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 field day cut short by angry camels and a threat of rain … but at least the dust is gone!

Mark Wilson March 15, 2012 10:08 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Compare the image above to the one taken in the same place two days ago. Much better! Our only dust today was a local product from the unending winds. The Saharan dust is gone. We paid for this … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologists in the Wilderness of Zin

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 3:17 pm

MITZPE RAMON–Three times we cross Nahal Zin (or Wadi Zin) on our way to Makhtesh Gadol from Mitzpe Ramon. Nahal Zin is an intermittent stream, meaning it is dry most of the time, but during the rainy season can have … Continue reading →

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A silent desert friend on the outcrops

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 2:09 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This exquisite snail is not a fossil, although students in the field often mistake it for one. (Melissa did not, I quickly add.) It is a terrestrial, air-breathing pulmonate snail called Sphincterochila boissieri. It is abundant in parts … Continue reading →

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Negev and Mojave Desert ecological analogues

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 11:48 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–One reason why I like working in the Negev is that it was already familiar when I first visited in 2003. I grew up in the Mojave Desert of southern California, which is very similar to the Negev … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologists in Paleontological Heaven

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 11:24 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–The above is an untouched view of an eroding marl of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol. I simply placed a one shekel coin in the scene for scale. This is why we love this place … Continue reading →

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Another dusty day of fieldwork in the makhtesh

Mark Wilson March 13, 2012 3:21 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–It was a little warmer today in Makhtesh Gadol, but the sun was still obscured by the dust blown across the southern Mediterranean from the Sahara Desert. I may have an innate tolerance for dust from my childhood … Continue reading →

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A dusty but successful start on field work in southern Israel

Mark Wilson March 12, 2012 3:09 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Melissa Torma, our friend Yoav Avni (Geological Survey of Israel), and I just ended a productive first day in the field. The two of them are shown above in classic paleontological poses. They are collecting fossils from Subunit … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologists in southern Israel for Spring Break fieldwork

Mark Wilson March 11, 2012 3:52 pm

It’s a low-light, iPad photo, but at least it shows Wooster geology junior Melissa Torma enjoying a fine meal in the Hotel Ramon of Mitzpe Ramon, deep in the Negev of Israel. We arrived here this afternoon after a 22-hour … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An ichthyosaur vertebra (Middle-Late Jurassic of Wyoming)

Mark Wilson March 11, 2012 1:50 am

It’s only half a bone, but the above is one of my favorite fossils. This is a vertebra of an ichthyosaur, identifiable by its figure-8 cross-section. It is from the Sundance Formation (Middle-Late Jurassic) of Natrona County, Wyoming … and … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: an encrusted nautiloid (Upper Ordovician of Kentucky)

Mark Wilson March 4, 2012 11:33 am

Two fossils this week in our series. The large segmented cone is a bisected nautiloid cephalopod from the Upper Ordovician of northern Kentucky. The original shell (made of the mineral aragonite) has been dissolved away, leaving the sediment that filled … Continue reading →

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