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.

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A twisty trace fossil (Lower Carboniferous of northern Kentucky)

Mark Wilson January 27, 2013

My Invertebrate Paleontology students know this as Specimen #8 in the trace fossil exercises section: “the big swirly thing”. It is a representative of the ichnogenus Zoophycos Massalongo, 1855. This trace is well known to paleontologists and sedimentologists alike — … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A twisty trace fossil (Lower Carboniferous of northern Kentucky)

Contemporary melting of northwestern glaciers: A new paper by Wooster Geologists … and the ultimate finish of an Independent Study adventure

Mark Wilson January 25, 2013

Wooster geology graduate Nathan Malcomb, now a scientist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service, has just published an important paper with his advisor Greg Wiles in the journal Quaternary Research (affectionately known as “QR”). This … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Contemporary melting of northwestern glaciers: A new paper by Wooster Geologists … and the ultimate finish of an Independent Study adventure

Wooster’s Pseudofossil of the Week: Manganese dendrites from Germany

Mark Wilson January 20, 2013

We haven’t had a pseudofossil in this space for awhile. A pseudofossil is an object that is often mistaken for a fossil but is actually inorganic. The above may look like  fossil fern, but it is instead a set of … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Pseudofossil of the Week: Manganese dendrites from Germany

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A glass sponge from the Upper Ordovician of southern Ohio

Mark Wilson January 13, 2013

Like all those who teach, I learn plenty from my students, sometimes with a simple question. Richa Ekka (’13) asked me last semester during a paleontology lab if the above specimen was really a trace fossil as I had labeled … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A glass sponge from the Upper Ordovician of southern Ohio

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A conulariid from the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Mark Wilson January 6, 2013

This week’s fossil is not technically impressive: it is a rather modestly preserved conulariid from the Waynesville Formation of southern Indiana (location C/W-111). It is notable because it is one of the very few conulariids I’ve found in the Ordovician, … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A conulariid from the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Episkeletozoans from the Middle Jurassic of Israel

Mark Wilson December 30, 2012

Last week I had a delightful research afternoon with my former student Lisa Park Boush, now a professor in the Department of Geology and Environmental Science at The University of Akron, and currently Program Director, National Science Foundation, Sedimentary Geology … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Episkeletozoans from the Middle Jurassic of Israel

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A swimming clam from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Mark Wilson December 23, 2012

In the summer of 1996, I was a co-director of a Keck Geology Consortium project in Cyprus. One of my students was Steve Dornbos (’97), now a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. We had a great time exploring the Nicosia … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A swimming clam from the Pliocene of Cyprus

A spectacular glaciated valley near Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland

Mark Wilson December 20, 2012

DONEGAL, IRELAND — One last post from a great day in the Irish countryside. The above is Glengesh Pass, with the town of Ardara in the background. Glengesh means “Glen of the Swans”. On the south side (right in this … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on A spectacular glaciated valley near Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland

Slieve League, County Donegal, Ireland

Mark Wilson December 20, 2012

DONEGAL, IRELAND — The above peak sweeping precipitously down into a raging sea is the smaller of the exposures at Slieve League along the southern coast of County Donegal. These are the highest sea cliffs in Ireland, and among the … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Slieve League, County Donegal, Ireland

The Grianán of Aileach

Mark Wilson December 20, 2012

DONEGAL, IRELAND — In the northeastern part of the county, about 7 km west of Derry in Northern Ireland, is Greenan Mountain. On its very top is a spectacular ringfort called The Grianán of Aileach (“the Solarium of Aileach”, shown … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on The Grianán of Aileach