Fossils, geology and minerals. Highly acclaimed international earth science blog with over 850 articles and book reviews.
Rosalind Jones (France) Here’s a conundrum. How is it that a mountain composed of schist has a topping of Larvikite granite which is surrounded by a deposit containing Iona Marble, Old Red Sandstone and Triassic pebbles? Furthermore, why did it make global news? How did it inspire students to become … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the first of my series of short articles on fossils of the Cambrian. Amongst the most intriguing arthropods of the Cambrian and Ordovician are the agnostids – tiny, simplified, and often beautifully preserved creatures long grouped together with trilobites but still raising questions about their … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) The origins of the collection at the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle’s Galerie de Géologie et de Minéralogie in Paris date back surprisingly far. In 1625, under Louis XIII, minerals thought to have medicinal virtues were deposited in the ‘droguier du roi’ (royal drug cabinet) associated with the then … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the eleventh and last of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Yorgia is one of the most distinctive members of the Ediacaran biota – a broad, quilted, segmented organism that thrived on the shallow seafloors of the White Sea region … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) Britain is often described as geologically quiet. There are no active volcanoes, no subduction zones, and only modest earthquakes. Yet, for its size, few countries display such a concentration of geological variety. Mountain uplands, volcanic terrains, deeply folded rocks, and ancient metamorphic cores all occur within a … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the tenth of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Of all the organisms populating the Ediacaran oceans, Tribrachidium stands out as one of the most geometrically extraordinary. Living around 555 million years ago, it possessed a perfectly tri-radial body plan … Read More
Books devoted specifically to collecting Britain’s Cenozoic fossils are surprisingly rare. While collectors are well served by guides to the country’s Palaeozoic and Mesozoic fossils, the younger deposits that record the last 66 million years of Earth history have received far less attention. A Field Guide to Collecting British Cenozoic Fossils aims to address that gap by providing a practical introduction to the fossils and collecting sites associated with these deposits.
Jon Trevelyan (UK) The geology and palaeontology section at the Museo di Storia Naturale: geology and palaeontology in Verona is one of those museum experiences that perhaps quietly insists you pay attention if you notice it there among the other attractions of this lovely town. It doesn’t shout with flashy … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the ninth of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Spriggina is one of the most iconic animals of the late Ediacaran Period, living around 550 million years ago, just before the Cambrian explosion transformed life on Earth. Known from beautifully … Read More
Michael C Mackiewicz (USA) Antimony is one of those elements that most people have heard of at one time or another, but when asked why it is important, they would be at a loss for words. However, it is critical in making flame-retardant fabrics, battery grids, solders, bearings, ammunition and … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the eighth of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Rangea is one of the most distinctive and important members of the Ediacaran biota. Dating to roughly 550 million years ago, it is amongst the earliest organisms to exhibit complex, modular … Read More
Paul Binns’ Explaining the Earth: An Introduction to the Earth and its Systems is an attractive and highly accessible introduction to the planet and its major systems. Beautifully illustrated throughout with full-colour photographs and clear explanatory diagrams, it offers a brisk survey of the familiar territory of introductory Earth science – rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, oceans and atmosphere, the Earth’s interior, mountains, deserts and so on, and the processes that shape them.
Luke Sattler (USA) I recently took a field trip to the Hartsel and South Park area of Colorado with my brother, grandparents, Steven Veatch (the Pikes Peak Pebble Pups Leader) and his wife, Shelly. We went to look at two pieces of real property owned by Steven Veatchin South Park, … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the seventh of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Kimberella is one of the most influential fossils from the Ediacaran period, living around 555 million years ago and preserved primarily in the White Sea region of northwest Russia. Unlike the … Read More
The Oldest Rocks on Earth is composed in a consciously popular-science style, making it an enjoyable read, as well as an informative one for readers interested in how geologists reconstruct the earliest history of our planet. This approach allows Simon Lamb to interweave the science with his own research history, particularly his PhD work and later field studies in Swaziland (now renamed Eswatini), where he investigated some of the oldest rocks on Earth.
Jon Trevelyan (UK) For much of the twentieth century, generations of students (and amateurs like me) learned a tidy, mid-Cretaceous succession for southern England: Lower Greensand – Gault Clay – Upper Greensand – Chalk. It appeared in every textbook, diagram and museum panel. There was an appealing symmetry to the … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the sixth of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Funisia dorothea is one of the most revealing fossils from the late Ediacaran Period, offering a rare glimpse into the behaviour of early animals rather than only their anatomy. Found in … Read More
Michael C. Mackiewicz (USA) Tungsten as an element is well-known for its extreme physical characteristics. It melts at a higher temperature than any other metal, is unusually dense, and remains hard and stable even under extreme heat, thereby making it crucial in both scientific and industrial settings. Even though tungsten … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the sixth of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period Fractofusus is one of the most abundant and ecologically revealing organisms of the Ediacaran Period, flourishing around 565 million years ago in the deep-marine settings of the Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland. … Read More
Robert J Williams (UK) To the north-east of London lies the county of Essex, which extends out to the east coast of England. Although not noted for its geology, it does have quite a bit to offer the amateur geologist. In addition, there is a significant body of published geological … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the last of three articles on the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE). The first covered the climate engine of the CPE and the second described the marine ecosystem upheaval during those times. This final article turns to the continents, examining how the CPE transformed terrestrial landscapes … Read More
Michael C Mackiewicz (USA) A familiar mineral with an unfamiliar story Graphite is one of those minerals that most people think they intrinsically know until they actually hold a good specimen in their hands. The word ‘graphite’ brings visions of pencils and grey streaks. However, graphite occupies the centre of … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the fourth of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. And among the most intriguing organisms of the late Ediacaran Period is Ernietta, a sack-shaped, partly infaunal creature that lived around 548-541 million years ago in the shallow seas of what … Read More
At first glance, What Did Dinosaurs Think About? looks like a slightly mischievous title attached to a familiar subject. Dinosaurs, after all, have been thought about endlessly; whether they themselves did much thinking is another matter. Ronan Le Loeuff’s book makes no claim to settle that question definitively, but it does something arguably more interesting – it asks what sort of sensory world dinosaurs inhabited, and how that might have shaped their behaviour.
Stephen K Donovan (UK) If asked what is my favourite fossil collecting site, I would have to say the Farquhar’s Beach oyster bed on the south-central coast of Jamaica. I taught at the University of the West Indies for over 12 years and this locality was an easy drive. In … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the second of three articles on the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE). The first covered the climate engine of the CPE. This article turns to the marine record, tracing how the CPE destabilised reefs and reorganised shallow-marine ecosystems. When the Triassic seas lost their balance In … Read More
Planetary geology occupies an awkward but fascinating position between disciplines. It draws its physical framework from physics and astronomy, its observational tools from remote sensing and space missions, and its interpretative instincts from terrestrial geology. Planetary Geology: An Introduction by Dominic Fortes and Claudio Vita-Finzi has, since its first appearance, sought to bring these strands together into a coherent teaching text.
Michael Mackiewicz (USA) Fluorite has long captivated mineral collectors with its range of colours, sharp cubic crystals, and its magical glow under ultraviolet light. Once sought after for its beauty, it is now a mineral that is essential to modern industry and clean-energy supply chains. Fluorite, also called fluorspar, is … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the third of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Dickinsonia is one of the most recognisable and debated organisms of the Ediacaran Period, living between 558 and 550 million years ago on shallow seafloors long before the rise of animals … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) The Naturmuseum Südtirol is housed in an historic building in the old town of Bolzano and was opened in 1997 in its current form. Its major theme consists of the geology of South Tyrol, that is, the region’s rocks, minerals (Fig. 1) landscapes, tectonics, its natural habitats … Read More
