Monthly Archives: March 2012

Southeastern GSA-Welcome reception

Posted on March 31, 2012 by altondooley

This evening was the welcome reception for the annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the Geological Society of America (SE-GSA), which is being held this year in Asheville, North Carolina. The reception included 50 posters of undergraduate research projects.

Posted in Conferences, General Geology, Invertebrate Paleontology | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Rocks to Racing” exhibit

Posted on March 23, 2012 by altondooley

Earlier this week I mentioned in my Twitter feed that I’ve been working 20-hour days. In fact, last night was the first time in almost 2 weeks I’ve gotten to bed before 3:00 am. The reason was that we were … Continue reading →

Posted in Invertebrate Paleontology, Museums | 3 Comments

In memoriam: Frank Whitmore

Posted on March 20, 2012 by altondooley

I learned last night that paleontologist Frank C. Whitmore, Jr. passed away on Sunday at the age of 96. He was the last surviving charter member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, having attended at the inaugural meeting as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, education, and philosophy | 7 Comments

Carmel Church Day 4

Posted on March 9, 2012 by altondooley

After yesterday’s burst of new bones, we had two clear areas to focus on today. The main target were the dentary fragments. Further digging (above) showed that these are almost certainly from the same dentary. But the bone has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church mysticetes, Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 2 Comments

Carmel Church Day 3

Posted on March 8, 2012 by altondooley

We’ve had such poor luck over the last few days that I was considering wrapping up the excavation today. We spent most of the morning removing the few bones that were exposed in the pit, and checking the surface for … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church Chondrichthyans, Carmel Church mysticetes, Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 1 Comment

Carmel Church Day 2

Posted on March 7, 2012 by altondooley

This morning we were visited by William and Mary student John Hollis and Molly Cox from VIMS, who are looking at structural features in the Hylas Fault Zone. The bedrock under the sediments at Carmel Church (above) sit right in … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 2 Comments

Carmel Church Day 1

Posted on March 6, 2012 by altondooley

There was still snow on the ground this morning, but we can’t be deterred by a little cold! By 8:30 am we were on site and shoveling snow, and then sediment, out of our pit.

Posted in Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 1 Comment

Arrival at Carmel Church

Posted on March 5, 2012 by altondooley

We drove to Carmel Church Sunday night, with the intention of starting work this morning. I hadn’t counted on waking up this morning to the area’s first significant snowfall this winter! Heavy snow continued until around 1:30, and by 4:30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church Quarry | 1 Comment