-u-v-a. We don’t know what it means, but we decided to spell U-S-A in rocks right next to it.

Rob and Todd claim a mountain for the USA.

Rob and Todd claim a mountain for the USA.

Todd strikes a pose on the way up Vatnsdalsfjall.

Todd strikes a pose on the way up Vatnsdalsfjall.

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2 Responses to The Wild Rhyolite Chase

  1. Mark Wilson says:

    Well done duck-saving, mountain-climbing Iceland team! Love the photos of basalt piled so high and Wooster students even higher. Todd and Rob almost have the fossil crouch down, but they need to get a little closer to the ground. (And where are the hand lenses, eh?) Lietuva is a name we know well here — it is one of the Baltic states: the Lithuanian name for Lithuania. And Yexary has got to be one of the coolest names ever!

  2. Melissa Schultz says:

    Hello,

    I am glad to see you guys wearing t-shirts in some of the photos! Looks like you are having a fun and productive time in Iceland.

    ~Melissa

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