David Evans, the head of Berkeley College, professor of geology and geophysics, and director of the Yale Paleomagnetism Laboratory, has spent decades tracing the movements of ancient continents. (more…)
Washington, D.C.—Earth’s magnetic field is generated by the motion of liquid iron in the planet’s core. This “geodynamo” occasionally reverses its polarity—the magnetic north and south poles swap places. The switch occurs over a few thousand years, and the time between reversals can vary from some tens of thousands to tens of millions of years. (more…)
*UTM professor unearths fossils in South Africa*
An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed the 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus-revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behaviour in early dinosaurs. The newly unearthed dinosaur nesting ground predates previously known nesting sites by 100 million years, according to study authors.
A new study led by University of Toronto Mississauga paleontologist Robert Reisz, with co-author, Professor David Evans of ecology and evolutionary biology and the Royal Ontario Museum, along with a group of international researchers, describes clutches of eggs, many with embryos, as well as tiny dinosaur footprints, providing the oldest known evidence that the hatchlings remained at the nesting site long enough to at least double in size. (more…)
