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Full-Text Articles in Geology

The Curse Of Rafinesquina: Negative Taphonomic Feedback Exerted By Strophomenid Shells On Storm-Buried Lingulids In The Cincinnatian (Katian, Ordovician) Series Of Ohio, Rebecca Freeman, Benjamin Dattilo, Aaron Morse, Michael Blair, Steve Felton, John Pojeta Jul 2014

The Curse Of Rafinesquina: Negative Taphonomic Feedback Exerted By Strophomenid Shells On Storm-Buried Lingulids In The Cincinnatian (Katian, Ordovician) Series Of Ohio, Rebecca Freeman, Benjamin Dattilo, Aaron Morse, Michael Blair, Steve Felton, John Pojeta

Benjamin F. Dattilo

Thousands of lingulid brachiopods were found clustered beneath hundreds of individual valves of the strophomenid brachiopod Rafinesquina in the Upper Ordovician of Ohio. This association suggested a relationship between the two brachiopods, but the nature of this relationship was unclear. We utilized serial thin sectioning to examine these brachiopods and to determine the origin of the bed in which they were found. Sedimentary structures, mixed taphonomies, and stratigraphic and paleogeographic setting suggest that the lingulids occupied a hiatal concentration that had previously been reworked, but not significantly transported, by tropical storms. The final burial event was a storm that exhumed …


The “Curse Of Rafinesquina:” Negative Taphonomic Feedback Exerted By Strophomenid Shells On Storm-Buried Lingulids In The Cincinnatian Series (Katian, Ordovician) Of Ohio, Rebecca Freeman, Benjamin Dattilo, Aaron Morse, Michael Blair, Steve Felton, John Pojeta Dec 2012

The “Curse Of Rafinesquina:” Negative Taphonomic Feedback Exerted By Strophomenid Shells On Storm-Buried Lingulids In The Cincinnatian Series (Katian, Ordovician) Of Ohio, Rebecca Freeman, Benjamin Dattilo, Aaron Morse, Michael Blair, Steve Felton, John Pojeta

Benjamin F. Dattilo

Taphonomic feedback is the idea that accumulation of organic remains either enhances the habitat for some organisms (positive taphonomic feedback), and/or degrades the habitat for others (negative taphonomic feedback). Examples of epibionts living on skeletal remains are direct evidence of positive taphonomic feedback. Disruption of infaunal burrowing activities by skeletal fragments is an example of negative taphonomic feedback; direct fossil evidence of this phenomenon has not been documented previously. Infaunal organisms are vulnerable to exhumation or entombment during storms, but organisms that burrow can also re-establish viable life positions subsequently. For example, when modern lingulids re-burrow after exhumation, they first …


Background Fluorescence In Groundwater From A Tropical Karst Island Aquifer, Michelle Hoffman Sep 2010

Background Fluorescence In Groundwater From A Tropical Karst Island Aquifer, Michelle Hoffman

Michelle Hoffman

Background levels of four fluorescent compounds were monitored biweekly at thirteen sampling sites on Guam, consisting of subtidal and intertidal springs, dissolution fractures, and internal upland contact spring discharge, over a 13-month period from 2006 to 2007. Samples were compared to local precipitation and to seawater samples from four nearby reef flats. The data revealed that the concentrations of optical brighteners were consistently two orders of magnitude greater than either sodium fluorescein or rhodamine WT, while Eosine Y was rarely detected. Background levels in seawater, by comparison, accounted for 25% or more of the fluorescent compounds detected at the thirteen …


In The Heat Of The Law, It's Not Just Steam: Geothermal Resources And The Impact On Thermophile Biodiversity, Donald J. Kochan, Tiffany Grant Dec 2006

In The Heat Of The Law, It's Not Just Steam: Geothermal Resources And The Impact On Thermophile Biodiversity, Donald J. Kochan, Tiffany Grant

Donald J. Kochan

Significant research has been conducted into the utilization of geothermal resources as a ‘green’ energy source. However, minimal research has been conducted into geothermal resource utilization and depletion impacts on thermophile biodiversity. Thermophiles are organisms which have adapted over millions of year to extreme temperature and chemical compositions and exist in hot springs and other geothermal resources. Their ability to withstand high temperatures makes them invaluable to scientific and medical research. Current federal and California case law classify geothermal resources as a mineral, not a water resource. Acquisition of rights to develop a geothermal resource owned or reserved by the …


Who Believes What? Clearing Up Confusion Over Intelligent Design And Young-Earth Creationism, Marcus R. Ross Jan 2005

Who Believes What? Clearing Up Confusion Over Intelligent Design And Young-Earth Creationism, Marcus R. Ross

Marcus R. Ross

The question of what differentiates young-Earth creationism (YEC) from Intelligent Design (ID) has resulted in inaccurate and confusing terminology, and hinders both understanding and dialogue. Though both YEC and ID groups have drawn distinctions between themselves, previous attempts to classify design-based positions on origins have been unable to adequately resolve their relationships. The Nested Hierarchy of Design, a multiple-character classification system, categorizes teleological positions according to the strength of claims regarding the reality, detectability, source, method, and timing of design, and results in an accurate and robust classification of numerous positions. This method avoids the philosophical and theological pitfalls of …