Through a crowdfunding initiative with UC Berkeley, the UCMP would like your support in creating the first ever "see-through" dinosaur skull! UCMP is a leader in paleontological research and with your support of this project, museum paleontologists will further explore how dinosaur skulls grow and develop as they change size and shape. With this crowdfunding project, UCMP hopes to raise enough funds to CT scan, volume render and 3D print the first ever see-through dinosaur skull, starting with … [Read more...] about Support UCMP’s See-Through Dinosaur Skull Project
2017 Fossil Treasures Calendar Available Now!
Revealing the collections at Regatta The 2017 Fossil Treasures Calendar is a bit of a 'behind-the-scenes' look at the work done at UCMP and celebrates some impressive fossil specimens we hold at the Regatta Facility in Richmond, CA. We have both fossils large in size and large in number and featured in this calendar are the large antlers from the giant elk, hundreds of vials of microfossils and even dinosaur fossils formerly on display at Cal Academy, namely the legs of the Allosaurus. So get … [Read more...] about 2017 Fossil Treasures Calendar Available Now!
Cryptic caves and paleoecology of crustaceans in Cenozoic coral reefs
Just some months ago on a Saturday in July, I had the pleasure of snorkeling above the only coral reefs in the continental Unites States. These reefs in southern Florida still harbor many species of corals, fish, and other animals including crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps, and lobsters. These decapods are difficult to spot while snorkeling, but that does not mean they are not there. Their usually small size in this landscape of incredibly variable topography ensure they are able to hide … [Read more...] about Cryptic caves and paleoecology of crustaceans in Cenozoic coral reefs
Cal Day 2016
The 2016 Cal Day, held on April 16, 2016, was my first time experiencing Cal Day and I was also the one planning it. Cue scary music! Thanks to the UCMP community for pitching in their time and efforts, it went off without a hitch and was fun experience all around. As a newer member of the UCMP community, I only knew about CalDay through photos and the well-documented newsletter postings by my predecessor Dave Smith. Annually on Calday, the campus opens up to the public and shares all … [Read more...] about Cal Day 2016
A photo essay: Death Valley Field Trip, Spring Break 2016
Learning in the Field The 2016 UCMP Spring Field Trip was my first foray into exploring the world of paleontology in the field. Curators/professors Seth Finnegan and Cindy Looy brought 10 graduate students, postdocs, and a few beguiled tag-alongs like myself to various localities throughout central and southern California and Nevada. Field trips like these are important learning opportunities for future paleontologists and geologists, and a way to use practical skills in the field and see … [Read more...] about A photo essay: Death Valley Field Trip, Spring Break 2016
Hiep Nguyen’s UCMP undergraduate research experience: “Scentless in Nevada”
This past year, I’ve been working with UCMP Senior Museum Scientist Diane M. Erwin to identify a new fossil species of scentless plant bug (family Rhopalidae) from a Miocene lakebed deposit in Stewart Valley, Nevada. The study developed as a result of my participation as an Undergraduate Research Apprentice (URAP) in UC Berkeley’s Fossil Insect Digitization PEN project (BFIP) funded by the National Science Foundation. The BFIP project is part of the Fossil Insect Collaborative Thematic … [Read more...] about Hiep Nguyen’s UCMP undergraduate research experience: “Scentless in Nevada”
Terraces through time: Reconstructing fossil beaches in southern California
San Nicolas Island is a strange, far-away place very familiar to a surprising number of Californians. Thanks to Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins, this island — the most remote of California's eight Channel Islands — and it's native Nicoleño people have been engrained into the imaginations of many elementary school children. My own mind was captivated by this story in the fourth grade when I had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork on San Nicolas Island with Daniel Muhs (U.S. Geological … [Read more...] about Terraces through time: Reconstructing fossil beaches in southern California
Meschelle Thatcher’s UCMP undergraduate research experience: Beetles in Brea!
As an English major, I didn’t really know what to expect when I first started my URAP (Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program) appointment for the UC Museum of Paleontology Fossil Insect PEN (Partner to an Existing Network) funded by the National Science Foundation. All I knew was that I’d be handling fossils, and that struck the scientific chord in my imagination in perfect harmony. The Pleistocene Rancho La Brea tar pits in southern California are best known for their extinct exotic … [Read more...] about Meschelle Thatcher’s UCMP undergraduate research experience: Beetles in Brea!
Our journey from the UCMP to South Africa to study fossil monkeys
At the time we got involved in what has now become for us - the South Africa project - one of us (Tesla) was soon-to-be a second year graduate student, and the other (Marianne) was about to start her senior year as an undergraduate student here at UC Berkeley. We began working together in the UC Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) during the summer of 2013, making our way through a massive project and cataloguing exceptional fossil material collected during the UC Africa Expedition of 1947 and 1948. … [Read more...] about Our journey from the UCMP to South Africa to study fossil monkeys
A first: Sauropod bones found in Ethiopia!
Assistant Director Mark Goodwin and his project collaborators (see Feb. 1 blog post) made a surprising discovery while collecting microvertebrates, turtles, and fish. Within a small area of exposure in the Late Jurassic Agula Shale in the Tigray Province, just south of Mekele, Ethiopia, were the first sauropod dinosaurs ever reported from Ethiopia! The team found mostly partial bones and bone fragments, and the local school kids delighted in holding Ethiopia's first sauropod dinosaur bones. … [Read more...] about A first: Sauropod bones found in Ethiopia!
Solutions to climate change inspire French film
In December 2015 UCMP faculty curator Tony Barnosky and Stanford paleoecologist Liz Hadly attended The United Nations Conference on Climate Change to premiere a movie opening in Paris. The movie, Demain, was inspired by the 21-authored study that produced a 2012 Nature paper on tipping points. The film opens with Tony and Liz summarizing global change issues facing the world today. Tony states, "the movie is all about solutions and is very uplifting." It features solutions being implemented in … [Read more...] about Solutions to climate change inspire French film
The Anthropocene has come of age
Research by Faculty Curator and Professor Tony Barnosky and the Anthropocene Working Group continues to support the strong need for designating a distinct geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Landscape-altering human activities leave behind distinctive evidence (plastics, aluminum, concrete, black carbon, among others) in the sedimentary record. The group has received widespread media attention and recent articles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post demonstrate the … [Read more...] about The Anthropocene has come of age
Assistant director reunites with UCMP alumni in Ethiopia to investigate Mesozoic ecosystems
Assistant director Mark Goodwin is in Ethiopia for several weeks as part of a collaborative project with UCMP alums Greg Wilson (University of Washington) and Randall Irmis (Utah). Together with colleagues from the University of Oklahoma, Addis Ababa University, and Mekelle University in Ethiopia, the team is investigating non-marine Mesozoic ecosystems from the Northwestern Plateau, Ethiopia. Mark reports "we had great success in the Late Jurassic units and it is gratifying working with … [Read more...] about Assistant director reunites with UCMP alumni in Ethiopia to investigate Mesozoic ecosystems
Bones in the Belltower, a Berkeley Science Review feature by Sara ElShafie
The Fall 2015 issue of the Berkeley Science Review features an article by Sara ElShafie, a UCMP graduate student in the Padian Lab, on the McKittrick tar seep fossils that have been stored in the Campanile since the 1930s. The convergence of an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to the UCMP to clean and catalogue more the 12,000 specimens in the collection and the centennial celebration of the Campanile in 2015 shined a spotlight on these unique fossils. In interviews with UCMP … [Read more...] about Bones in the Belltower, a Berkeley Science Review feature by Sara ElShafie
UCMP’s Lisa White highlights the geology of California in NOVA series
Making North America, a 3-part NOVA series that originally aired on PBS in November 2015, is a richly illustrated journey through the geological history of the North American continent. UCMP Director of Education and Outreach Lisa White appears in episodes one (Origins) and three (Human) in segments shot in northern California. Lisa joins paleontologist and Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Kirk Johnson, the series host and narrator, along the San Andreas fault in … [Read more...] about UCMP’s Lisa White highlights the geology of California in NOVA series
Humans began altering natural world 6,000 years ago
Scientists have found an abrupt change about 6,000 years ago in how terrestrial plant and animal species coexisted, right about the time human populations were ballooning and agriculture was spreading around the world. The findings suggest that human activity had reached a tipping point where hunting and farming were impacting the natural world in irreversible ways — changes that have continued to increase to this day. The researchers, including UC Berkeley’s Cindy Looy, an assistant professor … [Read more...] about Humans began altering natural world 6,000 years ago
National Fossil Day website features research by UCMP and partners
The UCMP partnership with Point Reyes National Seashore and the National Park Service continues to thrive and fossil discoveries made as a result of this partnership are highlighted in a previous post. Lillian Pearson, who works part-time with Museum Scientist Erica Clites cataloging specimens from the Point Reyes National Seashore, is the lead author on an article posted in honor of National Fossil Day (October 14, 2015) describing Cenozoic life and landscape features. National Fossil Day … [Read more...] about National Fossil Day website features research by UCMP and partners
The 2016 Fossil Treasures Calendar is now available at UCMP
Sharing the Collections at UCMP The new year's calendar focuses on the collections and the unique specimens that can be found here. UCMP is a research museum, which means that access is limited to researchers, our students, and affiliates. The 2016 calendar allows us to bring the collections to our supporters and the general public. Grants from the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences enabled us to restore, catalog and digitize new specimens more rapidly … [Read more...] about The 2016 Fossil Treasures Calendar is now available at UCMP
UCMP students help the public unleash their inner scientist
On November 7 UCMP participated in the Bay Area Science Festival Discovery Day at AT&T Park. Discovery Day is the closing event of the annual Bay Area Science Festival – a science extravaganza offering a wide range of science and technology activities in a variety of venues over a two-week period. The UCMP joined other Science@Cal exhibitors for the fifth straight year by engaging youth and families in fossils and life of the past, highlighting what lived at AT&T Park before the Giants! … [Read more...] about UCMP students help the public unleash their inner scientist
UCMP volunteers discover important specimen
UCMP volunteers Kathy Zoehfeld and Don Pecko recently discovered a type specimen from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History among the hundreds of thousands of fossils in the former USGS Menlo Park collection. This type specimen, a tiny gastropod called Ceratia nixilia, was discovered in a drawer of fossils they were rehousing into new archival boxes. Don and Kathy not only noticed the less than a centimeter long gastropod, but brought it to my attention because they noticed the … [Read more...] about UCMP volunteers discover important specimen
Landscapes change forever when large mammals disappear
Research on the extinction of large mammals by members of the Barnosky Lab and their colleagues highlights how entire landscapes are affected when modern elephants and their extinct relatives, mastodons and mammoths, disappear. From plants that are no longer grazed to fewer nutrients in soils, the loss of megafauna significantly impacts ecosystems in a dramatic fashion as detailed in recent articles and interviews. Learn more about this recent research: SF Gate Science World … [Read more...] about Landscapes change forever when large mammals disappear
Five Climate Tipping Points We’ve Already Seen, and One We’re Hoping For
This week is Climate Week in New York, when President Obama, Pope Francis, and many other world leaders converge to continue hammering out commitments intended to limit global warming to 2 degrees C or less, to be presented at the make-or-break COP21 climate meetings in Paris in early December. The commitments are not there yet--so far those on the table would allow enough greenhouse gas emissions to raise temperature 3 degrees C or more. But staying below 2 degrees is critically important, for … [Read more...] about Five Climate Tipping Points We’ve Already Seen, and One We’re Hoping For
UCMP and Stanford partner on a global change workshop for teachers
Middle and high school science teachers received double the resources when UCMP and Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences teamed up to offer a week-long workshop on global change. Read more about the workshop on Stanford's blog … [Read more...] about UCMP and Stanford partner on a global change workshop for teachers
UCMP science casual: Dinosaur NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences
Imagine over 3,000 adults in San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences (Cal Academy) for a night of fun special exhibits, drinks, and a serious science social. Now imagine it every Thursday. On July 23rd a dinosaur-themed Cal Academy NightLife event called upon volunteers from UCMP to showcase and explain the mysteries of these monsters beside their contemporary chews. The NightLife also featured a tour of Cal Academy’s library archives about the historic “Bone Wars” between Victorian … [Read more...] about UCMP science casual: Dinosaur NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences
New research shows how mammals became smaller in response to dramatic climate warming
Fifty-six million years ago the Earth underwent a dramatic warming event, with temperatures increasing by as much as 7° Celsius over a span of just 100,000 years. Many mammals responded to this temperature increase by becoming much smaller. How these changes happened, however, is poorly understood. Identifying and measuring the mechanisms that drove these changes was the focus of a new study by University of California Museum of Paleontology researchers Brian Rankin and Pat Holroyd, and … [Read more...] about New research shows how mammals became smaller in response to dramatic climate warming
Partnership with Point Reyes National Seashore leads to important discovery of marine specimen
UCMP's partnership with Point Reyes National Seashore (National Park Service) has resulted in the discovery and collection of an important marine mammal specimen. This specimen is currently being prepared by UCMP Research Associate Robert Boessenecker, and will be reposited at UCMP. Lillian Pearson, a Geoscientist-in-the-Park intern, is setting up protocols for the long-term monitoring of paleontological resources (fossils) at Point Reyes. Erica Clites did this type of work for the National Park … [Read more...] about Partnership with Point Reyes National Seashore leads to important discovery of marine specimen
Barnosky meets with Governor Jerry Brown and a United Nations delegation to discuss climate change
On June 15, UCMP Curator and Integrative Biology Professor Tony Barnosky met with Governor Jerry Brown, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Figueres, and California climatologists at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History to discuss global warming and the consequences of failing to deal with it. At a press conference following the meeting, Brown expressed his desire to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent over the next … [Read more...] about Barnosky meets with Governor Jerry Brown and a United Nations delegation to discuss climate change
UCMP participates in Girl Scouts’ “bridging” event
Every May for the past 30 years or so, the Girl Scouts of Northern California have celebrated the advancement of their scouts from Junior to Cadette status by a symbolic walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Following this year’s May 2 event, the scouts continued on to Crissy Field where they enjoyed entertainment and information booths. And UCMP was there to celebrate with the scouts. For the third year in a row, UCMP hosted a table staffed by an enthusiastic crew that included graduate student … [Read more...] about UCMP participates in Girl Scouts’ “bridging” event
A morphological study of living and fossil Quercus (oak) pollen from California using scanning electron microscopy
California has more than 26 oak (Quercus) species, many of which have widespread distributions and different habitats. For example, the California black oaks (Q. kelloggii) are distributed in foothills and low mountains (altitude ~4750 feet), while the Coast live oak (Q. agrifolia; altitude ~830 feet) lives near the coast. Palynologists study the distribution of plant pollen and spores in space and time, and changes in their assemblages reflect changes in regional and local vegetation. In the … [Read more...] about A morphological study of living and fossil Quercus (oak) pollen from California using scanning electron microscopy
Building a forest: The adventures continue in the Jose Creek Member
It's April 18, 2015, and I am sitting in a room at the Charles Motel in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, the same apartment-style room that I have stayed in during the past four years of field work. Time sure has passed by quickly; from my first paleontological dig as an undergraduate at Texas State University-San Marcos under Dr. Gary Upchurch, to my ambitious inaugural self-guided field trip as a first-year graduate student at Berkeley, to last year's even longer field excursion, and finally … [Read more...] about Building a forest: The adventures continue in the Jose Creek Member
Do green tide algae reproduce all year?
Occurrences of green tides have been on the rise in recent years worldwide. The most impressive have been reported off the coast of China in the Yellow Sea. In August 2014, the Monterey Bay area experienced a green tide that resulted in the accumulation of the macroalgae, Ulva, on its beaches. Algal blooms often make the headlines in spring and summer yet they are not a new phenomenon. In fact, toxic algal blooms may have been responsible for bird, fish and marine mammal die-offs recorded in … [Read more...] about Do green tide algae reproduce all year?
Southern California Spring Break 2015 field trip
Annual field trips used to be something of a tradition at UCMP, but that tradition faded once the Department of Paleontology merged with other units to become the Department of Integrative Biology in 1989. In recent years, former UCMP Director Jere Lipps organized and led three field trips: Baja in 2001, southern California in 2008, and Oregon in 2009. And now two of UCMP’s newest curators, Assistant Professors Seth Finnegan and Cindy Looy, are trying to revive the annual field trip tradition. … [Read more...] about Southern California Spring Break 2015 field trip
The Bearded Lady Project comes to the UCMP
The Bearded Lady Project: Changing the Face of Science came to the UCMP in February, one of many stops in a photographic journey made by documentary film makers seeking to educate the public on gender inequities in geoscience fields, particularly in paleontology. Women of the UCMP sat for portraits that will become part of a photography series intended to celebrate adventurous women who are true pioneers in the fields. See if you can recognize some of your favorite women of the UCMP! … [Read more...] about The Bearded Lady Project comes to the UCMP
Fossils in the Campanile? It’s true!
If you have taken the elevator to the top of Sather Tower, aka the Campanile, perhaps you've heard that some of the floors of the tower are filled with fossils. This is not a campus myth, it's fact! The Campanile is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and its very first occupants — moving in before the tower was even completed — were fossils. At that time, the museum and Department of Paleontology were in Bacon Hall, just east of the Campanile, so as a storage facility, the … [Read more...] about Fossils in the Campanile? It’s true!
UCMP participates in the Bay Area Science Festival for fourth straight year
On November 1, UCMP participated in Discovery Days at AT&T Park, the closing event of the annual Bay Area Science Festival. The museum has been a Science@Cal exhibitor at the Festival for four years running. This year, over 30,000 people enjoyed 200 free activities and exhibits at the Festival, a “science extravaganza.” The Festival is meant to entertain and inspire; it’s where visitors can unleash their inner scientist. … [Read more...] about UCMP participates in the Bay Area Science Festival for fourth straight year
UCMP curator and Integrative Biology professor keeps attention focused on climate change and mass extinction
On November 30, the Smithsonian Channel will air the film Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink featuring UC Berkeley researchers Walter and Luis Alvarez, as well as UCMP’s Tony Barnosky; and Stanford University’s Elizabeth Hadly and Jon Payne. The film describes what we know about the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, how we know it, and how the Cretaceous-Paleogene and end-Permian mass extinctions relate to our present extinction crisis. Learn more at smithsonianchannel.com and … [Read more...] about UCMP curator and Integrative Biology professor keeps attention focused on climate change and mass extinction
UCMP expertise tapped for new KQED e-book series on climate change
KQED partnered with UCMP and Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy to produce a four-part e-book series entitled Clue into Climate. Lisa White, UCMP’s Assistant Director for Education and Public Programs, says “These new e-books bring climate research to life and create greater access to information about climate and global environmental change in an easy to understand package.” The e-books explore the topic through a blend of high-quality media, interactive graphics and … [Read more...] about UCMP expertise tapped for new KQED e-book series on climate change
UCMP expands its Homecoming Weekend program
In previous years, UCMP’s involvement with UC Berkeley’s Homecoming Weekend was limited to a single tour of the collections (normally closed to the public), but this year, the museum decided to expand on that and offer something a little different for its Friends and donors. On Friday, October 10, Assistant Director for Collections and Research Mark Goodwin started things off with his annual tour of the collections, but that was followed by an afternoon lecture by UCMP Curator and Integrative … [Read more...] about UCMP expands its Homecoming Weekend program
The 2015 UCMP Fossil Treasures Calendar now available
UCMP and the development of the ichthyosaur quarry at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park The focus for the 2015 calendar became Nevada’s Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park when a trove of 35 mm slides and black & white prints chronicling the development of the ichthyosaur quarry was found in the museum archives. These images, from the Charles L. Camp Papers, dominate the calendar, however, there are also slides from the collections of Sam Welles and Joe Gregory, images from the Huff family archives, … [Read more...] about The 2015 UCMP Fossil Treasures Calendar now available
Air-breathing snails, old and new
The UC Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) is home to more than five million invertebrate fossil specimens, a majority of them being marine in origin. While rehousing the US Geological Survey’s Menlo Park collections, I came across specimens of Actinella, a genus of terrestrial gastropod. The earliest known air-breathing gastropods in the fossil record appeared during the Carboniferous Period, Carboniferous being a reference to the abundant coal deposits formed at this time, 359 to 299 million years … [Read more...] about Air-breathing snails, old and new
New UCMP grant to curate the Pleistocene-Holocene McKittrick tarpit fossil collection
UCMP is pleased to announce the award of a new $149,713 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to curate, rehouse, and capture digital images of the important Pleistocene-Holocene McKittrick tarpit fossil collection from Kern County, California. The McKittrick tarpits were excavated by Cal scientists in the 1930s and yielded thousands of bones of extinct and extant mammals, birds, and reptiles. The area was eventually designated a California State Historical Landmark due to the … [Read more...] about New UCMP grant to curate the Pleistocene-Holocene McKittrick tarpit fossil collection
Paleontological field work and nuclear testing
In the mid to late 1950s, Charles L. Camp, Professor in the Department of Paleontology and former Director of UCMP (1930-1949), spent his summers working at what would later become Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, about 55 miles north of Tonopah, Nevada, and 150 miles northwest of Yucca Flat at the Nevada Test Site. Beginning in 1951 and ending in 1992, the United States did extensive nuclear testing at Yucca Flat. There were 739 tests conducted there, resulting in Yucca Flat being called “the … [Read more...] about Paleontological field work and nuclear testing
New fossil footprint exhibit debuts online
Visit the new UCMP/University of Colorado online exhibit on fossil tracks! It is fascinating to consider that fossil footprints and trackways offer direct physical evidence that ancient animals passed through an area long ago. However, these trace fossils also provide important clues that shed light on several aspects of paleobiology, such as anatomy, locomotion patterns, behavior, and footprint preservation. The website provides basic information about the preservation of fossil tracks, how … [Read more...] about New fossil footprint exhibit debuts online
Global change consensus statement having a global impact
Over a year ago in a May 30, 2013, blog post, we reported on Professor of Integrative Biology and UCMP curator Tony Barnosky’s presentation to Governor Jerry Brown of a statement about global environmental problems and what people must do to ensure the health of the planet. That statement was written at Brown’s request after the Governor had heard about a Nature paper that Barnosky had coauthored with his wife, Stanford professor of Biology and UCMP research associate Elizabeth Hadly, and … [Read more...] about Global change consensus statement having a global impact
Making the Earth sciences engaging and relevant for broader communities
Historically, paleontology has been a male-dominated field. Over the past few decades, more and more women have entered the field, but female African-American paleontologists remain a rarity. Lisa White, UCMP’s Assistant Director of Education and Public Programs, is one of these rare women. She spent 22 years as a faculty member at San Francisco State University and held the titles of Professor and Associate Dean when she came to Berkeley in 2012. White was profiled recently in California, UC … [Read more...] about Making the Earth sciences engaging and relevant for broader communities
Flash! Grad student discovers how Ctenoides ales, the “disco clam,” flashes
Back in 2010, while diving in Indonesia, Lindsey Dougherty first witnessed the flashing behavior of the so-called “electric clam” or “disco clam,” Ctenoides ales. She decided then and there that the focus of her Ph.D. would be the study of these fascinating bivalve mollusks. Now, four years later, Dougherty reports in the British Journal of the Royal Society Interface just how the flashing works. A nice description of the mechanism and a video showing the flashing behavior is provided in … [Read more...] about Flash! Grad student discovers how Ctenoides ales, the “disco clam,” flashes
75-year-old sculptures by William Gordon Huff relocated
For the past three years or so I have been researching the life of sculptor William Gordon Huff. Never heard of him? That’s not too surprising since he didn’t have gallery shows and, to my knowledge, no major museum has examples of his work. But, if you do any traveling in California, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen Huff’s work without even knowing it, because most of his sculpture was public art, primarily in the form of bronze bas reliefs for historical plaques. Huff’s plaques can be … [Read more...] about 75-year-old sculptures by William Gordon Huff relocated
Where have all the mammoths gone? And why do we care?
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Africa? Probably a lot of big animals, right? Elephants and lions, zebras and cheetahs, hippos and rhinos, giraffes, and enormous herds of wildebeest moving across the savannah. Well, what a lot of people don’t realize is that for most of the past 50 million years, most of the world looked a lot like Africa! Not that long ago, Europe, Asia, and North and South America all hosted relatives of elephants, zebras, and lions inhabiting … [Read more...] about Where have all the mammoths gone? And why do we care?
Mighty microbes implicated in Permian mass extinction
Ninety-six percent of marine and 70% of terrestrial species died in the Permian mass extinction, which began about 252 million years ago and lasted for over 20,000 years. Geochemistry tells us that this extinction coincided with a severe and rapid change in the Earth’s carbon cycle, but this alone could not have been the cause of the extinction. Initially it was thought that carbon dioxide released by Siberian volcanism explained this change in the carbon cycle but the volcanic outgassing was … [Read more...] about Mighty microbes implicated in Permian mass extinction
Tracking down ammonites in the Denver, Colorado, area
In July 2013, I visited the Denver, Colorado, area to collect data from two collections housed at United States Geological Survey (USGS) facilities and the University of Colorado (CU) Museum of Natural History. The USGS collections are housed in the Core Research Center on the Denver Federal Center campus. The building is also a repository for a large collection of soil samples and approximately 1.7 million feet of drilled rock, sediment, and ice cores. The Museum of Natural History is … [Read more...] about Tracking down ammonites in the Denver, Colorado, area