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I am presenting a hands-on middle-school earth-science workshop at the Alabama Science Teachers Association conference in Tuscaloosa

NOVEMBER 4 • MONDAY

2:00pm – 2:50pm M Make your own trackway

Presenters: Rylleigh Harstad, David Kopaska-Merkel
Sponsors: Geological Survey of Alabama
Sellers Auditorium, BCC Level 1 (Hotel Capstone - Level 1)

The fun begins with painting with your feet, and just goes on from there!

Mystery at the American Museum solved

Press Release
January 2, 2018 

87-Year-Old Fossil Mystery Solved 

In the world of paleontology, mysteries abound. Apart from questions about 

their makers, sometimes fossils create their own mysteries after they are 

collected. The book, “Footprints in Stone: Fossil Traces of Coal-Age 

Tetrapods,” by Ronald J. Buta and David C. Kopaska-Merkel, helped solve 

a mystery at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

Senior Museum Specialist Carl Mehling had been working to identify some 

unknown specimens from an unlabeled crate. His only clue was the 

newspaper used to cushion the specimens. He explained in an email to 

Buta and Kopaska-Merkel on October 11, 2017:

“I have to thank you guys for something unexpected. I got a copy of Footprints in Stone about a month ago. In the Intro, I read that G.G. Simpson collected trackways down there in January 1930. I was immediately thrilled because this promised to help solve a mystery I first became aware of in 2005.”

The newspapers were from the time of initial discovery, which inspired Mehling to continue digging. He found documentation that proved at least three of the specimens were associated with the Galloway No. 11 underground coal mine near Carbon Hill, Alabama – the location in Buta and Kopaska-Merkel’s book.

In the 1920s, workers at the Galloway No. 11 Mine reported seeing fossil animal footprints (trace fossils) preserved in the rock layers above the coal seam they were mining.

The animals that left the footprints were a mystery because no skeletal remains were found, making it difficult to know what they might have looked like. Nevertheless, the discovery was considered significant enough that the mining company contacted not only professionals in Alabama, but also the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, where the footprints attracted attention of paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson (1902-1984), who worked at AMNH for three decades . Simpson selected 14 large slabs of tracks, now thought to be 310-315 million years old, to be shipped to New York.

Alabama trace fossils received little study until 1999, when tracks were re-discovered by amateur fossil collectors in the spoil piles of an active surface coal mine, the Union Chapel Mine, near Jasper, Alabama, 23 miles east of Carbon Hill. Renewed interest in the ancient Walker County footprints brought them back to the forefront of Alabama paleontology. This led to the publication of “Footprints in Stone: Fossil Traces of Coal-Age Tetrapods” by Buta and Kopaska-Merkel. The book tells the story of the discovery of the site of fossil tracks at the Union Chapel Mine and its preservation by the State of Alabama as the Steven C. Minkin Paleozoic Footprint site. The book also recounts the discovery in 2011 of a second prolific fossil trackway site, the Crescent Valley Mine, located only a quarter of a mile from the former entrance to the Galloway No. 11 Mine.

Mehling closed his email:

“I am absolutely thrilled to have reunited these specimens with their data. And I love the serendipitous path that took me there.”

The retrieval of Simpson's slabs after so many years is a thrilling development in the history of fossil collecting in Alabama. The Simpson slabs are an important part of Alabama's heritage, and their re-discovery provides a remarkable story of paleontological sleuthing.

Footprints in Stone: Fossil Traces of Coal-Age Tetrapods, by Ronald J. Buta and David C. Kopaska-Merkel, is available through the University of Alabama Press.

For more information:

Dr. Ronald J. Buta
Professor of Astronomy
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Alabama
Box 870324
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
email: rbuta@ua.edu
cell phone number: 205-310-9062

Dr. David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Section Chief, Petroleum Systems and Technology
Geological Survey of Alabama
Box 869999
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-6999
205-247-3695
email: davidkm@gsa.state.al.us

Carl Mehling
Senior Museum Specialist
Fossil Amphibian, Reptile, and Bird Collections
Division of Paleontology
American Museum of Natural History
200 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
email: cosm@amnh.org

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your footprints outlive
you by millennia
how do you feel?

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Walking for science!


Years ago I did this workshop, which I borrowed from another source that I have since forgotten, about tracks and track analysis. You roll out a long piece of paper on the floor (blank newsprint or unused plotter paper both work well — there are usually pretty long pieces at the ends of rolls that, for some reason or another, can't be used for their intended purposes) people step in tempera paint (which will not wash off clothing!) and then walk down the paper. Or run. Or hop. After all, animals don't always walk the same way either. Anyway, then you use a meter stick to measure foot length, pace, and stride. There's a pretty standard ratio in humans between foot length and leg length and because you have the actual legs handy, you can calculate it for the particular group. (It's a fun exercise to then use the number for dinosaurs and compare.) Then using some well-known formulas you can calculate walking speed and fun things like that. Kids always enjoy the first part of the project even if they don't necessarily enjoy the calculations. If they don't want to get paint on their feet they can wear gallon Ziploc bags with rubber bands holding them on. But come on, who doesn't want red or blue feet!

This is a fun activity with major implications for hunting, biology, and paleontology. Students of trace fossils, ichnologists, do this all the time.

If you want the guidebook I wrote for the activity, drop me a line and I'll send you a PDF email me at jopnquog at gmail.

Footprints in stone

The Last Hurrah of the Trace-Fossil Book Tour


Ron Buta and I will be talking to the Sierra Club in a couple of weeks about our book and about the Minkin Paleozoic Footprint site. This is the last stop in our "book tour," such as it is. (If you are within reasonable driving distance of Tuscaloosa, one or both of us would be happy to talk about Pennsylvanian trace fossils)

Research is still ongoing about many of the trace fossils that have been found in Alabama's coal measures, as they used to be called. I don't think many new coal mines will be opening any time in the near future, the long-term trends in energy-sector economics being what they are, but with thousands of specimens on hand already, there is plenty to do.

If you want to see photographs of some of the trace fossils, just search this blog for "footprints."

If you want to buy the book, go here:

https://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Stone-Fossil-Coal-Age-Tetrapods/dp/0817358447/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469797628&sr=1-1&keywords=%22footprints+in+stone%22

or use this 30%-off offer from the UA Press: http://dreamsandnightmaresmagazine.blogspot.com/2017/02/footprints-in-stone-30-discount-with.html

"Footprints in Stone" — 30% discount with coupon code

"Footprints in Stone," the book I wrote with Ron Buta about trace fossils in Alabama, is on sale from the publisher. Either print out the coupon below and mail it in, or call your order in and give them the discount code.

Trace fossils are any marks made by ancient animals that are not actually parts of their bodies. Footprints, burrows, borings, tail drag marks, and so on. It just so happens that a coal mine in Alabama turned into the most important trace-fossil site of its age in the world. This book is about the discovery and preservation of the site and about all the marvelous fossils that have been found there.

We wrote the book for the general public. It would be a great gift for any kid who likes fossils.

If you live in or near Alabama, it is not difficult to get permission to visit the Steven C Minkin Paleozoic Footprint site. The book should be interesting and useful to anybody interested in trace fossils, even if they don't live anywhere near Alabama.

Interview about Footprints in Stone

A half-hour interview about the Pennsylvanian trace fossils from Walker County, Alabama, and about the recently published book on the subject, called Footprints in Stone

http://www.specialpeopleandplaces.com/

The interview took place at a book signing at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa

National Fossil Day

National Fossil Day will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 12. At the Alabama Museum of Natural History, in Tuscaloosa, this will take place from 4 to 6 PM. Various groups on campus and from around town will have tables and games ,mainly aimed at children. Anyone can attend for free. I will be there with some trace fossils from coal mines. These include footprints of reptiles and other sorts of creatures. Ron Buta and I will be signing copies of our book, "Footprints in Stone."

Signing Saturday

So, this Saturday, I will be signing "footprints in stone," along with my co-author Ron Buta, in the Barnes & Noble in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We will be there from 1 until 5 PM and we are going to have some actual trace fossil specimens for people to look at

Book signing today

So, the second signing for Footprints in Stone is tonight, at the Alabama Museum of Natural History at 6 PM. Come, if you can. I'm a little concerned because it is on the same weekend as the first home football game, and at the University of Alabama, football is the most important academic department there is. They close all the parking lots at  5 PM. They are going to let us and our millions of fans into one small parking lot behind the museum, but it will fill up fast. If anybody comes at all. So, if the good turnout I hope for comes to pass, people will have to hike over from a parking garage several blocks away. Maybe some of them will appreciate the opportunity for some exercise.

Invitation to a book signing and reception

Fossil insect trackway

A small fossil insect trackway from the Minkin site in central Alabama. This is the ventral side of the slab, so footprints have positive relief. On the left, you see a shallow undertrack on a layer close to the original sediment surface. On the right, you see a deeper layer, on which the trackway was more shallowly impressed. Same trackway, same insect, but preserved slightly differently on different layers.

Want to know more about this kind of stuff? Here is a new book:

https://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Stone-Fossil-Coal-Age-Tetrapods/dp/0817358447/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469797628&sr=1-1&keywords=%22footprints+in+stone%22

Signed copies are in the Barnes and Noble in Tuscaloosa. Order a signed copy from me for $43 postpaid.

And you can learn a lot on this website:

http://alabamapaleo.org/Alabama_Paleontological_Society.html

Alabama Paleontological Society meeting

I think about 25 people attended the lecture Ron Buta and I gave about Footprints in Stone, our new book about the Steven C Minkin Paleozoic Footprint site in north Alabama. Most members of the group know all about the site, but most had not yet seen the book, which only came out a week ago. We went through the history of the site, which was discovered in 1999 and preserved for posterity in 2005, and talked about the major players involved. We ended with a discussion of some of the unanswered questions, such as population dynamics of the organisms that made the common trace fossils (amphibian and reptile trackways, and trackways and Burrows made by invertebrates), and group behavior in vertebrates and (possibly) invertebrates, demonstrated by trace fossils from the site. Everybody seemed to be very interested and we all had a good time.

Footprints in Stone update

Reviews of Footprints in Stone.


There are two 5-star reviews of Footprints in Stone on Amazon. I would be overjoyed if anybody else who reads the book also reviews it.

https://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Stone-Fossil-Coal-Age-Tetrapods/dp/0817358447/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469797628&sr=1-1&keywords=%22footprints+in+stone%22


Not exactly a review, this article about the site showcases the book.

http://alabamanewscenter.com/2016/07/22/footprints-in-stone-fossils-of-coal-age-animals-attract-global-visitors/


Announcement about upcoming signing at the Alabama Museum of Natural History:

http://almnh.ua.edu/


The video about the site and about the book is once again online:

http://www.lightscameraalabama.com/secure/videopages/stone.html

Ghost crab and bird tracks crossing one another

Photograph by A. K. Rindsberg.

Steven C Minkin Paleozoic footprint site update

Ron Buta has restored his interactive website, which includes thousands of photographs of Pennsylvanian trace fossils from the Minkin site:

http://bama.ua.edu/~rbuta/scm/

Users of this site can propose tentative IDs for the fossils in the photographs, and can estimate or measure other characteristics of the fossils based on examination of the photographs. All of your comments are recorded and you can see comments previously made by other people. So many specimens have been collected from this site, that many of them have not yet been studied in any detail, or even at all.

If you don't want to record your observations, that's fine. You can still look at the amazing pictures of this astoundingly diverse trace fossil fauna from more than 300 million years ago.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I had nothing to do with putting the website together, but Ron and I have a book about the site, due out in a couple of weeks. It is possible to preorder the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Stone-Fossil-Coal-Age-Tetrapods/dp/0817358447/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460989262&sr=1-1&keywords=%22footprints+in+stone%22

Footprints in Stone

I have been given an unbound pre-publication, copy of Footprints in Stone, the book I co-authored with Ron Buta about the Minkin footprint site in Walker County, Alabama. The cover looks really wonderful, and so do the interior illustrations. The publisher expects the book to be available at the end of May, which is sooner than they originally told us. You can preorder the book from Amazon right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Stone-Fossil-Coal-Age-Tetrapods/dp/0817358447/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460989262&sr=1-1&keywords=%22footprints+in+stone%22

The trace-fossil fauna at the Minkin site is more diverse than at most Pennsylvanian sites. Vertebrates: 6 spp made by tetrapods & fish. Insects: at least 4 spp. Other arthropods: at least 4 spp. Other critters: at least 2 spp. There are also arthropod body fossils and diverse plant fossils.

The Minkin site is the best trace fossil site of its age in the world. It is one of the few world-class sites that you can visit, accompanied by knowledgeable guides from the Alabama Paleontological Society, and keep most of the specimens you find. If you find anything unusual it will have to be donated to a Museum, but so many specimens have been collected (well over 5000 so far) it is pretty rare to find something you can't keep.

Talk to me if you want to arrange a visit to the site.

Video about "Footprints in Stone"

Here is the link to a 16-minute video about trace fossils. In particular, about 300 million-year-old footprints from North Alabama. Prof. Ron Buta and I wrote a book called Footprints in Stone. It is about the discovery of the site by amateur fossil collectors, their successful efforts to get it preserved by the state of Alabama, and thousands upon thousands of tracks and trails made by reptiles, amphibians, horseshoe crabs, and many other creatures on a mud flat so long ago.

http://vimeo.com/114215060

Video about "Footprints in Stone"

Here is the link to a 16-minute video about trace fossils. In particular, about 300 million-year-old footprints from North Alabama. Prof. Ron Buta and I wrote a book called Footprints in Stone. It is about the discovery of the site by amateur fossil collectors, their successful efforts to get it preserved by the state of Alabama, and thousands upon thousands of tracks and trails made by reptiles, amphibians, horseshoe crabs, and many other creatures on a mud flat so long ago.

http://vimeo.com/114215060

"Footprints in Stone"

Things are moving along with the book. It is funny that, after more than a year of looking for funding, it seems within weeks we might have the minimum amount we need. When we get to that point the book will go into the queue for printing. I think we started writing the book more than three years ago.

"Footprints in Stone" update

This is the book that I wrote with a colleague of mine about an important fossil trackway site in Alabama. Thousands of specimens of trace fossils including footprints of some of the earliest reptiles, fin traces made by fish, jumping and walking traces of insects, and many more have been collected here.

We have a publisher, but the publisher needs to raise some money for the first printing. We have now finally gotten past the halfway point on committed funds. We are working on a Kickstarter project to raise the part we still need. Students from a local documentary film class are putting that together for us. I am starting to believe this might really come to pass.