Jacobs Creek 3-2014

The heavy rain of Thursday and Friday resulted in delaying our trip until Sunday, March 9th.  Some NCFC members had to cancel due to storm damage caused or other commitments.  Therefore, some on the waiting list were able to come.  The extra time allowed the mine to dry out and the weather to warm up to the high 60s.  After an orientation on what to look for with actual specimens from my collection, and a check of the area on the map where we were allowed to work, the 23 attendees began to pick their spots to begin prospecting. Mark and Skyler McKoy came from Rocky Point, NC and spent the day carrying out Aspidella terranovica and pieces of Ediacaran microbial mat formed 542 million years ago.  Al Klatt came all the way from Franklin, NC.  Like most, he was new to the Ediacaran and the argillite blue slate we were working in.  Terry Denny had to leave early for a meeting, but managed to get some nice specimens to use in her classes.  Amy Plaster and son Wyatt had a good collection in hand when they left.  Linda and Bruce McCall found some carbonate concretions. They were formed by carbonate minerals and iron from photosynthetic microbial mat filling in gas domes and spaces in mudstone layers. The carbonate came from the ocean absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere as "Snowball Earth" melted.  Everyone left with some special specimens and some memories of a day well spent.