Author Archives: mwilson

About mwilson

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.

First field day: Makhtesh Gadol (A large bowl of geological delights)

mwilson May 23, 2011 2:18 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Will Cary, Yoav Avni (our friend from the Geological Survey of Israel) and I worked in the northern end of Makhtesh Gadol (“the large crater”). This geomorphic feature looks a bit like an oblong impact crater, but … Continue reading →

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Our base of geological operations: Mitzpe Ramon, Israel

mwilson May 22, 2011 1:19 pm

We have written many times about the geology of southern Israel in our blog posts over the past two years, and there is plenty more to come this week. We haven’t discussed the little town we stay in during our … Continue reading →

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The 2011 Israel Expedition Begins

mwilson May 21, 2011 2:44 pm

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY–Wooster junior Will Cary and I are departing very soon on a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, and the start of our ten-day field trip to Israel.  We will be exploring the Jurassic of southern Israel (the Matmor … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A scleractinian coral (Middle Jurassic of Israel)

mwilson May 15, 2011 1:20 am

In advance of my next field trip to Israel (watch this space!), our highlighted fossil this week is the scleractinian coral Microsolena, a genus named by the French naturalist Jean Vincent Félix Lamouroux in 1821. The specimen above was collected … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s “Fossil” of the Week: The most famous pseudofossil ever (Proterozoic of Canada)

mwilson May 8, 2011 1:51 am

This week’s specimen is a piece of obscure paleontological history, although it represents a “fossil” that was for a short time one of the most prominent in the world. In 1864, the uber-geologist Charles Lyell claimed it was “one of … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Hyoliths (Middle Ordovician of Estonia)

mwilson May 1, 2011 1:30 am

The fossils above are about as simple as fossils can be. They are internal molds (sediment-fills) of conical shells that were made of the carbonate mineral aragonite.  The aragonite shells dissolved away after death and burial, leaving the cemented sediment … Continue reading →

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A muddy but successful encounter with the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary in southern Ohio

mwilson April 30, 2011 7:37 pm

JACKSON, OHIO — Usually the Sedimentology & Stratigraphy class from Wooster meets no one at this Carboniferous outcrop on US 35 in Jackson County. This morning, though, we arrived to find geology students from Wright State University (under Professor David … Continue reading →

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If it’s spring in Ohio, it’s time for fieldwork!

mwilson April 28, 2011 2:26 pm

WOOSTER, OHIO–My geology colleagues have already been braving the weather to get their students into the field after the long winter. I like to wait until the end of April when it’s all sunshine and flowers. This week the Sedimentology … Continue reading →

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Analysis of a drill core through Mississippian rocks (Senior Independent Study Thesis by Michael Snader)

mwilson April 19, 2011 7:42 pm

Editor’s note: Senior Independent Study (I.S.) is a year-long program at The College of Wooster in which each student completes a research project and thesis with a faculty mentor.  We particularly enjoy I.S. in the Geology Department because there are … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Oyster balls! (Middle Jurassic of Utah)

mwilson April 17, 2011 1:45 am

The technical term is ostreolith, but “oyster ball” is much more descriptive. These fossils are found by the thousands in the Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic) in southwestern Utah. As far as I know, this is the only place they’ve ever … Continue reading →

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