Tag Archives: volcanoes

Wooster Geologist in Hungary and Slovakia

Mark Wilson June 10, 2019 6:10 am

Štrba, Slovakia — Today our field party drove from Budapest through northern Hungary into Slovakia. The day was brilliantly sunny. Our first stop was at a holy well near Szentkút, Hungary, to examine Miocene fossils (mostly bryozoans). High up in … Continue reading →

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A Journey to the Land of Basalt

mpollock July 2, 2016 11:24 am

Hafnarfjörður, Iceland – Guest Blogger Ben Kumpf (’18)   Vesicles and phenocrysts are great characteristics to help differentiate pillow units. The large white dots are plagioclase phenocrysts and the yellow to green dots are inclusions of olivine.      

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Friends of Sakurajima Volcano

mpollock July 21, 2013 9:47 am

KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN – To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Sakurajima Taisho eruption, Kagoshima is hosting the Friends of Volcano Fair. Rhythmic thumping drew me out of the conference center to the front garden, where I was treated to a … Continue reading →

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Return to Mount Etna

Mark Wilson June 16, 2013 11:42 pm

CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–The very last field trip stop — and final event — of the International Bryozoology Association Conference was a trip to the south side of Mount Etna. We drove to a spot that had significant activity in 2000 … Continue reading →

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Sicilian fossils at last!

Mark Wilson June 4, 2013 4:14 pm

CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–After lunch our International Bryozoology Association field trip actually collected fossil bryozoans. We visited a quarry exposure of Lower Pleistocene cemented marls rich in the bryozoan Celleporaria palmata (Michelin), along with many other species. These were apparently from … Continue reading →

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Products of an angry giant

Mark Wilson June 4, 2013 3:59 pm

CATANIA, 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 … Continue reading →

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Pillow basalts for Dr. Pollock

Mark Wilson June 4, 2013 3:17 pm

CATANIA, 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 … Continue reading →

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Exploring Mount Etna

Mark Wilson June 3, 2013 3:01 pm

CATANIA, 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 … Continue reading →

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A Wooster Geologist in Sicily

Mark Wilson June 2, 2013 9:13 am

CATANIA, 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 … Continue reading →

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When Volcanoes Erupt

mpollock April 6, 2011 9:15 pm

WOOSTER, OH – Students in the Geology of Natural Hazards course spent a day studying the products of volcanic eruptions. Here are some of the outstanding samples in our volcanic collection:

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