Geobulletin alpha

Meet the Volunteers Who Have ‘Donated Their Bodies to Science’ 

by Gail Peterkin, HMNS Volunteer “Donate your body to science — volunteer at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!” Or so the tagline goes. Apparently, some volunteers have interpreted the phrase quite literally, and a number of volunteers have spent … Continue reading

"Science is more than a body of knowledge, it's a way of thinking." Carl Sagan 

Proof of evolution that you can find on your own body 

Who ate the woodpecker? 

Occasionally, our big windows get in the way of birds. The latest casualty was a hairy woodpecker, Leuconotopicus villosus. While it’s sad that our home being where it is caused the end of this bird’s life, its body was an opportunity to teach my son something about wildlife and ecology. We have a motion-sensitive wildlife camera trained on our compost pile, and so I put the woodpecker’s body there in

Actinopteria sp. pelecypods from the Bois d'Arc formation 

I found a few pelecypod mold and casts during my hunt among the rocks of the Bois d'Arc formation in Oklahoma. All are without shell material and some have little detail with which to help identify them. One group of specimens does have some detail and appears to belong to the genus Actinopteria and may be A. textilis. The fossils I found are all of single valves but show impressions of the interior or exterior of the left or right valves. The shells have an overall rectangular outline with a [...]

Scientists Map Titan’s Lakes, Revealing Clues to their Origins 

As Saturn’s largest moon, Titan earns its name. It’s also the only known body other than Earth with seas, numerous surface lakes, and even rainy weather. Now scientists have mapped out Titan’s polar lakes for the first time, revealing information about the moon’s climate and surface evolution. They found that the lakes formed differently than had been previously thought—and differently than any lakes on Earth. A collaboration of scientists led by Alexander Hayes of Cornell [...]

Was the neck of Tanystropheus too heavy for use on land? 

Two Tanystropheus longobardicus tussle in Triassic Europe. There's a distinct lack of water supporting their necks in this scene, and some might suggest this makes such behaviour impossible for these animals. But does it? Read on...One of the most famous non-dinosaurian denizens of the Mesozoic is Tanystropheus, a spectacularly long-necked reptile which lived across Europe and Asia in Middle-Late Triassic times. We've known about this 5-6 m long animal for since fragmentary fossils were pulled [...]

My cat’s neck skeleton (first five cervicals) 

When I separated my cat’s head from its body, the first five cervical vertebrae came with it. Never one to waste perfectly good cervicals, I prepped them as well as the skull. Here they are, nicely articulated. (Click through for high resolution.) Dorsal view at the top, then right lateral (actually, slightly dorsolateral) and ventral

The Occurrence of Acid Rain 

Acidity rain is really a natural process and happening around us. Water is an important element and required by life. Nearly 70% from the body’s biological creature is an element water. Therefore, no creature can and biological bio-diversity without water. Water on the top of earth by its character is split into two, namely freshwater […] The post The Occurrence of Acid Rain appeared first on Liberty, Equality, and

New prediction of a "mini ice age" during the 2030's 

A sun without any sunspots, photo taken on July 17, 2014 2014Photo from here.I am reluctant to feature research here that hasn't been through peer-review, but it's a losing battle as prestigious groups, such as the British Royal Astronomical Society, release press releases about exciting ideas. So, take the following for what it is worth, it's at least interesting to think about!Here is the reference for the press release.The sun's activity varies over a solar cycle of roughly 11 years (22 [...]

7 Easy Tips to Eliminate Toxins In The Body 

7 Easy Tips to Eliminate Toxins In The Body Various healthy lifestyle and healthy food consumption can improve the health of one’s body, but from a variety of unhealthy lifestyles and the various foods consumed may also lead to further accumulate toxins in the body. This of course can endanger the health of the entire […] The post 7 Easy Tips to Eliminate Toxins In The Body appeared first on Liberty, Equality, and

Drotops megalomanicus trilobite from Morocco 

I'm not sure why but this trilobite makes me giggle a little bit when I hold it. Droptops megalomanicus is the largest trilobite species that I own and it is really cool to look at.This specimen comes from Jebel Mrakib near Alnif in the Tafilalet region of Morocco. The sheer size is rather amazing and reminds me of the Phacops rana trilobites that come from the Silica Shale. However the P. rana from the Silica Shale would get to be around 3-4" in length for a larger specimen while the one [...]

Three Pelecypods from the Mahantango formation of Pennsylvania 

One site that I like to collect at is most easily accessible in the spring since the undergrowth has not yet leafed out. It's an old quarry, which exposes the Montebello sandstone member of the Mahantango formation, that is many decades abandoned and yet one can still find some neat fossils there with a little searching. These three pelecypod shells came from one such collecting trip in April.Cornellites flabella - Can easily be identified by the strong radial ribs and high angle of the body of [...]

Hallotheca aclis hyolith from the Moscow Formation 

Hyoliths are enigmatic creatures that existed from the Cambrian until the Permian. They have triangular shaped shells that are half moon shaped in cross section, an operculum that covered the head and two little horns, called helens, that protruded out from where the operculum and body met. I found a specimen of a Hyolith called Hallotheca aclis in Madison County, NY in the Moscow Formation (Devonian, Givetian stage). The view is of the ventral surface, or underside, of the shell and you can [...]

Triarthrus eatoni trilobites from the Utica shale 

Following up on my previous post, these are Triarthrus eatoni trilobites from the Utica shale near Little Falls, NY, (Ordovician, Darriwillian stage). These are frequently found disarticulated and thus are most likely molts rather than post mortem burials.Molt with the cranidium separated from the rest of the body. Note the free cheeks still in place beneath the "floating" cranidium.This specimen is missing the free cheeks or librigena.Both of the above specimens were purchased at my local [...]

Funny, Scary, Fascinating, and Geeky. What You Missed in Science This Week. 

I am going to start doing a weekend post here with links and images from the world of geek that caught my eye this week. First up is Will Marshall and the TED talk below. Data is the fuel that science runs on, and he has figured out a way to harvest a LOT of it.   Guess what body of water is the 4th fastest warming on Earth? This

The Blind Men and the Elephant, as Told by Geologists: The Channeled Scablands of Washington 

A dry channel in basalt on the Columbia Plateau in central Washington (photo by Mrs. Geotripper) I'm sure most are familiar with the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Several men investigate an elephant, but each touches a different part, so one describes it as being like a snake (the trunk), and others as a wall (the body), a rope (the tail), a fan (the ear), or a tree (the

Sun-gazing 

By Galileo’s careful hand, sunspot details are exquisite, Through eye of forehead, eye of mind beholds what body can not visit. If only he could see the sights now rendered from Earth’s outer space, Ultraviolet sunscapes – Oh, to see his raptured

Running Out of Ground - Trekking to the Roof of Africa on Mt. Kilimanjaro - Part 5 - Down From the Mountain - Days Eight and Nine 

And so, after 16 months of planning, preparing, and participating, the Mt. Kilimanjaro adventure was almost complete. Surprisingly, I did not feel a great sense of personal accomplishment. My competitive days are long in the past and wasn't about to be disappointed if my body could not handle the thin air or the rigors of mountaineering. I considered this trip to be a success based only on my acceptance to undertake it and spending quality time with good friends in exotic places. Acheiving the [...]

Shift-ing and seasickness and sunrise 

I took to my bed mid-afternoon yesterday in hope of shedding my jetlag and getting onto my midnight-to-noon shift in one fell swoop. It ALMOST worked - I was up in time for my midnight watch, but my body insisted I should be in bed, making me rapidly cross-eyed as I tried to compile and examine chemical data for boninites to use as a reference frame for examining what we'll drill. read