Odontocete skull excavation 2

Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon along the central California coast, the winter sun gets low on the horizon, giving a few minutes of lengthened shadows and rich, golden light, before it disappears behind a fog bank shortly afterward. The resulting decrease in light marks a premature sunset that can be barely workable sometimes. Winter field work is difficult even in California due to the shortened days, extreme tide fluctuations (even worse in Northern California), stormy weather, muddy trails, and low amount of sand on the beach (which results in a decrease in the number of access points and thus, fewer choices in access route). Oh, and not to mention poison oak, which during the winter, lacks its distinctive leaves). In this case, one of our access points was a small canyon which opens up towards the beach; during the winter, the stream fills the landward side of the canyon up with fetid, organic rich water while waves buildup a barrier bar, which dams the creek and forms a nice, disgusting little lagoon. When we arrived at this locality, the creek had pooled up, and was extremely cold as it had still been in the shade when we got there. The creek water hovered just over freezing, and was a good ten degrees colder than the ocean. It was still just as cold when we left; by the time we were done with the jacket, it was twilight. Oddly enough, on our way out, we came across a couple teenagers going down to the beach (the hard way, staying dry, but going up above the water-filled canyon on the side of a cliff) with only their cellphones for light. They must have made it out safely, although I'm not sure how (I never read in the paper about anyone dying out there).

Here's the excavated pit after the pedestal popped out.

Because the fossil-bearing pedestal had already popped off, we had to place the pedestal on a mound of sand to jacket it.

Chris takes burlap strips back to the excavation. I quite like this photo.

Just before we started the jacketing process. You can see in the background where the hole is, and that just a small sliver of the former 'fairweather' beach was left to stand on in order to reach the fossil. Within a few days, this was all gone. The sand surface you see there (where the red jacket is laying) is the higher surface of the beach from over the summer - just a small remnant of it remains. After this sliver is gone, the fossil would have been many feet out of reach above the beach.

A beautiful sunset (and advancing rainclouds) heralded our completion of the excavation.

The odontocete skull is halfway jacketed, and as the temperature begins to drop, our hands were beginning to go numb.

Chris cuts more burlap strips for the second half of the jacket.

Finally! Just before dark, the plaster jacket is completed, and we're ready to lug all the gear and fossils back up the trail.

Beach panorama

Beautiful sunsets can often be seen along the California coast, especially during the winter. This is about eight photos spliced together; although some weirdness happened due to the waves, it looks alright.

Winter Break field photos, plus another quiz

View towards Seacliff State Beach and Aptos, CA.

I've finally gotten around to posting some field photographs from winter break. I didn't get out as much as I did last winter, but that didn't stop me finding a nice (and complete, mind you) odontocete skull, a partial Herpetocetus jaw, and several fur seal (Thalassoleon cf. T. macnallyae) bones, as well as a monstrous walrus astragalus.

First are some photos which constitute a quiz, selected from winter break photos.
1). Here's an articulated baleen whale vertebral column. Which way is the head? (No guessing [e.g. that means you, Sarah]. I realize its a 50/50 chance if you guess. State a reason for your answer)

2). A fossil I didn't collect (but may jacket this summer if I get really bored, and if it is still there). What is this thing?3). What the hell is this? This specimen can be identified to the genus, FYI. Morgan and Rachel can only answer this if they get the genus correct = P

OK, now for other photos. Enjoy!A small odontocete vertebra in a shellbed. This guy did not want to be collected.A huge mysticete vertebra (to right of hammer) exposed in the bottom of a shelly channel-like structure.Another small odontocete vertebra. I did collect this specimen, and after preparation, it had a bunch of clayey fecal pellets (of probable crustacean origin) adhering to it.A large mysticete cranium, most likely a balaenopterid.A sleeping california sea lion (?) pup.
Some surfer dude.Sunset at Capitola! It was hard to leave, as the tide was just going out.

Thanksgiving Field Highlights

Ahh, this is why I love California. Especially my master's thesis field area. These are some tidepools exposed during a minus tide at sunset; Monterey Bay is the body of water to the left of the picture.

Yes... I'll use this to gloat about the election more. I'm happy the denizens of Capitola are happy about it to. You can actually see this paint job on photographs taken from aircraft:http://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-bin/image.cgi?image=200810789&mode=big&lastmode=sequential&flags=9&year=current
Look at the base of the wall about midphoto, at the left end of the long lawn in the middle of the picture. I love the sunglasses that were added.

Here were some very odd linear features in the wavecut platform, which is an exposure of the Purisima Formation. Linear features such as this have been documented before in a similarly aged sedimentary unit of similar composition, the St. George Formation of Crescent City, in northernmost California. However, there the features were attributed to tsunami scouring by the transport of large boulders up and down the beach, in a direction normal to the shoreline. That is a north facing coast at Crescent City, and was susceptible to tsunamis from earthquakes in Alaska. However, this shoreline at Capitola, CA, faces south; what caused these features will likely remain an enigma.


Here is an atlas vertebra of a small mysticete whale preserved in the Purisima Formation. The atlas is somewhat similar to Piscobalaena and Herpetocetus, and likely belongs to the latter or a similar whale.