Our program this month will be presented by Martin Welych-Flanagan, a Master’s student of Professor Carl Brett. His program is titled: Comparative patterns of recurrent paleoecological stability and turnover in the Middle Devonian of central Ohio and New York: Implications for basin-scale community changes. Martin has summarized his work as follows: “The Middle Devonian of New York is richly fossiliferous and has been the subject of paleontological study since the 1800s. The interval has a number of Ecological Evolutionary Subunits (EESUs), or periods of faunal stability followed by extremely rapid turnover. Sometimes a distinctive fauna disappeared entirely, only to return later in the succession. This talk will present updated research on these mysterious biological patterns, using faunal occurrences (brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, mollusks, etc.) to help develop a high resolution stratigraphic framework. This also allows a deeper understanding of local Devonian strata, such as the Columbus Limestone and Delaware Formation of central Ohio, by comparing and contrasting their bioevents to their New York equivalents in the Onondaga Limestone and lower Hamilton Group.”
Martin developed a love of paleontology early in life and always knew he wanted to pursue a career studying and teaching about ancient life. Inspired by the local fossils of the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY and supported by many amazing mentors, Martin was able to conduct paleontologic research and teaching even during middle and high school, which only solidified this interest. Martin is overjoyed to be pursuing an academic career as a Master's student of Carl Brett, and looks forward to becoming a professor.
TIME: 8 pm
DATE: Friday, April 18,
2025
PLACE:
Room 201 Braunstein Hall
University of Cincinnati Clifton Campus
SIMULCAST: via Zoom
- Link sent no later than April 16.
Here are some directions to our meeting room (Updated)
Attendance at UC was good at our March meeting with 21 on Zoom and 28 in-person at UC.
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The auction was a success as you will see later in the full bulletin PDF version. Thanks to all who participated.
Note: The meeting date for the April meeting will be April 18, one week earlier than normal. Our normal meeting date conflicts with the Geofair schedule. The field trip will be on April 19.
Masks will be considered as optional at Dry Dredgers meetings at UC. However, if you have a cold, other respiratory symptoms or are coughing or sneezing, you will still need to wear a mask to protect others. If you are ill, we suggest that you stay home and watch on Zoom. Some of our members who attend these meetings are in high risk groups (including me) so please be courteous and sensitive to their situation. Vaccination is also highly recommended. We have a limited number of free masks at the front of the room if you need one.
The Beginners Class will be conducted from 7:15 PM to 8:00 PM on April 18. It will be held before the general meeting in room 300 in Braunstein Hall on the UC campus. That's one floor up from the main meeting. Lincoln Shoemaker has volunteered to present the second part of his two part primer on crinoids. This installment will be called, Crinoids of the Cincinnati Area. This should be a good one.
What’s in a name? Time for a bit of history.
In the 10th Century, famed Nordic explorer Erik the Red (so named for the hair he sported in his youth) left Norway for Iceland (named after its harsh conditions) with his father Thorvald - this, after dad was exiled for manslaughter. Continuing the family “tradition,” Erik himself was later exiled to the island of Kalaallit Nunaat – also for manslaughter. In a brilliant marketing idea, Erik began calling his new locale “Greenland” figuring the name change alone would sound more attractive to settlers over a place covered with volcanoes and ice. Did it work? Not really. Iceland has approximately 390,000 residents verses 57,000 in Greenland; combined, that is still less than Wyoming (the least populated US state) at 570,000.
So – Horn Coral Heaven. The good news is: this Whitewater Formation has some of the largest fossilized horn coral in this area – most notably, Grewingkia canadensis. In addition, a variety of brachiopods, pelecypods, gastropods and bryozoan can also be found – along with the occasional trilobite and edrioasteroid. With all the recent rain we have had, there should be plenty of discoveries awaiting your arrival.
Our April field trip will be on Saturday, April 19th one week earlier than usual due to GeoFair 2025 the following week. The exploration begins at 10:00 AM.
The highway the at the site is somewhat busy, but parking on the shoulder is good and the hillside slope is easy to navigate. Speaking of navigation, Erik the Red had three sons: Leif Erikson (Leif, son of Erik) became the first known European to “discover” North America and named the area “Vinland” after finding grapes growing there. His brother Thorvald followed later; eventually becoming the first known European victim of manslaughter when he was killed by the native population (Leif had no hand in his brother’s demise – or that of anyone else - thus altering the family tradition.) When the English came five centuries later and claimed “discovery” of the same place, King Henry VII decided to call it “New Found Launde”; sounds impressive, but Leif beat them to it. Nice try Henry – a bit lame though, don’t you think?
So – what discoveries might you find on this trip? If it’s something new, you may get the naming rights. Make it something impressive.
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NEW LOCATION: Butler County Fairground Event Center 1715 Fairgrove Avenue Hamilton, Ohio 45011
See http://geofair.com for all the details.
More interesting and informative articles, along with color illustrations is available in the full E-Bulletin that was emailed to dues-paying members.
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