Hello - Old Introduction

[Philip Rutter 2]

Hello, all.  I am grateful for your existence.  :-)  I've been lurking for a couple months and am convinced this group is a.) nice, and b.) knowledgeable.  So here I am, seeking.

 

Gird your loins.  I have questions not only about "what the heck is this thing in the rock" to history of geology, what kind of rock is this, why are geologists so uniformly lousy at naming things, down to What Kind of Fool Am I.

 

Basics; I am a widely trained evolutionary ecologist, including some paleontology and geology.  Some.  70 years old, not vaguely retired.  Independent scholar, most of my present work has to do with crop breeding and trees, but I've done hard research on shrew and deer sensory systems, in vitro fertilization of small mammals, bird behavior, and soricid cardiac cytology + more.  The formative event paleontology-wise was spending a summer in a science camp where Dr. Charles Lewis Camp was preparing an almost complete ichthyosaur in one of the back cabins, a big one.  If you poked your nose in when he was working, he'd put you to work or throw you out; I worked.  A delight to breathe the same air.

 

My problems: (greatly simplified) I've lived in SE Minnesota, SE Fillmore County, for 40+ years.  My land includes a ravine/ dry run/ coulee, along 1/4 mile of border.  I'm in the "Driftless Region", which I long ago discovered did not mean I couldn't find basalt, granite, quartz boulders, gabbro, whatever down in the dry stream bed. Along with endless "limestone" rocks and a modest amount of highly silicified quartzite, of unknown origin.  A couple of years ago, my "dry run" - started to run water.  A dream of mine for years, since I took 90 tilled acres out of corn/beans/tractors and turned it into tree crops.  Theoretically, the aquifer should recharge better, and rise; and seems now to have happened.  

 

So spending a little more time peering into the stream bed, through crystal clear and cold water, I started to notice some stones I really didn't recognize at all.  I discovered, after some excitement, oolitic dolomite; oolitic chert, oolitic dolomitic marble, and fossils everywhere.  The marble suddenly appeared after a 6" downpour that resulted in a flood which cut my streambed as much as 3 feet deeper.  There was this 35 lb block of - marble, which I'd never seen before.

 

So far, after considerable time spent searching, I have been able to find no references, at all, to anyone ever finding something that might be considered marble, associated with the Oneota.  I assure you that it IS "marble"; being blinding white, with a rhombohedral fracture resulting in very straight, flat lines.  Plus, this rock does indeed progress into chert, frequently, resulting in stones that produce the standard conchoidal fracture type for chert.  

 

I can show you fossiliferous specimens where all stages of the process are visible in one hand- unweathered buff dolomite, opaque screaming white marble, white increasingly translucent chert, increasingly dark chert down to black flint, to tripolitic chert, the bane of my existence, down to - sand and dust.  So this would be a metasomatic marble; similar I'm guessing to "Tennessee marble".  The fossils are abundant in the marble, less so in the chert, NOT deformed by stress, and often reappear in the tripolitic chert- until I touch them with a brush.  Gone.

 

I think the microscopic structure of my cryptozoons is often highly preserved in the bits on the way to marble, and covered in drusy quartz.  I think some appropriate professionals need to look at this stuff.  The word "unique" keeps hitting me.  And I'm terrified of just washing off some never-before-seen fossil.  I think sometimes the forms are preserved after they are true dirt- just before I lift the stone from its undisturbed bed.  I'm trying to do some digging (I have permission) to expose multiple strata.  I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking at the top of the Oneota; or the bottom of the New Richmond; both, or what.  It's clear that the geological "unconformity" (don't like that word, like "drusy" less) was really traumatic- but- what the heck am I looking at?

 

Oh, and there are probably stromatolites all over the place, up to 2 meters long so far-

 

Know any trustworthy geologists?  I/we really do want hard academic scientists looking- but the site, at the owners demand, is a fast secret.

 

:-)

 

 

 

I DO have loads of photos; but I'm fussy.  I'm used to technical publication quality, and I'm not happy with my current camera; or half baked snapshots.  Also struggling with catching nice 3D stereo images in flat jpgs.  What is the preferred method here for posting photos?

 

[Philip Rutter 2]

Ok, just to give you an idea; this is one of my nice cryptozoons, complete with reef anchor below.  In place where found, which was in a storms only cataract; where it apparently got washed for a while.  In this one the spaces are mostly empty, and often connect; it's common though for them to be completely filled with calcite, a lovely dark gray.  The white stone at this point is usually dolomite about 90% silicified to marble.  The white is confusing, because in China "kun stone" or kunshi, is known to turn white only after a week or so of exposure to sunlight.  I can affirm that does happen.  So far as I can tell, kun stone is very close to what I have; dolomitic, often very white, lots of drusy quartz - also very rare now.

Edited October 15, 2018 by Philip Rutter 2
forgot stuff.

[abyssunder]

Welcome to TFF !

[PFOOLEY]

Greetings from the Western Interior Seaway. 

 

[Darktooth]

Welcome to the forum from New York! 

[Philip Rutter 2]

Heartfelt thanks to you guys who responded.  :-)

 

And in case anyone can suggest why responses to my introduction are the absolute lowest, I'd love to know.  I think I must have ticked somebody off?  Not intended, I assure you.

[ltrapper]

welcome!

 

[Pagurus]

Welcome from Massachusetts.

[Ludwigia]

On 22.10.2018 at 12:15 AM, Philip Rutter said:

Heartfelt thanks to you guys who responded.  :-)

 

And in case anyone can suggest why responses to my introduction are the absolute lowest, I'd love to know.  I think I must have ticked somebody off?  Not intended, I assure you.

Hello and welcome from Germany. I've read through some of your other posts and appreciate your expertise. It's nice to have you aboard. It's also a mystery to me why you've had so little response to such an interesting introduction. But as you see, I've just noticed your existence here today, so maybe a lot of other members just missed out on you for some reason or another.

Haven't you thought to bring your story and some samples to your nearest museum/university? I'm sure you could find an experienced geologist/paleontologist to advise you. I'll call upon some other members here who may also be able to give some advice: @jpc @Boesse @FossilDAWG @Missourian

 

[Philip Rutter 2]

Danke bestens.  :-) "Haven't you thought to bring your story and some samples to your nearest museum/university?"

 

Sure.  Alas, the present culture of the University of Minnesota is virulent; they actually teach grad students that they must be vicious in order to survive.  I've had my own work stolen by them, and I use that word very carefully, when we were supposed to be collaborating, and so have many other private entrepreneurs- no kidding.  Provable in court, I guarantee- but the U has way more lawyers and money than small private individuals.  I have, certainly had good experiences with universities; but these days, I want a recommendation and introduction to a specific professor before I spend my time trying to build something.  That's usually not that hard to find- but it takes effort.  Part of why I'm looking to the folks here, where a civil community is what members clearly want, and it is enforced (must be, these days.)

[jpc]

On 10/27/2018 at 2:52 AM, Ludwigia said:

Hello and welcome from Germany. I've read through some of your other posts and appreciate your expertise. It's nice to have you aboard. It's also a mystery to me why you've had so little response to such an interesting introduction. But as you see, I've just noticed your existence here today, so maybe a lot of other members just missed out on you for some reason or another.

Haven't you thought to bring your story and some samples to your nearest museum/university? I'm sure you could find an experienced geologist/paleontologist to advise you. I'll call upon some other members here who may also be able to give some advice: @jpc @Boesse @FossilDAWG @Missourian

 

Thanks for asking me about this one, Luwigia.  I'll give you my answer as to why I did not answer.  I try to limit my time on TFF these days as I find myself doing at work too much.  (Guilty pangs).  I saw this post... saw that it was long and the photo was of nothing that looks familiar to me, so I skipped it.  

 

I may come back at lunchtime

[Walt]

hello from Louisiana!  I missed your post as well.  Apologies!  

[minnbuckeye]

Hello from Plainview!! Try Winona State. I had a gentleman out to look at my fossils that runs the department, can't remember his name. He was a very pleasant older man that seems outwardly to be very trustworthy and loves to educate. This would be more local to Canton than the U of Mn.

 

 Mike