A 60-Million-Year Debate on Grand Canyon’s Age

A 60-Million-Year Debate on Grand Canyon’s Age

Did Dinosaurs Gawk at the Grand Canyon?
by Phil Berardelli, Science Now, April 28, 2102http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/04/11-01.html

A Grand Old Canyon by Sid Perkins , Science
News, November 2012,
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/11/a-grand-old-canyon.html

A 60-Million-Year Debate on Grand Canyon’s Age
By John N. Wilford, November 29, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/science/earth/study-sees-older-grand-canyon-stirring-controversy.html

Grand Canyon 70 million years old, formed during
era of dinosaurs, new study claims, Washington Post,
November 29, 2012,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/grand-canyon-70-million-years-old-formed-during-era-of-dinosaurs-new-study-claims/2012/11/29/5788b9d0-3a45-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_story.html

Study contends Grand Canyon as old as dinosaur
era by Alicia Chang, November 29, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121129/us-sci-grand-canyon-age/?utm_hp_ref=media&ir=media

A Grand Canyon as Old as the Dinosaurs?, Cal Tech
http://www.caltech.edu/content/grand-canyon-old-dinosaurs

The paper is:

Flowers, R. M., and K. A. Farley, 2012, Apatite 4He/3He
and (U-Th)/He Evidence for an Ancient Grand Canyon.
Science Express, Published Online November 29 2012
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1229390
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/11/28/science.1229390

A recent paper about the "California River" is:

Wernicke, B., 2011, The California River and its role in
carving Grand Canyon. Geological Society of America
Bulletin. vol. 123, no. 7-8, pp. 1288-1316.

Abstract at
http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/early/2011/01/26/B30274.1

PDF file at
http://www.geo.umass.edu/structure/StrSem/Werneckie-GSABull-InPresJan2011-Canyon.pdf

Another recent paper is:

Longinott, N., nd, Chapter 4: History of the Colorado
River Incision and Formation of the Grand Canyon.

PDF file at
https://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/~shlemonc/trips/grandcanyon_12/bigpicture/Ch4_GC_incision.pdf
and https://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/~shlemonc/trips/grandcanyon_12/index.html

Finally, there is:

Beard, L. S., K. E. Karlstrom, R. A. Young, and G. H.
Billingsley, eds., 2011, CRevolution 2—Origin and
evolution of the Colorado River system, workshop
abstracts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
2011–1210, 300 p.,

Available at either http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1210/ or
27 MB PDF file at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1210/of2011-1210.pdf

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Rhino Skull Baked In Volcanic Ash, Turkey

Rhino Skull Baked In Volcanic Ash, Turkey

9.2-Million-Year-Old Rhino Skull Preserved by Instant '
Cooking to Death' in Volcanic Ash, ScienceDaily, Nov. 21, 2012
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121121210251.htm

The paper is

Pierre-Olivier, A., M. J. Orliac, G. Atici, I. Ulusoy, E. Sen,
H. E. Çubukçu, E. Albayrak, N. Oyal, E. Aydar, and S. Sen,
2012, A Rhinocerotid Skull Cooked-to-Death in a 9.2
Ma-Old Ignimbrite Flow of Turkey. PLoS ONE. 7 (11)
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0049997

PDF file at
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=174882D4140CFB40215966C4E5613D9B?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0049997&representation=PDF

There are a lot of rhino and and other vertebrate fossils
preserved in volcanic ash found in Miocene ash in Ashfall
Fossil Beds of Antelope County in northeastern Nebraska.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashfall_Fossil_Beds and http://ashfall.unl.edu/index.html

Also, there is the Blue Lake Rhino Cave, which is the cast
of a fossil rhino found in a basaltic lava flow of the Columbia
River Basalts, Lower Grand Coulee, Washington. go see:

Climbers find basalt mold and bones of a 15-million-year-
old rhinoceros at Blue Lake, Grant County, in July 1935.
HistoryLink.org Essay,
http://www.historylink.org/_content/printer_friendly/pf_output.cfm?file_id=9409

Rhino revelation - http://fossilnews.com/1999/rhino.html

Chappell, W. M., M. J. W. Durham, and D. E. Savage, 1951.
Mold of a rhinoceros in basalt, Lower Grand Coulee,
Washington. Geological Society of America Bulletin.
vol. 62, pp. 907-918.
http://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/content/62/8/907.abstract

Kaler, K. L., 1988. The Blue Lake rhinoceros. Washington
Geologic Newsletter. vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 3-8.

PDF file at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/ger_washington_geology_1988_v16_no4.pdf

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Famous Mars Meteorite's 'Fossils': What Arctic Rocks Can Tell Us

Famous Mars Meteorite's 'Fossils': What Arctic Rocks Can Tell Us

Famous Mars Meteorite's 'Fossils': What Arctic Rocks
Can Tell Us by Leslie Mullen, Astrobiology Magazine
http://www.space.com/18414-mars-meteorite-life-arctic-rocks-qanda.html

Famous Mars meteorite's 'fossils' similar to those
found in arctic {Arctic rocks in Svalbard contain
similar minerals inside as Allan Hills 84001 meteorite.]
by Leslie Mullen, Astrobiology Magazine, Nov. 17, 2012
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/stories/famous-mars-meteorites-fossils-similar-to-those-found-in-arctic

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Manmade Crater - Why Geologists Should Not Play With Matches

Manmade Crater - Why Geologists Should Not Play With Matches

Derweze, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derweze

Darvaz: The Door To Hell
http://englishrussia.com/2008/03/25/darvaz-the-door-to-hell/

Flaming Crater, Darvaza Turkmenistan 1/6 - Phillips Connor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjoga1yrn0

(At the very beginning of this video, the person
by the crater’s rim provides an idea of how big it is.)

Flaming Crater, Darvaza Turkmenistan 2/6 - Phillips Connor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF8tZjKTfEE

Door to Hell - Turkmenistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jxPR9_pp90
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnKqMQgV1vg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=090Y9RBhBEs

Flaming Gas Crater (Night) / Turkmenistan, Darvaza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7we6mz0TyZA

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Cause of Younger Dryas Revisited

Cause of Younger Dryas Revisited

New pathway proposed for ancient flood (Meltwaters off
northwestern Canada’s ice sheet would have shut down
the ocean’s heat circulation 13,000 years ago) by
Erin Wayman, science News, November 5, 2012
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346245/description/New_pathway_proposed_for_ancient_flood

Climate Modeler Identifies Trigger for Earth's
Last Big Freeze, ScienceDaily, Nov. 5, 2012
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121105151332.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/uoma-uac110112.php

Alan Condron identifies trigger for Earth’s last big
freeze, University of Massachusetts web page
http://www.geo.umass.edu/news/alan-condron-identifies-trigger-earth%E2%80%99s-last-big-freeze

The paper is;

Condron, A., and P. Winsor, 2012, Meltwater routing
and the Younger Dryas. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1207381109
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/10/31/1207381109

A related paper is:

Murton, J. B., M. D. Bateman, S. R. Dallimore, J. T. Teller,
and Z. Yang, 2010, Identification of Younger Dryas outburst
flood path from Lake Agassiz to the Arctic Ocean.
Nature. vol. 464, no. 7289, pp. 740-743.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7289/abs/nature08954.html

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Sir David Attenborough's Thoughts About Fossil Collecting Laws

Sir David Attenborough's Thoughts About Fossil Collecting Laws

David Attenborough: I would never have been
a naturalist under today's fossil laws, The
Telegraph, November 6, 2012
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9657545/David-Attenborough-I-would-never-have-been-a-naturalist-under-todays-fossil-laws.html

A semi-related article is:

For Dakota Paleontologist, It All Started With a
Turtle, New York Times, October 29, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/science/for-north-dakota-paleontologist-it-started-with-a-turtle.html

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Pre-Columbian fossil collectors unearthed

Pre-Columbian fossil collectors unearthed

Pre-Columbian fossil collectors unearthed
Nature News, Posted by Ivan Semeniuk
for Sid Perkins, November 9, 2012,
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/11/pre-columbian-fossil-collectors-unearthed.html

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Oregon Geological Hazard Maps Now Online

Oregon Geological Hazard Maps Now Online


The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries
now has its maps of various geologic hazards now online.

The press release is:

Geologic hazards in Oregon now easy to find
with online tool, pdf file of new release at
http://www.oregongeology.org/pubs/nr/press-release-2012-10-16.pdf

A brief article is:

New online tool shows geologic hazards at
your address, KPTV.com, Oct. 17, 2012
http://www.kptv.com/story/19848858/new-online-tool-shows-geologic-hazards-at-your-address

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral
Industries web pages are:

Oregon HazVu: Statewide Geohazards Viewer
http://www.oregongeology.org/sub/hazvu/index.htm

More Resources about Oregon geologic hazards
http://www.oregongeology.org/sub/hazvu/resources.htm

Earthquakes and other natural hazards in the
Pacific Northwest, http://www.oregongeology.org/sub/earthquakes/earthquakehome.htm

Best wishes,

Paul H.

Fossil Whale Bones Stolen From Flint River, Georgia, Excavation

Fossil Whale Bones Stolen From Flint River, Georgia, Excavation

Who took whale bone fossil? by Jim Wallace, Nov. 2, 212,
http://www.walb.com/story/19986939/who-took-whale-bone-fossil

Thieves target Flint River whale bones by Jessica Fairley
WFXL News, Albany, Georgia, November 5, 2012
http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=820862

An original news article about this fossil whale is:

Whale fossil discovered on Flint River by Dave Miller
WTVM News, August 13, 2012
http://www.wtvm.com/story/19265894/whale-fossil-discovered

Yours,

Paul H.
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