Last Post 2008: 100 Earth Science Blogs

100 Best Blogs for Earth Science Scholars. Enjoy and best wishes for 2009!

Off topic: My top records 2008!

Unfortunately, I didn't get too much Vinyl this year and most likely I ignored other fantastic records of other bands, artists etc. Any way, records released 2008 that encouraged me the most are the following (no particular order):

The Night Marchers - See you in Magic (Swami Records)
www.myspace.com/thenightmarchers

Its hard to describe this Album. Since featuring members of former bands like Rocket from the Crypt and my beloved Hot Snakes, the general sound and style is somehow a mixture of such "John Reis Bands". It's no run-off-the-mill punkrock/postpunk/garage/something - it's cheesy and dark halloween spooky rockmusic and just awesome.

Fleet Foxes - s/t LP (Sub Pop)
www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

Long story short: Imagine The Shins covering old artrock like Yes sitting in a log cabin somewehre in the rocky mountains during late summer. I guess this would be my favorite soundtrack for my retirement. Listen to "Mykonos" at their myspace and you will literally hear the sun rising.

Lemuria - Get better (Asian man records)
www.myspace.com/lemuria

I constantly listened to this one all over the year. This music is odd in a way because its edgy and catchy at the same time. Poppunk/Indierock/something but still unique and authentic. Some lyrics really seized me and cheered me up during the nights in the lab as I finished my thesis.

My PhD project!

Whoo hoo!

On Tuesday, I gave a presentation and had an interview on a PhD position at the Palaeontological Institute and Museum of the Zürich University. I got the the job and I proudly announce that I will work on the recovery of benthic marine communities after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event. I will (and will have to) learn alot. The project will besupervised by Dr. Michael Hautmann and Prof. Hugo Bucher. The invitation letter outlining the project is posted on aragosaurus.blogspot.com. A research abstract is available here (pdf).

My upcoming home: The world of the Lower Triassic (from scotese.com)

Taxonomy can be tricky...

...not only in palaeontology...

found on failblog

Dudes...

...I should be busy right now: I have to finish my final mapping project in order to complete my studies by the end of december. Furthermore, I will have an interview for a PhD-student position but I won't tell anything until I know how everything worked out. All what I can say right now is that it is a darn interesting project...we will see!

Just to post something (semi)relevant let me introduce you to a new categorie on Nolögic:

Trace fossil of the second

Cruziana problematica Schindewolf, 1928

Coin for scale = 27 mm

I post this one because it is included in the banner of the blog-title. We found these ribbon-shaped bilobate trails on a large float block in Wadi Al Hisa/ Jordan. These traces record superficial grazing or very shallow deposit feeding bahviour performed by small arthropods (?small Trilobites). The surface is a lower bedding plane. You look at a positive hyporelief. The whole surface is covered by hundreds of specimens and even more specimens of their little brothers Rusophycus carbonarius (the little coffee beans). They are Middle Cambrian (Stage 5 or Drumian) in age and are found in a rather marginal marine environment. However, this ichnospecies is reported from marine as well as terrestrial subaquatic deposits and ranges in age from early Cambrian to Cretaceous.