Fossil Friday- Giant Trilobites from Portugal

“It was THIS big.”

Geological Adventures Examiner: Fossil Friday- giant trilobites from Portugal

Recently we reported on Isotelus rex being the largest of the trilobites. Now it appears it may have been dethroned. Recent finds published in the journal Geology tell of more giant trilobites from Portugal. Fossils of Ogyginus forteyi and Hungioides bohemicus are found in slabs of rock from a slate quarry in groups numbering in the thousands. Most of the specimens are over 30 centimeters (1 foot).
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Beware of Trilobites Yard Sign. Don't be caught unaware or become the victim of pesky liability suits due to marauding trilos on your property!

So Whose Fault Is This?

I am not thrilled about this map. It shows that I am living way too close to the Newport-Inglewood fault. I never even heard of the Newport-Inglewood fault until last night, when it rudely made it’s presence known with a 4.7 shake-up call. I was blithely twittering away when the earthquake hit . “Earthquake!!!” I twittered with an inexplicable urgency of having to be the first person on Twitter to tweet the quake, “RIGHT NOW,” as my chair wiggled left and right.

The Los Angeles Time reports that  “Seismologists suspect that the magnitude-4.7 earthquake erupted along the Newport-Inglewood fault, which experts have long feared would produce a devastating temblor. More recent research has shown that, instead, it is of less concern …” ok up to there it sounds ok but then : “and only capable of up to about [magnitude] 7.4.”

Excuse me, “only” 7.4?! Only?! Only as compared to what, an asteroid hitting the earth? Maybe someone can explain to me how 7.4 is of less concern, because that sounds pretty devastating to me.

The earthquake began at 8:39 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, and lasted about 15 seconds.

USGS Stimulus Funding Bears Scrutiny

If you had any doubt about USGS increased funding via the President’s stimulus package, I submit to you this video which I received by email. *wink*

Seriously, though, the original videos on the USGS site does not include music (sorry, I cannot credit whoever added that) and was filmed using a remote camera.  However, the doctored version, besides being fun, does get attention to an important wildlife message.

Many scientists believe that bears rub trees to leave and gather certain kinds of information about other bears (think of it as a kind of ursine chatroom), and in fact use the same rub trees for generations.

A Gift for a True Earth Mother

I’m really not sure if this is more for a geologist or an ecologistbut I reckon one is not necesssarily exclusive of the other. And so… the “Love Earth pendant by Swarovski:

Shale Ale Toasts 100 Years Since Fossil Discovery

Are you a dino wino? Could you go for some gneiss on ice or get pissed on schist?  If so, you might enjoy Shale Ale.

The just-launched brew celebrates the 100th anniversary of the shale discovery on Mount Burgess, in Yoho Park, British Columbia, site of the world’s most important fossil animals.

The limited edition beer celebrates the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation (the BSGF) and is being manufactured by Big Rock Brewery, Canada’s leading craft brewer.

Made exclusively for BSGF’s special events, the Shale Ale label depicts the Dr. Charles Doolittle Walcott, who discovered the site, surrounded by the 505-million-year-old Burgess Shale fossils, famous for their amazing diversity, bizarre life forms, and out-of-this-world appendages.

Shale Ale will be launched at the GeoConvention Gala of the annual technical convention of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Canadian Well Logging Society, to the estimated 4,000 geologically savvy attendees.

Some more on the fossils at Burgess (via the BSGF website):

Discovered in 1909 in Yoho National Park by Charles D. Walcott, the Burgess Shale not only challenges the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin, but provides a glimpse of what life was like on Earth – 505 million years ago!

Just imagine…

• The 5-eyed Opabinia, with an elephant-like trunk with fierce claw at its end… or
• The strange Dinomischus, looking more like a flower than an animal… or
• Anomalocaris, the largest of these ancient animals, and terror of the Cambrian seas… or
• A beautiful Marrella, the “lace crab”, and most common fossil in the Walcott quarry… or
• The modest Pikaia, looking like a worm, but in fact a primitive chordate, and our oldest known ancestor!

Um, five eyes and an elephant-like trunk with fierce claw at its end?  I’ll have that drink now!

Cheers to the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation!

(Via Marketwire — Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation)

New Tool Aids Geologists’ Research Capabilities

BySam Alcorn, Bucknell Univeristy

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Quiz: What’s 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 feet high?

Answer: Bucknell University’s newest research tool, a re-circulating, tilting sediment flume.

It’s so big it takes up an entire room in the O’Leary Psychology and Geology Center, a room appropriately called the Flume Room.

In fact, when the center was under construction for opening in 2002, the building’s power, ventilation and floor drainage systems were designed to accommodate the flume, which arrived in two trailer-truck deliveries this past month and is currently being assembled much like a giant Lego set by a three-man crew from Engineering Laboratory Design Inc. in Lake City, Minn.

Custom-designed for Bucknell, the sediment transport flume will help Department of Geology faculty and students “better understand sedimentary and geo-morphological processes and allow the modeling and study of large natural river systems,” said Craig Kochel, a professor of geology and co-director of the Bucknell University Environmental Center.

“Many flumes are narrow, designed primarily for the study of flow hydraulics. Our wide flume allows for the study of the geomorphic form of river channels – giving it the space for channels to form and evolve,” Kochel said.

To read the entire article please visit the source at Bucknell University.

Geo-Gift to Fathom

A little more geography than geology but still cool. This tie is printed with distressed remnants of 1900’s sea-depth estimates taken in Scandinavian and Arctic waters. These levels are rapidly changing now due to climactic shift. Available from cyberoptix in navy, white and khaki.

Might go well with:

UnEarthedTees’ Newest Design

Quirky 1950s style assuring us “That’s Some Good Schist” is the latest fun geology t-shirt design at UnEarthedTees.

Louisiana Could Benefit from “Wasteful” USGS Monitoring

Gotta love irony.

According to the Bayou Buzz:

United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., today announced that Louisiana will receive an investment of approximately $500,000 Recovery Act dollars from the Department of Interior to fund U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) projects. The Interior Department will spend $140 million nationwide on this first group of USGS projects to monitor volcanoes and earthquakes, upgrade flood monitoring technology and perform critical maintenance projects. Louisiana’s investment will be used for upgrades to streamgages used in flood monitoring, water program maintenance and facility maintenance.

Does this sound familiar? It should, because it’s the same part of the Stimulus Package that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal derided as being wasteful. Since Jindal’s very televised commentary, Mt Redoubt in Alaska has been erupting and a major earthquake in Italy has taken a disastrous toll on human life and property. The point of USGS monitoring is to reduce the impact of natural disasters. That includes flooding in Louisiana,

At of this posting, the BayouBuzz reports that, “the Governor has not stated whether he would not accept the monitoring system.”

Part of the system that would benefit Louisiana includes upgrades to solar-powered streamgages for real-time flood monitoring that are critical in advanced warning and search-and-rescue operations. Existing streamgages were invaluable during the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to locate survivors in the worst flooded areas.

Sources:
BayouBuzz
Huffington Post

Related t-shirt of the day:

CSI (Continental Shelf Investigation) t-shirt

Do You Know Your Rocks?

Today I’m just sharing this fun quiz for kids, which tests mineral and rock knowledge. I missed a few *blush.* How well did you do?

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-games/rocks-game.php?