For this project, you will choose one of the topics listed below and present the

by Caaltu · May 20, 2024

For this project, you will choose one of the topics listed below and present the information you find about that topic. The topics are divided into 3 groups (People, Fossil Deposits, and Rock Units/Events). You only need to pick one topic to present, but it can be from any group. Whatever form your project takes, you will submit it either as attachments through Canvas or you can email the files to me.
For essays, make sure it is at least one page, single-spaced, with at least four references including sources less than 1 year old.
Do some exploratory research before you settle on a topic. I want you to choose something that interests you and that you really want to learn more about. Here are some questions you might consider as you complete this project. Use these as a guide only: you will not be graded explicitly on whether or not you address any or none of these in your presentation. Let your curiosity and interest in the topic lead you to discover more things about it than those ideas given below.
What was this person’s upbringing? Where were they born and where did they live? What about schooling and family (or lack thereof)? What attributes made this person good at what they did? What was their contribution to science? Perhaps most importantly, what cultural or societal conditions allowed this person to either thrive or be held back from their potential?
Where are these fossil deposits located (specifically), how old are they, and what fossil organisms do they preserve? Why are these organisms important for paleontology and/or geology? How are these organisms preserved in these localities? What are some recent discoveries that have been made in these areas in the last few years? Who discovered these deposits and what has been their history (conservation, protection, exploitation, etc.) since they were discovered?
What is the impact that these rock units/events have had on earth history, either geological or biological? Where are they located and what has been the history of study for these topics. How have these studies increase our understanding of earth history? What are some of the unanswered questions surrounding these events, places, or ideas?
Topics
People
Nicolas Steno
James Hutton
Charles Lyell
Arthur Holmes (radiometric dating)
Norman L. Bowen (Bowen’s reaction series)
William Smith (first geologic map)
Alfred Wegener
Alfred Russel Wallace
Henrietta Swan Leavitt (astronomer)
Edwin Hubble & Milton Humason
Stanley Miller (Miller-Urey experiment)
Louis Agassiz
James Croll & Milutin Milankovitch
Fossil Deposits
Ediacara (Australia) Fauna
Burgess Shale (Canada) and Fauna
Solnhofen Limestone (Germany)
Jehol Biota (China)
Florissant Fossil Beds (Colorado)
Green River Formation (Utah/Wyoming)
La Brea Tar Pits (California)
Rock Units/Events
Franciscan Complex (California)
Chicxulub Impact (Mexico) and the Cretaceous mass extinction event
Siberian Traps (Russia) & Deccan Traps (India)
Western Interior Seaway (North America)
Anthropocene (the current geologic age we are in…or maybe not?)