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 Geologists in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN–I had not realized how much water is in the city of Stockholm. Almost a third of the city’s area is water because the center is built on 14 islands connected by bridges and ferries. “The Venice of the … Continu… Continue reading

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A Day in Tallinn, Estonia

TALLINN, ESTONIA–Like our Wooster Geology colleagues in Iceland, we also have a nearly-final day in a city. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, the medieval town square of which is shown above. We started here briefly at the airport, and … C… Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Ancient shrimp burrows (Middle Jurassic of Israel)

This week we have a trace fossil, the burrow Thalassinoides. It is represented by one of my favorite images, reproduced above, showing a very large Thalassinoides suevicus in the Zohar Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of Makhtesh Qatan in the Neg… Continue reading

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Suur Strait (Moon Sound, Moonzund)

TALLINN, ESTONIA–The Wooster Geology team in Estonia successfully returned to the Estonian capital city of Tallinn today, which means we crossed by ferry the Suur Strait between the western Estonian islands (notably Muhu) and the Estonian mainlan… Continue reading

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A visit to Kaali Crater for our last day on Saaremaa

KURESSAARE, ESTONIA–A dramatic geological site on our last Saaremaa day: the meteorite craters at Kaali. We hiked around the largest crater (shown above) and then visited one of the smaller subsidiary craters nearby (shown below). The main Kaali … Continue reading

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Paleoecology of the Hilliste Formation (Lower Silurian, Llandovery, Rhuddanian) Hiiumaa Island, Estonia: An example of a shallow marine recovery fauna — An abstract submitted to the Geological Society of America for the 2011 annual meeting

KURESSAARE, ESTONIA–Editor’s note: The Wooster Geologists in Estonia found enough material, and had enough time, to write abstracts for posters at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Minneapolis this October. The following i… Continue reading

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Stratigraphy and paleoecology at the Wenlock/Ludlow boundary on Saaremaa Island, Estonia — An abstract submitted to the Geological Society of America for the 2011 annual meeting

KURESSAARE, ESTONIA–Editor’s note: The Wooster Geologists in Estonia found enough material, and had enough time, to write abstracts for posters at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Minneapolis this October. The following i… Continue reading

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Inside a secret Soviet missile base — 20 years later

KURESSAARE, ESTONIA–When I was growing up the Soviet Union was simply an unchangeable fact of life. The United States had an implacable enemy, and we were locked in a struggle that would last my lifetime, at least. That lifetime was … Conti… Continue reading

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Wooster Geologists return to Suuriku Cliff, Saaremaa, Estonia

KURESSAARE, ESTONIA–Today we visited one of Rob McConnell’s (’10)  Senior Independent Study field sites on the northwest coast of Saaremaa. Suuriku Cliff (N58.50875°, E21.99818°; see above image) is an exposure of the Jaani Formati… Continue reading

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The painful history of the Sõrve Peninsula, Saaremaa, Estonia

KURESSAARE, ESTONIA–This country has had the historical misfortune to lie between the Russians to the east and the Germans to the west with all their imperial ambitions in the last few centuries. The terrain is deeply glaciated and thus has &#823… Continue reading

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