Geology and Life

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Geology and Life
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Whats a fossil?

• Desiccated remains
• Mummies
• Mammoths
• Otzi

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Whats a fossil?

• Mineralized remains
• Wood (petrified)
• Bone/shell (replaced)

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Whats a fossil?

• Casts
• Pompeii

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Whats a fossil?

• Trace fossils
• Tracks
• Burrows
• Organized patterns (?)

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Fossilization
Taphonomy!
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Preservation

• Hard parts
• Post-preCambrian
• Low chemical activity
• Anoxic
• Acidic?
• Low temperature
• Low energy
• Rare in sandstones

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Classifying Biota

• Morphology
• Are blondes a species?

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Classifying Biota

• Genetics
• Are blondes a species?

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The fossil record

• Incomplete!
• Includes lineages
• Scallops
• Horses

http//www.agiweb.org/news/evolution/foreword.html

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The fossil record

• Incomplete!
• Demonstrates diversification (niche-filling?)

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Organisms across time

• Diversity
• Increasing?
• Extinctions
• Competition
• Impacts
• Other?

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Earth Science Literacy

• Earthscienceliteracy.org
• K-12 education (only?) Big Ideas
• Earth history 4.6 Ga
• Dynamic Earth
• The Blue Planet
• Earth and Life
• Earth resources and hazards
• Human/Earth interaction