Category: Geology
Posted on March 23, 2013
Tricky, “Ich”-y Clues
Ichnofossil is a rather funny looking word, and frankly, it’s fun to say too – it is pronounced Ick-no-fossil. Like I mentioned last week, these fossils are unique because they are not body fossils (i.e., bones, preserved skin, …
Posted on March 16, 2013
Clues From the Past
In general, when people think of fossils, they think of bones – especially dinosaur bones. But, fossils are not just bones, but also soft body parts and trace fossils too. Trace fossils are called ichnofossils. The most obvious …
Posted on March 9, 2013
A Curious Case
It’s a day in court and you are the judge. It is your job to figure out what really happened, and if you come to the wrong conclusions, your life could be at stake for the injustice. This …
Posted on January 19, 2013
Clues from Crystals
A bright sapphire dangling from a gold chain glistens in the stage lights as the woman wearing the necklace begins to sing. There is a constant dripping sound that breaks the silence in a dark cavern in South America …
Posted on January 12, 2013
The Rocks Cry Out
Dinosaur bones and coal still containing radiocarbon; Radical two-ring radiohalos; Traces of C-14 in diamonds; Helium held captive by granite; problems in the underlying logic behind radioisotope dating; These hidden wonders of science truly display the glory of …
Posted on January 5, 2013
Granite’s Captive
A thin metal tower holds a drilling rig as it is guided down to a depth of down to 2.6 miles bellow the surface at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. At this depth, the temperature reaches 595 degrees (F), and …
Posted on December 15, 2012
Radical Radiohalos
The depth and beauty of the granite countertop of the ice cream shop intrigued me as I slowly enjoyed my cone. There were grey, white, clear, and light pink specks, which I knew to be quartz, peachy colored …
Posted on December 7, 2012
Carbon-14 Cries Creation & Catastrophe
Radiocarbon dating is one of my all-time favorite geology subjects, so it is with mixed feelings that I write this final Clue about it for this series. But, I have so much more information that I believe you, …
Posted on November 17, 2012
Unthinkable Radiocarbon Dates
The team of five men paddled furiously along in the wind-tossed icy waters of the Colville River in Alaska. They had been slowly making their way through the Alaskan wilderness for almost a week, in spite of the …
Posted on November 9, 2012
The Notorious Radiocarbon Dating, Part 2
Last week, I said that there are two main differences between radiocarbon dating and other radioisotope dating methods: the especially short half-life of Carbon-14, which I discussed last time, and now, where the Carbon-14 comes from. Radioactive carbon …
