Lothagam- basaltic lava flows, lahars, faulting, volcanic ash, erosion, river channel deposits, muddy floodplains and ancient soils, lake deposits, shell beds, oyster reefs, more volcanic ash, more faults, more erosion, more deposition, and so much more! Day 1 Dylan's gazes out of the lowry as we approach Lothagam. Camping spot. [...]
When the Turkana Basin was not dominated by river systems, the rock record indicates several paleo-lakes occupied the region and sometimes reached over 100 kilometers away from the present lake margin. Instead of just recording the depositional environments that have occurred, a field geologist will try to determine the causes of such changes in order [...]
Interpreting and reconstructing depositional environments of the past involves an understanding of modern processes acting on the Earth surface that can form a particular rock and/or sequence of rock layers. In the Turkana Basin, the bulk of the last 4 million years are made up of ancient river deposits. One river in particular, the Omo, [...]
The rock record of the Turkana Basin contains a history of tectonic movement, volcanic activity, and climatic alterations that have all affected precipitation patterns, river systems, lake levels, and more. Understanding these morphological changes provides a more complete picture and possible factors that have affected early life in this region. Vital to this research are maps and [...]
The Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) is not only a non-profit organization interested in scientific research in the Lake Turkana region, in addition, TBI works closely with local communities on health and education. The vast majority of the people (population near 900,000) that live on this semi-arid, harsh environment are nomadic pastoralists with cares focused on [...]
In the past week, we have learned about a variety of animals* and how the habitat has changed in the ancient Turkana Basin. *Note: There are many more species of animals (including hominins) that are still "waiting" to be unearthed and will help our understanding of life on the past landscape. In addition, not everything that [...]
Before examining fossilized bones and ancient life, it is important to look at the anatomy of modern mammals. Our next activity looked at skulls, limbs, axial skeletons, and teeth of various carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores in present-day Africa. Sam examines the teeth of a zebra while Aileen looks at the mandible of a warthog. [...]
The Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoecology Module began last week under the instruction of paleontologist Dr. Mikael Fortelius from the University of Helsinki. After an introductory lecture on processes that affect the preservation of organisms and their traces, we set out to unearth crockery that was buried within the TBI facility. As part of a taphonomy experiment, TBI students [...]