Deformed Trilobites

The new ELI today is 'Deformed Trilobites; using fossils to estimate the distortion of rocks'.

Geologists can work out the stresses that rocks have undergone by looking at the ways in which fossils have changed shape. This activity can be used as an introduction to the concept of principal stress orientations as part of a scheme of study on rock deformation.

Other Earthlearningideas related to metamorphism and rock deformation can be found on our website,

How Science works - famous people

Did you know that we have published a number of ELI activities about famous people who have contributed much to science? These include:-
Charles Darwin - Darwin's 'big soil idea' and
Darwin's 'big coral atoll idea'
James Hutton - James Hutton - or 'Mr. Rock Cycle'?
Mary Anning - Mary Anning - Mother of Palaeontology
Alfred Wegener and J. Tuzo Wilson - Wegener's 'continental drift' meets Wilson's ' plate tectonics'
William Smith - William Smith - 'The Father of English Geology'
Concerning William Smith, did you know that version 2 of iGeology includes a reproduction of the William Smith 1815 map? There is a 'fade-in' slider that allows you to change the transparency so you can compare William Smith's map with the current BGS map.
There is also a brief biography of William Smith.