On Saturday, September 10th, part of the BETA team returned to the Rockford Quarry (in Rockford, IA). The team consisted of Dr. Sedlacek, Dr. Sebree, Claire, Emma, Juliana, and Katie. The goal of this trip was to introduce the newest members to geological field work and to collect more fossils for future outreach programs.
During the course of the day, Dr. Sedlacek taught the BETA team how to use Jacob's staffs and Abney levels to measure where the samples were taken. In doing so, other geologists should be able to trace your notes (and measurements) and get to the same point. When feet of rock layers can span over millions of years it is very important to take accurate measurements.
For most of the students this was their first experience doing field work, and when asked for one word to sum up their day, a general theme appeared.
"Memorable" -Claire
"Fascinating" -Emma
"Interesting" -Juliana
"Muddy" -Katie
It had rained a few days before the trip, but the rain didn't stop the team. Rather, it enhanced the landscape.
"The beauty of the scenery was something I had never seen before in Iowa. The blue very clear water at the bottom, almost buried in slopes of fossils and history." -Juliana
Besides the beauty of the scenery, most of the students were blown away by the sheer volume of fossils in Rockford quarry. Most of what they collected was Devonian in age, and, in particular, were brachiopods.
"My favorite part was finding complete brachiopods that had survived hundreds of millions of years only to be added to a fossil collection." -Emma
"There was one point where we went on this trail walk, and would up in this area that looked straight out of a horror movie. It had these buildings that I believe were used in firing clay back in the day, but have since closed down and were locked up. We also found the casing for a gun so that was fun." -Claire
The trip wasn't purely for the fun of field work, the students all were able to take something away from the experience (besides fossils).
"I learned that there is much more to research than just being in a lab." -Claire
"Surveying techniques." -Katie
"I learned about surveying techniques in geology (including how to use the Jacob staff). Additionally, I learned to walk in the quarry and how to choose good fossils for research. Also, I learned about the different varieties of fossils from the Devonian period found at this quarry and a little bit about the modern history of that space (clay used for bricks)." -Juliana
"I learned about the variety of fossils from the Devonian period that can be found in Iowa, how to use a Jacob staff, and how to walk through a quarry." -Emma
It was an exciting and muddy day for the team, but Claire summed up the experience well.
"Nobody lost any shoes, so I’d say it was a successful trip." -Claire