Products of an angry giant

SicilyCyclopeanIslands060413CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–They may look like impressive sea stacks to you, but it turns out these are three huge stones thrown by the aggrieved and wounded cyclops Polyphemus at Odysseus as he escaped that infernal cave. Who knew?

This morning we traveled north of Catania to the Ciclopi Marine Protected Area near Aci Castello and Aci Trezza to look at the evidence of the ancient volcanic activity that led to Mount Etna, and to snorkel and dive on the life-encrusted rocks in the blue, blue waters.

Island060413We took a boat ride all of about 300 meters across the bay to the tiny island of Lachea, shown above. Notice that there is a crack running through the rocks seen just above the boat. This is an active fault that runs through the middle of the island. Also note that there is a mix of light and dark rocks visible.

IslandBasalticIntrusion060413Lachea is a combination of whitish marls and claystones above with black basalt injected from below. This is the very beginning of volcanic activity in this region as hot magma began to work its way into the overlying sediments of a shallow sea. When the lava erupted onto the seafloor, masses of pillow basalts formed (see previous post). The cyclopean rocks in the top image are eroded roots of the massive basalt flows. They show beautiful columnar jointing.

Etnafromisland060413From Lachea we can see the glowering outline of Mount Etna, the true giant in our story.

StationSign060413The island of Lachea and its surrounding rocks has been the site of a research station for over a century. The fauna and flora of both the island and the seafloor down to 110 meters are protected by law.

IslandLizard585This pretty green lizard is common on Lachea and apparently endemic (found only there). It is Podarcis sicula ciclopica. Its mating season of three months is about to begin, so there was much lizardly activity.

Grotto060413One of the first places we visited on the island was this tiny historical grotto. Only five of us could crawl into this completely dark chamber at a time. Once inside you can carefully stand up and (at least some of us) touch your head on the ceiling. That turned out to be a mistake because the guiding biologists then show you the unique cave spiders hanging on their webs about your ears!

Lunch060413Finally I must show you at least one of our large Sicilians lunches, this one back in Catania after our morning marine excursion. We are eating well, if a bit later than usual — and with much more time in the process!

 

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Pillow basalts for Dr. Pollock

PillowsCastle060413CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–These are Dr. Meagen Pollock’s favorite kind of rocks: pillow basalts. Above we have a spectacular example of pillow basalts exposed in cross section below a castle ruin in Aci Castello a few kilometers north of Catania. The pillows (more are shown below) are in the middle of this natural outcrop carved by the sea.

Pillow basalts are formed when basaltic lava is erupted underwater. The surface of the flow quickly cools and begins to solidify as the interior fills with lava. The result is a flattened spheroid of basalt with chilled margins. The castle, by the way, was built in 1076 by conquering Normans.

Megapillow060413The light was not great for this shot, but you should be able to make out in the lower right a large body of basalt with columnar joints radiating from the center. This is, I was told, a “megapillow’ of basalt from a large flow.

PillowWall060413Here we have a closer view of the pillows in the wall shown above. On several of these pillows you can just make out a fine-grained chilled margin.

PillowBed060413This is a view of the wave-eroded platform below the castle showing the pillows form the top. I left the roasting Europeans in the frame for scale. Note that while these pillows appear with almost circular outlines in cross-section, they are actually serpentine in shape.

These pillow lavas were formed with the beginning of volcanic activity roughly 600,000 years ago that led to the present Mount Etna complex. They show the submarine phase of eruption before the eruptive center was uplifted above sea level. They are the most spectacular pillows I’ve ever seen.

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Exploring Mount Etna

MountEtna060313_585CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–The International Bryozoology Association conference field trip began with a day on the magnificent compound basaltic stratovolcano that virtually defines the eastern half of Sicily: Mount Etna. We did not get to climb all the way to the top — that would have been a bit of an expedition — but we hiked around its diverse southern flank. The view above is looking toward the summit in the back left, a parasitic cone from an 18th Century eruption in the middleground, and in the bottom right is a trekkers cabin built (of course) almost entirely of vesicular basalt.

SmokingEtna060313Here is a closer view of the summit. The white smoke on the right is from active fumaroles near the top. Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Last month, in fact, it was erupting so much that a visit like ours today would not have been allowed. I ticked off a geological bucket list item: standing on an active volcano’s slopes. It is not close to the activity Dr. Pollock and her students have witnessed in Iceland over the years, but exciting for this paleontologist!

Sicily lies at the boundary between the African and European tectonic plates, producing an extremely complex geological situation that is still debated. We know, at least, that Mount Etna’s ancestors began erupting underwater about 600,000 years ago, and the axis of eruptive activity has slowly moved to the northwest. We are essentially looking at a series of successive volcanoes intersecting and overlapping previous versions.

Parco dell' Etna 060313This is the entrance we used into the national Parco dell’etna on the south side of the volcano. Note the perfect weather and the delightful contrast between the jet-black rock and greenery. There was less and less vegetation as we moved upslope.

ParasiticConeOutside060313This is the outside of a parasitic cone on the flank of the volcano. Through it emerged a lateral flow of lava.

ParasiticConeInside060313This is the inside of the same cone as above. The rest of it collapsed after the lava completely exited.

LavaTube060313The entrance to a lava tube. The lava flowed through its own hardened crust, leaving behind this rocky tunnel that looks very much like the ancient lava tube we visit on our Mojave Desert field trip. This particular one dates back to the 18th Century. Technically we’re looking through a window to the floor of the lava tube itself.

TreeLavaFossils060313Who says you can’t see fossils on an active volcano? These are basalt external molds of tree trunks formed when a flow of lava engulfed a forest. These are in the Parco dell’etna headquarters.

ParkOfficers060313When we visited the Parco dell’etna headquarters, we heard a brief presentation in the chapel of the abandoned monastery they occupy. The president of the park then addressed us. Can you tell which of the five people above is the president? (Hint: She’s wearing a scarf.) They are excited to announce that Mount Etna is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

mineralpickingEtna060313Our last geological activity on Mount Etna for this week was a visit to the top rim of an eroded parasitic cone to find tiny little euhedral crystals of the mineral pyroxene (or, rather, a mineral from the pyroxene group). Here you see paleontologists in a very familiar pose but doing something distinctly unpaleontological.

NicosiaWines060313We ended the day at the very modern Nicosia winery where they grow the grapes in the rich volcanic soil on the slopes of Mount Etna. It was very interesting to see the industrial production of various types of wines, but I’m afraid the wine tasting was wasted on me.

We will visit Mount Etna once again when the full conference starts next week. I’ll have more images from a different part of the volcano. Tomorrow’s field trip is going to be along the seashore, so there will be some very different images.

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A Wooster Geologist in Sicily

MountEtna060213CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–This summer Wooster’s Team Italy consists of only me. Maybe in the future I’ll take students here for Independent Study projects depending on what I find. I’ve just arrived in the city of Catania on the eastern coast of Sicily. Above is a view of the gorgeous Mount Etna from the plane as we landed. This volcano dominates the city, both structurally and historically. More on that later. Twenty-three hours of travel through four airports has tuckered me out. Luckily we have an early dinner at 8:00 p.m.

I’m here for the 17th meeting of the International Bryozoology Association. It starts with a glorious field trip around the island. I plan to report daily as long as there is a wirleless connection.

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A shrimp from the Upper Jurassic of Bavaria, Germany

Aeger_tipularis_SolnhofenThe beautiful fossil shrimp above is Aeger tipularis (Schlotheim, 1822), and it comes from one of the most famous rock units: the Solnhofen Plattenkalk (Tithonian, Upper Jurassic) of Germany. (The Solnhofen is well known for its extraordinary fossils, including the fossil bird Archaeopteryx.) This shrimp is yet another generous gift to the Department of Geology from George Chambers (’79).

The shrimp in the Solnhofen are very well preserved. Note the long, long antennae and the tiny spines on the carapace. (I suspect, though, that parts of this specimen have been enhanced with ink by a commercial collector, especially the legs.)

SchlotheimFigure051813

Aeger tipularis was described in 1822 by Ernst Friedrich, Baron von Schlotheim (1764-1832), a prolific German paleontologist we profiled earlier. The drawing above is the original reconstruction by Schlotheim (1822, pl. 2, fig. 1; Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone, Solnhofen area; Lower Tithonian, Hybonotum Zone; width of figure 23.7 cm.)

References:

Garassino, A. and Teruzzi, G. 1990. The genus Aeger MÜNSTER, 1839 in the Sinemurian of Osteno in Lombardy (Crustacea, Decapoda). Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano 131: 105-136.

Schlotheim, E.F. von. 1822. Nachträge zur Petrefactenkunde (Addenda al Petrefactenkunde). Gotha, Beckersche Buchhandlung.

Schweigert, G. 2001. The late Jurassic decapod species Aeger tipularius (Schlotheim, 1822) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Aegeridae). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Series B, 309: 1-10.

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A Journey Inside the Volcano

ICELAND – You may remember that Team Iceland is trying to determine the origin of interesting columnar-jointed features exposed in the interior of a subglacial pillow ridge. We have several hypotheses, one of which is that they could be related to the internal magma plumbing system. There’s no better way to know what’s inside of a volcano than by actually going there. Fortunately, we’re able to explore the interior of nearby Thrihnukagigur Volcano through the Inside the Volcano Tour. If you have the chance, you should check out their amazing image and video galleries.

Thrihnukagigur has three volcanic peaks, one of which is a cinder cone with a crater that opens up into a 400 ft deep volcanic chamber. Our goal was to explore the chamber for units and structures that might be analogous to the features we observed in the quarries. The tour began with a 2 mile hike to the volcano over lava flows that were 4,000 and 10,000 years old.

View of Thrihnukagigur Cone and the Inside the Volcano hut (at the base to the right) from the surrounding lava fields. Photo Credit: Ellie Was

View of Thrihnukagigur Cone from the surrounding lava fields. The Inside the Volcano tour has a warm hut at the base of the cone. (The white structure is difficult to see against the field of snow). Photo Credit: Ellie Was

At the hut, we were fitted with safety equipment for our descent into volcano.

At the hut, we were fitted with safety equipment for our descent into the volcano. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

We crossed this bridge to get into the open-air basket that took us into the volcanic chamber. Photo Credit: Ellie Was

We crossed this bridge to get into the open-air basket that took us into the volcanic chamber. Photo Credit: Ellie Was

The view down the open volcanic neck from the basket. Photo Credit: Ellie Was

The view down the open volcanic neck from the basket. Photo Credit: Ellie Was

View from below of the lift descending into the chamber.

View from below of the lift descending into the chamber.

Michael Williams ('16, Wooster), Adam Silverstein ('16, Wooster), and Liz Plascencia ('16, Dickinson) in the volcano. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Michael Williams (’16, Wooster), Adam Silverstein (’16, Wooster), and Liz Plascencia (’16, Dickinson) in the volcano. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

We saw some features that are analogous to our quarry observations. Here, on the left, we see a contact between the underlying Moberg Formation and the overlying lavas that make up much of the volcanic center. The dark black vertical rocks near the center of the photo are dikes that cut across the lava flows and have heated and altered the surrounding rocks, turning them red.

We saw some features that are analogous to our quarry observations. Here, on the left, we see a contact between the dark underlying Moberg Formation and the colorful overlying lavas that make up much of the volcanic center. The black vertical rocks near the center of the photo are dikes that cut across the lava flows. The dikes have heated and altered the surrounding rocks, turning them red.

This appears to be an irregularly shaped intrusion with an open cavity.

This appears to be an irregularly shaped intrusion with an open cavity that might have transported magma to different parts of the volcano during the eruption. Notice the person in the center bottom for scale.

I have failed to mention that we battled driving sleet and 45 mph winds to hike to and from the volcano. Here's part of our group linking arms to stay on their feet as they hike back from the volcano. Our guides were superb and made sure everyone was safe during each part of our trip.

Did I mention that we battled driving sleet and 45 mph winds to hike to and from the volcano? Here’s part of our group linking arms to stay on their feet as they hike back from the volcano. Our guides were superb and made sure everyone was safe during each part of our trip. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Ellie Was ('14, Dickinson), Alex Hiatt ('14, Wooster), and Aleks Perpalaj ('14, Dickinson) after their return hike. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Ellie Was (’14, Dickinson), Alex Hiatt (’14, Wooster), and Aleks Perpalaj (’14, Dickinson) after their return hike. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Team Iceland warms up with hot coffee and homemade Icelandic stew.

Team Iceland warms up with hot coffee and homemade Icelandic stew. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

The t-shirt that says it all. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

The t-shirt that says it all. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

It was an incredible Icelandic experience! Much thanks to the Inside the Volcano Team for their excellent knowledge, guidance, and hospitality!

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Exploring Reykjavik, Iceland

ICELAND – Team Iceland had a chance to explore Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik today. Here are the photo highlights of their day:

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Team Iceland poses with Leifur Eiriksson in front of Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik’s landmark church that is modeled after columnar jointed basalt. Photo Credit: Aleks Perpalaj

Interior of Hallgrinskirkja. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

Interior of Hallgrinskirkja. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

Team Iceland pauses to listen to the organ in Hallgrimskirkja. Photo Credit: Michael Williams

Team Iceland pauses to listen to the organ in Hallgrimskirkja. Photo Credit: Michael Williams

The view looking east across Kopavogur. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

The view looking east across Kopavogur. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

 

They also visited the Natural History Museum in Kopavogur. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

A visit to the Natural History Museum in Kopavogur. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

Wow! Look at the size of that tree! Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Wow! Look at the size of that tree! Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Team Iceland also documented the rock displays, of course. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

Of course, they also found natural history at the Volcano Museum. Photo Credit: Liz Plascencia

They found a nice cafe for lunch. Photo Credit: Michael Williams

Lunch in a nice cafe. Photo Credit: Michael Williams

A little shopping in the tourist district. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

A little shopping in the tourist district. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

A view of Reykjavik across City Pond. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

A view of Reykjavik across City Pond. Photo Credit: Alex Hiatt

An encounter with the local wildlife. Photo credit: Alex Hiatt

An encounter with the local wildlife. Photo credit: Alex Hiatt

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A visit to the Natural History Museum of Utah

NHMU052913SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH–On the last full day of our Utah trip, we toured the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City. It is in a spectacular place against the red rocks of the Wasatch Mountains and looking over the Salt Lake Valley. This museum has only been open since November 2011. Its exhibits are very up-to-date and modern.  (My test for recent accuracy is whether birds are acknowledged as dinosaurs and if Australopithecus sediba is in the human evolution section.) I’d like to just share some images from the museum and encourage anyone in Salt Lake City to visit it.

EoceneLake052913Dr. Judge will be impressed with the attention paid to exhibits on the Green River Formation (Eocene). This tableau is designed to show animals in the water (below) and on the beach (above). Note the stromatolites on the shoreline representing some of the features she and her students have worked on in the Green River Formation.

585_Deinosuchus_hatcheri_052913Utah is extremely rich in Mesozoic vertebrate fossils. Here is an impressive skeleton of Deinosuchus hatcheri from the Cretaceous.

CeratopsianWall052913The dinosaur exhibit is world-class. Here is a wall of ceratopsian dinosaur skulls showing evolutionary relationships.

DinoPelvis1_052913My History of Life students are well trained in sorting out major dinosaur groups by their pelvic bones. They could tell you, for example, if this is an ornithischian or a saurischian dinosaur.

DinoPelvis2_052913And this set is of the other group. Can you see the differences?

dinohead052913It appears this dinosaur had barnacles for eyes!

PaleontologistsBehindGlass052913Here is the classic paleontologists-behind-glass exhibit of a working laboratory. (I wonder why they never put working petrologists on display?)

NHMUview052913The architects knew exactly what they were doing when it came to designing the building to take full advantage of the setting. The Salt Lake Valley is fully visible from every floor.

What a great place to end our little Utah excursion this year. The real Team Utah of Wooster Geology will be back in the state next month.

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Fantastic Weather Makes Productive Field Days

ICELAND – Team Iceland made the most of the beautiful weather over the last two days. After spending all day in the field yesterday, we went back after dinner;  the lighting was just right to take GigaPan images of the field site.

Aleks ('14, Dickinson) and Ben (Dickinson) set up the GigaPan to take a panoramic image of the quarry.

Aleks (’14, Dickinson) and Ben (Dickinson) set up the GigaPan to take a panoramic image of the quarry.

This is a simple panorama made of three images stitched together. The GigaPan system allows us to merge over 100 images to produce a high-resolution image.

This is a simple panorama made of three images stitched together. The GigaPan system allows us to merge over 100 images to produce a high-resolution image.

Our plan is to couple the high-resolution GigaPan images with elevation information from the laser range finger. Here, Michael ('16, Wooster) and Ellie ('14, Dickinson) are recording the elevations of contacts along the quarry walls.

Our plan is to couple the high-resolution GigaPan images with elevation information from the laser range finder. Here, Michael (’16, Wooster) and Ellie (’14, Dickinson) are recording the elevations of contacts along the quarry walls.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are mapping and sampling the different units. Adam ('16, Wooster) and Aleks ('14, Dickinson) are ready to sample a glassy pillow lava.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are mapping and sampling the different units. Adam (’16, Wooster) and Aleks (’14, Dickinson) are ready to sample a glassy pillow lava.

Alex ('14, Wooster) describes a volcanic breccia unit.

Alex (’14, Wooster) describes a volcanic breccia unit. Photo Credit: Aleks Perpalaj

Liz ('16, Dickinson) carefully describes the mineralogy and vesicularity of a sample.

Liz (’16, Dickinson) carefully observes the mineralogy and vesicularity of a sample. Photo Credit: Aleks Perpalaj

Ben and I are having a blast working in the quarry (no pun intended).

Ben and I are having a blast working in the quarry (no pun intended). We’ve seen a number of interesting features that have our minds racing. Photo Credit: Aleks Perpalaj

We're currently puzzled over these large, light gray, columnar jointed features.

We’re currently puzzled by these large, light gray, columnar jointed features.

 

The puzzling features are associated with these steeply dipping pillow lavas, which might lead to some insights into their origin.

The puzzling features are associated with these steeply dipping pillow lavas, which might lead to some insights into the origin of the features and enhance our understanding of the formation of subglacial pillow ridges.

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Ancient islands

BonnevilleIsland1

LOGAN, UTAH–Today we explored the area around Promontory, in northern Utah. Among the many beautiful sites were these rocky, faceted hills that several thousand years ago. This particular hill was intriguing although inaccessible. (It is on a vast tract of land owned by the rocket company ATK. Trespassing is discouraged and no doubt at times very discouraging!) You can see this feature on Google Maps at 41° 37′ 21.11” N and 112° 21′ 42.28” W. Note the cone shape of the top that appears to be sitting on a flat layer beneath. That flatness is a beach terrace of ancient Lake Bonneville. It was formed 14,500 to 16000 years ago by wave action eroding away the hillsides, with the pinnacle exposed above water. (I love wave-cut terraces. Wooster Geologists have noted them before in this blog.)

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Here is a Google Earth view of the scene from the south and above. You can see the terrace cut deeply into the hill and extending to the sides. The highway below is where we stopped for the top photograph. Now note that curvy structure of rocks in the lower right of the above image. A close-up of it is shown below.

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This is a plunging fold. I can’t tell if it is a plunging anticline or syncline because I couldn’t visit it. You can make it out on the lower right of my photograph at the top of the page. These rocks are mantled with sediments from Lake Bonneville. In this case the sediments are coarse sand and gravels because of the lake energy at this shoreline. The exposed rocks are limestones, probably from the Paleozoic.

WellsvilleTerraces052713

On the other side of the valley, on the northwest end of the Wellsville Mountains, two terraces can be seen. The top one against the mountain is the 14500-16000 year-old one we saw throughout the Promontory region. The lower one is younger and made after lake levels dropped precipitously following a catastrophic flood through Red Rock Pass in southern Idaho (which I visited three years ago and recorded in this blog). Note on the lower left that it is being mined for sand and gravel. We see this throughout the area because these terrace deposits are so well sorted and useful in making concrete, building roadbeds, and the like. I learned recently that these kinds of deposits are in a category called “alloformations” because they are laid on top and against much older units.

Oh yes, and what else happened in Promontory, Utah? May 10, 1869!

Promontory052713

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