Oloto Synio Report

Approximately 17 meters thick, Unit A defines the lowest third of the Juniata Formation. Fragments of marine fossils, including bryozoans, brachiopods, and gastropods, are commonly found in the bottom-most portion of this unit of structureless mudstone and quartz arenite. Quartz grains in the sandstone beds of Unit A are typically immature and fine-grained, though the sandstone packages tend to coarsen upwards. Though typically structureless, intermittent bedding of the sandstone and shale packages is observed in this unit, and some areas display

This mega drought matched up with the Lake Chichancanab sediment record, giving the authors more confidence in their results. They did this for multiple depths of low Ti content on the sediment cores that resulted in the dates of 910, 860, 810, and 760 A.D.. The intervals between these drought periods were all within approximately 40 to 47 years which also is supported in the Lake Chichancanab sediment record. Beginning with the drought in 760 A.D., a drying trend appeared for approximately the next 40 years until a more severe drought occurred at approximately 810 A.D. Another major drought occurred at roughly 860 A.D. based on very low Ti content results. This was finally capped of with another sever drought in 910 A.D. which lasted roughly 6 years.

The author and his colleagues specifically chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because this was the time frame that provided fish that would be useful to study from. The 385 million year old rocks provided fish that look too similar to the ones we have now and the 365 million year old rocks have fossils that don’t resemble fish. The 375 million year old rocks, however, provide fossils that show the transition between fish and land living animals.

| |us the approximate age |other and studying the fossils |these layers of sediment might |

They chose the time period of 375 million year old rocks because they thought that it was an ideal age to check the transition. They were only able to find fish found in 380 million year old rock and the animals with limbs in 365 million year old rocks. Sedimentary rocks are ideal because they are made due to the turns of the river, ocean and lakes. This is the place where fishes and animals are ideal to live and survive upon. Also the environment, in which they are made, doesn’t destroy the fossils and they preserve them. In 2004, the fossils were found on Ellesmere Island in Northern Canada. This location was chosen because this is the place where there are no humans or roads or any disturbance that would forbid them to dig anywhere they want.

The fossils that are yet to be found in this project just very well may double the museum’s collection which is already at 3.5 million fossils. The project contains 16 fossil deposits that were recently unknown which makes us wonder how many more deposits are there left to discover (The Natural History Foundation, 2016). As technology advances and our understanding of these fossils grows it will be interesting to see what the future years will bring to the field of

The 440 million year old Georgian Bay Formation is largely composed of fossiliferous grey-black shale (L1R). It also consists grey fine-grained limestone, sandstone and green/grey siltstone interbedded with green/grey and blue/grey shales (Bond et. al. 1976). The frequency of hard rock units increases toward the top of the formation. Recurrent tropical storms across the Ordovician seas caused the formation of shady, thin limestone with wave ripples on top. Numerous fossils can be found in the siltstones and limestone including molluscs, crinoids and gastropods

These Paleozoic rocks are steeply plunging sandstones and siltstones, with a little event of limestone at Lilydale - the Early Devonian Lilydale Limestone. The Silurian rocks were stored in profound water, while the Devonian rocks, which are exceptionally fossiliferous, appear to have been stored in shallower water. These Silurian and Devonian rocks were folded into a progression of anticlines

The author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because amphibians that look dissimilar to fish were discovered in 365 million year old rocks, while fish without amphibian characteristics were discovered in 385 million year old rocks. Thus, it is possible that the evolutionary intermediary, or the “missing link” between fish and amphibians, would be discovered in 375 million year old rocks, between the two time periods. The rocks examined were sedimentary in composition, as the gradual and relatively gentle formation of sedimentary rock under conditions of mild pressure and low heat are conducive to the fossilization of animal remains. Sedimentary rock is also often formed in rivers and seas, where animals are likely to live. This site provides a resource that describes means by which fossils are formed and how the fossil record may be interpreted, and shows some examples of fossils demonstrating evolution through geological periods: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord.htm. In 2004, Shubin and his colleagues were looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island, in northern Canada. This location was chosen because of its lack of human development, as well as of obstructing natural formations and life forms such as trees, which

In her article titled “Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start,” Rebecca Boyle describes a variety of fossils that have led scientists to consider that life on Earth has existed longer than previously believed. An example of such fossils would be those presented in a deposit known as the Apex Chert, found by paleobiologist William Schopf in the Pilbara Craton in northwestern Australia. The orange rocks of the Apex Chert are inundated with microscopic tubes, which suggest that some kind of life form was able to burrow through the rock. According to University of Wisconsin geochemist John Valley, this sample of fossil life dates back to roughly 3.5 billion years ago, which is a long time before viable life forms were once thought to exist on Earth.

The Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction in the Late Devonian has often been considered as one of the major 5 extinctions through time. Conflicting interpretations for the cause of this extinction exist, but the role of volcanism is becoming increasingly appealing due to recent advances in radioisotope dating. New K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar ages for the Viluy traps in Siberia suggest multiphase emplacement of the Viluy traps with an early phase likely contributing to the Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction. Other work supports this idea of multiphase emplacement. Changes in earth systems during the late Devonian support the argument for the role of volcanism as a root in the destruction of multiple marine habitats during the Late Devonian. One explanation for the Frasnian-Famennian extinction involves an initial pulse of Viluy Trap volcanism which lead to elevated levels in the atmosphere, marine anoxia and ultimately extinction.

Another evidence is the fossil of Polychaete that was found in a locality named Francis Creek shale formation that is located in the fossil beds of Mazon creek in Illinois, a Midwestern

During this period there were volcanoes dotting the landscape of early Earth. Seems inhospitable right? You are correct in a way, but there is life here, microscopic life, but life nonetheless. Deep in the ocean, in the crushing depths, there are black smokers, early versions of them, wafting out large amounts of heat and food. This is where early life began, absorbing nutrients from the water. ("Proterozoic: Eukaryotes and the First Multicellular Life Forms." Proterozoic: Eukaryotes and the First Multicellular Life Forms. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar.

Charophytes are green algae that have been found in fresh water to moderately brackish water environments. Their gyrogonites are minute oval or round calcareous bodies that represent the calcified parts of the oogonium i. e. the female reproductive organs. Most of the plant consists of organic matter that decays shortly after death. Under some circumstances the stems and branches of the plant become calcified and are also preserved in the geologic record. In the absence of the planktonic and benthonic foraminifers, ostracodes and charophytes becomes valuable biostratigraphic tool for geologic analysis and interpretation (Carbonel, 1988; Colin & Lethiers, 1988; Martin-Closas & Schudack, 1996, Schudack, 2000 & 2006). Moreover the charophytes have been the focus of intensive work since the early 1960, since it was hope to obtain valuable information on the dating, biostratigraphic and paleoecology of the strata (Schudack, 2002 & 2004). The present study attempts a comprehensive biostratigraphic evolution of the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous sequence at Messak escarpment based on the stratigraphic distribution of the charophytes species as this type of microfossils have not been studied before in Libya as well as the study area has never been studied for charophytes beforehand. On the basis of the stratigraphic distribution of charophytes it is possible to subdivide the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous sequence into four assemblage zones. These are described in ascending

The classification and the descriptive terms employed in the present work with some modifications, follows that Peck (1957) and Grambast (1974 & 1975) for Clavatoraceans as well as the more recently modified classification proposed by Martin –Closas (1989), Martin –Closas & Salas (1994), that subsequently published by Schudack (1993a, 2011, 2012). The following systematic record includes 21 charophyte species belonging to 6 genera and 4 families. Most of these species have been reported previously from other areas in the numerous studies that have been carried during the last two decades on the Mesozoic charophytes flora of Europe. In the following treatment, only the main morphological features and measurements of the examined taxa are recorded, additionally local and worldwide stratigraphic ranges are also discussed.