Something strange in there

Post #411,034 by scoenye 6/11/16 9:55:27 PM 6/11/16 9:55:27 PM Reply	Something strange in there The Mistaken Point fossils were preserved by being blanketed with layers of fine volcanic ash. Volcanic ash is ideal for radiometric dating, and this has enabled the Mistaken Point fossils to be dated at approximately 565 million years old and Study of the surrounding sedimentary rocks has shown that the Mistaken Point organisms lived in a deep-water environment, far below the depth to which sunlight or surface waves could have reached. The latter would also preclude getting covered in fine ash. They only way I can combine both is if the organism fossilized first, along with the seabottom rising, and then getting covered once exposed. But that would put their age back a good chunk before the ash dating.
Post #411,035 by a6l6e6x 6/12/16 12:06:44 AM 6/12/16 12:06:44 AM Reply	There may be more here: Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve In normal conditions, when marine organisms die, only bones, shells, and other hard parts are preserved as fossils. The soft-bodied creatures at Mistaken Point lived millions of years before animals developed skeletons, but the imprints of their soft tissues were preserved in place on the muddy sea floor when they were suddenly buried by repeated volcanic ash-falls. The volcanic ash layers contain zircon, which makes it possible for geologists to accurately date the different fossil layers. Fossils of similar age are found in Russia and Australia, but the variety found at Mistaken Point make the site unique. So, it sounds like repeated volcanic ash-falls that settled to the ocean floor. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #411,075 by scoenye 6/13/16 8:36:33 PM 6/13/16 8:36:33 PM Reply	Had a hard time picturing the dispersal to below 3000' without airborne ash being spread so thin that it would no longer be noticeable. However, it seems a pyroclastic flow of the right temperature and composition can travel ~500 miles on the water, dropping ash all along the way.
Post #411,077 by drook 6/14/16 8:03:01 AM 6/14/16 8:03:01 AM Reply	I'd love to see that ... on video, of course -- Drew

Welcome to IWETHEY!