Author Archives: Mark Wilson

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is an emeritus Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.

A dip into Triassic seas

Mark Wilson June 13, 2010 8:54 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — We wish there was still some water in those seas because it was 41°C (106°F) this afternoon, but alas the only water we saw was that which was warmly sloshing in our plastic bottles.  Today we … Continue reading →

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Holiday travel in southern Israel

Mark Wilson June 12, 2010 12:29 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — Today we took the usual weekly shabbat break from fieldwork and spent the day as tourists.

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The last of Scorpion Wash

Mark Wilson June 11, 2010 12:05 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — The 2010 Wooster Geology Israel team finished its work today in the Upper Cretaceous rocks at our northern locality, Wadi Aqrav.  We measured several dozen cobbles from the base of the Menuha Formation, and then collected … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s first dinosaur! (Well … maybe.)

Mark Wilson June 10, 2010 11:58 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — This morning while collecting fossils in the Zihor Formation (Upper Cretaceous) we found the above bones and several other smaller fragments.  They are reptile bones as shown by their density and configuration.  The shape of the … Continue reading →

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Yes, we are finding plenty of fossil shark teeth in the Negev

Mark Wilson June 10, 2010 11:56 am
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Wooster Geologists in Egypt! (Briefly, and just a few inches over the border)

Mark Wilson June 10, 2010 11:54 am

Near HAR ARIF, SINAI PENINSULA, EGYPT — An unscheduled visit, it was.  This morning we needed to park our rental car at a border post so that we could all jam into a 4-wheel drive vehicle from the Geological Survey … Continue reading →

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Northern exposure

Mark Wilson June 9, 2010 11:58 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — Another day of learning Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy from Yoav Avni of the Geological Survey of Israel, this time in the north of our field area.  Just as last month in Mississippi and Alabama, we deployed the … Continue reading →

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The good news about fieldwork in southern Israel is that we don’t worry about snakes. The bad news …

Mark Wilson June 9, 2010 11:51 am
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A desert bird in the hand

Mark Wilson June 9, 2010 11:49 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — While driving to our outcrops today north of Makhtesh Ramon, we came across four researchers catching and tagging small birds in the early morning.  They are from the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel … Continue reading →

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Southern Exposure

Mark Wilson June 8, 2010 9:56 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — Could the contrast be any more dramatic than when comparing the Wooster Alaska expedition images on this blog to those here from the Wooster Israel team?  Alaska looks so very green, cold and wet from here! … Continue reading →

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