Palæobotany Laboratory

at

Weston Observatory
We are a research facility located in Building 2 at the Weston Observatory, Department of Geology & Geophysics at Boston College specializing in Palæopalynology and the origin and early evolution of land plants.

Working on a section at Zoroaster Canyon, in the Tonto Group of the Grand Canyon. At this site, shales of the Middle Cambrian Bright Angel Shale overlie a slump breccia composed of weathered Zoroaster Granite boulders.

"In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable, since for every massing of human beings there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites." (Cobb, 1914)

Palæobotany Laboratory
Weston Observatory
Department of Geology & Geophysics
Boston College
381 Concord Road
Weston, Massachusetts US 02493
office (617) 552-8395
secretary (617) 552-8300
fax (617) 552-8388
lab (617) 552-8304
update: 24 February 2008