DOCSLIB.ORG

A Thesis Entitled SEDIMENTOLOGY and ICHNOLOGY of LATE

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Thesis Entitled SEDIMENTOLOGY and ICHNOLOGY of LATE A Thesis entitled SEDIMENTOLOGY AND ICHNOLOGY OF LATE CAMBRIAN TO EARLY ORDOVICIAN SKOLITHOS SANDSTONE IN THE DEADWOOD FORMATION, NORTHERN BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND SOUTHEASTERN BEAR LODGE MOUNTAINS, WYOMING by William P. Sokoloski Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Geology Thesis Committee: Dr. James A. Harrell, Professor ________________________ Coadvisor: James A. Harrell Dr. Vernon M. Brown, Associate Professor ________________________ Coadvisor: Vernon M. Brown Dr. Mark J. Camp, Associate Professor ________________________ Graduate School The University of Toledo May 2005 An Abstract of SEDIMENTOLOGY AND ICHNOLOGY OF LATE CAMBRIAN TO EARLY ORDOVICIAN SKOLITHOS SANDSTONE IN THE DEADWOOD FORMATION, NORTHERN BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND SOUTHEASTERN BEAR LODGE MOUNTAINS, WYOMING William P. Sokoloski Submitted in partial fulfillment of The requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Geology The University of Toledo May 2005 The upper part of the Cambrian-Ordovician Deadwood Formation contains a Late Cambrian Skolithos-bearing sandstone unit (LCSS) and an Early Ordovician Skolithos- bearing sandstone unit (EOSS). These rock units were originally referred to as the Aladdin sandstone. Sections of these rock units (5 in the LCSS and 8 in the EOSS) in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota and southeastern Bear Lodge Mountains of Wyoming were measured, described and sampled. A literature search was conducted for other Skolithos sandstone units to determine the stratigraphic range and physical characteristics of the Skolithos ichnospecies. In addition, 13 petrographic thin sections of samples were examined to obtain detailed information on the sandstones and Skolithos trace fossils. Overall, environmental interpretations based on outcrop and petrographic thin section descriptions agree well with the findings of previous investigators. Rock intervals containing abundant Skolithos tubes are formed by succeeding periods of burrowing, erosion and deposition as the suspension-feeding polychaetes and/or phoronids burrowed vertically into the substrate to form Skolithos tubes in order to feed ii at the sediment surface. Cross-bedding features and Skolithos tubes that terminate at bedding planes indicate the susceptibility of these substrates to wave-generated bottom currents. This condition is characteristic of the Skolithos ichnofacies. Beds containing only Skolithos trace fossils in the EOSS were deposited during storm events with finer- grained, lower energy deposits, bioturbated by deposit-feeding animals, following these beds. The presence of variously shaped fodinichnia (feeding) or pascichnia (grazing) trace fossils mark an environmental change at the end of EOSS time, which correlates with the timing of other events that apparently reduced the abundance and diversity of the Skolithos-making animals into two long ranging (Precambrian to Recent) representative ichnospecies, S. linearis and S. verticalis. The modal Skolithos density is 0.4 Skolithos tubes per cm in the LCSS and 0.5 Skolithos tubes per cm in the EOSS, although the LCSS contains thicker portions that do not contain any Skolithos tubes. S. linearis (tubes larger than 4 mm in diameter) and S. verticalis (tubes 1 to 2.5 mm in diameter) occur in both rock units, but S. verticalis is predominant in both sandstones. These trace fossils do not necessarily represent different organisms as both ichnospecies can be the same size (3 to 4 mm in diameter). Petrographic thin section analysis reveals these sediments must have been rapidly eroded and quickly buried in order for low-survivability grains like feldspar to be preserved rather than weathered away in the humid climate as this part of the North American craton was located near the equator. Quartz-mica schist fragments also indicate Precambrian basement rocks were exposed in the Black Hills during EOSS time. Thin section analysis of 183 Skolithos tubes did not provide any definitive results regarding how the Skolithos-making animal constructed its burrow. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I sincerely thank my thesis committee members Dr. James A. Harrell, Dr. Vernon M. Brown and Dr. Mark J. Camp of the University of Toledo, Department of Earth, Ecology and Environmental Science. Dr. Harrell deserves credit for the thesis topic, objectives, methodology and main overview. Dr. Brown supervised the fieldwork and was particularly helpful at the initial site in Spearfish Canyon, which the knowledge he shared with me carried over to the other sites. Dr. Camp provided helpful comments as well, which I greatly appreciate. Thank you all for your commitment, expertise and guidance. I thank the University of Toledo for the financial support I received as a graduate teaching assistant. And, most of all, I thank my parents William S. and Janet L. Sokoloski, grandmother Evelyn R. (Greiger) Finke, and sister Jennifer J. Sokoloski for their love, support and inspiration. iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated in loving memory of my grandparents William Rinehart Finke, Stephen Paul and Verdine (Hug) Sokoloski. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv DEDICATION.................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem................................................................................................ 1 Objectives of the Study................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................... 3 Geology of the Black Hills ............................................................................................. 3 Introduction................................................................................................................. 3 Precambrian Rocks ..................................................................................................... 3 Early Paleozoic Rocks ................................................................................................ 6 Structure and Physiography ........................................................................................ 7 Aladdin Sandstone ........................................................................................................ 11 Skolithos Trace Fossil ................................................................................................... 23 Introduction............................................................................................................... 23 Previous Work on the Skolithos Ichnofacies ............................................................ 24 Depositional Environment .................................................................................... 24 Type of Animal..................................................................................................... 34 Stratigraphic Range............................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 60 Fieldwork ...................................................................................................................... 60 Laboratory Work........................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS .......................................................................................... 67 Fieldwork ...................................................................................................................... 67 Introduction............................................................................................................... 67 Composition and Color............................................................................................. 68 Grain Size.................................................................................................................. 68 Bedding Characteristics ............................................................................................ 71 Bedding Contacts...................................................................................................... 72 Skolithos Characteristics ........................................................................................... 75 Orientation and Shape........................................................................................... 75 Length and Diameter............................................................................................. 76 vi Spacing.................................................................................................................. 86 Filling.................................................................................................................... 89 Other Trace Fossils ..................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Stratographic Coloumn of Iowa
    Iowa Stratographic Column November 4, 2013 QUATERNARY Holocene Series DeForest Formation Camp Creek Member Roberts Creek Member Turton Submember Mullenix Submember Gunder Formation Hatcher Submember Watkins Submember Corrington Formation Flack Formation Woden Formation West Okoboji Formation Pleistocene Series Wisconsinan Episode Peoria Formation Silt Facies Sand Facies Dows Formation Pilot Knob Member Lake Mills Member Morgan Member Alden Member Noah Creek Formation Sheldon Creek Formation Roxana/Pisgah Formation Illinoian Episode Loveland Formation Glasford Formation Kellerville Memeber Pre-Illinoian Wolf Creek Formation Hickory Hills Member Aurora Memeber Winthrop Memeber Alburnett Formation A glacial tills Lava Creek B Volcanic Ash B glacial tills Mesa Falls Volcanic Ash Huckleberry Ridge Volcanic Ash C glacial tills TERTIARY Salt & Pepper sands CRETACEOUS "Manson" Group "upper Colorado" Group Niobrara Formation Fort Benton ("lower Colorado ") Group Carlile Shale Greenhorn Limestone Graneros Shale Dakota Formation Woodbury Member Nishnabotna Member Windrow Formation Ostrander Member Iron Hill Member JURASSIC Fort Dodge Formation PENNSYLVANIAN (subsystem of Carboniferous System) Wabaunsee Group Wood Siding Formation Root Formation French Creek Shale Jim Creek Limestone Friedrich Shale Stotler Formation Grandhaven Limestone Dry Shale Dover Limestone Pillsbury Formation Nyman Coal Zeandale Formation Maple Hill Limestone Wamego Shale Tarkio Limestone Willard Shale Emporia Formation Elmont Limestone Harveyville Shale Reading Limestone Auburn
    [Show full text]
  • A Revised Morphology of Cloudina with Ecological and Phylogenetic Implications Andrew J
    A Revised Morphology of Cloudina with Ecological and Phylogenetic Implications Andrew J. Miller Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences and of History Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 [email protected] Abstract The conventional view of the Ediacaran index fossil Cloudina, as proposed by Grant (1990), depicts the shell structure as a series of nested test tubes. A digital serial-reconstruction of Cloudina and examination of thin sections indicates that only the bottom-most tube has a bottom and that the shell wall structure is not as well defined as previously thought. The conventional ecological reconstruction, as proposed by Seilacher (1999), puts Cloudina in a microbial mat framework. Evidence from fossils in situ and from the shape of Cloudina suggests that this interpretation is incorrect. Rather, I propose that Cloudina lived on seaweeds in the reef environment. I also introduce a new mode of inference in determining shell orientation based on gravitational forces. Given the morphological evidence, Cloudina appears to be more similar to pogonophoran or annelid worms and less similar than previously thought to cnidarian corals. Introduction Life in the Precambrian is seen by many in a Hobbesian view—sessile, benthic, and short. While this may accurately describe the functional behavior of Ediacaran communities, it overlooks the significant metazoan diversity that was present there, for within the Ediacaran period the first metazoans entered the fossil record and diversified. Even though the presence of metazoans in the Ediacaran has been known for over thirty years, relatively little is known about their phylogenic affinities, their structure, and their role in the ecosystem.
    [Show full text]
  • Hydrogeology and Stratigraphy of the Dakota Formation in Northwest Iowa
    WATER SUPPLY HYDROGEOLOGY AND J.A. MUNTER BULLETIN G.A. LUDVIGSON NUMBER 13 STRATIGRAPHY OF THE B.J. BUNKER 1983 DAKOTA FORMATION IN NORTHWEST IOWA Iowa Geological Survey Donald L. Koch State Geologist and Director 123 North Capitol Street Iowa City, Iowa 52242 IOWA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY BULLETIN NO. 13 1983 HYDROGEOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHY OF THE DAKOTA FORMATION IN NORTHWEST IOWA J. A. Munter G. A. Ludvigson B. J. Bunker Iowa Geological Survey Iowa Geological Survey Donald L. Koch Director and State Geologist 123 North Capitol Street Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Foreword An assessment of the quantity and quality of water available from the Dakota (Sandstone) Formation 1n northwest Iowa is presented in this report. The as sessment was undertaken to provide quantitative information on the hydrology of the Dakota aquifer system to the Iowa Natural Resources Council for alloca tion of water for irrigation, largely as a consequence of the 1976-77 drought. Most area wells for domestic, livestock, and irrigation purposes only partial ly penetrated the Dakota Formation. Consequently, the long-term effects of significant increases in water withdrawals could not be assessed on the basis of existing wells. Acquisition of new data was based upon a drilling program designed to penetrate the entire sequence of Dakota sediments at key loca tions, after a thorough inventory and analysis of existing data. Definition of the distribution, thickness, and lateral and vertical changes in composition of the Dakota Formation has permitted the recognition of two mem bers. Additionally, Identification of the rock units that underlie the Dakota Formation has contributed greatly to our knowledge of the regional geology of northwest Iowa and the upper midwest.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Revision 2 1 K-Bentonites
    1 Revision 2 2 K-Bentonites: A Review 3 Warren D. Huff 4 Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221 USA 5 Email: [email protected] 6 Keywords: K-bentonite, bentonite, tephra, explosive volcanism, volcanic ash 7 Abstract 8 Pyroclastic material in the form of altered volcanic ash or tephra has been reported and described 9 from one or more stratigraphic units from the Proterozoic to the Tertiary. This altered tephra, 10 variously called bentonite or K-bentonite or tonstein depending on the degree of alteration and 11 chemical composition, is often linked to large explosive volcanic eruptions that have occurred 12 repeatedly in the past. K-bentonite and bentonite layers are the key components of a larger group of 13 altered tephras that are useful for stratigraphic correlation and for interpreting the geodynamic 14 evolution of our planet. Bentonites generally form by diagenetic or hydrothermal alteration under 15 the influence of fluids with high Mg content and that leach alkali elements. Smectite composition is 16 partly controlled by parent rock chemistry. Studies have shown that K-bentonites often display 17 variations in layer charge and mixed-layer clay ratios and that these correlate with physical 18 properties and diagenetic history. The following is a review of known K-bentonite and related 19 occurrences of altered tephra throughout the time scale from Precambrian to Cenozoic. 20 Introduction 21 Volcanic eruptions are often, although by no means always, associated with a profuse output 22 of fine pyroclastic material, tephra. Tephra is a term used to describe all of the solid material 23 produced from a volcano during an eruption (Thorarinsson, 1944).
    [Show full text]
  • By Douglas P. Klein with Plates by G.A. Abrams and P.L. Hill U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
    U.S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STRUCTURE OF THE BASINS AND RANGES, SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO, AN INTERPRETATION OF SEISMIC VELOCITY SECTIONS by Douglas P. Klein with plates by G.A. Abrams and P.L. Hill U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado Open-file Report 95-506 1995 This report is preliminary and has not been edited or reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards. The use of trade, product, or firm names in this papers is for descriptive purposes only, and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. STRUCTURE OF THE BASINS AND RANGES, SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO, AN INTERPRETATION OF SEISMIC VELOCITY SECTIONS by Douglas P. Klein CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................. 1 DEEP SEISMIC CRUSTAL STUDIES .................................. 4 SEISMIC REFRACTION DATA ....................................... 7 RELIABILITY OF VELOCITY STRUCTURE ............................. 9 CHARACTER OF THE SEISMIC VELOCITY SECTION ..................... 13 DRILL HOLE DATA ............................................... 16 BASIN DEPOSITS AND BEDROCK STRUCTURE .......................... 20 Line 1 - Playas Valley ................................... 21 Cowboy Rim caldera .................................. 23 Valley floor ........................................ 24 Line 2 - San Luis Valley through the Alamo Hueco Mountains ....................................... 25 San Luis Valley ..................................... 26 San Luis and Whitewater Mountains ................... 26 Southern
    [Show full text]
  • Reef Encounter Reef Encounter
    Volume 30, No. 2 September 2015 Number 42 REEF ENCOUNTER REEF ENCOUNTER United Nations Climate Change Conference Education about Reefs and Climate Change Climate Change: Reef Fish Ecology, Genetic Diversity and Coral Disease Society Honors and Referendum Digital Underwater Cameras Review The News Journal of the International Society for Reef Studies ISSN 0225-27987 REEF ENCOUNTER The News Journal of the International Society for Reef Studies ISRS Information REEF ENCOUNTER Reef Encounter is the magazine style news journal of the International Society for Reef Studies. It was first published in 1983. Following a short break in production it was re-launched in electronic (pdf) form. Contributions are welcome, especially from members. Please submit items directly to the relevant editor (see the back cover for author’s instructions). Coordinating Editor Rupert Ormond (email: [email protected]) Deputy Editor Caroline Rogers (email: [email protected]) Editor Reef Perspectives (Scientific Opinions) Rupert Ormond (email: [email protected]) Editor Reef Currents (General Articles) Caroline Rogers (email: [email protected]) Editors Reef Edge (Scientific Letters) Dennis Hubbard (email: [email protected]) Alastair Harborne (email: [email protected]) Edwin Hernandez-Delgado (email: [email protected]) Nicolas Pascal (email: [email protected]) Editor News & Announcements Sue Wells (email: [email protected]) Editor Book & Product Reviews Walt Jaap (email: [email protected]) INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR REEF STUDIES The International Society for Reef Studies was founded in 1980 at a meeting in Cambridge, UK. Its aim under the constitution is to promote, for the benefit of the public, the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge and understanding concerning coral reefs, both living and fossil.
    [Show full text]
  • Helium in Southwestern Saskatchewan: Accumulation and Geological Setting
    Open File Report 2016-1 Helium in Southwestern Saskatchewan: Accumulation and Geological Setting Melinda M. Yurkowski 2016 (Revised 14 December 2016) Saskatchewan Geological Survey ii Open File Report 2016-1 Open File Report 2016-1 Helium in Southwestern Saskatchewan: Accumulation and Geological Setting Melinda M. Yurkowski 2016 (Revised 14 December 2016) Printed under the authority of the Minister of the Economy © 2016, Government of Saskatchewan Although the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy has exercised all reasonable care in the compilation, interpretation and production of this product, it is not possible to ensure total accuracy, and all persons who rely on the information contained herein do so at their own risk. The Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy and the Government of Saskatchewan do not accept liability for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies that may be included in, or derived from, this product. This product is available for viewing and download at: http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/deplist.cfm?d=310&c=176 Information from this publication may be used if credit is given. It is recommended that reference to this publication be made in the following form: Yurkowski, M.M. (2016): Helium in southwestern Saskatchewan: accumulation and geological setting; Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Open File Report 2016-1, 20p. and Microsoft® Excel® file. Saskatchewan Geological Survey ii Open File Report 2016-1 Contents Introduction and Study Area ..........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Geological Survey of Wyoming
    GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WYOMING SELECTED REFERENCES USED TO CO~IPILE THE ~IETALLIC AND INDUSTRIAL MI ERALS ~IAP OF WYOMING by Ray E. Harris and W. Dan Hausel OPEN FILE REPORT 85-1 1985 This report has no~ been reviewed for conformity with the editorial standards of the Geological Survey of Wyoming. CONTENTS District or Region Page Introduction . iii Absaroka Mountains ...........................•.......................... 1 Aladdin District . 1 Barlow Canyon District . 1 Bear Lodge District . 1 Big Creek District . 2 Bighorn Basin . 2 Bighorn Mountains ...•................................................... 3 Black Hills . 4 Carlile District ...........•............................................ 5 Centennial Ridge District . 5 Clay Spur District ...................................•.................. 5 Colony District . 6 Cooke City - New World District . 6 Copper Mountain District .........................................•...... 7 Cooper Hill District . 7 Crooks Gap-Green Mountain District . 7 Deer Creek District . 8 Denver Basin . 8 Elkhorn Creek District . 8 Esterbrook District . 8 Gas Hills District . 8 Gold Hill District . 9 Grand Encampment District . 9 Granite Mountains . 9 Green River Basin ................................•...................... 10 Gras Ventre Mountains ..................•...............•................ 11 Hanna Basin . 11 Hartville Uplift . 12 Hulett Creek District .........................................•......... 13 Iron Mountain District . 13 Iron Mountain Kimberlite District ......•...............................
    [Show full text]
  • O ANNALS of CARNEGIE MUSEUM VOL
    o ANNALS OF CARNEGIE MUSEUM VOL. 74, NUMBER 3, PP. 151^188 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 MIOCENE FOSSIL DECAPODA (CRUSTACEA: BRACHYURA) FROM PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA, AND THEIR PALEOECOLOGICAL SETTING SILVIO CASADIO Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina ([email protected]) RODNEY M. FELDMANN Research Associate, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology; Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242 ([email protected]) ANA PARRAS Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina ([email protected]) CARRIE E. SCHWEITZER Research Associate, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology; Department of Geology, Kent State University Stark Campus, Canton, OH 44720 ([email protected]) ABSTRACT Five previously undescribed decapod taxa have been collected from lower upper Miocene rocks of the Puerto Madryn Formation, Peninsula Valdes region, Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. New species include Osachila valdesensis, Rochinia boschii, Romaleon parspinosus, Panopeus piramidensis, and Ocypode vericoncava. Chaceon peruvianus and Proterocarcinus latus are also reported from the unit, in addition to two indeterminate xanthoid species. Assignment of fossil taxa to genera within the Panopeidae Ortmann, 1893, is difficult due to the marked similarity in dorsal carapace characters among several genera. Panopeus whittenensis Glaessner, 1980, is herein referred to Pakicarcinus Schweitzer et al., 2004. The Puerto Madryn Formation exposed near Puerto Piramide contains three distinct Facies Associations (1-3), each associated with specific paleoecological and paleoenvironmental conditions, and which recur throughout the section and represent trangressive systems tract (TST) deposits and highstand systems tract (HST) deposits. Within Facies Association 1, near the base of the section at Puerto Piramide, three paleosurfaces containing invertebrate fossils in life position are exposed and have been carefully mapped in plan view.
    [Show full text]
  • Mannville Group of Saskatchewan
    Saskatchewan Report 223 Industry and Resources Saskatchewan Geological Survey Jura-Cretaceous Success Formation and Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group of Saskatchewan J.E. Christopher 2003 19 48 Printed under the authority of the Minister of Industry and Resources Although the Department of Industry and Resources has exercised all reasonable care in the compilation, interpretation, and production of this report, it is not possible to ensure total accuracy, and all persons who rely on the information contained herein do so at their own risk. The Department of Industry and Resources and the Government of Saskatchewan do not accept liability for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies that may be included in, or derived from, this report. Cover: Clearwater River Valley at Contact Rapids (1.5 km south of latitude 56º45'; latitude 109º30'), Saskatchewan. View towards the north. Scarp of Middle Devonian Methy dolomite at right. Dolomite underlies the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation outcrops recessed in the valley walls. Photo by J.E. Christopher. Additional copies of this digital report may be obtained by contacting: Saskatchewan Industry and Resources Publications 2101 Scarth Street, 3rd floor Regina, SK S4P 3V7 (306) 787-2528 FAX: (306) 787-2527 E-mail: [email protected] Recommended Citation: Christopher, J.E. (2003): Jura-Cretaceous Success Formation and Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group of Saskatchewan; Sask. Industry and Resources, Report 223, CD-ROM. Editors: C.F. Gilboy C.T. Harper D.F. Paterson RnD Technical Production: E.H. Nickel M.E. Opseth Production Editor: C.L. Brown Saskatchewan Industry and Resources ii Report 223 Foreword This report, the first on CD to be released by the Petroleum Geology Branch, describes the geology of the Success Formation and the Mannville Group wherever these units are present in Saskatchewan.
    [Show full text]
  • Report 2010-11
    Research Report 2010-2011 Research at Museo delle Scienze Science Science at Museo delle Scienze | Research Report 2010-2011 Science at Museo delle Scienze Research Report 2010-2011 MUSEO DELLE SCIENZE President Giuliano Castelli (Marco Andreatta since October 16th, 2011) Director Michele Lanzinger MdS Research Report 2010-2011 © 2012 Museo delle Scienze, Via Calepina 14, 38122 Trento, Italy Managing editor Valeria Lencioni Editorial committee Marco Avanzini, Costantino Bonomi, Marco Cantonati, Giampaolo Dalmeri, Valeria Lencioni, Paolo Pedrini, Francesco Rovero Editorial assistant Nicola Angeli Cover and layout design Roberto Nova Printing Tipografia Esperia Srl - Lavis (TN) 978-88-531-0019-1 SCIENCE at MUSEO DELLE SCIENZE RESEARCH REPOrt 2010-2011 5 Preface Part 1 7 1. Introducing MdS as museum and research centre 11 2. The research programmes 12 Programme 1R Ecology and biodiversity of mountain ecosystems in relation to environmental and climate change 12 Programme 2R Documenting and conserving nature 13 Programme 3R Plant conservation: seedbanking and plant translocation 13 Programme 4R Tropical Biodiversity 14 Programme 5R Earth sciences 14 Programme 6R Alpine Prehistory 15 3. The research staff and activities 19 4. The scientific collections 23 5. The main results and projects Part 2 57 Appendix 1: The staff of the scientific sections 85 Appendix 2: The staff of the science communicators 91 Appendix 3: Research projects, high education and teaching 105 Appendix 4: Publications 127 Appendix 5: Collaborations: the research national network 131 Appendix 6: Collaborations: the research international network Science at Museo delle Scienze: Research Report 2010-2011 1R 2R 3R 4R 5R 6R 4 Preface Fully developed as a natural history museum since the beginning of the 1900, the Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, since May 2011 named Museo delle Scienze (MdS) over the past decade has developed a new cultural approach through innovative exhibitions and public programmes which prompted a wi- der interpretation of its strictly naturalistic institutional scope.
    [Show full text]
  • The Earliest Bioturbators As Ecosystem Engineers
    Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 27, 2021 Engineering the Cambrian explosion: the earliest bioturbators as ecosystem engineers LIAM G. HERRINGSHAW1,2*, RICHARD H. T. CALLOW1,3 & DUNCAN MCILROY1 1Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Prince Philip Drive, St John’s, NL, A1B 3X5, Canada 2Geology, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK 3Statoil ASA, Stavanger 4035, Norway *Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: By applying modern biological criteria to trace fossil types and assessing burrow mor- phology, complexity, depth, potential burrow function and the likelihood of bioirrigation, we assign ecosystem engineering impact (EEI) values to the key ichnotaxa in the lowermost Cambrian (Fortunian). Surface traces such as Monomorphichnus have minimal impact on sediment properties and have very low EEI values; quasi-infaunal traces of organisms that were surficial modifiers or biodiffusors, such as Planolites, have moderate EEI values; and deeper infaunal, gallery biodiffu- sive or upward-conveying/downward-conveying traces, such as Teichichnus and Gyrolithes, have the highest EEI values. The key Cambrian ichnotaxon Treptichnus pedum has a moderate to high EEI value, depending on its functional interpretation. Most of the major functional groups of mod- ern bioturbators are found to have evolved during the earliest Cambrian, including burrow types that are highly likely to have been bioirrigated. In fine-grained (or microbially bound) sedimentary environments, trace-makers of bioirrigated burrows would have had a particularly significant impact, generating advective fluid flow within the sediment for the first time, in marked contrast with the otherwise diffusive porewater systems of the Proterozoic.
    [Show full text]