NASA's Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock

NASA's Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock

NASA's Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock
NASA News, Jet Prpulsion Laboratory, July 23, 2015
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4668

Yours,

Paul H.

Abrupt Warming Led to Demise of Woolly Mammoths

Abrupt Warming Led to Demise of Woolly Mammoths

Mammoths killed by abrupt climate change
University of Adelaide, Friday, 24 July 2015
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news79662.html

Extinction events linked to prehuman global warming
by Clare Peddie, NewsComAU, July
http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/extinction-events-linked-to-prehuman-global-warming/story-fnjwl2dr-1227457217812

Abrupt Warming Led to Demise of Woolly Mammoths,
Scientists Say,Sci-News.com, July 23, 2015
http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-interstadials-woolly-mammoths-03054.html

The paper is:

Cooper, A. C. Turney, K. A. Hughen, B. W. Brook,
H. G. McDonald, and C. J. A. Bradshaw, 2015,
Abrupt warming events drove Late Pleistocene
Holarctic megafaunal turnover. Science Express.
Published Online July 23 2015
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.aac4315
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/07/22/science.aac4315.abstract

Yours,

Paul H.

Fossils of Four-legged Snake Discovered (Brazil)

Fossils of Four-legged Snake Discovered (Brazil)

Four-legged fossil sheds light on mysteries of
snake evolution. (According to scientists, the
four-legged snake suggests that the modern-day
reptiles evolved from digging, rather than
swimming, ancestor) by Beatrice Gitau,
Christian Science Monitor, July 24, 2015
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0724/Four-legged-fossil-sheds-light-on-mysteries-of-snake-evolution

A Fossil Snake With Four Legs by Ed Yong
National geographic, July 24, 2015
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/23/a-fossil-snake-with-four-legs/

Four-legged snake fossil discovered, BBC
BBC News, July 24, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33621491

The (Potentially Illegal) Fantastic Four-Legged Snake And Ethics Of Fossil Collection by Shaena Montanari, Forbes, July 24, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/shaenamontanari/2015/07/24/the-potentially-illegal-fantastic-four-legged-snake-and-ethics-of-fossil-collection/

Martill, D. M., H. Tischlinger, and N. R. Longrich
2015, A four-legged snake from the Early
Cretaceous of Gondwana. Science. vol. 24,
pp. 416-419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9208
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6246/416.abstract?sid=738b60b2-baed-4d8c-8ea9-123cb898b7ad

Yours,

Paul H.

Gastrolith Papers

Gastrolith Papers

Below are some interesting papers about gastroliths
that can downloaded for free from online.

Wings, Oliver (2004): Identification, distribution, and
function of gastroliths in dinosaurs and extant birds with
emphasis on ostriches (Struthio camelus). Ph.D. Thesis,
The University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, 187 pp.
http://www.dinosaurhunter.org/files/dissertation-wings-2004-identification__distribution__and_function_of_gastroliths.pdf
http://hss.ulb.uni-bonn.de/2004/0462/0462.pdf

Wings, O. 2007. A review of gastrolith function with
implications for fossil vertebrates and a revised
classification. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 52 (1): 1–16.
https://www.app.pan.pl/issue.html?issue=205
https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app52/app52-001.pdf
http://www.dinosaurhunter.org/9-0-Publications-Oliver-Wings.html

Wings, O. (2012). Gastroliths in Coprolites - A Call to Search.
In: Vertebrate Coprolites. Hunt, et al. (eds.), New Mexico
Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin no. 57.
http://www.dinosaurhunter.org/9-0-Publications-Oliver-Wings.html
http://www.dinosaurhunter.org/files/nmmnhb-2012-wings-gastroliths_in_coprolites.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

Trilobite In Stained Glass

Trilobite In Stained Glass

Trilobite in Glass by Glendon Mellow
Sceintific American, January 31, 2015 |
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/trilobite-in-glass/

Yours,

Paul H.

Treasure Trove of Soft-Bodied Ordovician Fossils From Morocco

Treasure Trove of Soft-Bodied Ordovician Fossils From Morocco

Rare Fossils of 400-Million-Year-Old Sea Creatures
Uncovered, by Laura Geggel, Live Science, July 08, 2015
http://www.livescience.com/51474-morocco-marine-fossils-uncovered.html

Photos: Trove of Marine Fossils Discovered in Morocco
by Laura Geggel, Live Science, July 08, 2015
http://www.livescience.com/51467-photos-moroccan-marine-fossils.html

Spectacular Moroccan fossils redefine evolutionary timelines
Science Daily, Geological Society of London, July 7, 2015
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150707213241.htm

Exceptionally preserved fossils New fossil discoveries
Yale University, http://people.earth.yale.edu/research/derek-briggs

The paper is:

Van Roy, P., Briggs, D.E.G. & Gaines R.R. The Fezouata
fossils of Morocco; an extraordinary record of marine life
in the Early Ordovician. Journal of the Geological Society,
July 8, 2015 DOI: 10.1144/jgs2015-017
http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/content/early/2015/06/29/jgs2015-017.abstract

Yours,

Paul H.

Plans Being Made For Closing Of The 138-Year-Old Illinois State Museum System

Plans Being Made For Closing Of The 138-Year-Old Illinois State Museum System

Plans have been proposed to close the 138-year-old
Illinois State Museum System. This includes their large
collection of Quaternary vertebrates

Statement from the American Alliance of Museums:
“Illinois State Museum System at Risk of Closure; Show
Your Support! http://t.congressweb.com/w/?GILOPWGAPZ

Some Illinois State Museum web pages:

http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/loess.html
http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/ice_age_animals.html
Faunmap, Illinois State Museum - http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/faunmap/
http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/faunmap/aboutfaunmap.html

Opinion pieces about proposed closing:

Jodie O'Gorman: Closing Illinois State Museum would
reflect poorly on the state, The State-Journal-Register
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150625/OPINION/150629652

Our Opinion: Don't shutter Illinois' natural, cultural
history, June 27, 2015, The State-Journal-Register
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150627/OPINION/150629564/

The public hearing on the closure is scheduled for July 13.
The public comment period runs through July 22.

Newspaper articles are:

1. Illinois State Museum closing would be devastating, advocate says
The State-Journal-Register, June 10, 2015
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150610/NEWS/150619927

2. Illinois State Museum to remain open into August pending review
The State-Journal-Register, June 30, 2015
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150630/NEWS/150639947

3. Public hearing scheduled on possible Illinois State Museum closure
The State-Journal-Register, June 29, 2015
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150629/NEWS/150629506

Nice public radio piece is “Grassroots Efforts To Keep State
Museum Open” by Rachel Otwell, July 1, 2015
http://wuis.org/post/grass-roots-efforts-keep-state-museum-open

Official schedule:
http://cgfa.ilga.gov/resource.aspx?id=1822

Official closure statement from DNR:
http://cgfa.ilga.gov/upload/DNRrecommendILStateMuseum.pdf

Website for public commentary:
http://cgfa.ilga.gov/Resource.aspx?id=1357

Yours,

Paul H

8.52-carat Diamond Found at Crater of Diamonds State Park

8.52-carat Diamond Found at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Colorado Woman Finds 8.52 Carat Diamond At
Arkansas Park by Associated Press, June 29, 2015
http://wspa.com/2015/06/29/colorado-woman-finds-8-52-carat-diamond-at-arkansas-park/

Colorado woman unearths 8.52-carat diamond at
Arkansas park by Nicole Hensley, new york Daily News
http://m.nydailynews.com/news/national/colorado-woman-unearths-8-52-carat-diamond-arkansas-park-article-1.2273561

Colorado Woman Discovers 8.52-Carat Diamond
in Arkansas State Park, peoples Magazine
http://www.people.com/article/bobbie-oskarson-crater-of-diamonds-state-park-discovery

Yours,

Paul H.

Giant Sinkholes Spotted on Rosetta Comet

Giant Sinkholes Spotted on Rosetta Comet

Giant sinkholes spotted on Rosetta's comet
Science Now, Los Angeles Times, July 1, 2015
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-comet-sinkholes-rosetta-20150630-story.html

Rosetta spies cometary sinkholes, BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33354872

Rosetta spots sinkholes on comet 67P
The Daily Mail, July 1, 2015
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3146180/Rosetta-spots-SINKHOLES-comet-67P-Giant-abysses-formed-ice-turned-gas-surface-collapsed.html

The paper is:

Vincent, J.-B., and many, many otehrs, 2015, Large
heterogeneities in comet 67P as revealed by active
pits from sinkhole collapse. Nature. vol 523, pp. 63–66
(02 July 2015) doi:10.1038/nature14564
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v523/n7558/full/nature14564.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Most of Earth’s Impact Craters Await Discovery

Most of Earth’s Impact Craters Await Discovery

Hi,

Below is what Ed is talking about:

340 undiscovered meteorite impact sites on Earth,
geologists calculate, Science News, June 30, 2015
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150630080204.htm

S. Hergarten, T. Kenkmann. The number of impact
craters on Earth: Any room for further discoveries?
Earth and Planetary Science Letters. vol. 425,
pp. 187-192. DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2015.06.009
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X15003659

Most of Earth’s impact craters await discovery.
Ninety or more cavities wider than 1 kilometer
remain to be found by Thomas sumner, June 17, 2015
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/most-earth’s-impact-craters-await-discovery

I will have read through and think about it, to
figure out what I think of it.

Yours,
Paul H.