Monday 28 June 2010
Friday 25 June 2010
Sunday 13 June 2010
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Friday 4 June 2010
WOODLAND THERMOMETER: BRITISH COLUMBIA
Out in the woods of British Columbia and wondering what the temperature is? Slip down to the nearest stand of deciduous trees to search for the wee Snowy Tree Cricket, Oecanthus Fultoni, part of the order orthoptera.
Snowy Tree Crickets and their cousins double as thermometers and wee garden predators, dining on aphids and other wee beasties. Weather conditions, both hot and cold, affect the speed at which they rub the base of their wings together and consequently regulate their rate of chirping.
Listen for their tell-tale high pitch triple chirp sound in the early evening. Being in Canada, our crickets chirp in Celsius. Simply count the number of chirps over a seven second period and add five to learn your local temperature.
If didn't bring your calculator with you into the woods and you're still operating in old-skool Fahrenheit use this handy conversion. Double the temperature in Celsius, add 32 you'll get the approximate temperature in Fahrenheit.
Snowy Tree Crickets and their cousins double as thermometers and wee garden predators, dining on aphids and other wee beasties. Weather conditions, both hot and cold, affect the speed at which they rub the base of their wings together and consequently regulate their rate of chirping.
Listen for their tell-tale high pitch triple chirp sound in the early evening. Being in Canada, our crickets chirp in Celsius. Simply count the number of chirps over a seven second period and add five to learn your local temperature.
If didn't bring your calculator with you into the woods and you're still operating in old-skool Fahrenheit use this handy conversion. Double the temperature in Celsius, add 32 you'll get the approximate temperature in Fahrenheit.
Saturday 22 May 2010
Friday 14 May 2010
Thursday 13 May 2010
ANCIENT RIVER DELTA
The exposures of the Chuckanut Formation were once part of a vast river delta; imagine, if you will, the bayou country of the Lower Mississippi. The siltstones, sandstones, mudstones and conglomerates of the Chuckanut Formation were laid down about 40-54 million years ago during the Eocene epoch, a time of luxuriant plant growth in the subtropical flood plain that covered much of the Pacific Northwest. This ancient wetland provided ideal conditions to preserve the many trees, shrubs & plants that thrived here. Rare bird, reptile and mammal tracks have also been immortalized. Tracks from Diatryma, a large flightless bird, were uncovered in 2009. Diatryma reached up to 9 feet in height, making a living in the grasslands and swamps of the Eocene.
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Tuesday 11 May 2010
UNEARTHING ANCIENT WASHINGTON
A trip along Chuckanut Drive, in northwestern Washington is a chance to view incredible diversity from sea to sky. An amazing array of plants and animals call this coastline home. For the fossil enthusiast, it is a chance to slip back in time and have a bird’s eye view to a more tropical time with a visit to the Chuckanut Formation. Snug up against the Pacific Ocean, this 6000m thick exposure yields a vast number of tropical and flowering plants that you might see in Mexico today.
Easily accessible by car, this rich natural playground makes for an enjoyable daytrip just one hour south of the US Border
Monday 10 May 2010
Wednesday 5 May 2010
MOSASAUR: JAWLINE REVEALED
A close-up view of the dentition of an ancient aquatic, carnivorous lizard,the mighty Mosasaur, from Late Cretaceous exposures on Vancouver Island. This well-prepped specimen is now housed in the collections of the Courtenay Museum, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
The creature who owned this jaw bone undoubtably swam alongside Kourisodon puntledgensis, another enormous marine predator and new species of Mosasaur unearthed on Vancouver Island who swam our ancient seaway millions of years ago.
Sunday 2 May 2010
Friday 30 April 2010
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Thursday 22 April 2010
GORDES, FRANCE
Gordes est l'une des villes les plus belles dans les sud de la France. Construit sur un grand cliffside de pierre à chaux, il loge également certains des meilleurs échantillons fossiles de la région.
Thursday 15 April 2010
METASEQUOIA: EAST MEETS WEST
Metasequoia, a deciduous conifer, and one of the common fossils found in many of the Eocene sites of the Pacific northwest, flourished in Oregon's forests for millions of years. In honor of this long history, Oregon has named it their official state fossil. Metasequoia were first described from the Mesozoic from Shigeru Miki in 1941. Miki, thinking they were long extinct was surprised that his 'fossil first' had living relatives. The "dawn redwood" was rediscovered in China in 1941 in Modaoxi. The excitement of the find was diminished by the heating up of World War II. In 1948, Wan Chun Cheng took up their study with fellow scientist, Hu Hsen Hsu, with a study and a replanting program.
Harvard University was asked to participate and brought back a collection of seeds and seedlings to distritute to various universities and arboreta worldwide. Today, the dawn redwood can be found growing in temperate environments across North America and the rest of the globe.
Two of my friends, Mike and Cory, raise these "fossil seedlings" for friends and paleo enthusiasts. Sadly, I tend to underwater for extended periods of time, which has disasterous effects even on this small study sample. Even so, several of the hardiest seedlings grace my yard, adding a bright, fresh green and Oregon's official fossil to the garden. This year, I've started a few new hopefuls of my own to plant on Earth Day.
Wednesday 14 April 2010
FOSSILES DANS LE BASSIN DE PARIS
J'ai plaisir à voyager aux sud de la France assez souvent. Hormis le grand vin et les personnes fantastiques, la région d'Avignon est nichée dans le bassin de Paris… un arrangement gentil de pierre à chaux où on peut trouver l'abondance de beaux fossiles
Sunday 11 April 2010
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