Category Archives: Uncategorized

So this is where capers come from

Mark Wilson April 11, 2014 3:44 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Early Wednesday morning Yoav had a special mission to perform before we began our fieldwork. He had been asked by a botanist to get a sample of a new species of plant endemic to Makhtesh Ramon. The botanist … Continue reading →

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Field trip to the lesser known makhteshim at Har ‘Arif

Mark Wilson April 10, 2014 12:57 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–We’ve talked a lot about makhteshim in this blog, with so much of our geological work located in Hamakhtesh Hagadol and Makhtesh Ramon. A makhtesh is essentially a breached anticline, usually with a single drainage running from it. … Continue reading →

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A mission in the Cretaceous of southern Israel

Mark Wilson April 9, 2014 1:50 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Yoav and I set out to solve a mapping dilemma concerning the boundaries of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) En Yorqe’am Formation in the Negev and, eventually, the Judean Desert to the north. It involved a bumpy ride … Continue reading →

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Cretaceous echinoderms are today’s stars

Mark Wilson April 8, 2014 11:32 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–There’s a joke in the title, in case you didn’t notice! I was on my own for my second day of fieldwork in southern Israel. I revisited yesterday’s outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) Zichor Formation, taking more … Continue reading →

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A Triassic afternoon in southern Israel

Mark Wilson April 8, 2014 10:36 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This afternoon I walked through the spectacular Middle Triassic sections in Wadi Gevanim on the southern side of the Makhtesh Ramon structure. I will be on a fantastic trip this Thursday to a little-visited Triassic section farther south, … Continue reading →

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A Wooster Geologist is finally warm enough

Mark Wilson April 7, 2014 11:58 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–When I left Wooster on Saturday morning it was 34°F and overcast. It was sunny and an astonishing 84°F when I arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon. That additional 50 degrees felt very good indeed after a … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A brontothere jaw fragment (Miocene of South Dakota)

Mark Wilson April 6, 2014 1:59 am

This fossil has been sitting in a glass case outside my office door for nearly three decades. Only this year — in the desire to find more Fossils of the Week — did I bother to open the cabinet and … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Thoroughly encrusted brachiopod from the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Mark Wilson March 30, 2014 1:47 am

Last week was an intensely bored Upper Ordovician bryozoan, so it seems only fair to have a thoroughly encrusted Upper Ordovician brachiopod next. The above is, although you would hardly know it, the ventral valve exterior of a common strophomenid … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Intensely bored bryozoan from the Upper Ordovician of Kentucky

Mark Wilson March 23, 2014 1:05 am

Yes, yes, I’ve heard ALL the jokes about being bored, and even intensely bored. I learn to deal with it. This week we continue to highlight fossils collected during our productive expedition to the Upper Ordovician (Cincinnatian) of Indiana (with … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Bryozoan bored and bryozoan boring in the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Mark Wilson March 16, 2014 1:21 am

This week and next we will highlight fossils collected during our brief and successful expedition to the Upper Ordovician (Cincinnatian) of Indiana (with Coleman Fitch ’15) and Kentucky (with William Harrison ’15). We found what we needed to pursue some … Continue reading →

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