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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 …


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 …