NOLÖGIC

RE: Back to the field...

2011-05-29T12:46:00.012+02:00

Almost a year blogging hiatus. I just don't find the time to write sophisticated blog posts on things that are interesting enough. The last year has been pretty busy and there are several manuscripts under review, in preparation or whatever. As soon as some stuff is finally published, I will share some potentially intersting results here. For the time being, take a look at some photographs that I took on the field season last year. In August 2010, I spent four weeks in the western U.S. to get more data on Early Triassic ecosystems from western Pangaea. It's, of course, not purely geologic. Fieldwork is always an experience. Enjoy the shots!

The camp in the Confusion Range. The bright spots are ant nests.

Sunset at the Utah/Nevada-border.

A Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus insularis)
seen near Notch Peak, House Range.

Notch Peak, Sawtooth Mountain, House Range, Utah.

A pissed-off Western Black Widow
(Latrodectus hesperus) in my bowl.

The Meekoceras-Inn fighting with the wind.

A rotten Pick-Up-Truck in middle of Tule Valley.
Cambrian rocks of the House Range in the background

Death Canyon, House Range Utah.

Fossil hunting in the Wheeler Shale, House Range, Utah.

A nice evening in the House Range.

Ruins near Santa Clara, Utah.

Shales of the Virgin Formation (some people consider it as a Member).

In the desert west of St. George having a view on
outcrops of the Moenkopi and the Chinle Group.

Me, finding some cool traces.

A dead Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos).

These are the guys I am looking for. I prepare the plates
for later publications directly in the field, haha.

Double rainbow.

Bivalve resting traces Lockeia, Dinwoody Formation, Montana.

Although fully overgrown, these are textbook-like triangular fault
facets and an alluvial fan in between. This seems to be a very
prominent example. It pops out of the internet here and there.
Tendoy Range, near Lima, Montana.

Eumorphotis (left) and Claraia (right), Dinwoody Formation.
Probably the most common bivalves of the Early Triassic.

Hidden Pasture. What a place! Tendoy Range, Montana.

The Dinwoody Formation at Hidden Pasture.

Somewhere in the southern Tendoy Range, Montana.

My car.

Cattle eating gras near Lima, Montana.

Reminded me on " Little House on the Prairie", Ovid, Idaho.

Back to the field...

2010-07-25T22:39:00.003+02:00

Hey, I almost abandoned nologic in most recent times. There are several reasons for this: First of all, in my spare time I mostly change diapers and try to keep my little heir cheerful. This is much fun and I really enjoy being a part of my own family. Next thing is that I devote any bit of time in my office to proceed with my PhD research project. There were some "distractions" recently, so I lost some time doing this and that. I participated in the IPC3 Meeting were I had permission to give a talk. This was really cool and now I know that I am not completely off the map with my research.

I will return to the field tomorrow. There is much to discover in the Western United States (mainly Utah, Idaho) in the Early Triassic. Concerning the weather, it's probably the worst time in the year to perform fieldwork but there is no other opportunity for me (baby). Anyway, I hope for good finds and new insights.

Beside other places I may go to this place:

This photo is supposed to show Hidden Pasture Canyon in southern Montana. The brown rocks on the left could be Lower Triassic. We'll see.

r

Accretionary Wedge #25: Geo-Image

2010-05-16T08:57:00.008+02:00

The current edition of the "Accretionary Wedge" is hosted by Highly Allochthonous. The motif this month is to gather geology-related images. Outcrops, sections, satellite images, minerals, fossils, seismic images, diagramms etc.

Here is mine: The Permian-Triassic transition epxosed at the Northface of the "Aferer Geisler" (Dolomites, Northern Italy).

The Bellerophon Formation (the brown/yellow succession in the lower part) represents late Permian (Changhsingian) shallow marine to marginal marine environments that yield insight into the pre-extinction world. The end-Permian mass extinction is suggested to have wiped out about 95% of all marine species, and thus is considered as the most severe biotic crisis that metazoan life encountered on our planet. The Werfen Formation (the grey to reddish slope in the middle part of the picture) extends from the latest Permian (latest Changhsingian) to the lower Triassic (Induan/Olenkian) and is one of the best studied succession of the end-Permian mass extinction and its aftermath. In this picture, the extinction level is exposed approximately where the trees end. The steep cliffs forming the top of this range are composed of reef carbonates for which the Dolomites are so noted.

The Dolomite region has been selected as a Unesco World Heritage site. Besides the breath-taking beauty of this landscape, the significance of this region for earth sciences has also been taken into account.

50 Best blogs for Zoology students

2010-05-15T22:11:00.003+02:00

Quite a while ago, it has been brought to me that my blog made it on a list featuring the best blogs for students of zoology. Please follow the link below. I am sure you'll find other blogs that are worth exploring....

50 Best blogs for Zoology students

I am not a very busy blogger, anyway, but I have to announce that my activities here are quite limited at the moment. There is a reason for that: It's male, 8 days old and is keeping me very busy besides doing my PhD. Haha. Nevertheless, there are a couple of posts in preparation that I will spill out as soon as I find some time to shape them a little bit.

best, r

Just in case you didn't know: Free digital Geological Maps (USGS)

2010-04-06T15:12:00.008+02:00

May be this is just old news for you but possibly it is useful for someone out there. After browsing for basic geological maps of the United States, I discovered a page that solved all of my problems. Here at a page provided by the USGS, you can download geological maps of all states as shapefiles or kml-layer for Google Earth. It is very easy way to find localities for the next fieldtrip for instance.

The north-western area of the Utah Geology layer displayed in Google Earth

Chirotherium World Tour

2010-03-29T10:42:00.009+02:00

A team of scientists from the TU Freiberg recently unearthed well-preserved tetrapod footprints from the Triassic of the High Atlas (Morocco). Surprisingly, this ichnofauna is dominated by the ichnogenus Chirotherium, wich is suggested to present an exclusive element of North-Pangean or Laurasian localities that are nowadays associated to Europe, China and North America. Although the scientists are aware that similar trackways were reported from western Gondwana (Argentina; Peabody, 1955), it was stated by several local newspapers that the imprints represent the first occurrences of such traces from Gondwana.

Fig. 1: Pes (the big one) and manus imprint of the ichnogenus
Chirotherium from the Triassic of Morocco (courtesy of Jan Fischer).

Extensive field work yielded several well-preserved imprints and trackways that can be assigned to the ichnospecies Chirotherium barthii (fig. 1), which is described from (watch out, confusing terms) upper Lower Triassic (Olenekian) to lower Middle Triassic (Anisian) rocks like the Moenkopi Formation of the western U.S. or the Buntsandstein of Central Europe (Klein & Haubold, 2007; and references therein).

As noted above, at least the ichnogenus seems to occur in Argentina as well but the new data from Morocco now strongly support the hypothesis of Peabody (1955) that Chirotherium is a track with a global distribution and its archosaurian producer inhabited the northern and southern hemisphere (see a reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment in fig. 2).

All specimens are currently under investigation by Hendrik Klein, Sebastian Voigt and Jörg Schneider of the TU Freiberg and I expect some interesting papers to be published in near future. For instance, the age of these findings will play an important role in unravelling the evolutionary history of archosaurs.

Fig. 2: A reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment based on the
geological context and sedimentary analysis of the track bearing interval.
Drawn by F. Spindler (taken from Sächsische Zeitung, march 20/21, 2010).

References

Peabody, F.E., 1955: Occurrence of Chirotherium in South America: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 66, p. 239-240.

Klein, H., Haubold, H., 2007: Archosaur footprints - potential for biochronolgy of Triassic contintal sequences. In Lucas, S.G., Spielmann, J.A., (eds): The Global Triassic. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 41.

Nothing new under the sun...III

2010-02-26T15:08:00.006+01:00

Hello,

again I am busy and there is simply no time to fudge more or less significant contributions for nologic. I have several papers in preparation and one is ready for submission. I registered for IPC3, which will be held in London this year. The abstract is already submitted and I hope I can give a talk there.

I added a link somwhere above where you can find short summaries and related publications of projects where I am (or have been) involved. I will keep this updated whenever something changes. If you are interested in some of my insignificant contributions such as abstracts and articles (definitely to come) drop me a line and I will see how I can help you.

Traces First #3: The tetrapod terrestrialisation

2010-01-08T10:52:00.014+01:00

This post actually just represents one of those reviews that swamp the internet right now. However, it just fits so perfectly my Traces First-label that I simply can't refuse to put this one on nologic.

Recently, Niedźwiedzki and co-workers (2010) discovered vertebrate trackways in the early Middle Devonian of Poland. These traces, which represent imprints of walking tetrapods, demonstrate that backboned animals walked the earth approximately 20 Million Years earlier than has been previoulsy inferred from body fossils like Tiktaalik and Panderichthys for instance. Tiktaalik from the late Devonian of the Canadian arctic is suggested to represent a sarcopterygian fish, which is closely related to early land-based tetrapods like no other (primary) aquatic animal of the fossil record (Daeschler et al. 2006)

The recent finding from Poland is remarkable for two reasons:

(1) The morphology of the imprints suggests that they were produced by real limbs. If a creature would use stump-like fins as seen in Tiktaalik for extra-aquatic locomotion, the trace fossil would appear more like drag way, not a track way (haha). The traces from Poland show discrete imprints with no drag marks or something. The implication of this feature is that free moving limbs must have evolved much earlier.

(2) The traces were found in a completely unexpected environment. The terrestrialisation of vertrebrates has always been suggested to have happend somewhere in swamp-like landscapes or along river channels. The sedimentary rocks of the trace fossil bearing level are interpreted as strata deposited on a tidal flat. This offers two possibilties: Either first vertrebrates emerged from the marine (which to my knowledge has not been considered so far) or they came from somewhere else. Togehter with point (1), the latter opportunity pushes the terrestrialisation even further back in time.

With the contribution of Niedźwiedzki et al. (2010), another macro-evolutionary step is well predated by means of traces fossils.

As neat video from nature is available on youtube:

References:

Niedźwiedzki, G., Szrek, P., Narkiewicz, K., Narkiewicz, M., Ahlberg, P.E., 2010: Tetrapod trackways from the early Middle Devonian period of Poland , nature, v. 463, p. 43-48 , doi:10.1038/nature08623.

Daeschler, E.B., Shubin, N.H., Jenkins, F.A.Jr, 2006: A Devonian tetrapod-like fish and the evolution of the tetrapod body plan, Nature, v. 440, p. 757-763, doi: 10.1038/nature04639.

Off-topic: My top records 2009

2009-12-21T10:44:00.000+01:00

Like last year, I would like to ponder on the most exciting records that this year brought to me...

Coalesce - Ox (relapse records)

I always thought they split up some years ago, so I was a little bit surprised as the band announced a new record and a tour this year. I didn’t expected too much because most of such reunion-records are rather lame and bands usually never find their ingenuity of the “early days”. In this case, however, it is not a typical reunion because they just split and re-formed many times. Long story short: Ox (both, Lp and ep) completely blew me away. It’s like taking the best part of every Coalesce release (including their Led Zeppelin cover album) and welding it to a perfect album. They even made it to include clean vocal parts within some songs, which in my view usually appears misplaced in such music. The blunt guitar riffing topped with the acridly barking vocals is typically coalesce but the clean singing and the almost "morriconesque" interludes really make it a special record. I think this is probaly the last Hardcore album that really means something to me.

Baroness – Blue Record (relapse records)

Gaudiest metal record of all time. Baroness once emerged from a rather rough small cove embedded somewhere between Hardcore/Crust Mountain and a more advanced Heavy Metal Volcano not unlike early Mastodon. At least since their last release “red album” they got a little bit more straight forward and fancy. I don’t mean this in a negative way. The “blue record” follows this path consequently. It twinkles and sparkles with every pearly guitar riff passing your auditory meatus. Not to mention the hymnal vocal parts that instantly reminded me of Hot Water Music. Sometimes, I felt a little embarrassed because some songs are so cheesy but at the same time it sounds amiable and refreshing for this kind of music where every band tries to sound as evil and brutal as possible. This is a honest release of a honest band.

Bat for lashes - Two suns (Emi)

I don’t know too much about pop so I can’t present a thorough review like for the records above. This is a very fragile and spooky pop album that was my background music as I walked through summer nights of Zürich.

Run crinoid, run!

2009-12-15T11:20:00.009+01:00

This one has been posted already here and there on the net and actually, the paper was published 2.5 years ago. However, this report really surprised me and I want to share my amazement.

Fig. 1: Gif-movie showing crawling crinoid in quick motion.
Picture from cover of Palaeontologia Electronica Vol 10/1

Baumiller and Messing (2007) report that extant isocrinids are able to move as fast as 10 - 30 mm per second using their "arms" to crawl over the seafloor (fig. 1). Although some groups of crinoids were suggested and proven to perfom some sort of locomotion, the authors provide evidence for an almost "benthic-vagile" lifestyle of a group of organisms that is largely recognized as de facto sessile.

This contribution concerns me for two reasons. First, I am highly interested if there are some trace fossils that were found to represent crinoid locomotion (see fig. 2) and second, the portion of crinoids suggested to apply this kind of locomotion is highest in the Triassic (fig. 3).

Fig. 2: Traces of Davidaster rubiginosa in a fishtank experiment, scale bar: 20 mm (Baumiller and Messing, 2007).

Fig. 3: Generic diversity of crinoids from Ordovician to modern times. Red bars represent the portion of crinoidtaxa that might have been able to perform the observed mode of locomotion (Baumiller and Messing, 2007).

Working in the lower Triassic with a keen interest in ichnology, I will keep this work in my head when returning to the field. Does anybody knows about crinoid trace fossils?

Reference

Baumiller, T.K., and Messing, C.G., 2007: Stalked Crinoid locomotion, and its ecological and evolutionary implications. Palaeontologia Electronica, v. 10/1. http://palaeo-electronica.org/paleo/2007_1/crinoid/index.html

Hammer Party

2009-11-29T16:31:00.006+01:00

Sorry, it is Sunday, I finished my tasks scheduled for today (building up an ikea-something) and my significant other is trapped in a synchrotron somewhere in France. Let me dump the internet with useless information (nothing new, actually).

Probably on every student field trip a picture like this is going to be taken. It was a third years field trip, so you still see tools from DIY markets, which are infact unsuitable for torturing rocks. They easily chip. I once shot a fellow student in the leg while I tried to decompose a cherty limestone. Blood everywhere, I tell you. She sued me and I still have to pay her smart money. So get decent gear for fieldwork. Safety first!

Some details of the story are exaggerated to justify a blog post but basically it's true.

2012

2009-11-29T11:27:00.009+01:00

Go and see this movie. Being a geologist, I really enjoyed the part with the Yellowstone eruption (fig. 1). Although 99% of the stuff happening there is far beyond being realistic, the explosion of a caldera appears to be more or less like that (according to what I learned in my volcanics-class). However, the pyroclastic cloud in the movie appears quite comfortable. A real one probably wouldn't release an aircraft that it once caught.

Fig. 1: Zzzzsch-Kraboom

Apart from the CGI earth decomposition, which is well done, I would recommend to movie directors to throw all this emotional crap away and add self-irony and dirt instead. The pretence to create a movie which tries to sell family-compatible ethics although there is terror and destruction everywhere just doesn't work. All of this pathos really destroyed the movie more than the earth has been destroyed in the movie. Haha, but that's okay, they want to earn money. I understand that.

My wish: just show the cool parts and add cool music. I found the following clip on youtube which is pretty close to what I imagine:

New old Blog

2009-11-19T11:07:00.004+01:00

It is online for quite a while so it is not really new: A blog by Kevin Bylund called Ammonoida which is focused on Cephalopds from the U.S. Kevin joined the recent field trip. He is an Ammonite-specialist and there is probaly no one who knows better about the Geology of Utah and adjoining areas.

From the east coast to the west coast...

2009-11-19T09:05:00.021+01:00

Recently, I returned from a field trip with American (Jim Jenks and Kevin Bylund) and French (Dr. Arnaud Brayard) Cephalopod researchers. I have been in the south-western U.S. for almost 4 weeks to see the Panthalassian faunas mainly of the Smithian and Spathian (Upper Early Triassic, Olenekian if you want). I've got a lot of things to do right now so I just will post some pictures from the field trip and some ichnologic goodies. Almost everything that is suggested for publication will emerge here (if any) after definite publication. It is not that I am conceited or afraid that someone snitches my ideas but most journals require that the submitted material is not published elsewhere in any form (hence, including blog-posts). In fact, currently I am working on a manuscript on some trace fossils from the Dolomites that I'd love to show you. Anyway back to the U.S. (as always: click to enlarge!):

The ?Thaynes Formation at the Dog Valley locality (Pahvant Range, central Utah).

Our camp with the Thule Valley in the background seen from the Disappointment Hills (Confusion Range, Utah) . The backmost mountains belong to the House Range and are mainly composed of Cambrian sediments.

One of the sections at the Disappointment Hills locality. The succession of interest starts at the right with a calcarenitic bed (the bright bedding plane) blanketing a ?permian paleo-relief. The Triassic here is represented by the Thaynes Formation (Smithian and Spathian) .

Well, the desert can be a lonely place...

...but furry guests show up from time to time.

Thats a locality called Smiths Phalen Ranch near Currie (Nevada). See the post on Ammonoidea.

"Superb" outrcop conditions in NE-Nevada (Winecup Ranch, or something). We weren't even sure if its Lower Triassic at all.

The morning after a 25°C drop in temperature.

The Spathian Virgin Member (stratigraphic nomenclature is debated, some researcher refer to the Vrgin Limestone Formation) near Hurricane. Basically, a shale interbedded with a series of prominent limestone ledges.

The lowermost of such "ledges", here very variable in thickness. It pinches out towards the left. I think it represents an estaury filling incisions in the underlying terrestrial red beds. The base of the Virgin member is highly variable in facies. It must have been a very dissected coastline with shoals, tidal flats, lagoons and estuaries. Honey Moon Trail east of the Hurricane cliffs.

The same little mesa showing the prominent pinch-out towards the left.

The Hurricane Cliffs east of Hurricane (Utah).

So called "wrinkle structures". Little pseudo ripples which are formed by microbial mats. It is considered as an "anachronistic" facies showing up in areas or times when grazing and bioturbation in general is dramatically reduced due to nonexistence of grazers and burrowers (Lower Cambrian) or as a result of a previous massive extinction (Lower Triassic). If you are interested read Pruss et al. 2004 for instance.

An ichnologic goodie: Cruziana in the lower Triassic. Usually, Cruziana is suggested to have been produced by Trilobites. As they went extinct in the course of the end-Permian mass extinction, similar structures can be obviously produced by someone else. A paper dealing with this topic is Zonneveld et al. 2002. The occurence reported in that reference is dated to the Middle Triassic. So my specimen (Spathian Virgin Member) should be the earliest large Cruziana after the end-Permian Mass extinction found so far. Well, the photographed specimen is not the whole story and I hope I can come back to this one when we have better data and a publication.

Me and my little clam truck.

References

Pruss S. B., Fraiser M. L., Bottjer D. J. 2004: The proliferation of Early Triassic wrinkle structures: implications for environmental stress following the end-Permian mass extinction. Geology, 32, 461–464.

Zonneveld J. P., Pemberton S. G., Saunders T. D. A., Pickerill R. K., 2002: Large, Robust Cruziana from the Middle Triassic of Northeastern British Columbia: Ethologic, Biostratigraphic, and Paleobiologic Significance. Palaios, 17, 435-448.

Back to the field, yeehaa

2009-09-16T21:06:00.006+02:00

Recently, I have been busy to finish a poster for the meeting of the german palaeontological association (see the german website here). Furthermore, I just finished a manuscript, which is suggested to be submitted as soon as I am back from the field.

I am going to the see Lower Triassic of panthalassian shallow marine environments involving the Thaynes Formation and the Dinwoody Formation in the "Confusion Range" of western Utah. There are localities like "disappointment hills" and "cowboy pass". Sounds pretty "amazing", does'nt it, haha! I will join a team of French and American researchers. For the last 10 days, I will be on my own down in southwest Utah to see the Virgin Limestone (sounds better). I Hope to be back on 13th of october.

I will listen to this one constantly, all the time, no kidding!

South Tyrol/ Italy II (July/ August, 2009)

2009-08-10T13:11:00.010+02:00

I am just back from a short 9 day field session again in the Dolomites. We completed the documentation of the Werfen Formation at the San Pellegrino and started to log and sample an additional section at the Rosengarten/ Catinaccio with some surprising results. I will get back to it later when I have a sound database. Just for the record: trace fossils are awesome. Haha.

The Rosengarten/Catinaccio section exposing the lower Werfen Formation (click to enlarge). Not to scale due to perspective distortion in the upper part. Whole outcrop represents approximately 90 metres of exposed strata. Oh, I forgot to indicate that the extinction level roughly represents the Permian-Triassic boundary.

Trace fossil of the second III: Asteriacites lumbricalis

2009-07-28T12:56:00.013+02:00

The Tfots today is Asteriacites lumbricalis von Schlotheim, 1820, a resting trace produced by the (in)activity of ophiuroid echinoderms or brittle stars (Twitchett & Wignall 1996). I took these photographs from material found on the slopes of Costabella mountain in the Dolomites. These slabs are float from an outcrop exposing the Campil Member of the middle Werfen Formation (Lower Triassic, Early Olenekian). These trace are quite widespread in this member and known for more than a hundred years although they were erroneously recognised as body fossils in the first place (e.g. Wittenburg 1908). They come from more or less storm-dominated shoreface deposits composed of micaceous fine-grained sandstones and siltstones.

Thanks to a comment by David, I hoped to see some decent specimens during the recent field session and finally I was really lucky finding these well-preserved traces at the last day of the campaign. I never saw better ones at least in the literature so far.

Fig. 1: Asteriacites lumbricalis preserved as convex hyporelief (positive structure on a lower bedding plane). Black bar represents 5 mm.

Fig. 2: Asteriacites lumbricalis preserved as concave epirelief (negative structure on an upper bedding plane). Black bar represents 5 mm. Note the ripple-marks.

References:

Schlothheim, E.F. von, 1820: Petrefactenkunde auf ihrem jetzigen Standpunktedes Thier- und Pflanzenreichs der Vorwelt. Gotha, Becker, 437 p. durch die Beschreibung seiner Sammlung versteinerter und fossiler überreste.

Twitchett, R.J., Wignall, P.B., 1996: Trace fossils and the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction: evidence from northern Italy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 124, 137–152.

Wittenburg, P. von, 1908: Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Werfener Schichten Südtirols. Geologische und Palaeontologische Abhandlungen 8, 251–289.

Christian nonsens

2009-07-15T15:34:00.008+02:00

Please excuse me for lowering the level of this blog (it's almost on sea bottom anyway) but the following story teased me.

Recently, I attended a christian presentation showing a little movie "Die Millionen fehlen" (the millions are missing). For those who speak/understand German may follow the YouTube-links below.

Such creationists/young earth-"scientist" documentaries are widespread and I usually ignore them or watch them just for amusement. The whole presentation was more a sermon than a movie with subsequent discussion. I was really disappointed in almost every aspect.

In the first place the announced coffee buffet was not as rewarding as expected, which essentially is a mistake on my part. The movie and the arguments to support a young earth were pretty bad and it was one of the worst creationist movie I had ever seen. After the presentation there was a preacher talking about the usual Christian stuff and I do not dislike it a priori. But one thing really annoyed me: He said that even every child is a sinner and will only find redemption in the acceptance of Jesus. Holy Crap! Although I know about protestant Religion (I am baptised and confirmed but I don't give a crap) I never expected such a harsh statement. It really came obvious to me (for the first time) how sick this stuff is. I already read Dawkins "the God Delusion" but I felt quite distraught to experience from first hand how serious people are about that.

After the show, I strolled around, enjoyed the coffee and one guy (same age as me) approached me and asked me who I am and what I felt during the ceremony. I am a very polite guy and I didn't start a religion-is-stupid-discussion. I really wanted to know what he thinks about the movie because I know plenty of religious people who are convinced that creationism is just weird drivel, so I was interested in his position. He was that kind of "every word in the bible is true"-guy accordingly the earth can't be as old as scientists say. I replied, well, you may be right but I can easily disprove the hypotheses supported in the movie with simple considerations that students learn in their first year. So my central question was why do you think those “scientists” are right although every evidence points against those hypotheses. The main pitfall and most hypocritical statement of the movie was the following: The bible doesn’t provide answers for every aspect of the world. But this doesn’t means automatically that it (the bible) is wrong. However, this is exactly the reproach of creationists to scientists. Something like: Science is not able to explain everything, accordingly science is wrong because religion does so.

Fig. 1: The proof that Jesus doesn't know anything.

My reply to such stupid "arguments" is that this is (to quote Dawkins) the beauty of science. If everything would be solved no further research is needed. So shut down all universities and go home. Furthermore the bible or God doesn't explain how evolution works. How the first cell evolved or how it "has been built" (see fig. 1). None of the big questions is answered with God. The guy said ok but my "considerations" are biased because I attended non-religious schools and I didn't experience the truth as offered by Jesus blablabla. Paradoxically, he admitted that the world is constrained by the laws of nature. But when it comes to evolution he just don't believe in what science found out. Here I wondered why, why, why, creationists always exclude evolution, palaeontology and biological research from natural science?

After 90 minutes or so we came to an end and he said that I may be right but if God doesn't exists and the bible is just a nice book like any others what justifies his moral behaviour? So he can start killing and plundering because it doesn't matters at all. How fucked-up is this opinion? I mean (its so trivial, I know!) do we need an ancient book filled to its half with blood and punishment to know how to behave in the modern world? The next point is that he believes (as the protestant followers in general do) from his heart and soul that Jesus was sent to our world to suffer for our sins in advance. If Jesus took all the burden of humanity’s sins so all what you have to do is to confess your sins to god and you will be saved? This is the point where you can just go and kill people isn’t it?. Jesus was a very nice guy and took the load already. Just confess it and everything will be fine. This really is beyond any logic.

To come to and end. I never felt more dismayed about people that should know better.

Amen.

South Tyrol/ Italy I (May, 2009)

2009-07-10T15:10:00.026+02:00

Here are some rather touristic impressions from the field campaign (click on the pcitures to enlarge). The task of the first session was to find appropriate sections...

The Peitlerkofel (Sas de Pütia) as seen from "Würzjoch". As you see there is still plenty of snow in May. We were'nt able to document a section here. The reddish/grey slope in the foreground is Grödner Sandstein Formation (Permian). Terrestrial plain and river sediments. The Permian Bellerophon Formation and the Permotriassic Werfen Formation is well-covered with snow.

The Permian Grödner Sandstein of the Bletterbachschlucht. Supervisor for scale in the lower left. This is a spectacular gorge. Unfortunately the upper part of the canyon was not accessible due to floods earlier this year. So we did'nt see the P/T boundary below the Weisshorn.

The Werfen Formation below Cimon della Pala at Passo di Rolle. In fact a nice outcrop but very risky when it comes to sampling and documenting the section.

Me on the way to Cima dell Uomo above Passo San Pellegrino. Snow everywere.

The Bellerophon Formation at the slopes of the Aferer Geisler seen from the Günther Messner Steig.

Me for scale at the Val Badia Member (Werfen Fm.), Val a Averta

Packing samples after 5 days of work at the Aferer Geisler section.

The upper 30 metres or so of the Aferer Geisler section (Seis Member). Supervisor (black something) for scale somewhere in the lower left.

The lower Werfen (from lower right to upper left): Mazzin Member, Andraz Horizon Member, Seis Member, ?Gastropod Oolith Member and Campil Member (red). The photo is taken from the slopes between Cima dell Oumo and Costabella (Passo San Pellegrino).

The upper Werfen below Costabella. It does'nt look spectacular but it is the best outcrop seen so far to see the complete upper Werfen Formation without breaking my neck. It is just too far to identify the members from this perspective.

These dudes saved my life several times i guess.

There it is: The End-Permian Extinction level at Rosengarten/Catinaccio. The lower bed is full of shelly fossils whilst the upper bed is devoid of life. Certainly, you can see such contrasts in other settings as well merely due to facies change or something but the following beds yield almost no fossils. Some authors refer to the "End Permian Death Zone".

Trees.

Cimon della Pala seen from Val Venegia.

I won't take this way.

San Pellegrino seen from Costabella.

A similar view 13 days earlier.

A typical Dolomite landscape in Val Badia near Misci and Seres. The mountain in the background should be Kreuzkofel (Sasso Croce).

Latemar seen from Rosengarten/Catinaccio.

A Bob Ross painting: Karer See with Latemar.

Cimon della Pala from Val Venegia

There and back again

2009-07-09T20:47:00.005+02:00

Since the end of May, I am back from the first fieldsession and it was pretty nice. Although we had still plenty of snow at several localities. I didn't post anyhing recently because of being busy with sample preparation, cleaning, fossil identification, drawing sections and so on. As soon as possible I will add some pictures from field work.

I just finished an abstract for a meeting in September and I planned the next field trips already. In August I will head back to Tyrol together with a Master student for one week to complete field observations. In September and October I will fly to Utah to see the Panthalassa seaworld of the lower Triassic.

I am off...

2009-05-07T16:34:00.006+02:00

...for fieldwork.

Although i did'nt post too much on nologic recently anyway, i have to anounce a little blogging-hiatus. Within the next 3 weeks I will be in the southern Alps for documenting lower Triassic sections. I hope for good material.

Cheers.

link

Trace fossil of the second II: Brutalichnus brutalis Mikuláš et. al 2006

2009-05-01T16:40:00.008+02:00

Today I picked this one because of its adorable name. Brutalichnus has been erected by Mikuláš et. al 2006 with a bunch of other neat traces like Nihilichnus and Machichnus from bone material found in Miocene Sediments near Chomutov (Czech Republic). All of these structures represent biting and gnawing traces on bones. Brutalichnus brutalis is interpreted by the authors as breakage due to bites of animals in order to feed on cancellous bones which are rich in organic material. Evidence for this hypothesis is provided by small radial patterns at the points where the bone is broken. It proves that the bones did not simply collapse as a result of compaction.

Fig. 1: Brutalichnus brutalis on a mandible (Mikuláš et al. 2007).

Fig. 2: The suggested trace maker action being responsible for the observed morphology (Mikuláš et al. 2007)

Reference
Mikuláš R., Kadlecová E., Fejfar O., Dvořák Z. (2007): Three New Ichnogenera of Biting and Gnawing Traces on Reptilian and Mammalian Bones: A Case Study from the Miocene of the Czech Republic. Ichnos, 13, p. 113–127. link

To close this post you may enjoy the audio version of Brutalichnus brutalis: Converge's Fault and Fracture.

Global Ichnology

2009-04-24T08:47:00.004+02:00

Accidentally found on youtube: "Trace fossils" in different languages spoken by leading scientists of this discipline.

Tübingen collection

2009-04-13T20:31:00.016+02:00

The first serious step of my phd research project led me to the collection of the Geological Institute of the Tübingen University. My task was to see some original material from one of the main sample and field localities. I won't go into detail about it as long as there is nothing published but I still would like to share some impressions from the other (non-field work) part of palaeontology.

Found you!

20 trays of fossils to go through...

...and how it looks at first sight

finding the essentials

Trampled under Hoof

2009-04-13T11:15:00.031+02:00

Last Weekend, I was recruited as driver for a student field trip. Location & Time: Jura(-ssic) / Western Switzerland. In fact a great place for ichnologists: the first visited outcrop is one of the best track sites currently exposed worldwide. It is located just a few km in the north of Courtedoux. There are hundreds of imprints of walking sauropods, some theropod tracks as well as thousands of invertebrate traces. This trampled ground is found within the Reuchenette Formation which roughly represents the Kimmeridgian (middle Late Jurassic) of the Jura Mountains. Let me introduce some significant features of this truly remarkable occurrence.

Fig. 1: This photo (click on picture to enlarge) covers roughly a third of the tracksite. You can see the dish-like structures forming trails which are trackable for more than 100 m. These imprints (ichnogenus Brontopodus) are referred to large sauropods like Diplodocus or Apatosaurus. With some empirical formulas it is possible to assess several parameters such as shoulder height, pace and spacing etc. Suggestions about the size of the trackmakers inferred from these trackways range up to 35 m. If correct, this is truly a pathway of titans.

Fig. 2: People for scale

Fig. 3: A more detailed view of individual imprints.

The “crater”-like appearance of the imprints (fig. 3) is due to the impact of the foot on this slippery and readily deformable substrate. These creatures weighted certainly more than 10 tons. Actually it is quite mysterious that these large creatures did not stick in the mud. My two suggestions solving this riddle.

(1) These structures represent already more or less deep undertracks of traces that were produced at some levels above. While walking over a muddy substrate, a creature usually does not only leave an imprint at the very surface, it furthermore obliterates older strata beneath. In fact, numerous trackways do occur quite frequently as undertrack preservation. The problem is that at this locality analogue structures are not observed in slightly higher levels, which however might be due to subsequent erosion.

(2) The subsurface substrate was already somewhat consolidated and, thus, provided solid ground.

There is evidence to favour this one and it comes from the underlying sediment and the invertebrate traces:

Fig. 4: Desiccation cracks and invertebrate burrows in the underlying bedding plane. The burrows are in fact present below this surface. What you see here is just the "halo".

On fig. 4, you can see the bedding plane beneath the track-site levels and it reveals something special. I never saw such beautifully preserved and exposed desiccation cracks and invertebrate burrows of the ichnogenus Thalassinoides. The cracks prove that this surface was fully emerged and got dry. Enough time for calcareous mud to transfrom into a firm substrate. In the next step, the area became flooded again and a new layer of mud was deposited in the intertidal or even supratidal zone of a shallow sea. Now, the Dinosaurs strolled along the Jurassic beach leaving nothing but their massive foot steps in slippery mudflat deposits.

Fig. 5: Thalassinoides isp. It looks as if it stopped digging at the tripple junction.

Last question: When did the burrows form? First, clearly after desiccation. Fig. 4 and 5 show that they are not affected by the cracks and second, after the Dinosaurs passing. At this site, there is no evidence for Dinos trampling crustacean burrows. Thalassinoides are trace fossils usually indicating fully marine conditions. I think they were created later when this area became a seafloor once again. These burrows were open (fig. 6) which is another hint that the desiccated level was firm. The crustaceans dug down into the firm substrate and created these burrows.

Fig. 6: Thalassinoides isp. with passive fill.

I think it is odd in a way that two different structures occuring in one bed chronologically bracket an event preserved in the bed above.

Fig. 7: A scenic interpretation by Alain Bénéteau. (click for enlarge)

To close this post you may listen to Trampled under Hoof from Mastodon.

Fully equipped for fieldwork

2009-03-27T10:19:00.010+01:00

Inspired by the latest post of my former college mate "Lost Geologist" i decided to carry on with this photo-meme. Here is my gear:

Traces First #2: On dry ground!

2009-03-06T09:38:00.011+01:00

This is one of my favourite. I think this event is special for several instances. First of all, it must have been ONE event. Although quite more important, lifes complexity itself and the rise of metazoans as well as the Cambrian radiation are transitions. These progresses have many mothers and fathers and all are the result of (r)evolutionary teamwork of biotic and abiotic factors. The early terrestrialisation, however, had a chosen one that did it first.

The earliest convincing record of animals on land is described by MacNaughton et al. (2002) from the Cambro-Ordovician Nepean Formation of southeastern Ontario, Canada. They found arthropod trackways on bedding planes of sandstones that represent aolian desert deposits. Evidence for the sub-aerial origin is given by the presence of large scale high-angle trough cross-bedding, and moreover, adhesion marks and wind ripples.

The trackways itself are composed of a series of imprints (fig.1). There are some tracks possessing a continous midline interpreted as dragmark from posterior appendages. Interesting features of these walking traces are little bumps behind individual imprints. This suggests that the arthropod pushed the sediment backwards during walking which is virtually not likely to happen at a sediment surface that is covered with water. I think there is no doubt about the sub-aerial origin of these traces.

Fig. 1: Trackways of early terrestrial Arthropods and their assumed producer. link

The next question is who did it? The authors discussed several possibilities and favoured a group called Euthycarcinoidea which are placed within the crustaceans but are considered to be closely related to the earliest myriapods (fig.2).

Fig. 2: Euthycarcinoid Arthropods. link

A little bit of discussion is necessary here though. The Euthycarcinoids are probably traceable to the upper Cambrian (Vacarri et al. 2004). Accordingly, the trace fossils described by MacNaughton et al. (2002) may be slightly younger, which implies that the designated trace makers were present before the trackway reported by MacNaughton et al. (2002) was produced. However, there is no terrestrial body fossil described as early as upper Ordovician to Silurian. Furthermore, the alleged producer was not observed in situ with their traces up to now. It cannot be told if they truly did it. Except of smoking gun reports with in situ associations, I tend to be highly incredulous concerning trace-trace maker suggestions. Furthermore, the first terrestrial traces were most likely produced by amphibious arthropods that strolled around in back-beach areas or that were otherwise able to migrate into plains by swimming upstream. They were still predominantly aquatic organisms. However, they were (at least temporarily) able to deal with harsh conditions on land like high temperatures, increased gravity, the problem of respiration and higher impact of UV-radiation and so on.

References

Vacarri, N.E., Edgecombe G.D. and Escudero C., 2004: Cambrian origins and affinities of an enigmatic fossil group of arthropods, Nature 430, 554 – 557.

MacNaughton, R.B., Cole, J.M., Dalrymple, R.W., Braddy, S.J., Briggs, D.E.G., Lukie, T.D., 2002: First steps on land: Arthropod trackways in Cambrian-Ordovician eolian sandstone, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Geology 30/5, 391 – 394.

Nothing new under the sun...II

2009-02-12T15:19:00.006+01:00

Hey folks,

recently I was busy with finishing my studies and planing our move to Switzerland. I have several projects scheduled for NoLogic. There is something in petto for "traces first", I will introduce a pretty cool "trace fossil of the second" and I will post a summary on the field work related to my diploma mapping project.

Finally, I can officially and nonofficially call myself now a Diploma Geologist or Master of Science, respectively. As mentioned already, I will go to Zürich Switzerland to continue with my PhD project. I am not responsible for my webpage of our institute but if you want to check out a darn sexy picture of a handsome devil, don't miss out this unique opportunity. I am pretty sure, the IT manager will ad some more information soon.

see you...

Ferron Sandstone revisited...

2009-01-18T22:53:00.005+01:00

...with google street view!

One of my todays main achievements is that I figured out how to get google earth working on my linux system. After several months without playing with this nice little tool, I really enjoyed to take a tour. I discovered the street view mode and played around a little bit. It is a fancy feature and it is not only suitable for spotting girls in central park. Even better, it is perfect for exploring road side geology. For instance, I found my beloved little fluvial channel of the Ferron sandstone on which I reported earlier.

Cool, isn't it?!

The Coprolite Street

2009-01-09T11:42:00.019+01:00

...is located in Ipswitch, Suffolk (UK):

This occurrence made it into the international Journal Ichnos:

Pickerill, R.K. 2006: Ichnologic picture. Ichnos, vol. 13,#2, p. 95.

"Yes this is for real and who would like to live there. Coporolite Street is located in Ipswich, Suffolk, U.K. in its dock area. Mark Jay at Ipswich Building Control informs that the name relates to the coprolite that was shipped into the area to be processed by a nearby fertilizer plant. Thanks to him, W. Remena and S.K. Donovan for providing this remarkable occurrence."

Coprolites are pieces of (extruded) fecal matter that became fossilised. Me and my student fellow Moritz investigated more than 100 specimens in order to learn something about the palaeoecology of Permian fresh water deposits of the Planitz Formation (Zwickau, Saxony).

Fig. 1: A nice co(pro)llection of specimens recovered from lake sediments in Zwickau/Saxony.

Fig. 2: A pretty decent specimen showing the heterpolar coiling typical for Heteropolacopros, for instance. So we peeled this shit off and explored the interior with binocular microscopes.

Fig. 3: A ganoid scale probably related to palaeoniscid fish.

Although being a very interesting project, this study revealed nothing in particular. First, different sizes of coprolites didn't show any significant trend or a favoured lenght/width ratio. The problem is that a single organism may produce fecal matter with various forms and, vice versa, numerous organisms may produce the same general form and size-range (Aldridge et al. 2006, Baxendale 1979). Accordingly, it is hard to tell whether these coprolites were produced by one single species or if they are the result of teamwork of a multitude of phyla.
The majority of the investigated coprolite material was anisopalar-coiled and resembled (not as delicious though) wraps or crêpes. According to Jain (1983) such a morphology is expected being produced by organisms possessing a scroll valve. None of the predators that are recorded by body fossils in these lake sediments match this criterion. Xenacanth Sharks which are accused by Kogan (2006) to have left this mess are not in charge anymore because they had a spiral valve which would rather produce a coiled fecal ribbon rather than such 'coprocrêpes'. All what we can say with confidence is that the producer was a fish feeding predator preferring actinopterygian fish like Paramblypertus, Amblypterus and Igornichtys (Kogan, 2006).

References

Aldridge, R., Gabbott, S., Siveter, L. and Theron, J.: 2006, Bromalites from the Soom Shale Lagerstätte (Upper Ordovician) of South Africa: palaeoecological and palaeobiological implications, Palaeontology 49(4), 857–871.

Baxendale, R.: 1979, Plant-bearing coprolites from North American Pennsylvanian coal balls, Palaeontology 22(3), 537–548.

Jain, S.: 1983, Spirally coiled coprolites from he Upper Triassic Maleri Formation, India, Palaeontology 26(4), 813–829.

Kogan, I.: 2006, Paläontologie, Sedimentologie und Paläoökologie des Unterrotliegend Planitz-Sees im Erzgebirge-Becken, unpublished Master thesis, TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

Countries visited!

2009-01-09T10:00:00.012+01:00

Animated by the latest post on clastic detritus I went to this site and checked all countries that I visited already. This is what i got:

visited 22 states (9.77%)

Pretty lame for a geologist but I am young and just about to start my serious live. Furthermore, I must admit that I should have to exclude most of the checked countries if the Band I played in hasn't been on tour so much.
It is somewhat embarrassing that I made it (except Jordan) to the "Western Countries" only. I definitely have to go to Asia and Southern America. Suggestions where to go next are welcome!

However, by whining about not having been out so much, something came into my mind. As much as I traveled by the age 25, I probably belong to the uppermost 2 % or even less of all people. So we are pretty privileged and complaining about it would turn us to assholes.

Ichnology and Sequence Stratigraphy. Part A: The Ferron Sandstone

2009-01-05T18:37:00.005+01:00

In May 2007, I got the chance to attend a very small meeting held in Price/Utah, USA “Ichnological Applications to Sedimentological and Sequence Stratigraphic Problems” organised by the SEPM.

In the first place, I gave my first scientific talk there and, more important, I gained precious experience in ichnology and sequence stratigraphy of siliclastic shallow marine systems. I do not really know where the word “gorgeous” is derived from but “gorge” might be a good guess and Utah is a excellent place to prove it. For me, geologically grown up in well covered, un-exposed Europe, the southwestern U.S. are somewhat my “promised land”. Nearly everything is visible and I really don't know where to go first. Awesome!

The succession visited at several localities during the congress fieldtrips included the Ferron Sandstone and the Panther Tongue Member. Both successions represent marginal to shallow marine sand wedges that prograded into Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous.

The well exposed Ferron Sandstone member gave textbook-like insights into shallow marine system dynamics and the feedback of organisms as recorded by trace fossils. However, the fieldtrip was predominantly focused on sedimentology. I learned a lot there and I really improved my skills in siliclastics just by sharing these three days in an inspiring landscape. It is not up to me telling the sedimentary evolution of the Ferron and Panther tongue sandstones but I would like to show some field pictures including some suggestions what you are expected to see there. The excursion was very well guided by Janok Bhattacharya from the University of Houston.

Ivie Creek Section

A general look on the Ferron Sandstone. This is a clinoform set comprising a whole prodelta to deltaplain succession. The slope, covered by float represents mudstones of the shelf. The lower part of the cliff face introduces the deltaic succession with heterolithic prodelta deposits. The bright sandy portion in the middle of the cliff face represents stacked delta front sandstones (Ivie Creek, N' of I-70).

Sandstone showing Hummocky Cross Stratification and low angle truncation Trace fossils are rare and include Thalassinoides, Ophiomorpha and Planolites. This low-diverse suite is typical for sediments generated by events such as storms. These sediments are interpreted as deposits of proximal, storm-domianted and wave-influenced prodelta (Ivie Creek Section ,near I-70).

Sandstone in lower bedding plane view with Thalassinoides, a dwelling/?feeding burrow produced by crustaceans. Such mass occurrences are probable related to short-term colonisation after storm events when floculated muds provide an excellent food resource (Ivie Creek Section near I-70).

This is a beautifully exposed fluvial point bar embedded in coal-deposits of the floodplain (Mr. Charles Howell for scale).

Willow Springs Wash

A more proximal facies of the Ferron is exposed at Willow Springs Wash. In the middle of this picture you can see a thick multistorey channel representing the distributary system for highly river-dominated delta lobes. Although there is some float covering the underlying deposits, you may notice that this channel incised underlying strata. I am somewhat confusing my field notes here; I am not sure if this channel is interpreted as a highly entrenched distributary or as regressional valley incision. Sorry, I will come back to this one. Suggestions welcome.

Probably my first real Dinosaur bone. This is just a fragment found at the base of the channel deposits from the picture above

A large specimen of Arenicolites within river-dominated prodelta to delta-front facies.

Last Post 2008: 100 Earth Science Blogs

2008-12-31T19:13:00.005+01:00

100 Best Blogs for Earth Science Scholars. Enjoy and best wishes for 2009!

Off topic: My top records 2008!

2008-12-30T16:42:00.010+01:00

Unfortunately, I didn't get too much Vinyl this year and most likely I ignored other fantastic records of other bands, artists etc. Any way, records released 2008 that encouraged me the most are the following (no particular order):

The Night Marchers - See you in Magic (Swami Records)
www.myspace.com/thenightmarchers

Its hard to describe this Album. Since featuring members of former bands like Rocket from the Crypt and my beloved Hot Snakes, the general sound and style is somehow a mixture of such "John Reis Bands". It's no run-off-the-mill punkrock/postpunk/garage/something - it's cheesy and dark halloween spooky rockmusic and just awesome.

Fleet Foxes - s/t LP (Sub Pop)
www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

Long story short: Imagine The Shins covering old artrock like Yes sitting in a log cabin somewehre in the rocky mountains during late summer. I guess this would be my favorite soundtrack for my retirement. Listen to "Mykonos" at their myspace and you will literally hear the sun rising.

Lemuria - Get better (Asian man records)
www.myspace.com/lemuria

I constantly listened to this one all over the year. This music is odd in a way because its edgy and catchy at the same time. Poppunk/Indierock/something but still unique and authentic. Some lyrics really seized me and cheered me up during the nights in the lab as I finished my thesis.

My PhD project!

2008-12-20T09:31:00.012+01:00

Whoo hoo!

On Tuesday, I gave a presentation and had an interview on a PhD position at the Palaeontological Institute and Museum of the Zürich University. I got the the job and I proudly announce that I will work on the recovery of benthic marine communities after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event. I will (and will have to) learn alot. The project will besupervised by Dr. Michael Hautmann and Prof. Hugo Bucher. The invitation letter outlining the project is posted on aragosaurus.blogspot.com. A research abstract is available here (pdf).

My upcoming home: The world of the Lower Triassic (from scotese.com)

Taxonomy can be tricky...

2008-12-11T22:02:00.004+01:00

...not only in palaeontology...

found on failblog

Dudes...

2008-12-03T22:42:00.010+01:00

...I should be busy right now: I have to finish my final mapping project in order to complete my studies by the end of december. Furthermore, I will have an interview for a PhD-student position but I won't tell anything until I know how everything worked out. All what I can say right now is that it is a darn interesting project...we will see!

Just to post something (semi)relevant let me introduce you to a new categorie on Nolögic:

Trace fossil of the second

Cruziana problematica Schindewolf, 1928

Coin for scale = 27 mm

I post this one because it is included in the banner of the blog-title. We found these ribbon-shaped bilobate trails on a large float block in Wadi Al Hisa/ Jordan. These traces record superficial grazing or very shallow deposit feeding bahviour performed by small arthropods (?small Trilobites). The surface is a lower bedding plane. You look at a positive hyporelief. The whole surface is covered by hundreds of specimens and even more specimens of their little brothers Rusophycus carbonarius (the little coffee beans). They are Middle Cambrian (Stage 5 or Drumian) in age and are found in a rather marginal marine environment. However, this ichnospecies is reported from marine as well as terrestrial subaquatic deposits and ranges in age from early Cambrian to Cretaceous.

Nothing new under the sun...

2008-11-25T19:27:00.002+01:00

I am busy these days. Accordingly I have no time to post some relevant stuff. As I browsed through some pictures, I realised that I tend to wear ridiculous headgear when being in the field.

And now all together: Chirotherium is not an Archosaur!

2008-11-14T20:13:00.000+01:00

Actually this one is not really important and I thought about publishing this post altogether. Although it is rather a popular problem than a scientific or academic one, it still teases me. You can find it everywhere: Newspaper, blogs and wikipedia for instance. Trackways of the ichnogenus Chirotherium are constantly mistaken for an Archosaur or related creatures.

For instance, the german Wikipedia article on Chirotherium: Fossilised footprint (ichnite) of the ichnogenus Chirotherium, an archosaur of the Lower Triassic, first found 1833 in Hildburghausen (Thuringia, Germany).

This is just wrong. An archosaur cannot be an ichnogenus.

Unfortunately, Chirotherium literally means something like "hand beast" or "hand animal". However, the term Chirotherium is scientifically used for a certain type of trackway(s), which is found in Sediments with a Triassic age, ranging from Olenikian to Anisian (KLEIN & HAUBOLD, 2007). In fact, Chirotherium is the first scientifically described trackway (KAUPP, 1835) and, by the form of the pes imprints (rear leg) resembling human hands, it animated the early palaeontologists imagination for the mysterious ancient beast that once left its trackway on the wet sand of the vast Triassic plain. In a way the "hand animal" is a chimera of those early days of palaeontological research. From a modern point of (ichno)taxonomic view, the scientific name Chirotherium, however, is attributed to the trace fossil only, although the trace maker most likely was an archosaur of some sort. Yes, you are right, this is scientific quibble but still; it is not correct.

Yours Ichnogeek!

Chirotherium (pes imprint) from the Triassic of Germany.

The "Chirotherium Monument" with a reconstructed "hand beast" (Hildburghausen, Germany)

References:

Kaup, J.J., 1835: Über Thierfährten bei Hildburghausen. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde. v. 1835, pp. 227-228.

Klein, H., Haubold, H., 2007: Archosaur footprints - potential for biochronolgy of Triassic contintal sequences. In Lucas, S.G., Spielmann, J.A., (eds): The Global Triassic. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 41.

Traces First #1: The Cambrian Explosion (CE)

2008-11-10T22:34:00.000+01:00

Intro
Phew! This is truly the flagship among evolutionary progresses and one single post surely cannot embrace a topic that provides enough material to fill up book shelfs. In the course of writing this post it became more and more apparent that it is by far too simplistic just to tell that the presence of trace fossils proves that complex bilateral animals inhabited the sea floor long before they are found in decent body fossil faunas. Although this statement would be the very essence in order to maintain the idea of "traces first", the comparison of these two archives and stating that one predates the other is like comparing the incomparable. I will, anyhow, try to emphasize the role of the ichnology in this event later but first I need to take a deep breath and one step back to provide a minimum of framework.

The first and most obvious message: The "Cambrian Explosion" is a term describing the sudden appearance of numerous "modern" phyla in the fossil record. Nothing more and nothing less. This statement is, in a way, the lowest common denominator of the CE-research, because it just outlines the plain observation. Some people confuse the sudden appearance with absolute evolutionary progress. This might be true but actually this is just one way to interpret it. Although much research has been devoted, it still remains enigmatic in several concerns. But it has been proven that the appearance of complex organisms in the fossil record is one of the last chain links in a cascade of modifications in the earth system. Steps of such an impact are not "sudden" nor do they result from a single causative event. The Cambrian radiation (I like this term better) has a (even on the geological time scale) long and complex prologue. So when did it really start?

Fig. 1: What has Christmas to do with the Cambrian Explosion?

Deck the hall with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la la, la la la la.
When does Christmas start? Some people may say at first Christmas holiday when the children get up early to receive their gifts. Other (german) people may say: No, it's on Christmas eve already. You see, it is a local phenomena. However, this is not the whole story. You have to go and get a tree, bake cookies, buy and prepare all the food, invite your relatives, tell Santa what to get for your kids, set up the decoration, make everything shiny etc. pp. In Germany, we have all this tradition like the "Weihnachtsmarkt" (Christmas market?), Nikolaus and so on. This stuff probably all belongs to Christmas as same as Santa Claus, presents and the tree at Christmas eve itself, doesn't it? Yes, for sure, but the true point of no return is when your children and all other relatives unwrapped their presents and gifts and everyone is happy with his/her new toy, jewellery, fragrance, shirts, socks, ties etc. The living room is a mess, everyone is drinking wine, the turkey is torn into pieces, your cat is going crazy and over the next days, you will have to go and visit all the other people you missed for the whole year probably. Although these are holidays, everyone is very busy. But as I noted above, there is many stuff going on in the "advent" of this event already. It requires much preparation to make all this happen and if one parameter is missing, it cannot really be Christmas then for some people.

My opinion: If we look at the beautiful fossil lagerstätten like Chengjiang and Burgess Shale, we see the holidays - the very essence of the event, when everyone is busy, has new toys to experiment with and so on. In some concerns this analogue might not be very appropriate but I think it is very instructive and fairly outlines the complexity. From all what we know (and I read), one cannot really say: "here it all started". It was a process.

Fig. 2: Treptichnus cf. pedum from the lower Middle Cambrian of Jordan. This is not a very typical specimen. We found it during the field session in Jordan. Photo courtesy of G. Mángano.

Trace fossils and their role in the "Cambrian Explosion"
So now back to the actual business. What is the role of ichnology here? As I noted above, the most simple message is that some trace fossils are so complex that their creation requires sophisticated nervous systems and locomotory mechanisms as well as some sort of motivation (= behaviour). Accordingly, trace fossils demonstrate that there were animals, which did match all this characteristics, already before some of them passed into the body fossil record. Therefore, the first really complex trace fossil Treptichnus pedum (fig. 2; for taxonomists: some people prefer Trichophycus pedum, originally described as Phycodes pedum, Seilacher 1955) was chosen to define the base of the Cambrian. T. pedum is an array of alternating banana-shaped burrows that have been created within the sediment. To describe it properly, all three spatial dimensions are needed. Thus, it is a true burrow created by a bilateral-symmetrical animal. In other words, the trace maker had a left and a right side, it had a sense for "up" and "down" and it probably possessed an aperture for all incomings and one for the rest. Older trace fossil assemblages from the Ediacaran are characterised by the presence of horizontal traces only. Typical strategies employed by Ediacaran biota are surface scratchings, horizontal (under-)mat mining, rather unspecialised superficial grazings and something like that. Around the Precambrian-Cambrian-transition, the discovery of the third dimension by benthic organisms had tremendous impact on the environment and the whole face of the earth.

Fig. 3. Cartoon illustrating the 'Agronomic Revolution'.
From Fedonkin et al. 2007. Drawing by Peter Trusler.
I think there is an error at the lower right. It should be "phanerozoic mixgrounds".

What has been very instructively termed by Seilacher (1997) as the "Agronomic Revolution" or "Trophic Escalation", illustrates the fundamental changes across the the pC-C-transition (see fig. 3). First of all, there is a new strategy as demonstrated by deep vertical burrows (Skolithos, Monocriterion, Arenicolites, Teichichnus to name a few): Infaunalisation. Animals appreciated to colonise the sediment column, which is in fact really advantageous because it provides protection from abiotic and biotic stress factors. Furthermore they were able to explore new food sources. (1) Infaunal detritus feeding: Think of the wasted resources in the Ediacaran. Plenty of organic matter that just has been buried beneath sticky algal mats. (2) Suspension feeding: No matter how strong bottom currents are, just evert your feeding apparatus and current will do the rest without disturbing you in your nice burrow. (3) Passive predation: Wait in your hole for a prey that strolls along your burrow. All in all a very progressive strategy. This biotic invention didn't change only the ecological conditions significantly. It affected whole chemical fluxes in the entire ocean. All the soluble components like phosphate, calcium, silica, magnesium re-entered the marine chemical cycle by deep and thorough bioturbation at the expense of mat-sealed sediment-water interfaces. The composition of sea water presumably changed completely. This, in turn, most likely made the subsequent biomineralisation event possible altogether. This fundamental modification was in a way the advent of the big party that is recorded by the terminal Lower Cambrian fossil lagerstätten.

Further complication? Here we go: Jensen (2003) subsumed that rise of trace fossil complexity is not just documented from the lowermost Cambrian. He stated, and convincingly demonstrated that the "Neoproterozoic trace fossils represent the initiation of a rapid but gradual build-up of infaunal activity, which increased markedly in the Cambrian". Furthermore he concludes that the presence of some distinct trace fossil (e.g. Spiroraphe) together with Ediacaran forms suggests that the evolution of bilateral animals is already under way. So when did the so called "Cambrian Explosion" start? You know what? I really do n't know.

Some key resources for this topic are: Seilacher (1956), Seilacher (1974), Crimes (1992), Droser et al. (2002) as already noted Jensen (2003), Seilacher et al. (2005). This story is by far not completely told yet and, in fact, the evaluation of trace fossils in connection with the CE is still a hot frontier in geo/biosciences.

References:

Crimes, T.P., 1992: Changes in the trace fossil biota across the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic boundary. J. geol. Soc. London., vol. 149, pp. 637–646

Droser, M.L., Jensen, S., Gehling, J.G., 2002: Trace fossils and substrates of the terminal Proterozoic–Cambrian transition: Implications for the record of early bilaterians and sediment mixing. PNAS, vol 99. no 20, pp. 12572-12576.

Fedonkin, M.A., Gehling, J.G., Grey, K., Narbonne, G.M., Vickers-Rich, P., 2007: The rise of animals. Evolution and Diversivication of the Kindgom Animalia. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Jensen, S., 2003: The Proterozoic and Earliest Cambrian Trace Fossil Record; Patterns, Problems and Perspectives. Integr. Comp. Biol., vol. 43, pp. 219–228.

Seilacher, A., 1955. 4. Spuren und Fazies im Unterkambrium. In: Schindewolf, O.H., Seilacher, A. (Eds.), Beitrage zur Kenntnis des Kambriums in der Salt Range (Pakistan), Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur zu Mainz, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Abhandlungen, vol. 10, pp. 373 – 399.

Seilacher, A., 1956. Der Beginn des Kambriums als biologische Wende. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Abhandlungen 103, pp. 155–180.

Seilacher, A., 1997: Fossil Art. Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Alberta, 64 p.

Seilacher, A., Buatois, L.A., Mángano, M.G., 2005: Trace fossils in the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: Behavioral diversification, ecological turnover and environmental shift. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 227, pp. 323–356.

I highly DO NOT recommend...

2008-11-07T22:55:00.000+01:00

...the following book:

Elewa, Ashraf M. T. (ed.), 2008: Mass extinction. Springer

I like mass extinction events. Accordingly, this book catched my eye as I browsed through the shelves of our library. Back home, I started flipping some pages and reading here and there - awfull. Except for the guest authors articles, which are well done, this "book" appears to be cheap joke.
All of the editors articles (9 of 15) are short, badly written and not sufficiantly referenced. For example, the author refers constantly to wikipedia articles or cites for every occasion standard palaeo textbooks that are suited for undergraduate education. The chapters are filled with fuzzy standard statements and do not really help the reader to get into the topic. In fact, most wikipedia articles provide a more profound picture on certain aspects. For instance the chapter about the Permo-Triassic extinction event beggars all description. It barely covers 1.5 pages and provides very blurry general information without presenting any evidence or serious references. A fourth of the article is wasted for comparision of the PT-event with Agatha Christie's "Murder on the orient express".

Just one example from page 129:"One of the mysteries of the history of the Earth is the layer of clay that was deposited around the entire globe approximately 65.5 million years ago. It is also known as the K-T extinction event [...]."

Don't get me wrong - I really don't want to tease the editor, but this is just a very bad book that costs the unhappy purchaser 135 € (170 $). I am still wondering how this book came through the review at Springer. Perhaps they hoped to make some money because most library order books unseen.

Long story short: Please do not buy this book!

Traces First #0: Preface

2008-11-03T16:41:00.000+01:00

In this little series, I would like to review selected (may be popular) peculiarities of the fossil record that prove the relevance of trace fossils within earth system science as well as evolution. I hope I will find some time to review some instructive examples from the literature; it appears to be a rule: Evolutionary advances, pioneer colonisation patterns and other "events" or trends within earth history that are known from the body fossil record are frequently predated by findings of trace fossils.

After you have digested this arrogant statement, I will explain some concepts that are essential in understanding the distinctiveness of both archives of fossil record.

(1) The preservation potentials of body and trace fossils are different
In general, the preservation of a body fossil requires by far more lucky coincidences than preserving a track way. First of all, a trace or a track way records a short time span of an individual organism. Walking Reptiles or arthropods may produce thousands of trackways during their life time. Hence, the abundance of potential trace fossil specimens exceeds that of the corresponding trace maker by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, it is not only a question of sheer probability. To fossilise a whole animal requires more peculiar conditions such as rapid burial, anoxic environment, and no benthic activity, for instance. Trace fossils (just) need to be created. They usually stick to the place where they have been maintained, called "in situ". However, they may be readily altered by subsquent benthic activity. Shallow marine sandstones are frequently thouroughly bioturbated, which actually means that they are full of trace fossils. As you see, to form trace fossils at all, well-oxygenated conditions are required to host a rich fauna. And this, by implication, means that animals itself are not very likely to become fossils. Dead organism would readily become consumed by benthic activity and oxygenation processes. To conclude, preservation potential for both types of fossils is not only different, virtually it is mutually exclusive but for some rare exceptions.

(2) Trace fossils are in situ structures
As outlined above, trace fossils are rarely transported. They are observed at the place where they have been created. The implications for ecology are, thus, more convincing than body fossils that are frequently transported and become buried at a different site.

(3) Similar trace fossils can be created by numerous organisms
In particular, invertebrate traces of the same ichnogenus or even ichnospecies can be produced by a variety of animals, which at a first glance diminishes their utility in palaeontological studies. But as they record principal strategies employed by a number of phyla, they are suited in the tracking of general trends in evolution such as infaunalisation, terrestrialisation etc. For me it does'nt really matter which critter got his feet at first on dry ground. It is more important that someone did it, is'nt it. However, I must admit that the "who done it?" question teases probably everyone.

(4) Trace fossils were created by organisms that otherwise won't have any fossils record
For an animal with no hard parts, it is fairly difficult to become a fossil. Preservation of soft tissues requires special circumstances. E.g. Worms are the main bioturbators in the marine realm. But in comparision to their impact on the ichnologic archive they left virtually no body fossil record.

These are just four concepts that explain the importance of ichnology in earth system science. May be I missed some points. I will keep this post updated if something pops into my mind.

Volcanic Rocks in Wells Gray Provincial Park

2008-11-01T18:30:00.000+01:00

Although, I am not really into non-sedimentary rocks, the lavaflows that are beautifully exposed in Wells Gray Provincial Park (BC, Canada) really attracted my attention. I got there rather coincidentally when visiting my cousin in Summer 2007. He took me out to visit Wells Gray. Awesome place to rearrange the picture I once thought how Canada is like. I spent two months in Saskatchewan before this trip and did not see anything that usually pops into your mind when you think of Canada - just vast plains with nothing but corn elevators and endless roads and rails. Back to Wells Gray. Although i don't like articles from Wikipedia too much, this one about the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is well written and extraordinarily well referenced. Essentially, i picked the information from the references therein.

This is Pyramid Mountain. Although it looks like a typical cinder cone, it is proven to have been formed beneath a remarkable glacial cover. However, the eruption was presumably vigorous but short. Accordingly, this volcano lacks the flat-topped Tuya-morphology that is expected for subglacial volcanoes. The volcanic activity of this particular region spans from the Pleistocene to the Holocene.

Helmcken Falls. Water that incises basaltic lava-flows.

Cliff of eroded stacks of lava-flows.

Close-up of the same outcrop. The flow dircetion is hardly to identify. In the upper third you see a fairly lenticular body. This might represent a lava flow perpendicular to the cliff-face. However, all "beds" are quite parallel and very regular.

Me being happy with a hard-earned sundae. At my place in Saskatoon, I watched TV sometimes and always got tempted by stupid but effictve (as you see) commercials from Diary Queen. They always showed sundae copulating with fudge, cream, chocolate chunks and so on. Accordingly, I decided that I won't leave Canada without plundering a DQ. What could I say - was worth it.

A brief lesson in history of Geology - The 1st GSSP

2008-10-31T23:00:00.001+01:00

GSSP's are type sections that expose a certain time slice in the geological history such as the boundary between two systems like the Triassic and the Jurassic, for instance. The onset of a new time interval is usually marked by the first appearance of a characteristic index fossil.

During a student field trip in Summer 2006, I visited the type locality of the Silurian-Devonian boundary (Klonk, Barrandian area, southwest of Prague, Czech Republic; 49.855°N, 13.792°E). With my untrained undergraduate-brain, I anticipated the most spectulalar outcrop ever and already planned my future life without washing my eyes.

This is what my blessed eyes beheld:

The Silurian-Devonian GSSP, somewhere on the upper hill, i guess.

This is the first established GSSP ratified in 1972. By that time, Czech geologists already recognised the "geopolitical" importance of such a "geo-site". It is said, that in the course of the evaluation of canditates (there are several suitable localities all over the world), the regional people celebrated the inspection of the outcrop by members of the stratigraphic commission with a solid party. Or better a carousal with Beer, Bohemian Cuisine and gorgeous waiters. For some reason, the Commission picked the Bohemian section as type section for this quite important GSSP.

The memorial plaque.

Click here for more information, provided by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

Rocky Votolato @ Beatpol Dresden

2008-10-31T22:31:00.001+01:00

Just two pictures from the Votolato show in Dresden (Beatpol 09/27/2008)

Check myspace.com/rockyvotolato!

Ichnia 2008

2008-10-06T19:32:00.002+02:00

Second international conference on Ichnology held at the Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland (September 1-5, 2008). A very enjoyable meeting of a very benign research community.

Highlight for me: I met Dolf Seilacher. His contributions from the late 50's and early 60's, in fact, mark the beginning of modern Ichnology.

The winning team of the football game: Eastern vs. Western Hemisphere. Actually, it was somebody vs. somebody else or all vs. the rain. These were the only two hours of the whole meeting where it poured like hell. West:5 - East:1 or Ichnia:6 - Rain:0

Dead Sea / Jordan

2008-10-03T21:28:00.000+02:00

This one is about the fieldwork in Jordan that I conducted for my Master research project in winter 2006 at the area of the southern Dead Sea / Jordan . I can't go too much into detail right now because there is nothing published about this stuff yet and me and my supervisors are still debating about some implications concerning the depostional environment. Anyway, I don't want to miss this opportunity sharing some shots from this interesting country.

Introduction

The general objective of this study was to document a certain succession of sedimentary rocks with respect to the depositional environment and (trace) fossil content. Most of the previous work on this Member did not provide a detailed picture concerning these parameters. So it was my task to figure out which palaeo-environments (e.g. estuary, delta or tidal flat) are recorded by these sandstones and shales. The sexy thing about the Hanneh Member is that it is highly fossiliferous (extraordinarily preserved trace fossils!). Fossils, and in particular trace fossils (they are "in situ" structures), are well suited for environment characterisation since they evidence biological, physical (and chemical) parameters during and after deposition. Furthermore, they are perfect to assess the ecological relationships. The Hanneh Member and the underlying Numayri Member, respectively, is biostratigraphically well fixed with Trilobite body fossils and dated as lowermost Middle Cambrian (or Cambrian Stage 5 in the updated stratigraphic nomenclature). In fact, this is approximately the age of the well known Burgess Shale and Chengjiang Fossil Lagerstätte (this is slightly older though). So, the Hanneh Member documents ecological conditions right on the edge of the Cambrian Radation as well as the Substrate or "Agronomic Revolution".

This is the whole Burj Formation exposed in the upper course of Wadi Umm Jafna. The distinct cliff represents the middle calcareous Numayri Member which is reconstructed as a open marine carbonate-ramp system succeeding into an intertidal to supratidal sabkha-like environment. The purple shales below are interpreted as restricted to marginal marine system that documents the initial marine transgression upon a fluvial braid plain. The green slope at the upper part is the Hanneh Member which is suggested to has been laid down in lagoonal, tide-dominated environments. The documentation of these strata is very general (e.g. BENDER 1974, AMIREH et al. 1994, SCHNEIDER et al. 2007), and only two ichnotaxa were described by SEILACHER (1990) from this member. The uppermost strata (Umm Ishrin Formation) represent fluvial sediments. So in general we have a terrestrial-marine-terrestrial succession exposed. In terms of sequence stratigraphy: a typical Transgression-Highstand-Regression profile.

The smooth, greenish slope represents the whole Hanneh Member. Probably the best exposure in Wadi Uhaymir/ Tayan if you want to study it bed by bed. In general, you can see and overall fining upward trend with sandy portions in the lower and shales in the upper part.

Field observations

Just some shots of the sediments, trace fossils, and some suggestions about the facies and structures.

Me and Dr. Gabriela Mángano studying tidal flat sediments (Zerqa Ma'In Outcrop, Northern Dead Sea).

Typical tidal-channel sediments. Trough cross-bedded sandstones with distinct alternating flow direction. Good evidence for waning flow conditions (typical for tides) are tidal bundles or double mud drapes (dark laminae within the cross bed, Zerqa Ma'In Outcrop, Northern Dead Sea)

The lower Hanneh at Wadi Issal. You see cross beddings representing bar-accretion in subtidal sandbars. In general, a high energy environment below the subtidal/ intertidal boundary where sea bottom is subjected to permanent wave action and currents. "Tree" for scale (1,3 m).

The middle Hanneh at Wadi Qunai. Essentially, both pictures display the same facies, intertidal heterolithics. Rhythmic alternations of shales and sandstones. Plane beds, climbing ripple sequences (the bright level above the hammer) as well as mud drapes indicate strong alternations in current strenghts. However, evidence for emergence (desiccation cracks, flat-topped ripples) lack and an alternative interpretation of these strata would be a slightly subtidal prodelta. As I said above, we are still debating.

A nice specimen of Rosselia, a dwelling burrow of worms (most likely Polychaetes) maintained for deposit feeding and ?suspension feeding. These ones were very crucial in the interpretation in discriminating intertidal from subtidal environments. Such deep, robust burrows are not likely to occur in Cambrian tidal flats. In the lower Palaeozoic, you need stable, marine conditions to host a fauna like this. So the surrounding sediment most likely represents a subtidal prodelta. Wadi Uhaymir.

This seems to be the upper delta front to delta top. I think the story is, that absent vegetation (it's Cambrian !) and arid climatic conditions (during time of deposition) led to an impermanent, dynamic fluvial run-off. Accordingly, the resulting delta body is not very distinct. Wadi Umm Jafna.

The Delta plain (Umm Ishrin Formation). Some sort of sheet flood deposits. Probably the most attractive sandstone I'd ever seen. Wadi Uhaymir.

Superbly preserved arthropod scratches (most likely Trilobites). Some people say they are an ichnospecies of Dimorphichnus. I am still not very happy with the interpretation. Such structures are suggested to represent superficial grazing performed by trilobites. I think they are just current-drifted arthropods trying to get their feet on the ground. Accordingly, most likely Monomorphichnus isp. Wadi Uhaymir.

Wonderfull specimens of Archaeonassa fossulata. Superficial grazings of worms, small arthropods or early gastropods. Wadi Qunai.

500-something million years old arthopod traces.

Massive! Contorted beds referred to as "ball and pillow" structures. Either these are load- structures due to high sedimentation rates on water-saturated stacks of sediment or seismites (seismic shock-induced bedding failure). Wadi Tayan.

A last geology goodie. This is textbook-like unconformity. Lower Cambrian sedimentary rocks superposing Precambrian Volcanites. Wadi Qunai.

Miscellaneous

Gorgeous Wadi landscape in Wadi Al Hisa.

Mahmud (l.) and Abdullah (r.). Awesome bedouin-dudes. We shared food and field equipment. I ran out of pencils and writing paper. Was worth it. I got traditional "desert wraps" and tea. Unfortunately, i could'nt talk to them at all.

Didn't work.

We didn't investigate this stuff. I suppose these are Cretaceous Limestones and Marls. Very widespread on the Arabian Peninsula. The dark range in the background most likely is Ordovician.

On the way to Petra.

Reference(s):

Amireh, B. S., Schneider, W., Abed, M. A., 1994: Evolving fluvial-transitional-marine deposition through the Cambrian sequence of Jordan. Sedimentary Geology, 89, pp. 65 – 90.

Bender, F., 1974: Geology of Jordan. Borntraeger, Berlin.

Schneider W., Amireh B. S., Abed A.M., 2007: Sequence analysis of the Early Paleozoic sedimentary systems of Jordan. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften, 158 (2), pp. 225 – 247.

Seilacher, A., 1990: Chapter 32: Paleozoic trace fossils. in SAID, R., (ed.), The Geology of Egypt. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 649 – 722.

Purpose

2008-08-19T12:42:00.001+02:00

This blog should serve as some sort of diary of my field work. Even during study, I attended plenty of organised field trips or noticed numerous geological phenomena during holidays, respectively. Over the years, I forgot outcrop locations, neat sites for fossil hunting etc. So this is just to keep things together. You may ask why dumping the internet with another stupid geek blog that is presumably going unnoticed? Good question. However, if someone benefits from this page no matter in which way, I think it's worth to keep this shit updated. Additionally, I would like to maintain this page as a "portfolio" of my field experience as a Geologist/Palaeontologist.

Essentially, I'd like to keep it simple. This blog should not serve as an penis-enlarging exhibition of my expertise or claims to be scientific through and through. I will not go into detail with description or conclusion concerning fieldwork. I just would like to share pictures of geological phenomena and goodies that I think are worth mentioning.

"Nologic" is derived from one of my current field of intrest Ichnology, or the science of traces created by any living organisms in/on a substrate or preserved in geological record. I pretty much got into Ichnology in the course of my Diploma (Master) thesis which has been supervised by one of leading Ichnologists Dr. Gabriela Mángano (University of Saskatchewan/Canada) and specialist for the Cambrian, Dr. Olaf Elicki (Tu Bergakademie Freiberg/Germany).

The weird thing about (Palaeo-)ichnology is that you pay attention to what animals did with their environment Millions of years ago. Just imagine how big the chance is, that, lets say in 50 Million years, someone or something takes notice of what you created. Okay, we have plenty of oppurtunities to left a mark somewhere on this planet but ichnologists study traces, trails, burrows, bite marks and fecal matter of creatures that died a long time ago. It is not just for fun. This field of research is connected with palaeobiology, animal evolution, earth systems science, geography, sedimentology, oceanography, exploration and evaluation of oil deposits, and even climate research. Like entire Geology, this is a research where people frequently are wondering for who or what all this stuff might be usefull because the connection between basic research and the modern technical world is not readily apparent.

And this is what (I hope) this blog should contribute to. Geology and Palaeontolgy is not a complicated science. All what you need are eyes and a little amount of substance behind to think about what you see.