Got back from a post-meeting field trip around Marmara Sea and Dardanelles including Gallipoli peninsula (WWI battle or slaughter). The first 2 days we look at deposits below and above the Messinian unconformity. The Messinian Salinity crisis was when the Mediterranean Sea dried out about 5.4 (?) million years ago, near the end of Miocene time. Some Atlantic water continued to enter so that the volume of salt deposited in Mediterranean basins was enormous and it decreased the world's ocean salt content by quite a bit. The draw-down of a couple of km meant that rivers cut down deep canyons, far inland (todays coast) for Rhone, Nile, etc.

I was so impressed with a stop at the unconformity that I went off by myself and vomited on it. Since no one saw it so did not feel sorry for me, I soon after vomited on the unconformity in from of the group. That got their attention! It was the Turkish liquid yoghurt drink probably. I had had trouble with the on previous trip, but as a scientist I had to try it again to get a statistical distribution of whether it made me sick every time.

Headed home today after 5 weeks, and my usual diet of popcorn and beer!

Chris