by Craig Tipton

There were about 30 members and guests present at the September 8th meeting to hear Dr. Karla Parsons-Hubbard, Associate Professor of Geology at Oberlin College.  She gave a very interesting presentation entitled "The Stories Clams Tell - How Fossil Preservation Reflects Depositional Environment".  Her subject concerned Taphonomy, the study of what happens to organisms from death to final burial and preservation.  Existing dogma states that rapid burial is necessary for fossil preservation.  Her work involved answering questions like what we don't know, what is rapid, and what does the condition of the fossil tell us.  Rather than interpreting existing fossils her work was experimental and involved placing modern animals like clams and crabs on the ocean floor.  The variables in the experiments included time of exposure, environmental energy, biology, character of the sediments, geographic region, and water depth.  She carried these experiments out in the Bahamas and in the Gulf of Mexico and had many great pictures and video clips.  The samples were examined at 2, 5, 12, and 14 years after starting the experiments in 1993.  Among her conclusions was that deep slope (greater depths) resulted in better preservation.

The meeting also included planning for the field trip to the Falls of the Ohio on the following weekend.  We also welcomed new member, Tammy Stevens.

Dr. Karla Parsons-Hubbard