grandma flo Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I have marine fossils from lake huron in michigan that smell of diesel. the matrix is black and oily with swirls. their are shells and coral in this stuff. some of the pieces are 8 inches long and 5 inches deep. they are beautiful. does any one know what this stuff is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I have marine fossils from lake huron in michigan that smell of diesel. the matrix is black and oily with swirls. their are shells and coral in this stuff. some of the pieces are 8 inches long and 5 inches deep. they are beautiful. does any one know what this stuff is? not sure, do you have a camera, a picture would really help everyone here id it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 It is probably kerogen that you are seeing. Kerogen is the source for oil and gas(under the right conditions), and is common in shales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandma flo Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 not sure, do you have a camera, a picture would really help everyone here id it I will be posting pictures soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 In geo terms, your olfactory is registering a "petroliferous odor". Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxman56 Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I guess he never posted pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Sad to see what sniffin' fossils can do to a person... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa dino Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I would not sniff any thing from Lake Huron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smilodon Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Rule #3 of Miller's Fossil Collecting Rules: Always kick that coprolite before you pick 'er up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxman56 Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Didn't one of those Great Lakes catch on fire during the 70's from waste dumping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Sad to see what sniffin' fossils can do to a person... Now he tells me. To late Auspex its a habit now but at lest I stop licking them. Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Didn't one of those Great Lakes catch on fire during the 70's from waste dumping That was a River in Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River. It's much cleaner now. I wonder if the rock just got coated with some actual diesel fuel from a spill maybe? -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 We pulled some fish out of a rock layer once that smelled really oily. Just leave it. That's the smell of success www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyrules244 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Rule #3 of Miller's Fossil Collecting Rules: Always kick that coprolite before you pick 'er up. haha yup nothing like picking up a Non-fossilized coprolite on the beach "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Actually there is a quarry.. Dundas Quarry near Hamilton ON ... Silurian limestone and shale deposits... there are also deposits of bitumen (tar), last year while splitting a boulder.... there was a outburst of trapped Silurian gas... you can hear rock outgassed and smelled the strong petroleum presence... freaky event. PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Up from the ground came a bubbling ooze.. black gold, texas tea... family said "Jed your a millionaire, gotta move away from there..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 (edited) I have marine fossils from lake huron in michigan that smell of diesel. the matrix is black and oily with swirls. their are shells and coral in this stuff. some of the pieces are 8 inches long and 5 inches deep. they are beautiful. does any one know what this stuff is? Similar black shale is also found in Collingwood Shale deposits in Ontario .. at one point was used to extract oil for lamps at the turn of the century but became uneconomical and was abandoned.... the black shale contains abundent fossils such as Pseudogygites trilobites and other ordovician invertebrates.... PL Edited March 2, 2010 by pleecan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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