More Fossils!

We discovered our shells are from the pleistocene period, which covers the last million years. In fossil years they are quite young, even though we estimate them to be 60,000 to 100,000 years old!




This week I've been spending time preparing fossilised shells for identification and classification in the Sedimentology Lab. These chunks of siltstone, mixed with the shells came from a beach at Castlecliff near Whanganui. First we wash the chunks in a small round metal sieve. Then we identify them by comparing them with samples kept in the University collection, using reference books or using an online catalogue.

Wellington science teacher fellows visit Victoria University.

In the Earth Science lab we looked at grains of pollen taken from core samples of sediment/soils drilled from within the earth under microscopes. We learned how scientists can tell by identifying the types of pollen which plants were growing on the Earth millions of years ago. This helps them understand the impact that climate change has had on planet earth.

We made some flubber, which is a mixture of PVA glue and borax(a chemical from the chemist). The PVA is a long chain polymer,which means its molecules can slide over each other and are 'runny'. When you add the borax it stops the molecules sliding and they stick together, making a kind of silly putty, called 'flubber'! It is great to play with and will even bounce!

Last Friday some primary science teachers visited us so we organised time in the chemistry and earth science labs.
In the chemistry lab we experimented with magnets, balance and optical illusions.

Wairarapa Field Trip

Next stop was to the marine terraces high above Whangamoana Beach, near Lake Ferry. We had to walk very carefully along the edge of the cliff face as it was a long way down and we didn't want to slip! The tops of these terraces formed the sea floor millions of years ago and were down at sea level.



My most recent field trip was with GNS Science to the South Wairarapa. I tagged along with seismologists visiting from California. We walked up the riverbed of the Wharekauhau Stream to see the "Wharekauhau thrust",huge cliffs composed of thick layers of bedrock,silt containing ancient tree trunks and roots and marine gravels. You can see the layers quite clearly in the photos.

P waves and S waves

Scientists and researchers can spend lots of time analysing data and I am helping with earthquake data at present. Information collected by seismometers measuring earthquake activity is accessed by computer and checked for accuracy in picking out two kinds of seismic waves - S and P waves.
During an earthquake the 2 sides of a faultline jerk past each other,releasing stored energy as seismic waves that travel out through the surrounding rock.
Seismic waves travel at different speeds - P waves are fast and reach the surface first,S waves are slower and cause the ground to shudder backwards and forwards.
It is important to record each of these separatetly - a slow job as there are thousands and thousands for each series of earthquakes!