ScotBlogs

I had to include one!  Looking at it dispassionately, surely pandas are an evolutionary frivolity. It takes a lot of bamboo to keep a panda happy. But it’s hard to name an animal that inspires more affection than this one. … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Every time I visit the British Museum in London, I examine the fascinating relief from Nineveh showing The Siege of Lachish. The detail is extraordinary as the story is told in sequence through dozens of panels. It is … Continue reading →

Our visit to Jerusalem was to meet geologists at the Geological Survey of Israel main complex in the western part of the city. Those discussions went very well and we met new people and learned much. Will and I also … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Will and I went to Jerusalem for meetings at the Geological Survey of Israel headquarters. Much more on that later. On the way Yoav drove us along the west coast of the Dead Sea. Will got a … Continue reading →

Love of nature — biophilia.  Some have argued that it’s imprinted in our very genes. It’s certainly in our institutions. Many religions emphasize respect for nature and for animals, as was evident at this 1000 year old Buddhist temple.The buildings … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Will and I drove south, east and north to meet Dr. Yael Edelmen-Furstenburg of the Geological Survey of Israel. She gave us a most excellent tour of the Mishash (pronounced ME-shawsh) Formation (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) in the … Continue reading →

Mark Wilson reports on a dying coral reef. http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2011/05/28/a-visit-to-a-dying-reef-system/ Corals are threatened around the world. In addition to the negative impacts on ecosystems, the loss of beauty is also something to mourn.

The sharp little conical fossils above are common Paleozoic fossils, especially in the Devonian. They are tentaculitids now most commonly placed in the Class Tentaculitoidea Ljashenko 1957. Tentaculitids appeared in the Ordovician and disappeared sometime around the end of the … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–On our way back from Eilat this afternoon, Will and I took a short hike to see the “Ammonite Wall” on the southern outside beds of Makhtesh Ramon. It is an impressive tilted array of large ammonites in … Continue reading →