BYG Canada ep. 1 – St. John’s, Newfoundland: Neat fossils? You’re not mistaken!

Christopher Spencer
Backyard Geology
Backyard Geology
BYG Canada ep. 1 - St. John's, Newfoundland: Neat fossils? You’re not mistaken!
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Episode summary introduction: In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to St. John’s Newfoundland. The southeastern tip of the peninsula, 130km down the coast from the city, host to the oldest known forms of large, complex life dating back 565 million years ago from the Ediacaran Period. The exposed sedimentary rocks, which make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site, provide a window into the elusive and understudied inhabitants of the Precambrian sea floor.

Resources:

Darroch, S.A.F., Sperling, E.A., Boag, T.H., Racicot, R.A., Mason, S.J., Morgan, A.S., Tweedt, S., Myrow, P., Johnston, D.T., Erwin, D.H. and Laflamme, M., 2015. Biotic replacement and mass extinction of the Ediacara biota. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1814), p.20151003.

Laflamme, M., Darroch, S.A.F., Tweedt, S.M., Peterson, K.J. and Erwin, D.H., 2013. The end of the Ediacara biota: Extinction, biotic replacement, or Cheshire Cat? Gondwana Research, 23(2), pp.558–573.

Liu, A.G. and Matthews, J.J., 2017. Great Canadian Lagerstätten 6. Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, Southeast Newfoundland. Geoscience Canada, 44(2), pp.63–76. https://doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2017.44.117.

Misra, S.B., 1969. Late Precambrian (?) Fossils from Southeastern Newfoundland. GSA Bulletin, 80(11), pp.2133–2140.

David Attenborough’s “First Life”, Episode 1 (2010)

Host Information: Serena is a Canadian graduate student currently studying geochemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her research focuses on isotopic analysis of Hawaiian volcanos to understand the dynamic and complicated evolution of the Hawaiian mantle plume. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the exposed sedimentary rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and enthusiastic professors quickly fostered a love for all things geology. Like other member of the Geology Podcast Network, Serena loves to talk rocks and is invested in sharing her love for our planet through podcasts, educational programs for kids, and even museum exhibits. Despite heavy seasonal rains in Vancouver, she is an avid cyclist, which unfortunately does not bode well with inevitable stop for round hounding, but is an excellent way to thoroughly explore the Earth and all its glorious geologic features.


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