ps418

Howdy all. I hope all my old friends have been well. I'm stopping by to share links to the stuff I've been working on lately. As usual, they are all works in progress.

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/earthhistory/ff.htm" target="_blank">Fossils and the Flood</a>

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/earthhistory/roth.htm" target="_blank">Fossil Reefs, Flood Geology, and Recent Creation </a>

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/earthhistory/pweathering.htm" target="_blank">A paleosol bibliography</a> Expect a much fuller treatment of paleosols at some point in the future.

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/earthhistory/newstrom.htm" target="_blank">Microbolites in the Geologic Record</a> Some changes were made since the last time I posted this link.

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/earthhistory/sle.htm" target="_blank">Species- Level Evolution in the Fossil Record</a> This one needs work.

Take care,

Patrick

scigirl

Thanks Patrick!

How do you find the time to do all that stuff?

scigirl

ps418

My job basically consists of conducting camera surveillance and investigations of abuse, neglect, theft, AWOLS, etc, at the hospital where I work. In-between investigations I often have a lot of time to read, on-the-clock. Lucky me, huh? Of course, even if I had a different job, I'd find a way to make time, just because I love doing what I do.


Patrick

[ June 22, 2002: Message edited by: ps418 ]</p>

Coragyps

And you're so damn good at it,too! Good to hear from you again!

Dr.GH

Glad to see your recent work. I hope that life is well. Gary

Bubba

Thanks Patrick!!

Bubba

RufusAtticus

Patrick,

Do you happen to know of any review papers that show how many transitional fossils have been found?

ps418

There are some good review articles focusing on findings with respect to particular taxa, such as birds, or the earliest tetrapods, or whales, or microfossils, but none that I am aware of that review the whole subject of transitional fossils per se. Even Carroll's Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, a huge book and probably the standard for the field, is woefully incomplete, simply because so much that is new and relevant is described every year.

Patrick

ps418

Howdy,

Thanks for the kudos Coragyps, Gary, and Bubba. I really do appreciate the appreciation. I'm starting work on a new article discussing "Flood Sorting," and I'll post a link to that when Im done.

Also, I made a significant error on my Fossils and the Flood page regarding the volume of crinoid material represented in the geologic record. As it turns out, I gave at least an order of magnitude *underestimate*! Here's the original statement, along with my correction:

There are vast deposits of limestone (packstones) consisting &gt;50% of crinoid elements ('regional encrinites'). According to Hess et al (1999), on the order of 10^13 - 10^16 crinoids are represented in such deposits (this does not include the crinoid material found outside of regional encrinites). The surface area of the earth is about 0.5 x 10^15m2. Assuming that there are 10^15 crinoids represented in the geologic record, and that crinoids were distributed equally across the globe before the flood, this works out to about 20 crinoids per m2 (and of course, not all of the surface area of the earth would be available to host crinoids!).

CORRECTION:

This is incorrect. I misinterpreted a statement in Hess et al. (1999) which cites Ausich (1997). Now that I've read Ausich (1997), I see that he estimates that 10^15 - 5 x 10^16 crinoids are represented in the Lower Mississippian Burlington and Keokuk limestones of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri alone (p.510). This does not include all of the other coeval and non-coeval regional encrinites (nor the crinoid material present outside of regional encrinites)! Ausich (1997) writes:

"Considered by itself, the Burlington-Keokuk limestone is remarkable. However, these units are a small part of approximately coeval carbonate platform/ramp deposits that stretch from the western margin of the Illinoid Basin across the southern margin of the Laurentian continent to Arizona and northward to Alaska. Regional encrinites developed discontinuously along this entire continental margin, stretching for more than 6,400km (4,000mi). In addition to the Burlington-Keokuk limestones, [other Lower Mississippian] examples include the Lake Valley Formation, Hachita Formation, Redwall Limestone, Leadville Limestone, Argu Limestone, Madison Limestone, Livingstone-Mount Head formations of the Rundle Group, and the Kogruk Formation" (pp. 511-512).

Ausich (1997) notes that although these Mississippian examples are the most extensive examples of regional encrinites, other regional encrinites are present from the Ordovician to the Triassic. Examples cited (p. 513) include the Ordovician Holston Formation of Tennessee, the Silurian Brassfield Formation of Ohio and Kentucky, the Silurian Irondequoit, Gasport, and Wiarton formations of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, the Devonian Coeymans, Keyser, and New Creek limestones of New York and West Virginia, the Devonian Sadler Ranch Formation of Nevada and California, the Devonian Edgecliff Member of the Onondaga Limestone, New York, the Triassic Lower Muschelkalk of Germany, and the Jurassic Smolegowa Limestone of Poland.

Ausich, W.I., 1997. Regional Encrinites: A Vanished Lithofacies. In Brett, C.E., and Baird, G.C., eds., Paleontological Events: Stratigraphic, Ecological, and Evolutionary Implications; Columbia Univ. Press, New York, pp. 509-519.

Hess, H., Ausich, W.I., Brett, C.E., and Simms, M.J., (eds.), 1999. Fossil Crinoids. Cambridge University Press, 275 pp


I checked with Glenn Morton, and he cited a reference stating the Madison Limestone alone contains 10,000 cubic miles worth of crinoids. I also added a section to the page on stromatolites, with examples from the Middle Cambrian of Iowa and the early Triassic of south China, and an example of in-place bryozoans from the Middle Ordovician Coburn Limestone of Pennsylvania (hundreds of beds worth!).


Be Well,

Patrick

[ June 28, 2002: Message edited by: ps418 ]</p>

MrDarwin

Patrick, you are amazing. Keep up the good work.