In early June, Nathan, Becca, and Bekah all headed to the bustling metropolis of Rock Springs, WY for the annual mini-conference of the Green River Early Eocene Climatic Optimum research team, with collaborators from all over the U.S. convening to share research updates and look at some cool rocks. After three days of guided field excursions (and only one badly rained/lightning-ed out), we spent a few more days in the area to scope out our own sampling targets and collect a few things. A single day at Blue Rim, led by Bekah, led to some heavy packs filled with paleosols, fossil plants, and some petrified wood; the next day was a cool tour of the Wasatch and Oregon Buttes, featuring microbialites, wild horses, and finally some good floodplain paleosol sequences!
After Geobiology in Banff, Becca returned to Salt Lake City and met up with undergrad researcher Katie Seguin to sample biological soil crusts around Moab, Utah. For two days, they sampled diverse microbial and lichen communities with the goal of analyzing their phosphorus cycling. Soil crusts are incredibly important for nutrient cycling in modern, arid ecosystems, but they’re also interesting for another reason – they can be used as analogue systems for early terrestrial ecosystems here on Earth! Now that everyone is back in Michigan, the soil crusts are happy in their new growth-chamber homes.
