Are you intrigued by the natural world?
Do you enjoy solving mysteries?
Are you interested in the environment and climate change?
The geology program at Macalester focuses on all aspects of the Earth.
Students who take our courses explore the origin of the Earth and solar system, the
formation of continents and oceans, the evolution and extinction of life, the distribution
and availability of natural resources, and the impact of humans on the environment.
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Kristi Curry Rogers has paper published in Nature Communications on Sauropod dinosaur osteoderms
Osteoderms are bones that grow within the skin of reptiles including long-necked sauropod dinosaurs. A new discovery in Madagascar elucidates how these "skin bones" helped sauropods survive in ancient environments prone to frequent, fatal droughts. Rapetosaurus is a sauropod that bore the most massive osteoderms yet discovered; to accommodate these bones Rapetosaurus skin would have been seven times as thick an elephant‘s. Rapetosaurus osteoderms likely hollowed out during their life, providing a mobile mineral reserve that may have helped sustain growth rates and egg-laying ability, even through the harshest times.
