Coring for a good geochemical record

In addition to looking for fossils at this field site, we are also trying to assess the environment of deposition and the environmental conditions that these organisms lived in. To do this, the UT Austin team has joined forces with Dr. Ben Gill's team from Virginia Tech. The have brought out a portable coring drill. It is pretty awesome!

Ben and the students prep for core hole #1

This rig, the Shaw Tool,  is built around a weed-wacker motor and fits in a backpack... very cool indeed!

The hole is very small, but we still did our best to hide it!