Two new Undergraduate Research Projects available with Jared Freiburg at the ISGS:

1. The origin of giant barite crystals in the Mississippi Valley, Iowa (would likely require sulfur isotope analysis and maybe fluid inclusion analysis work)
2. The cause and significance of fluorescent/phosphorescent barite in the Mississippi Valley, Iowa (detailed LA-MICPMS elemental work on a variety of fluorescent and non-fluorescent barites)

Advisor: Jared Freiburg (ISGS) freiburg@illinois.edu

(1) Fossil insects from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil

The Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of northeastern Brazil is famous for the abundance and exceptional preservation of its paleobiota. The laminated limestones of the Nova Olinda Member yield and astonishing array of remarkably well preserved fossils, including a wide variety of vertebrates such as fish, turtles, lizards, crocodiles, pterosaurs, dinosaurs and birds, and a diverse flora including some of the earliest flowering plants. However, the most diverse and abundant component of the assemblage are terrestrial arthropods and, in particular, insects. This research project will involve the identification and description of exceptionally preserved fossil insects from the Crato Formation in the Illinois Natural History Survey Paleontology Collection, including a new species of diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae).

Advisor: Sam W. Heads (INHS, swheads@illinois.edu), Jacalyn M. Wittmer (jwittm2@illinois.edu)

(2) Fossil earwigs (Insecta: Dermaptera) in Miocene Dominican amber

Earwigs (Dermaptera) are familiar insects characterized by a pair of prominent pincer-like forceps on the end of their abdomen. They are generally very rare in the fossil record, so well preserved specimens are extremely important to our understanding of earwig evolution. This research project will involve the study and formal description of two new species of earwigs preserved in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic in the Illinois Natural History Survey Paleontology Collection. The work will involve amber preparation, advanced microscopy and digital imaging as well as training in formal taxonomic procedures.

Advisor: Sam W. Heads (INHS, swheads@illinois.edu), Jacalyn M. Wittmer (jwittm2@illinois.edu)

(3) Carbonate Sedimentology of the Middle Ordovician Kimmswick Formation

The Kimmswick Formation is a massive carbonate sequence that has until recently, been characterized by only a few sections. A new location in St. Louis, MO has completely altered the history of the Kimmswick in terms of depositional environment, stratigraphy, and paleoecology. Within the carbonate strata, an extensive crinoid-algal reef is exposed and draped by massive crinoid shoaling grainstones. This reef is quite possibly one of the oldest crinoid-algal reefs ever discovered. This research project will focus on the sedimentology of the Kimmswick by characterizing lithofacies and developing a regional stratigraphy. The research will involve field-based outcrop descriptions and collection of the carbonate strata in a sedimentological and stratigraphic context. The work will further involve thin section preparation, petrography, and cathodoluminescence microscopy.

Advisor: Jacalyn M. Wittmer (jwittm2@illinois.edu)