Author Archives: Mark Wilson

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is an emeritus Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.

The geomorphology of Mount Eagle, Virginia, and the Civil War

Alexandria, Virginia — This is my second post about my new home in the Mid Atlantic. I retired from The College of Wooster in August of 2024, and just three weeks ago my wife and I moved from Wooster, Ohio, … Continue reading → Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on The geomorphology of Mount Eagle, Virginia, and the Civil War

Wooster Geologist in northern Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia —Last August I retired from The College of Wooster after 43 years of service. It was difficult to detach from the wonderful Earth Sciences department after planting such deep roots in this extraordinary community of teacher/s… Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster Geologist in northern Virginia

A new paper on a tiny cryptic trace fossil from the Silurian of Sweden and Estonia

One of my favorite trace fossils (fossils that record ancient behavior) is the ichnogenus Arachnostega. It was first formally described and named by Bertling in 1992, which is surprisingly recent for such a common fossil. This week my Estonian colleagu… Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on A new paper on a tiny cryptic trace fossil from the Silurian of Sweden and Estonia

Carbonate hardgrounds at Wooster

On the second floor of Wooster’s Scovel Hall, in a room behind the main teaching laboratory, are six cabinets completely full of labelled rocks and fossils (see below). There is even an additional set of specimens too large for the … Contin… Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Carbonate hardgrounds at Wooster

A Wooster Geologist visits Fort Meigs, Ohio

Today my wife Gloria and I visited the reconstructed Fort Meigs in the northwestern corner of Ohio in Perrysburg, just south of Toledo. It was a beautiful day and we practically had the place to ourselves. It was our first … Continue reading → Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on A Wooster Geologist visits Fort Meigs, Ohio

And sometimes it rains.

Today I took Peter, Lauren and Evie on another afternoon local field trip, this time to Wooster Memorial Park (Spangler). We wanted to repeat the enjoyable exploration we had last week in Lodi Community Park. This time, though, we got … Continue … Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on And sometimes it rains.

54 cm Core from Brown’s Lake Bog Reveals …

Guest Bloggers: Evie Sanford and Peter Rothstein Summer diatom research continues at The College of Wooster. Building on last summer’s work by Garret Robertson, Minnie Pozefsky and Dr. Mark Wilson, as well as that of other previous IS students Justine … Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on 54 cm Core from Brown’s Lake Bog Reveals …

A local geological field trip on a midsummer’s day: Return to the Lower Carboniferous of Lodi, Ohio

Wooster, Ohio– This afternoon three industrious summer research students and I took advantage of the brilliant weather to drive 30 minutes north of town to Lodi Community Park in Medina County, Ohio. We wanted to take a break from lab … Con… Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on A local geological field trip on a midsummer’s day: Return to the Lower Carboniferous of Lodi, Ohio

Two Environmental Geoscience majors featured in Wooster Magazine

We are proud of all our graduating seniors. When their Senior Independent Study projects are described outside the department, we highlight their excellent work for a larger audience. Corey Knauf (shown above) and Athena Tharenos (shown below) were bot… Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Two Environmental Geoscience majors featured in Wooster Magazine

James Parkinson, Paleontologist

Ann Arbor, Michigan — This morning I gave a talk at the North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC) about the extensive contributions that the English physician James Parkinson (1755-1824) made to the rapidly growing field of paleontology in… Continue reading

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on James Parkinson, Paleontologist